April 9, 2023 • 15 mins
Making change is hard, but it's worse if your intentions are misplaced. Often do we seek answers to questions to only wind up as failures that can leave us wondering why we even bothered in the first place. Don't fall for the common pitfalls and learn how to identify and make S.M.A.R.T. goals and changes to become better and improving your health and wellness.
Show Notes:
1:24 - hair, nail, and skin revenue - https://www.statista.com/statistics/296193/revenue-hair-and-nail-salons-in-the-us/#:~:text=Market%20size%20of%20beauty%20salons%20in%20the%20U.S.%202017-2022&text=In%202020%2C%20the%20market%20size,of%2053.6%20billion%20U.S.%20dollars.
2:05 - Overweight Americans - https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/health-statistics/overweight-obesity
4:20 - The Influence of Industry Sponsorship on the Research Agenda: A Scoping Review - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6187765/
6:32 - Average healthy weight loss - https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html#:~:text=When%20you're%20trying%20to,to%20keep%20the%20weight%20off.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
welcome to Primedy where we find simple techniques to help address modern problems for our primitive
bodies my name is Andrew Pafford and I'm a health and wellness professional with over
a decade of experience helping the Olympic level athletes desk jockeys and seniors achieving their
goals and improving their quality of life as a health and wellness professional I am constantly
bombarded with Litany of questions how much protein do I need to eat to get bigger what's
(00:25):
the fastest way to lose weight will lifting weights make me bulky how do I trim tummy fat
many times these questions may seem to be rooted in creating a positive change for
ourselves however they are often misguided by our vanity or misinformation which in turn can
lead to the exact opposite outcomes we set out to make in the first place today I want to discuss
(00:47):
some of the big factors that lead us astray and when we do find a new approach to dealing with
our health and wellness we'll discuss questions we can ask ourselves to see if these new approaches
will make a positive change or Doom to failure out of the gate let's discuss some of the pitfalls we
need to be wary of my favorite is our ego a large number of us want the usual we want to look good
(01:13):
that can involve into a manner of different Realms from hair to skin to body fat to
muscle but all in all it's a safe bet that we all want to look good and to stay that way
that's why the hair nail and skin salons grossed 53.6 billion dollars in the year 2022. we value
our physical appearance and are not opposed to spending money to look better and stay that way
(01:38):
and it's the very notion that we can simply spend money to Simply get what we want that
gets us into trouble many of our problems if you want to label the such are often rooted in
our own behaviors that we choose to undertake and instead of changing our poor behaviors we simply
look to buy a solution take for example weight loss weight loss ought to be on the Forefront of
(02:04):
many American mind as one in three Americans are overweight and two out of five are obese
true healthy weight loss is a complex weave of levers rooted in nutrition exercise and
sleep and Stress Management and yet we insist on engaging in temporary programs with Promises of
losing x amount of weight or why percentage of body fat we spend money on supplements
(02:29):
that promise to melt the fat away in spite of almost every bottle containing the phrase along
with diet and exercise which of course is the world's biggest scapegoat did the supplement not
work no well that's because you didn't diet and exercise correctly did you actually lose weight
well that was all because of the supplement and had nothing to do with the fact that you engaged
in healthy lifestyle factors the beauty of our body is that it is very much a reflection of
(02:53):
how we treat it when you mistreat your body I.E poor sleep poor nutrition poor exercise
then it's not uncommon to get bags under your eyes become overweight or become deconditioned
by engaging in healthy lifestyle habits the body will naturally change itself you are treating
yourself correctly then the body will reflect as such you are taking shortcuts that don't have the
(03:17):
body's Health in mind like taking supplements to offset sleep deprivation diet programs
deprive in the body of needed nutrients engage in activity for one purpose instead of overall health
you will very much likely dig a deeper hole instead of digging your way out
pandering to our ego and being selfish we aren't being considerate of the body's
(03:40):
needs and thus we'll very much likely move further from our goals rather than toward
the second unfortunate factor is misinformation and invariably much of it comes from the companies
trying to sell you snake oil while smaller operations selling supplements and the like
