EV180
is a 6 month program.
Over the course of this program, you'll be developing healthy habits that stick well beyond the end of the program. By making gradual but meaningful dietary and lifestyle changes, you'll not only get back in shape and expedite your recovery process, but you'll increase your vitality and drastically improve your overall quality of life.
Bi-weekly meetings and monitored support.
We will meet once every two weeks; either in person or virtually (location dependent). During our meetings we will discuss your progress and determine the next steps moving forward. We'll create manageable goals that help you move towards the person you want to be. While I do have a formula that works, exactly how that formula is implemented is completely customizable. We will alter the formula and process based on your physical condition, personal preferences, and available resources. Ultimately, the process of getting healthy needs to be enjoyable. If it is, the prospects of success are significantly greater.
Food Forward Fitness
What you put into your mouth fuels your body. If you're putting bad food in your mouth, you're getting bad energy. It's like putting diesel fuel in a car that need unleaded petrol. I let you choose the type of exercise you want to do. Your physical therapist or physician probably already has you on a rehab program. But whatever you choose, your diet needs to support your goals. That's extremely difficult to do; especially since it's not something we're taught in depth in school (or at home in many cases).
That's where I come in.
Over these six months, we'll help you figure out the nutrients you need more of, what food sources provide them, and how to cook those foods into mouthwatering recipes the whole family can enjoy. We'll also figure out which foods you need to be avoiding and widdle those away, too.
Unparalleled results
You'll be blown away by how much a shift in diet can affect.... well.... everything! There are a million cliches about trying to outwork bad diets and they are all correct. Learning how to eat to support your goals will hasten recovery, and allow your workouts and physical therapy to take you further than you ever thought you could go.
The limitations due to age, injury, and time are drastically reduced as you're able to accomplish more with less effort.
You'll be leaner, stronger, faster, more flexible, and younger. All of this just by learning how to eat right.
**Disclaimer: None of the advice on this page or in our sessions are meant to replace the advice of your doctor. Rather this is a method to further support their work to make you healthy and keep you off the injured list.
The TASS method
Track, Add, Substitute, Subtract
Over the course of several months, I'll walk you through this process where you'll learn how to be conscious of what goes into your mouth and now it affects your body. We'll develop the awareness to understand what foods are giving you short term pleasure but with lasting negative effects, which foods do the opposite, and -- most importantly -- which foods are both immediately satisfying and give you long-term benefits. You'll practice the art of moderation. Together we'll develop eating habits that are enjoyable, nutritious, and satisfying.
You won't be asked to give up stuff that you love, nor will I force feed you foods that you hate. Like I said earlier; it's the art of moderation. Together, we'll figure out where the gaps in your diet lie and fill them with good quality foods. Then we'll work on where the excess lies and ween out the bad. You'll get no gimmicks here, no BS and no quick fixes. You'll build these habits slow and steady so that they stick and last long after the program ends.
Track
This is where you learn how to build awareness. You'll be asked to download a food tracker of your choice and track what you eat and drink. This isn't about counting calories or rigorously tracking your macros, rather it's about discovering where you diet is out of balance and figuring out where to go over the next three steps of the program. Here you'll discover what foods are causing you to feel sick and which foods are supporting your goals. You'll learn to be aware of when you're over eating, when cravings kick in, when you start eating emotionally, and how your overall relationship with food is. You won't be asked to make any changes at this point. The first step to fixing a problem is to identify it, and this is where you'll just that.
Add
This phase is rather straight forward. You'll be adding food that you enjoy, and also happen to be healthy, to your regular food habits. For example; lets say you like bacon, toast, and eggs in the morning and your tracking reveals you lack vitamin C. You love red bell peppers. They're high in vitamin C, so you chop up a half a pepper and add it, along with some herbs, to your normal breakfast. At this stage in the game, you will actually be eating more and it's possible that you will gain a bit of weight because your overall calorie intake will be higher. Not to worry. Remember; the goal is to build healthy habits and, thus, by adding good quality foods to your plate, you're changing your palate and filling in the nutrient gaps that were missing before these foods were added.
