The High Performance Journal​ - July 4th 2023

It's amazing what happens when you apply a bit of accountability to the equation.

Ever since my 2nd daughter was born I had let my body out of shape. Since ​writing to you about this​ a couple of weeks ago I'm down 5 lbs and feeling amazing.

I'm 8.7 lbs away from my goal and I can see the fat melting away.

I'm blessed in the sense that I've been doing this for the past 20 years and I've avoided the pitfalls people usually fall prey to when getting back in shape.

I avoided fad diets, unsustainable workout methods, and faux supplements and honed in on what I call the Lean Body 7.

The Lean Body 7 are what I call the principles of body transformation.

It's what I've learned over the past 20 years of helping people drop body fat, gain muscle, and transform their bodies.

The cool thing is that it's proven, simple, and it's a process you can always rely on to get yourself back into shape.

This could be useful if you're celebrating July 4th or Canada Day like myself ;)

This is the same process our clients hire us​ for and it can be found in the ​Lean Body 90​.

Are you ready? Let's go.

Lean Body Principle #1 - Nutrient Food Flexibility

You want to eat a diet comprised of nutrient-dense foods (aka. NDF's) while having flexibility to enjoy life.

Nutrient-dense foods can be defined as foods that provide vitamins, minerals, and other health-promoting components and have little added sugars & saturated fat. You can usually find these in whole non-processed sources.

These foods will comprise 80-90% of your intake while the rest can be whatever you want.

I also find it necessary to indulge in your favorite foods (ice cream, wine, cookies etc..) because doing so will become more sustainable in the long term.

I have a list of my favorite NDF's that you can find here​.

Lean Body Principle #2 - Strength Training 2-3x a week

When you're dropping fat you want to maintain, if not, build more muscle.

This is what I call the Double Whammy Fat Loss Effect:

This is a screenshot of a clients recent DEXA scan. You'll see Lean tissue went up while fat tissue went down.

Doing this caused an increase in his Resting Metabolic Rate.

I can't stress enough the importance of strength training while losing weight. It's not even an option, it's a necessity if you want to maintain your muscle.

You don't need to spend hours in the gym either. This is why I love the workouts in ​Lean Body 90​. They only take 90 minutes a week and have you in and out of the gym in 30 minutes flat.

Lean Body Principle #3 - Walking

Walking is one of the most underrated habits you could do for a fit body as well as a fit mind.

Walking helps you burn calories but that's not even the main benefit.

The main benefit is that it's low impact and accessible to almost everyone while helping you improve your stress levels and recovery.

When our clients are dealing with high stress in their lives the #1 thing we get them to do is take a walk.

This helps them avoid the stress eating that happens when they get back home and also boosts their brains so they're better able to deal with their emotions.

Aim to get 8-10k steps or two 15-minute walks a day. You won't regret making this a habit in your life.

Lean Body Principle #4 - Water with Electrolytes

The single biggest change you could make for your body is avoiding soda and other high-calorie drinks for drinking water.

Water helps you stay hydrated, which helps you avoid fatigue. It also makes you more full, which causes you to eat less.

A simple system to drinking more water is to drink it first thing in the morning, 15 minutes before & after meals, and to have the bottle within reaching distance so you can easily grab it.

A great hack I've found is to add electrolytes to the water to boost your mineral intake.

When you take a piss you're also pissing out minerals and electrolytes that need to be replenished.

Adding something like ​LMNT packs​ or ​high quality sea salt​ is an easy way to get your electrolyte needs.

Lean Body Principle #5 - High Performance Sleep

Sleep is the #1 performance-enhancing drug on the planet. You obviously know how important it is but what you may not know is that sleep affects your appetite hormones.

Sleep regulates your production of Ghrelin (hunger hormone) and Leptin (appetite hormone).

Lack of sleep can create an imbalance in the body that increases ghrelin levels and lowers leptin levels. This can cause you to feel hungrier during the day.

You want to get 7-8 hours of sleep a night but if you can't get that then you can always improve the quality of the hours you get.

I created a document on the sleep protocol we use with our clients. Grab it ​here​.

Lean Body Principle #6 - Eat high protein

Protein is the most anabolic and thermogenic macronutrient on the planet.

Anabolic means that it helps you build muscle. Thermogenic means it helps you burn a bit more fat.

Studies​ show that a high protein intake boosts metabolism, reduces appetite, and changes several weight-regulating hormones.

We get every one of our clients to get at least .8 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

Along with Lean Body Principle #2, this makes the difference between weight loss and fat loss.

Lean Body Principle #7 - Change your identity

As you are taking action toward creating a fit body you must become the type of person who does these things on a regular basis.

Body transformation is both a physical and mental process. You can't have one without the other.

One part is ​learning how to manage your emotions​. Another part is changing your self-image to match your identity with your habits.

Here's something one of our clients had to say about identity change:

If you want to change the mind you must change the body.

This is what I call The Inner Game of Getting Lean.

You need to change your perception of how you view yourself as well as the points listed above to stand a chance at long-term behavior change.

I'll be getting more into this in future newsletters.

This is how we win the game of getting lean

The best way to win this game is to stop thinking about it from an outcome perspective and to see it as an ongoing journey.

This is not something you do for a few weeks and then take a vacation. You want to eventually see these things as a form of personal hygiene.

Would you ever skip brushing your teeth for a day? I hope not. That's the level we want to get our lean body habits to.

One thing I will add is that one of the most important things most people miss is accountability.

Get accountable to these in some form either with a group of friends or with a coach.

Accountability is the knot that ties the bow of results.

Hope you enjoyed this and see you at the next one.

- Dan

Whenever you’re ready, there are 2 ways I can help you:

1. Are you an entrepreneur who wants to get lean, boost energy, and get in your best shape in a way that fits your busy lifestyle? ​Apply for private one-on-one coaching here.​​​

2. If you’re still looking to get lean, I’d recommend starting with an affordable course:

→ ​The Lean Body 90 System:​ Transform your body with the Lean Body 90 system. This comprehensive course will teach you the system I use to help my clients become lean and energetic in 90 days in only 90 minutes a week. ​Join 1000+ students here.​​

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