might be easier to identify through their cheesy advertising larger corporations can work their
(04:03):
influence to weave some smoke and mirrors that are not as painfully obvious big Pharma big Ag
and big soda companies Lobby to have policies put in place protecting their products and sometimes
being advocated for by our institutions like Schools and Government further they even work
to have sway over science and data so if the data doesn't back their products or business
(04:26):
then at least it can be used to obfuscate the issue and allow continued Opera operation
now without going off on a conspiratorial tangent the point is supposed to be that there are a lot
of forces out there looking to draw money from you without actually providing any true benefit
our aim is to provide knowledge transfer so that you can leverage tools at hand
(04:48):
and strategies that will improve your health and well-being while being beholden to no one
so in that Spirit let's discuss what questions we should be asking when evaluating a new health
and wellness strategy we need to establish that making any change is effectively goal setting
we have desired outcomes lose weight gain muscle improve skin yada yada we need to
(05:12):
utilize effective goal setting saying I want to lose weight is a very broad goal how much how fast
you settle on 20 pounds in two weeks is that even realistic it's not please Zoning for that
so the first smart thing to do when looking to make change is to make smart goals s-m-a-r-t
(05:33):
specific measurable achievable realistic and time-based this is not a foreign concept
for project developers and it's absolutely applicable to the health and wellness route
continuing with our weight loss example let's be specific I want to lose 20 pounds of fat
measurable I can measure 20 pounds of fat loss so I need something that can measure
(05:59):
body fat like bioelectrical impedance scale or someone who's been trying to do fat caliper
measurements achievable can someone lose 20 pounds of body fat absolutely is it realistic
is it realistic to lose 20 pounds of body fat if you are 50 pounds overweight then yes
if you are sitting at about 15 body fat and have a smaller frame that might be a bit of a harder cell
(06:25):
finally time based I need to know what's a realistic time frame to lose 20 pounds of body fat
CDC states that one to two pounds of body fat a week is a healthy
rate which means I can expect my weight loss goal to take between 10 to 20 weeks
the larger one is the faster they'll lose weight but as they approach a healthy range fat loss
(06:47):
begins to slow so that time window is a little large to accommodate the particular individual
so if I were to stumble across a diet program that promises to help me lose 10 pounds of fat
in two weeks that's a big red flag in my mind that violates the realistic portion of a smart goal
setting a smart goal can help you cut through a lot of the noise that exists out there
(07:09):
the next questions get a little more profound but are still crucial when it comes to improving your
health and wellness they also tie back to the smart goal setting the changing the framing can
help a bit more with understanding if a goal is healthy and appropriate first question I'd like
to ask is can I sustain this change which is another way of asking is this realistic
(07:32):
our bodies take time to change as in months and years going on a six-week program is almost a
blink of an eye if I have to go on a smoothie only diet to lose weight for four weeks chances are
I'm going to feel like garbage cutting out a good majority of nutrition for some proprietary Shake
may very well lose some weight but your body will hate you and when that program is over
(07:55):
you will regain that weight and with interest so the easy question is is this diet sustainable for
six months one year a couple years if the answer is no then it is not likely safe or appropriate
additionally some programs are absolutely effective and can be done healthily but
(08:17):
can you adhere to the protocols if you work long hours don't like to cook and
eat out constantly doing something like the keto diet might not be appropriate for you
in spite of the growing body of research and the many benefits of Keto it demands strict
adherence in order to be successful you know you strayed from previous programs in the past
(08:39):
can I sustain being on the keto diet might be a nope as it might beg reiterating this is why some
people have success with certain programs While others don't it might not be the effectiveness
of the program but the appropriateness of the person's lifestyle that is the determining Factor
and I sustain this change is a powerful question that requires you to visualize yourself making
(09:04):
room in your life many smaller unobtrusive changes over time can often have more profound effects
and higher adherence than trying to completely reinvent yourself overnight the next question
I'd like to ask is can I do this for myself if you are beholden to someone chances are
(09:24):
