Live Like a High Schooler. Eat Like an Adult.

This week, consider channeling your inner high schooler as a strategy to clean up your lifestyle habits.

Think back to how you lived in high school:

You went to school Monday to Friday You did homework after school (some more than others) You definitely played sports. Likely multiple. Probably almost every day. Had to get the extracurriculars. You lived mostly stress free

Now re-work that routine, catered to your adult life:

School Monday - Friday = Work Homework after school = family time after work Sports = Workouts

You played sports at all different times of the day - mornings, nights, weekends. Approach your workouts the same way - it doesn't matter when you do them, just get them in.

Try to live stress free.

The stress element is not really an apples to apples comparison, I get that.

There was very little to be truly stressed about as a teenager, even though many of us pretended there were. There are much more real responsibilities now. But you can still try to adopt some of that care free attitude. We also have much more perspective and maturity now than we did then. It's a miracle we're all even alive. And everyone reading this won the genetic and socioeconomic lottery. We should understand that now in our older age, which can help alleviate the stress. I'm not great at this at all, but acknowledging these facts can only help the cause.

Important Note: Don't eat like a High Schooler. Eat like an adult.

This is one element that doesn't work in this comparison.

Your metabolism is definitely faster when younger, right up to around the age of 20. This means your body was burning calories at a faster and more efficient rate.

Metabolism then generally stabilizes in adulthood, generally from the ages of 20-60. That's right by the way, once you are an adult, your metabolism doesn't get worse again until you hit 60.

So those of you who blame your broken metabolism for being overweight in your 30s, 40s, or 50s are lying to yourself. It's exactly the same as it was since you were 20. Decades of overeating and not moving enough have just gradually accumulated over time. I've been there. It's correctable, but only if you take ownership and commit to a change.

Between the better metabolism and increased activity level, it was much harder to gain weight as a teenager. Not so much as an adult. Even if you have a good workout routine, you're not nearly as active as you were then.

So you need to eat a little less. High protein, high fiber, high volume foods. Eat until you're satiated, not stuffed. The fundamentals that I talk about all the time.

Wrap Up

Your schedule in high school was never questioned. It wasn't optional. Everyone did it.

So it shouldn't be that crazy to keep a similar routine going as adults. You've already proven to yourself that you can do it.

We had our parents around to keep us accountable as kids.

Now we have to do it ourselves (option B: hire a coach).

It's Sunday, which is the perfect time to plan for the upcoming week.

Think about your expected schedule and routine for this week.

And if you know it's not where it should be, think about your routine as a teenager, and see if you can channel that to make some improvements.

Stay well this week, Hal the Health Coach