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borisbubbles · 3 years

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Character analysis: Vivienne de Fer (Dragon Age Inquisition)

So, if you’ve wondered where I popped off to the past two months or so, I’m going to give you an answer - I finally bought Dragon Age Inquisition (legit on my gaming wishlist since its 2014 release) and I’ve been obsessed with it ever since.

The main draw to this game however, isn’t so much the gameplay (if you want a game that feels similar but has better gameplay - Assassin’s Creed Odyssey is what you’d want instead), but the storytelling and particularly the character development are top notch. All nine companions are fascinating and fleshed out in such a realistic manner I’m still gasping in awe on my fifth playthrough. Thus, a post on it is in order. It’s a bit different from my usual content, but don’t let that discourage you - clearing my head from Dragon Age will allow me to let Eurovision back in and continue my unfinished 2020 ranking. In this post, I will be analyzing one of DAI’s most interesting characters - none other than Madame de Fer herself, Vivienne. Now, I’m under the impression that this is a rather unpopular opinion but I absolutely love Vivienne. And no, I won’t apologize for it. As a Templar-thumping elitist with a icy, sardonic demeanor the sheer ‘Idea Of A Vivienne’ is meant to make your head spin. Dragon Age has always been a franchise in which mages are a socially surpressed group and to be confronted with a socially confident enchantress who likes Templars and seemingly supports the social shunning out of her own ambition is the walking embodiment of flippancy.

and yet, I feel a lot of sympathy for Vivienne.

Yes, she’s a bitch. She knows she’s one and she’s a-ok with it. I won’t argue with that. Sadly, the “Vivienne is a bitch” rhetoric also drastically sells her short. Vivienne is highly complex and her real personality is as tragic as it is twisted.

Madame de Fer

So let’s start with what we are shown on the surface. Vivienne is a high-ranking courtier from an empire notable for its deadly, acid-laced political game. She seemingly joins the Inquisition for personal gain, to acrue reputation and power, and eventually be elected Divine (= female pope) at the end of the game. She presents herself as a despicable blend of Real Housewife, Disney Villain, and Tory Politician, all rolled into one ball of sickening, unctuous smarm. Worse, the Inquisitor has no way to rebuke Vivienne’s absurd policies and ideas. You can’t argue with her, convince her to listen to your differing viewpoints or even kick her out the Inquisition. She has a way with words where she can twist arguments around in such a fashion that she lands on top and makes the other person look like the irrational party.

“Thus speaks the Inquisitor who has made so many mature and level-headed choices so far. Such as releasion malcontents upon the population without safeguards to protect them should they turn into abominations. Very wise. I rearranged some furniture. Lives aren’t thrown into jeopardy by my actions. Perhaps a little perspective is needed.”

She’s Cersei Lannister on creatine, Dolores Umbridge on motherfucking roids. If you look at merely the surface, then yes, Vivienne looks like the worst person ever created. I love a good anti-villainess however, and she’s definitely one.

Yet, she never actually does anything ‘evil’? Yes, she is ‘a tyrant’ as a Divine, but 1) the person saying this is Cassandra, whose dislike for mage freedom is only matched by her dislike of being sidelined 2) Divine Vivienne isn’t bad to mages either? (hold that thought, I’ll get to it). She never actually sabotages the Inquisition, no matter how low her approval with the Inquisitor gets. She never attempts to stop them, no matter how annoyed she is. She’s one of the most brutally honest companions in the cast, in fact. (It always surprises me people call her a ‘hypocrite’ - you keep using that word and it doesn’t mean what you think it means.) The ‘worst’ display of character is when she attempts to break up Sera and the Inquisitor and even then - are we going to pretend Sera isn’t a toxic, controlling girlfriend with a huge chip on her shoulder? I love Sera, but come on.