you are paying someone this means you are at their mercy and have the possibility of being Hoodwinked
running the risk of overpaying missing deliveries unfulfilled promises I.E supplement you thought
you were paying for was actually a sugar tablet Etc there's a huge swath of exercises techniques
and knowledge that we can all Empower ourselves with and the Internet only helps facilitate this
(09:48):
physio is showing you how to diagnose your knee pain nutritionist talking about the merits of some
foods and the dangers of processed foods mindful Wellness tips for improving stress and sleep
this podcast is a testament to that and a means to aggregate all that information some may be
lucky and achieve their goals Others May find through their Learning Journey that the problem
(10:09):
they thought they had was actually something else because they took the time and effort
to learn knowledge and seek out their answers don't take ownership of your condition and or
goals you will always be at the mercy of someone else as such I like to start my changes myself
starting a new diet I will make my food starting a new mindfulness routine I will strive to learn
(10:34):
the basics and apply them myself in the beginning once I have an appreciation for the novice level
of the change I'm trying to induce then I can choose to make the conscious decision to pay to
learn from the experts taking a yoga course hiring a physio personal trainer paying for a dietitian
Etc that should come with the conscious choice of wanting to pay to learn more not needing to pay
(11:02):
for example if I never learn and try to cook on my own I will be beholden to a meal delivery service
I can make the conscious decision to still hire a delivery service for the sake of exchanging money
for time but if that service does not deliver a meal I forget to pick it up they raise the rates
or there's a customer service dispute I still have the power to make food for myself so that my
(11:26):
health does not suffer if I haven't learned to do it for myself I am at the mercy of that delivery
service if I'm taking an exercise class that uses proprietary equipment as my only means of physical
activity I am at the mercy of that class change to a less desirable instructor If they raise rates
if they close due to inclement weather I know I can still stay at home and employ some push-up
(11:49):
squats lunges Etc and my fitness will not be held hostage to an outside party it's for this reason I
encourage people to ask and I do this for myself having a fallback option can prevent regressing
but it can also give you means to negotiate from a position of strength if necessary
final question is is this effective this one may seem hard to prove sometimes but that's what
(12:18):
should help drive your curiosity into learning and thus better understanding of your changes asking
the internet is doing ab exercises an effective way to lose body fat we'll very quickly yield the
answer as a hard no yet you would be surprised how many times I'm asked what are some good core
exercises when the person asking is not asking in regards to back pain posture or lifting mechanics
(12:43):
instead of a days long pursuit to parse through the Litany of abdominal exercises had the question
is this effective been asked in the beginning precious time spent searching for and perform
performing ab exercises could have been spared and instead invested in more meaningful interventions
is this effective is also an essential question in scientific literature
(13:06):
When A change is observed researchers will look for the clinical significance meaning will this
change affect outcomes by taking this mentality and applying it to our lives and approaches we
can identify habits that might be worth adopting and some worth dropping all good things seem to
come in three so we'll recap the pitfalls to be aware of and the three questions one
(13:30):
can ask while identifying new behaviors or even analyzing current ones first pitfall check your
ego don't do things for the sake of vanity treat your body well then you will look well
second pitfall the man is out to get you be wary of conventional wisdom and false advertising
(13:50):
educating yourself is the best way to identify BS and stay out of trouble
now the first question to improve Wellness and I sustain this this can check the health validity of
an intervention I.E if I do this for longer than x weeks well I probably die but it will also help
you identify if it is suitable to your lifestyle and adherence probability second question can I do
(14:17):
this for myself we are designed to take care of ourselves it should not be necessary to rely on
someone or a company for survival you can choose to engage with others but you should start by
trying to metaphorically stand on your own two feet third is this effective this should be a
(14:38):
great question to help you weigh the pros and cons of an intervention and if it's even worth pursuing
sometimes the answer may not be clear and if that's the case it may not be a good option
