What does it really mean? I worry that far too often, “Listen to your body” is a cop out for caving in to cravings and temptations.
After all, back when I was a total fatty, I “listened to my body” all the time! It constantly told me I was thirsty for a Coke, or hungry for a bag of Skittles, or that I was starving and needed to hit Taco Bell for some Nachos Bell Grande. My body was STUPID! Listening to it got me fat, lazy, and unhealthy!
So if you are early on with your health and fitness journey, my advice to you is “DON’T listen to your body!!!”. Your body is lying to you! Sure it’s telling you that you are tired and hungry and sore. That’s because it doesn’t want to change. It’s LAZY!! Just like mine was at first.
Ignore your body and do what your brain knows is the right thing to do. And what’s that?
- Strictly adhere to a nutrition plan like I’ve outlined in my “Nutrition Tips/Sample Diets” tab.
- Strictly follow the workout calendar that comes with your program.
- Schedule your day so that you get at least 7 hours of sleep per night for proper rest.
You may feel like you need more rest, more food, and more time between workouts, but SUCK IT UP! Ignore your body and force it to change!!
So far I’ve been telling you to ignore your body, not listen to your body. So when does “Listen to your body” actually come into play? Later! In my experience, I’d say that if …. and only if … you’ve strictly adhered to a nutrition, workout, and rest regimen for at least 2 months, you can start to trust the signals your body is sending. Notice I didn’t say that if you’ve been mediocre for at least 2 months that you can trust your body. I said if you have been 100% dialed in, with no cheating and no skipping, for 2 months, then you’ve earned the right to listen to your body!
Maybe you really do need more calories. Maybe you need a recovery week. Maybe you need to get 8 hours of sleep instead of 7. Those ques may be legitimate. And in those instances, it makes sense to listen to your body and adjust your plan to maximize your body’s response to the nutrition, exercise, and supplements.
Let’s look at ways to know if your body is giving you good signals or if you are simply facing a temptation that you need to ignore =
Do you need to “carb up”? Do you need to bump up the calories? Are you depleted?
- Well, if you would kill for a bowl of plain oatmeal, in water, then yeah, your body may be onto something. If you are dying for some plain tuna and baby spinach, you may need to increase your calories. If, however, you are thinking that you need to “carb up” with a large pepperoni pizza, that’s not the time to “listen to your body” LOL!
Does your body need more sleep?
- Well, if you can’t wait to let your head hit the pillow at 9pm so you can get that extra rest, then yeah, you need the rest. If, however, your alarm goes off in the morning and you feel like hitting snooze and skipping that workout, that’s not the time to “listen to your body”.
You get the idea, right? Our bodies must be taught to perform the way we want them to in order to reach our goals. They will fight us hard at first, and they will want to trick us into sabotaging our results if we aren’t careful. Stay strong! Stay diligent! But within that context, there are legitimate ques that we get from our body to help us fine tune our plan to best customize the nutrition and exercise plan to reach our goals.
Bottom line, if you aren’t sure, then ask. I will shoot you straight. You may not know if you can “listen to your body”, but you can always “listen to your coach” LOL!!
Bring it!
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