Vivienne is a character where the storytelling rule of Show, Don’t Tell is of vital importance. The Orlesian empire is an empire built around posturing and reputation. Nobody really shows their true motivations or character, and instead builds a public façade. It’s like how the Hanar (the Jellyfish people) in Mass Effect have a Public name they use in day-to-day life, and a Personal Name for their loved-ones and inner circle. Vivienne’s ‘Public Visage’ is that of Madame de Fer - this is the Vivienne who openly relishes in power, publicly humiliates grasping anklebiters with passive-aggressive retorts, the woman who is feared and loathed by all of Orlais, and this is the Face you see for most of the game.

The real beauty of Vivienne’s character and the reason why I love her as much as I do (which is to say - a LOT) are the few moments when - what’s the phrase DigitalSpy love so much - Her Mask Slips, and you get a glimpse of the real woman underneath the hennin.

This is the Vivienne who stands by you during the Siege of Haven and approves of you when you save the villagers from Corypheus’s horde.

This is the Vivienne who comforts you when you lament the losses you suffered.

This is the Vivienne who admires you for setting an example as a mage for the rest of Thedas.

This is the Vivienne who worries about Cole’s well-being during his personal quest, momentarily forgetting who or what he is.

This is the Vivienne who, when her approval for the Inquisitor reaches rock bottom, desperately reminds him of the suffering mages go through on a day-to-day basis because of the fear and hatred non-mages are bred to feel towards them and how this can spiral into more bloodshed without safeguards.

This is the Vivienne who shows how deep her affection for Bastien de Ghislain truly is, by bringing you along during his dying moments. I love this scene btw. This is the only moment in the entire game where Vivienne is actually herself in the presence of the Inquisitor - needless to say, I consider anyone who deliberately spikes her potion a motherfucking psychopath ^_^)

“There is nothing here now” fuck I *almost* cried at Vivienne, get out of my head BioWare, this is WRONG -- people who delude themselves this is an irredeemable character.

So, who is Vivienne really?

Understanding Vivienne requires recognizing that the mask and the real woman aren’t the same person. I think her relationship with Dorian is the prime example of this. I love the Vivienne/Dorian banter train, obviously - an unstoppable force of sass colliding with an unmovable wall of smarm is nothing short of a spectacle. However, there’s more to it than their highly entertaining snipes. As the incredibly gifted son of a magister, Dorian represents everything Vivienne should despise, and should be a natural enemy to her. And yet, she doesn’t and he isn’t.. Their gilded japes at each other are nothing more than verbal sparring, not dissimilar to how Krem and Iron Bull call each other names when they beat each other with sticks. In what I think is one of the most brilliantly written interactions between characters in DAI, I present Vivienne’s reaction when the Inquisitor enters a romance with Dorian:

Vivienne: I received a letter the other day, Dorian. Dorian: Truly? It's nice to know you have friends. 🙄 Vivienne: It was from an acquaintance in Tevinter expressing his shock at the disturbing rumors about your... relationship with the Inquisitor. Dorian: Rumors you were only too happy to verify, I assume. 🙃 Vivienne: I informed him the only disturbing thing in evidence was his penmanship. 🙂 Dorian: ...Oh. Thank you. 😳 Vivienne: I am not so quick to judge, darling. See that you give me no reason to feel otherwise.

Madame de Fer can never be seen directly expressing approval to a relationship between the Herald of Andraste and an ‘Evil’ Tevinter ’Magister’. By this subtle, subtle conversation, Vivienne indirectly tells Dorian that she considers him a good match for the Inquisitor and approves of the romance. It’s one of those reasons why I could never truly dislike Vivienne - between the layers of elegant poison lies a somewhat decent woman who never loses sight of the bigger picture. Not a good person maybe, but not one without some redeeming qualities.