the world around us is always changing and as such so should we sometimes habits that have worked
for years might one day fall out of favor using these questions to evaluate new interventions and
(15:01):
especially re-evaluate old habits can be extremely helpful pursuing Health and Wellness thank you
so much for your interest in Primedy we're always curious to see what you're curious about so please
send us your questions comments and feedback to info primedy.org and as always strength comes in
many forms from within and without so be strong to be useful take care everyone and stay strong
welcome to Primedy where we find simple techniques to help address modern problems for our primitive
bodies my name is Andrew Pafford and I'm a health and wellness professional with over
a decade of experience helping the Olympic level athletes desk jockeys and seniors achieving their
goals and improving their quality of life as a health and wellness professional I am constantly
bombarded with Litany of questions how much protein do I need to eat to get bigger what's
(00:25):
the fastest way to lose weight will lifting weights make me bulky how do I trim tummy fat
many times these questions may seem to be rooted in creating a positive change for
ourselves however they are often misguided by our vanity or misinformation which in turn can
lead to the exact opposite outcomes we set out to make in the first place today I want to discuss
(00:47):
some of the big factors that lead us astray and when we do find a new approach to dealing with
our health and wellness we'll discuss questions we can ask ourselves to see if these new approaches
will make a positive change or Doom to failure out of the gate let's discuss some of the pitfalls we
need to be wary of my favorite is our ego a large number of us want the usual we want to look good
(01:13):
that can involve into a manner of different Realms from hair to skin to body fat to
muscle but all in all it's a safe bet that we all want to look good and to stay that way
that's why the hair nail and skin salons grossed 53.6 billion dollars in the year 2022. we value
our physical appearance and are not opposed to spending money to look better and stay that way
(01:38):
and it's the very notion that we can simply spend money to Simply get what we want that
gets us into trouble many of our problems if you want to label the such are often rooted in
our own behaviors that we choose to undertake and instead of changing our poor behaviors we simply
look to buy a solution take for example weight loss weight loss ought to be on the Forefront of
(02:04):
many American mind as one in three Americans are overweight and two out of five are obese
true healthy weight loss is a complex weave of levers rooted in nutrition exercise and
sleep and Stress Management and yet we insist on engaging in temporary programs with Promises of
losing x amount of weight or why percentage of body fat we spend money on supplements
(02:29):
that promise to melt the fat away in spite of almost every bottle containing the phrase along
with diet and exercise which of course is the world's biggest scapegoat did the supplement not
work no well that's because you didn't diet and exercise correctly did you actually lose weight
well that was all because of the supplement and had nothing to do with the fact that you engaged
in healthy lifestyle factors the beauty of our body is that it is very much a reflection of
(02:53):
how we treat it when you mistreat your body I.E poor sleep poor nutrition poor exercise
then it's not uncommon to get bags under your eyes become overweight or become deconditioned
by engaging in healthy lifestyle habits the body will naturally change itself you are treating
yourself correctly then the body will reflect as such you are taking shortcuts that don't have the
(03:17):
body's Health in mind like taking supplements to offset sleep deprivation diet programs
deprive in the body of needed nutrients engage in activity for one purpose instead of overall health
you will very much likely dig a deeper hole instead of digging your way out
pandering to our ego and being selfish we aren't being considerate of the body's
(03:40):
needs and thus we'll very much likely move further from our goals rather than toward
the second unfortunate factor is misinformation and invariably much of it comes from the companies
trying to sell you snake oil while smaller operations selling supplements and the like
might be easier to identify through their cheesy advertising larger corporations can work their
(04:03):
influence to weave some smoke and mirrors that are not as painfully obvious big Pharma big Ag
and big soda companies Lobby to have policies put in place protecting their products and sometimes
being advocated for by our institutions like Schools and Government further they even work
to have sway over science and data so if the data doesn't back their products or business
(04:26):
then at least it can be used to obfuscate the issue and allow continued Opera operation
now without going off on a conspiratorial tangent the point is supposed to be that there are a lot
