Here's why you should have coffee, dark chocolate and fat every day in 2017
Surprise -- you don't have to deprive yourself to get healthier this year
Surprise -- you don't have to deprive yourself to get healthier this year
Those resolving to get healthier in 2017 don鈥檛 need to starve themselves or spend hours at the gym. In fact, the reason why most New Year's resolutions fail is because goal-setters aim for impossible objectives that are forgotten at the first misstep.
鈥淭he biggest thing you can do is to not make a New Year鈥檚 resolution that requires perfection,鈥� Dave Asprey, founder and CEO of nutrition told us last week. Asprey is a technology entrepreneur, investor and New York Times best-selling author of 鈥淭he Bulletproof Diet.鈥� He has more than 700,000 followers on Facebook combined.
鈥淭he vast majority of people make resolutions and they鈥檙e done in two weeks. They say, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to eat any junk food,鈥� or 鈥業鈥檓 not going to eat any sugar.鈥� Then they have sugar one night and say, 鈥業鈥檝e already failed, therefore, I鈥檓 going to just load up on fast food,;鈥� Asprey explained. 鈥淭hen it鈥檚 a lost cause. Instead, set a resolution that鈥檚 behavior-based, but not perfection-based. Change the way you do things. Say, 鈥業鈥檓 going to do at least one thing every day that supports my goal.鈥欌�
, behavioral scientist Dr. Sherri D. Pruitt echoed the idea that lasting change comes from a series of small steps and efforts.
鈥淏e thoughtful about what you can accomplish, be specific, and make your goal a behavior that you can measure,鈥� Pruitt told Hearst Television Dec. 20.
is a bit more unconventional 鈥� even leaning toward what some may call radical. The 43-year-old practices bio-hacking 鈥� biologically tweaking one鈥檚 body to meet extraordinary goals. Nutrition plays a major role in bio-hacking, and Asprey often uses unorthodox foods, supplements and methods as part of his Bulletproof lifestyle. He credits bio-hacking for his 100-pound weight loss, increase in IQ and improved sleep habits.
鈥淲hen you eat properly and sustainably for energy, weight loss and cognitive function, you鈥檙e eating food that鈥檚 delicious and incredibly satisfying. If you鈥檙e choosing foods that make you hungry a few hours after you eat them, you鈥檙e doing it wrong,鈥� he explained.
To improve one's health, the Wharton MBA grad doesn't recommend a low-calorie eating regimen that's nearly fat-free. Quite the opposite -- he insists that the often-demonized macronutrient is crucial for brain function and fat loss.
Enter Asprey's 2009 creation - 鈥� a high-fat concoction made from grass-fed butter, a specialized medium-chain triglyceride oil, and black 鈥渦pgraded鈥� low-toxin coffee beans. He recommends drinking one to five cups a day, depending on one鈥檚 tolerance to caffeine. The formula has even attracted A-list Shailene Woodley.
Dark chocolate and green tea are also on Asprey's list of health-boosting superfoods. The sweet treat and ancient Chinese beverage are full of polyphenols - phytonutrients found in items like wine, extra virgin olive oil, fruits and chocolate.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no need to eat raw kale, that will probably make you hungry. You don鈥檛 get to be a better person by denying yourself. The way you win is by reframing delicious foods that are healthy for you,鈥� Asprey said. 鈥淵ou can hack your willpower by hacking your cells. You do that in large part by eating more polyphenols.鈥�
Adding polyphenol-rich foods and healthy fats to your diet will improve the way you look and feel, Asprey assured us.
鈥淏y increasing the amount of antioxidants that you get from foods instead of other sources, you鈥檙e actually supporting energy production, which supports willpower, which supports goals, which supports your resolutions.鈥�
Eventually, healthy behaviors should become automatic.
鈥淚deally, you鈥檒l get to the one point where you do one thing that makes you better every day. It may not just be about your weight loss goal. For example, maybe one day you鈥檒l meditate instead of working out," Asprey said.
Continuously moving toward improvement 鈥� not perfection 鈥� is the best way to create lasting change, even if you make a few mistakes along the way.
鈥淭he thing that most people don鈥檛 expect, when they鈥檙e dialed in right, when you do the things right that make you look good and that also support energy, all of a sudden you realize you鈥檙e thinking at a new level, and that your creativity and willpower went up.鈥�
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