Welcome to the first episode Fearless Nutrition Radio! My cohost Max and I are starting a podcast to bring you information on health, fitness, nutrition, triathlon, cycling, running, and a lot more! Please listen to this first episode where we provide your bios and who we are. In coming weeks we are going to answer listener Q&A and have some (pretty famous) featured guests!
Life has many components—the main ones being family, friends, health, career, God, and your passions. To me, the goal of life to be actively giving all of these the attention and time they need. If you do that, then you are living your life to the fullest, at 100% percent of your potential.
I’ll be honest, I’m not. I’d give myself 80%, at best. Whose fault is that? Mine. This post is not meant to be negative be any means, but rather a kick in the butt to me and anyone else who needs a little inspiration to get out and do more—to feel more alive! Here’s where I’m struggling: Balance. Here was last week in numbers:
Swim: 10,050 yards
Bike: 8+ hours
Run: About 33 miles (missed one run)
Fun with friends: 0
Church: 0
Work: Plenty
Sleep: Not nearly enough!
Here’s an example of my lame weekend—go to bed way too late, wake up, train, eat, go back to bed for a nap, train, eat, go to bed way too late. Repeat on Sunday. Let’s see, were friends mentioned in there? Was going out and doing something fun mentioned? (And no, my trip to Whole Foods doesn’t count).
Granted, I’ve had a hard time making a lot of new friends here in Tampa and that has been frustrating (if you live here, get at me!), but in the same vein, my attempts at making friends haven’t been overly abundant. This is probably because I prioritize working out on my weekends, which is FINE to do, but only if I don’t go back to bed after! As for family, I had a great time when they visited last week, but I definitely bailed out of a lunch my mom had planned so that I could go eat food I was comfortable with and then take a nap before I worked out in the afternoon.
This grinch was seriously a punk ass, no lie
Sob story right? Na, this is my pledge, my vow to get my life to 110%! Why not 100%? Because that’s where I could be, but I want to reach above that, go beyond that—I want to find a way to not only improve my life, but improve the environment I am in. To make other people happier, more successful, and help them reach their goals. The best part about this is the reward it brings me and motivation to stay committed to my goals. This also means volunteering and going to church—I spend a lot of time praying, but that’s not the same as taking the time to give God the time he deserves.
So what’s my plan to make this happen?
Action plan for 1/23 – 1/30:
Go to bed earlier. Seriously, by 1 every night for this week
No wasting time drawing dinner out
Workout in the morning both days this weekend
Thus, due to going to bed earlier and working out in the morning…
Do at least 1 fun thing this weekend during the afternoon or night
There is a huge Gaspirilla Festival this weekend… which has something to with pirates—apparently it’s a big deal
Dominate my workouts
This includes eating right and including recovery after the workouts.
So Keep me honest! We’ll review next week!
Last thing is that I’m going to be starting a podcast with a friend of mine, Max. This is going to legit—we will be discussing health, nutrition, training, and interviewing some really cool (and famous) people. We’ll also be answering any questions you have, so if you start to develop some, let me know and we’ll answer them each week! Look for the first show to come out later this week where Max and I introduce ourselves a bit and discuss the purpose of the show!
Oh, and check out these awesome meatloaves I made- let me know if you want the recipe.
Peppers, onions, grass-fed beef and more!
And check out this article! Does the guy in the picture look familiar?
What is one thing you will change for a better this week?
2012 is off to a fast start and it’s not messing around! My life has been plenty busy, and while fun, I’m still trying to keep my head above water… and keep my head held high at the same time. Tampa is good, although it actually got a bit cold here for past couple days, I mean, the high was only in like the 60s! I don’t know how you guys survive up north!
Before I talk about anything else, I some cool news and a big announcement.
After a pretty successful 2011 triathlon racing season, I applied and have been offered a spot the Elite Triathlon Team of Wattie Ink and will be Rockin’ The W in 2012! I am really stoked for this, as the team only accepted 50 athletes from across the country and I feel really honored to be able to race as a member of this team. This means I’ll be racing in the K-Swiss Wattie Ink uniform (check them out on the site) as well as be able to work with a bunch of great sponsors!