The crux of Vivienne’s personality is that she, like all DAI companions, is a social outcast. She’s a mage in a fantasy setting where mages are psionically linked to demons, and grew up in a country where the majority religion has openly advocated the shunning and leashing of mages (’Magic exists to serve man’ - the Chantry is so, so vile in this game.). Vivienne’s “gift” was discovered so early in her life that she can barely remember her parents. Vivienne grew up in a squalid boarding school, learning from a young age that she’s dangerous and her talents need to be tamed and curbed. She is also terrified of demons, as her banters with Cole point out:

Cole: You're afraid. You don't have to be. Vivienne: My dear Inquisitor, please restrain your pet demon. I do not want it addressing me. Inquisitor: He's not doing any harm, Vivienne. Vivienne: It's a demon, darling. All it can do is harm. Cole: Everything bright, roar of anger as the demon rears. No, I will not fall. No one will control me ever again. Cole: Flash of white as the world comes back. Shaking, hollow, Harrowed, but smiling at templars to show them I'm me. Cole: I am not like that. I can protect you. If Templars come for you, I will kill them. Vivienne: Delightful. 😑

Vivienne’s Harrowing is implied to have been such a traumatizing event to her that she’s developed a pavlovian fear of demons ever since. (Hence her hostility towards Cole.). Vivienne is fully aware of the inherent dangers of magic, and projects this onto all other mages.

Besides, given how Dragon Age has a history with mages doing all sorts of fucked up shit, ranging from blood magic, murder, demonic possession and actual terrorism (yes, *ElthinaBITCH* had it coming, but let’s not pretend like Anders/Justice was anything other than a terrorist), Vivienne’s policies of controlled monitoring and vigilance are actually significantly more sensible than the options of ‘unconditionally freeing every mage all over Thedas’ and ‘reverting back to the status quo before the rebellion’. They’re flawed policies, obviously. When Vivienne says “mages” she pictures faceless silhouettes foremost and not herself. Regardless, unlike Cassandra and Leliana, Vivienne is aware of the fear others harbour for her kind, and how hard it is to overcome such perceptions.

Additionally, Vivienne’s a foreigner. She is an ethnic Rivaini, a culture associated with smugglers and pirates (Isabela from DAO and DA2 is half-Rivaini). This adds an additional social stigma, again pointed out by Cole:

Cole: Stepping into the parlor, hem of my gown snagged, no, adjust before I go in, must look perfect. Vivienne: My dear, your pet is speaking again. Do silence it. Cole: Voices inside. Marquis Alphonse. Cole: "I do hope Duke Bastien puts out the lights before he touches her. But then, she must disappear in the dark." Cole: Gown tight between my fingers, cold all over. Unacceptable. Wheels turn, strings pull. Cole: He hurt you. You left a letter, let out a lie so he would do something foolish against the Inquisition. A trap. Vivienne: Inquisitor, as your demon lacks manners, perhaps you could get Solas to train it.

This is the only palpable example of the casual racism Vivienne has to endure on a daily basis - Marquis Alphonse is a stupid, bigoted pillowhead who sucks at The Game, but remember - Vivienne only kills him if the Inquisitor decides to be a butthurt thug. She is aware that for every Alphonse, there are dozens of greasy sycophants who think exactly like he does, and will keep it under wraps just to remain in her good graces.

Finally, there’s the social position Vivienne manufactured for herself, which is the weak point towards her character imo. Remember, this woman is a commoner by birth. She doesn’t even have a surname. Through apparently sheer dumb luck (or satanic intervention) she basically fell into the position of Personal Mage to the Duke of Ghislain. Regardless, ‘Personal mages’ were the rage in Orlesian nobility, and the prestigious families owned by them like one may own a pet or personal property. By somehow becoming Bastien de Ghislain’s mistress and using his influence, "Madame de Fer” liberated herself from all the social stigmata which should have pinned her down into a lowly courtier rank and turned the largely ceremonial office of “Court Enchanter” into a position of respect and power. This is huge move towards mage emancipation by the way, in a society where, again, Mages are feared and shunned and are constantly bullied, emasculated and taught to hate their talents. Vivienne is a shining example of what mages can become at the height of their power. Power she has, mind you, never actually abused before her Divine election. Vivienne’s actions will forever be under scrutiny not because of who she is, but because of what she is. The Grand Game can spit her out at any moment, which will likely result in her death.