Substitute
After you've added all that you could possibly add, the next step is to substitute things out for healthier versions that you still enjoy. Taking the breakfast example from earlier: You love you're toast, but you know the white bread and jam isn't supporting your goals so you opt for something better. After trying a few different artisanal whole grain options, you finally found this cranberry oatmeal bread with walnuts. It's much better than those bland, whole grain wheat breads and doesn't break the bank. So you settle on that. After more experimentation, you find that you like sliced apples, cinnamon and drop of maple syrup on this toast, so you swap out the jam for that. Bingo! Your breakfast is now tastier, significantly more nutrient dense, and you very nearly eliminated your added sugar for that meal. All of this without changing the overall profile of your meal. Or maybe for snacks you substitute Oreo cookies for cashews and dark chocolate? Who knows, the choices are endless.
Subtract
And for the finishing move you start cutting back on the things that you eat in excess. Back to breakfast; as much as you love that bacon, your sodium and saturated fat intake is through the roof. As painful as it is, you've got to cut it out. However, you really enjoy it, so you cut back to one slice instead of the normal three. That's perfectly fine. At this point you might look at your plate and be blown away by how much it's changed. You might be thrilled to see how healthy it's become. It might make you reflect on how you're actually eating mostly the same stuff, but the overall health profile is completely different. Really, the only change is that the breakfast salad has pushed the bacon off to the side, but rest is just the same stuff, but jam packed with vitamins and minerals. And boy oh boy, do I feel a whole lot better after eating these meals!
Here's what your meal evolution might look like:
This client started with a typical American breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast with butter. A nice, high protein breakfast that's also loaded with A, B and D vitamins, but has some gaps.
During the Track phase they discovered they weren't getting enough fiber or vitamin C. To address this, during the Add phase they decided to add a breakfast salad.
The client also wanted to address their sugar and sodium consumption as well. Therefore during the Substitute and Subtract phases, they swapped the bread for roasted potatoes, and removed the bacon completely (except on Sunday brunch!)
This won't happen over night
Making changes that last takes time! It'll take experimentation, trial and error, and a courageous journey of self-discovery to find the foods you like. It's different for everyone. Some people are able to make these changes instantly. Others take months and eventually settle on something that wasn't even on their radar. The foods that work for you won't be the same as anyone else, too. You might love spicy food, but it gives your spouse indigestion. We're all individuals, so embrace the individuality.
It can get frustrating if you're spending weeks trying to find a healthy snack and keep coming up empty. Or trying to make a healthy dinner that caters to everyone's tastes. That's why I'm here. Health coaching is helping you stay accountable. It's about guiding you through the roadblocks that you can't through alone. It's opening your eyes to new possibilities. And most importantly, helping you build the self-awareness to know what you need to change and how to do it.
Completely personalized
Everyone is different. Everyone has different likes, different goals, different accessibility to food and services, different family situations. Everyone is unique. This method and how it's executed is completely personalized to fit your unique situation and goals. There's a fix for everyone.
I won't make any bull-shit promises. No arbitrary numbers to hit. The goal is to get you moving in the right direction and keep constant forward progress. As long as you're feeling better than you did yesterday, it's a win. The promise I make is that after 180 days, you'll have new habits that will stick and continue pushing you forward long after the program completes. And if you need more help and motivation after the 180 days? I'm here for you and the Facebook community is here for you.
Okay.... I'm hurt pretty bad. How is this going to heal me?
I know I said this before, but it's worth repeating: If you're injured or have a chronic disease, nothing here should completely replace your doctor's advice. However, eating to support your goals will expedite the process of healing. Eating healthy in general and maintaining proper hydration will also prevent future non-contact injuries and reduce symptoms of other ailments. The truth is that most (not all) illnesses are driven by inflammation. Everything you put in your mouth either reduces or aggravates inflammation. Learning to control internal inflammation is the key to your health and the driver of your recovery and with a little bit of effort and discipline we can get that inflammation under control in no time.
How Much Does It Cost?
That covers:
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12 bi-weekly health consultations
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Constant 1:1 support*
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Access to the Rob's Health Coaching Facebook Support Group
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Personalized recipes that support your needs/goals
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Access to premium blog content
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Help developing workout plans that work through and around whatever injuries you may have
*1:1 support is available for 180 days from time of registration. Available through Facebook Messenger, Whatsapp, or Kakaotalk. I can be contacted at any time, however, please be aware that I do need to sleep and may be in another consultation and am unable respond immediately.