My second piece of triathlon news is that I will be coached by Felipe Bastos this year, a triathlon world champion, many times over, from Brazil. Not only does Felipe know triathlon more than I can ever imagine, he won’t take any my crap excuses and is going to push me this year. Already I’m beginning to focus on going to bed earlier! This year is going to be focused on my training and building a strong base. As Felipe has outlined, I will still have a very successful 2012, but this year is really meant to set me up for 2013 and later years. Triathlon is based on a multi-year planning and putting in the work early to be successful later. Make sure to check out my race schedule for 2012 here.
Felipe Bastos
So I’m stoked for 2012!
In other news, since my family decided to put off a vacation to somewhere fun until March, when the waters get warm enough to swim in, they decided to come here instead which was pretty cool. They flew into Orlando and spent 2 days there before coming over to Tampa and seeing me. I joined them on their first day and we went to Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, which included going to Harry Potter World! Haha, it was a lot of fun. Having grown up reading the books, it was cool to see.
Hogwarts
I also grabbed a picture with Rogue from the X-Men… ; )
Hey girl...
Then they went to Universal Studios the next day…
My little brother with the Blues Brothers... that kid would fit right in
…While I had to work…
Keepin' it fresh
On Thursday, we all went to see the Bolts play the Hurricanes! The Lightning lost, surprise, but it was a lot of fun
Me and the Lightning Bug!
That’s all I got! I’ll be back again soon- remember to follow me on Twitter @Chuckfeerick and let me know if you have any fitness, nutrition, or triathlon questions that I can answer. In future posts I am going to be talking about the importance of sleep and about why I eat paleo.
…Milk jugs? You find a way to get it done! (read further below..)
Me, my brother (in the awesome Footsie his girlfriend gave him for Christmas), and my little sister
Merry belated Christmas and happy new year everyone. I’m flying back from DC now, back to Tampa, where I spent the past week celebrating the holiday with my family. It was awesome and my family were way to generous. But it also felt great to give them their presents and know that they really appreciated them.
Check out the sweet Ninja Turtles hat I got! (Raphael, of course)
My dad got my brother and I tickets to the Capitals game on Wednesday night and it was great to see them crush the Rangers (even though any other night, I would root for the Rangers). We got there early enough to get some sweet shots of boys warming up!
From our seats
Alex Ovechkin
It was also pretty simple to stick to my paleo diet style. Not that this was hard, but Christmas dinner had amazing smoked turkey, roasted potatoes, and I made some amazing mashed butternut squash! The whole week, I really tried to focus on following my meal plan and sticking to real foods- not protein powders etc. However, I of course had a couple Christmas cookies, and my mom made homemade pizza one night… yes!
Sweet potatoes fried in all natural bacon fat...? Me?? Yes! Surprising, bacon fat is lower in fat and calories than Olive Oil. Wasn't as amazing as I would have hoped... and I didn't actually have any of the bacon- my bro did though
Of course, this was the same night they decided to take ever set of car keys to go off on various errands, leaving me with no transportation to get to the gym. No worries- I’ll just set up the weights in the basement and do a hard metabolic circuit workout, right? No- Apparently we sold all the weights.. great, what now? Well milk jugs weight about 8.35 pounds… So I taped those securely shut and made a baller workout! So this is a workout you can do if you’re ever in a pinch!
I started with a 7 mile run around the neighborhood and then did 11 rounds of the following circuit:
5 x Squat, clean, and press
10 x Squats
10 x Rear back flys
10 x bicep curls
10 x shoulder press
10 x Chest press to fly
15 x push ups
2 burpees
15 jumping jacks
Here are some of the exercises:
Squat to clean...
...and press
Bicep curls
Overhead press
Back flys
Awesome workout! Took a while to crank it out too! Here are what the exercises look like- sorry for some of the blurry pictures and outfit… it was cold outside and the milk was cold!
Finally, I did a lot of the goals I wanted this week. I ran outside and untimed a lot! No idea any of the paces, but I didn’t care. I also swam a number of times- granted, I never left myself enough time to do a full length workout after running and biking, but I did get 3-4 good sessions in this week. And I tried out some new recipes! I made a bunch of variations of pumpkin/ butternut squash pancakes (made with eggs, bananas, protein powder, and almonds!) Talk about healthy!
Leap: that term can be met with one of two answers:
Skepticism and what are you talking about? Leap? What??
How high?
I find myself being on both sides of this answer depending on who the direction is coming from. And I think this is the simplest factor in success of your goals and overcoming your fears and restraints.
For years I’ve been struggling with eating right, exercising correctly for my goals, and devoting more time and brain power to thoughts about food and workouts than to the people who matter most in my life.