Inquisitor: “You seem to be enjoying yourself, Vivienne?” Vivienne: “It’s The Game, darling. If I didn’t enjoy it, I’d be dead by now.”

Whether Vivienne was using Bastien for her own gain or whether she truly loved him isn’t a case of or/or. It’s a case of and/and. The perception that she was using Bastien makes Vivienne more fearsome and improves her position in the Grand Game, but deep down, I have no doubts truly loved him. Remember, Vivienne’s position at the Orlesian court was secure. She had nothing to gain by saving Bastien’s life, but she attempted to anyway. That Bastien’s sister is a High Cleric doesn’t matter - Vivienne can be elected Divine regardless of her personal quest’s resolution. She loved him, period.

No, I don’t think Vivienne is a good person. She treats those she deems beneath her poorly, like Sera, Solas, Cole and Blackwall (characters I like less than Vivienne), which I think is the #1 indicator for a Bad Personality. But I don’t think she qualifies as ‘Evil’ either and I refuse to dismiss the beautiful layering of her character. I genuinely believe Vivienne joined the Inquisition not just for her personal gain, but also out of idealism, similar to Dorian (again, Cole is 100% correct in pointing out the similarities between Dorian’s and Vivienne’s motivations for joining, as discomforting it is to her).

In her mind, Vivienne sees herself as the only person who can emancipate the mages without bloodshed - her personal accomplishments at the Orlesian court speak for themselves. Vivienne isn’t opposed to mage freedom - she worries for the consequences of radical change, as she believes Orlesian society unprepared for the consequences. Hence why she’s perfectly fine with a Divine Cassandra. Hence why her fellow mages immediately elect her Grand Enchanter of the new Circle.

Hence why Vivienne is so terrified by the Inquisitor’s actions if her disapproval gets too low. The Inquisitor has the power to completely destroy everything she has built and fought for during her lifetime. Remember: Vivienne’s biggest fear is irrelevance - there’s no greater irrelevance than having your life achievements reverse-engineered by the accidental stumbling of some upstart nobody. This is the real reason why she joins, risks her life and gets her hands dirty - the only person whose competence Vivienne trusts, is Vivienne’s own.

Even as Divine Victoria, I’d say she’s not bad, at all actually. Vivienne has the trappings of an an Enlightened Despot, maintaining full control, while simultaneously granting mages more responsibility and freedom, slowly laying the foundations to make mages more accepted and less persecuted in southern Thedas. Given that Ferelden is a feudal fiefdom and Orlais is an absolute monarchy, this is a fucking improvement are you kidding me. (Wait did he just imply Vivienne is secretly the best Divine - hmm, probably not because Cass/Leliana have better epilogues - but realistically speaking, yes, Viv should be the best Divine and it’s bullshit that the story disagrees.)

Underneath the countless layers of smarm, frost and seeming callousness, lies a fiercely intelligent and brave woman, whose ideals have been twisted into perversion by the cruel, ungrateful world around her. Envy her for her ability to control her destiny, but know that envy is what it is.

The flaw in Vivienne’s character isn’t so much the ‘tyranny’ or the ‘bitchiness’ or the 'smarm’. Her flaw is her false belief that she is what the mages need the most. Her belief that her competence gives her the prerogative to serve the unwashed mage masses... by ruling over them. For all intents and purposes, Vivienne is an Orlesian Magister and this will forever be the brilliant tragedy of her character. She was created by a corrupt institution that should, by all accounts fear and loathe her but instead embraced her. It’s that delirious irony that makes Vivienne de Fer one of the best fictional characters in RPG history. the next post will be Eurovision-related. :-)

#RPG #Dragon Age #Dragon Age Inquisition #Vivienne #Vivienne de Fer #Madame de Fer #DAI #Dragon Age 3 #BioWare

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apocalypseornaw · 3 years

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Always be Yours- 4

Word Count: 5,342

Story Summary: Inspired by the 2 part I did of the same title

Chapter Summary: a tech issue within the bunker becomes a witch issue. Charlie being the genius she is calls you out on your developing feelings for Dean.