of forces out there looking to draw money from you without actually providing any true benefit
our aim is to provide knowledge transfer so that you can leverage tools at hand
(04:48):
and strategies that will improve your health and well-being while being beholden to no one
so in that Spirit let's discuss what questions we should be asking when evaluating a new health
and wellness strategy we need to establish that making any change is effectively goal setting
we have desired outcomes lose weight gain muscle improve skin yada yada we need to
(05:12):
utilize effective goal setting saying I want to lose weight is a very broad goal how much how fast
you settle on 20 pounds in two weeks is that even realistic it's not please Zoning for that
so the first smart thing to do when looking to make change is to make smart goals s-m-a-r-t
(05:33):
specific measurable achievable realistic and time-based this is not a foreign concept
for project developers and it's absolutely applicable to the health and wellness route
continuing with our weight loss example let's be specific I want to lose 20 pounds of fat
measurable I can measure 20 pounds of fat loss so I need something that can measure
(05:59):
body fat like bioelectrical impedance scale or someone who's been trying to do fat caliper
measurements achievable can someone lose 20 pounds of body fat absolutely is it realistic
is it realistic to lose 20 pounds of body fat if you are 50 pounds overweight then yes
if you are sitting at about 15 body fat and have a smaller frame that might be a bit of a harder cell
(06:25):
finally time based I need to know what's a realistic time frame to lose 20 pounds of body fat
CDC states that one to two pounds of body fat a week is a healthy
rate which means I can expect my weight loss goal to take between 10 to 20 weeks
the larger one is the faster they'll lose weight but as they approach a healthy range fat loss
(06:47):
begins to slow so that time window is a little large to accommodate the particular individual
so if I were to stumble across a diet program that promises to help me lose 10 pounds of fat
in two weeks that's a big red flag in my mind that violates the realistic portion of a smart goal
setting a smart goal can help you cut through a lot of the noise that exists out there
(07:09):
the next questions get a little more profound but are still crucial when it comes to improving your
health and wellness they also tie back to the smart goal setting the changing the framing can
help a bit more with understanding if a goal is healthy and appropriate first question I'd like
to ask is can I sustain this change which is another way of asking is this realistic
(07:32):
our bodies take time to change as in months and years going on a six-week program is almost a
blink of an eye if I have to go on a smoothie only diet to lose weight for four weeks chances are
I'm going to feel like garbage cutting out a good majority of nutrition for some proprietary Shake
may very well lose some weight but your body will hate you and when that program is over
(07:55):
you will regain that weight and with interest so the easy question is is this diet sustainable for
six months one year a couple years if the answer is no then it is not likely safe or appropriate
additionally some programs are absolutely effective and can be done healthily but
(08:17):
can you adhere to the protocols if you work long hours don't like to cook and
eat out constantly doing something like the keto diet might not be appropriate for you
in spite of the growing body of research and the many benefits of Keto it demands strict
adherence in order to be successful you know you strayed from previous programs in the past
(08:39):
can I sustain being on the keto diet might be a nope as it might beg reiterating this is why some
people have success with certain programs While others don't it might not be the effectiveness
of the program but the appropriateness of the person's lifestyle that is the determining Factor
and I sustain this change is a powerful question that requires you to visualize yourself making
(09:04):
room in your life many smaller unobtrusive changes over time can often have more profound effects
and higher adherence than trying to completely reinvent yourself overnight the next question
I'd like to ask is can I do this for myself if you are beholden to someone chances are
(09:24):
you are paying someone this means you are at their mercy and have the possibility of being Hoodwinked
running the risk of overpaying missing deliveries unfulfilled promises I.E supplement you thought
you were paying for was actually a sugar tablet Etc there's a huge swath of exercises techniques
and knowledge that we can all Empower ourselves with and the Internet only helps facilitate this
(09:48):
physio is showing you how to diagnose your knee pain nutritionist talking about the merits of some
foods and the dangers of processed foods mindful Wellness tips for improving stress and sleep
this podcast is a testament to that and a means to aggregate all that information some may be