That’s where the skepticism occurs. I can do research all day online about the best ways to eat or exercise, listen to different experts in the industry speak on health and nutrition, or have intense conversations with loved ones about how much more I could be getting out of life. But if you don’t truly BUY IN to this, and are willing to Leap, you won’t meet your goals if you’re the one holding yourself back.
I’ve spent years meeting with different registered dietitians trying to find the right ones. The majority I haven’t been able to make progress with. Either they didn’t understand me and my goals, or they were completely wrong about nutrition and the sessions were spent with me educating them! I’ve had a few who have been amazing—they knew what they were talking about, I believed them, I respected them, and most importantly, I trusted them and looked up to them—almost like a boss or celebrity.
These are the ones where they told me to “Leap” and I respond “how high?” Maybe you don’t have this problem with your goals. I have no problem doing many things where I trust myself, but nutrition and exercise are the points in my life that I need the most guidance on. Currently, I am putting my team together to help get my life in order.
I have an amazing family who I trust and love and who I know will always be there for me
I finally have a doctor who understand the implications of what disordered eating and strenuous exercise can do to your health and is keeping tabs on me
I have a great triathlon coach and friend who is helping me with my plan and racing who I really trust, and I also have a number of close friends in the triathlon community who support me
Finally, I have a new Dietician who is incredible. Not only does she know far more than I do, she GETS me and she has been through the same struggles I have. She is also extremely responsive and I can tell she actually cares! I’m sure you all know what I am talking about—when someone truly cares, their input makes a world of difference. She was straight up with me and said “do exactly what I’ve told you to do—I will not get you fat, I promise!”
So what do I think one the keys to success and change is? Trust. You must buy into the commitment you are making and trust those who are there to help you. This goes for all goals—if you’re trying to lose weight or gain weight, you need to find a nutritionist you can trust. Find a personal trainer who cares about you and wants to see you succeed and buys into that goal WITH you. Finally, connect with your family and friends and get them on your team.
Thus, I’m ready to embrace this change heading into 2012. But I’m not waiting until January 1st to start—instead I am already embracing next year and the ones to come after that. After all, health and happiness aren’t annual entities—they are life long.
My nutrition is improving too and I’m making the adjustments that my nutritionist and I have planned. I’m eating much more fat from natural sources than I ever have in my life. It really is so much more satiating and makes you feel so much better—grass fed meats, avocados, coconut butter and coconut oil, olive oil, nut butters, eggs, and raw organic full-fat dairy like whole milk, whole yogurt and cheese, and real butter.
Cedar plank salmon... Yeah I did light the plank on fire at the very end- shut up
Grilled chicken, raw cheddar, and avocado on corn tortilla
I’m also focused on eating better around my workouts and during my workouts! I made my first batch of paleo energy cookies last weekend and I’ll start posting some of those recipes. The biggest limiter for me is sleep. What do you mean 4 hours isn’t enough? I know, I know… Amy, my nutritionist has also given me guidance on my strength training as well and her number 1 rule is, if less than 6 hours of sleep, not allowed to workout. You won’t have the energy and your body will instead just secrete more Cortisol which can lower testosterone and other factors of increasing fat storage and hampering muscle gain.
My triathlon support team is also making progress. I want to have my most successful year to date in 2012 and know I can improve when pairing a better diet and sleep with better training. I looked at a few of my results this morning and I noticed that I have gotten faster, and raced longer, but not substantially from when I was a new triathlete to now.
So, 2012 goals—besides being healthier, happier, and a better friend and family member!
Do a full muscle-up! Check out the video—basically a full pull-up into a dip (Means I’ve got to get stronger!)
Break 3 hours at the Boston marathon and possibly at another marathon later in the year
Qualify for ITU Long Course Duathlon Worlds
Qualify for ITU Long Course Triathlon Worlds
PR in every distance race
Break 4:50:00 in a half ironman race
What else? I know I’ve got more that aren’t so result oriented and I’ll add them as I think of them
Speaking of change, I’m thinking about changing the name of my blog… the content wouldn’t change, but being that I write about more than just recipes, I’m considering the change.
Vote here and let me know what you think!
What are your goals for 2012? How are you going to achieve them- do you have a plan?
Do you have fitness or nutrition questions you want answered? Send them to fearlessnutrition@gmail.com and we'll answer in the next podcast! 4 hours ago