Warnings: Cursing, fights, brief character death

You were sound asleep when you heard a noise in the hall. You figured it was Sam considering he had to pass your room to get to the kitchen so you started to roll back over until you heard what was clearly mumbling and decided to head out and investigate. You slipped a pair of jogging pants on under the t-shirt you normally slept in and stepped out into the hall. You blinked a few times then realized it was Kevin pacing the hall and talking to himself. “Kev?” you called softly and he jumped like a gunshot had went off “Y/N..I didn’t mean to wake you up” “It’s ok. What’s wrong?” you were starting to get worried about him in the last few days considering you could barely drag him out of his room for meals and this just further confirmed your suspicions. The poor kid was burnt out. He was staring off like he was hearing something that you couldn’t so you stepped closer and touched his shoulder “Hey sweetie” he blinked and finally looked at you so you smiled “Why don’t I make you some food?” he nodded “Yeah um sure” and followed you blankly into the kitchen.

You went about making the grilled cheese he asked for along with a glass of milk and sat it in front of him. He mumbled a thank you then started picking at the sandwich. You watched him for a few minutes before deciding he needed a break out of the bunker to clear his head. “Kev I’m gonna go see if Dean’s up ok?” he nodded as he stood to grab another glass of milk.

You stepped back into the hall and slowly walked down to Dean’s room. You hesitated for a second before knocking. You heard his grumbled response right before the door opened. You had to remind yourself to blink at the sight of Dean shirtless wearing only black sleep pants complete with the spiky bedhead. “Y/N? Did you wake me up to stare at me sweetheart or is something wrong?” he asked with the barest hint of a smirk despite you hearing it in his voice. You cleared your throat and looked back towards the kitchen trying to ignore the way just the top of your ears warmed up from the embarrassment of not only checking Dean out but getting busted at it. “Kev um Dean the kid’s a little busted” “Busted?” he asked so you explained the shape you’d found Kevin in.

He listened then nodded slowly “Yeah we need to get him a breather. Come daylight I’ll load him up and take him into Branson, get him a room and ward it to hell and back. Might do him some good” “Sounds good. I’m gonna check on him and try to get him to lay down somewhere” “I’ll come with you” he offered and leaned back in his room to grab a t-shirt and his robe. You bit back a laugh when he tied the belt and he eyed you suspiciously so you explained “I feel like we caught our teenager doing drugs and now we’re doing an intervention” “Oh so you already planning to have my children?” he teased and you rolled your eyes “Oh yes that’s my goal in life to bring forward the spawn of Dean Winchester into the world” the smile reached his eyes when he said “Well I don’t know about you but I could do a lot worse” then turned to head to the kitchen leaving you to trail behind him.

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It took about an hour of coaxing for you and Dean to get Kevin settled into his room and asleep. You pulled the blanket over him then glanced back at Dean “I guess those years of you raising Sam comes in handy?” he scoffed “Me? That was all your years of wrangling hunters along with Bobby” you smiled then motioned to the hall so he followed you out. You gently closed the door then turned around and only then realized how close you were standing to Dean. You looked up into those green eyes and had to kick yourself mentally to not get lost in them. “So um I’m going to head to bed or well back to bed” his eyes never left your face as you talked and you started to feel a bit self conscious considering you had gotten woke up and didn’t even check your reflection before waking him. He nodded after a moment “Ok. Yell if you need me” “Um you too” you mumbled then headed for your room trying to resist the urge to look back at him. What the hell was up with the way you were feeling around Dean recently?