lucky and achieve their goals Others May find through their Learning Journey that the problem
(10:09):
they thought they had was actually something else because they took the time and effort
to learn knowledge and seek out their answers don't take ownership of your condition and or
goals you will always be at the mercy of someone else as such I like to start my changes myself
starting a new diet I will make my food starting a new mindfulness routine I will strive to learn
(10:34):
the basics and apply them myself in the beginning once I have an appreciation for the novice level
of the change I'm trying to induce then I can choose to make the conscious decision to pay to
learn from the experts taking a yoga course hiring a physio personal trainer paying for a dietitian
Etc that should come with the conscious choice of wanting to pay to learn more not needing to pay
(11:02):
for example if I never learn and try to cook on my own I will be beholden to a meal delivery service
I can make the conscious decision to still hire a delivery service for the sake of exchanging money
for time but if that service does not deliver a meal I forget to pick it up they raise the rates
or there's a customer service dispute I still have the power to make food for myself so that my
(11:26):
health does not suffer if I haven't learned to do it for myself I am at the mercy of that delivery
service if I'm taking an exercise class that uses proprietary equipment as my only means of physical
activity I am at the mercy of that class change to a less desirable instructor If they raise rates
if they close due to inclement weather I know I can still stay at home and employ some push-up
(11:49):
squats lunges Etc and my fitness will not be held hostage to an outside party it's for this reason I
encourage people to ask and I do this for myself having a fallback option can prevent regressing
but it can also give you means to negotiate from a position of strength if necessary
final question is is this effective this one may seem hard to prove sometimes but that's what
(12:18):
should help drive your curiosity into learning and thus better understanding of your changes asking
the internet is doing ab exercises an effective way to lose body fat we'll very quickly yield the
answer as a hard no yet you would be surprised how many times I'm asked what are some good core
exercises when the person asking is not asking in regards to back pain posture or lifting mechanics
(12:43):
instead of a days long pursuit to parse through the Litany of abdominal exercises had the question
is this effective been asked in the beginning precious time spent searching for and perform
performing ab exercises could have been spared and instead invested in more meaningful interventions
is this effective is also an essential question in scientific literature
(13:06):
When A change is observed researchers will look for the clinical significance meaning will this
change affect outcomes by taking this mentality and applying it to our lives and approaches we
can identify habits that might be worth adopting and some worth dropping all good things seem to
come in three so we'll recap the pitfalls to be aware of and the three questions one
(13:30):
can ask while identifying new behaviors or even analyzing current ones first pitfall check your
ego don't do things for the sake of vanity treat your body well then you will look well
second pitfall the man is out to get you be wary of conventional wisdom and false advertising
(13:50):
educating yourself is the best way to identify BS and stay out of trouble
now the first question to improve Wellness and I sustain this this can check the health validity of
an intervention I.E if I do this for longer than x weeks well I probably die but it will also help
you identify if it is suitable to your lifestyle and adherence probability second question can I do
(14:17):
this for myself we are designed to take care of ourselves it should not be necessary to rely on
someone or a company for survival you can choose to engage with others but you should start by
trying to metaphorically stand on your own two feet third is this effective this should be a
(14:38):
great question to help you weigh the pros and cons of an intervention and if it's even worth pursuing
sometimes the answer may not be clear and if that's the case it may not be a good option
the world around us is always changing and as such so should we sometimes habits that have worked
for years might one day fall out of favor using these questions to evaluate new interventions and
(15:01):
especially re-evaluate old habits can be extremely helpful pursuing Health and Wellness thank you
so much for your interest in Primedy we're always curious to see what you're curious about so please
send us your questions comments and feedback to info primedy.org and as always strength comes in
many forms from within and without so be strong to be useful take care everyone and stay strong
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