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You woke up a few hours later with the plan to just put some space between you and Dean telling yourself it was a close quarters thing causing whatever attraction was going on. Luckily when you walked into the kitchen Sam was alone at the counter pouring a mug of coffee. When he heard you come in he grabbed another mug then held it out to you “Where’s Dean?” you didn’t mean for that to be the first thing out of your mouth but it just slipped. “He took Kevin to Branson? Said it was your idea” oh yeah it was. Did a part of you think he’d wait until you got up? No no no! You could not be doing that! Dammit Dean was your friend that was it. “Yeah the kid needed a break”

“Want to come with me to talk to Crowley?” he offered so you shrugged “Sure why not?” and placed your coffee mug down in the sink next to his then followed him down to the armory.

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Crowley blinked against the light when you and Sam stepped in then greeted Sam “Hello Moose” then leaned a little to look your way “and sweets is here too” Sam laid the piece of paper and crayon down on the table without a word. Crowley grabbed the paper and balled it up “You want more demon names” and threw it at Sam to emphasize a point “I want a room with a view” Sam barely bumped your hand then both of you turned to walk out. “We can discuss this” Crowley called behind you and when neither of you stopped he offered “I’d settle for stretching my legs!” but you were already in the hall and Sam killed the lights then shut the door. “Little fuckin creatin” you muttered and Sam laughed “That he is. I figured he’d be a bust but I think I may have an idea of how to help Cas if you wanna help me?” You caught his eyes and for the briefest moment wondered again if Ezekiel was looking back at you before slowly nodding “Yeah, of course”

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You and Sam had the table in the map room covered in notes and pages from the archives when the door opened so you glanced up to see Dean while Sam asked how it went with Kevin. Dean’s eyes flicked towards you momentarily before they went back to Sam “Oh that little nerd is in a lovely warded hotel room in Branson. He’s got about forty eight hours of pay per porn and Kenny Rogers ahead of him” “How’s he feeling?” Sam asked.

“Well he stared at the angel tablet and repeated the word falafel for the entire ride.Y/N was right the kid’s cracked. Hoping this break will clear his head” Dean looked back towards you after he spoke then added “I figured after everything that’s happened we could use a little break ourselves. So I uh picked you up season one, games of thrones Sammy. Figured we’d get a little takeout” “All right but first I think we figured out a way to help Cas” the moment Sam said those words you could feel Dean’s eyes on you so you finally met his gaze when he asked if either of you had talked to him. “No” you answered with Sam who continued “I still don’t understand why he left in the first place. I mean the bunker is the safest place for him. Bartholomew and who knows how many other angels are out there gunning for him”

The memory of Dean guilt ridden the night Cas left flashed through your head as he said “There’s nobody wants him here more than I do but he felt like he’d bring trouble down on us so he had to split but if you two have a way to help him I’m all ears”

You let Sam explain the theory of hot wiring the map table as a way to track angels and therefore give Cas a heads up about where they were. Dean asked how it worked so you said “No idea. We thought it was a computer but it’s just part of one so we followed the cables and well let’s just show him Sam”

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You lead the way into the computer room and turned the light on. “This is a computer?” Dean asked and you shrugged “It was in nineteen fifty one when it was installed” Sam lead Dean around to the back telling him the strangest thing you’d found which was the computer was not plugged into anything. “We have no idea what’s making it work” Sam said right before Dean ran his hand across a back panel “It’s warm here”

You glanced around and spotted a screwdriver on one of the shelves and held it out to him. He took it with a flicker of a smile. Dean ended up prying the panel off even if it did cause him to stumble back into a shelf when it broke free. You instinctively wanted to move to check on him but he was still upright so you stayed glued to your place. “Got it” he boasted with a wink.

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Considering out of the three of you there was only a working knowledge of computers and that was mainly on Sam Dean decided to call in help. That help was in the form of one of your favorite people Charlie Bradbury.

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You were standing between Sam and Dean in the computer room trying to keep up with what Charlie was saying but you were falling behind and was grateful when Dean said “Skip to the end” “It’s kind of an alarm system? Global badness and it freaks” She shortened then added the computer was actually what had locked the bunker down when they’d left Kevin alone there. “Can we use it to track angels?” Sam asked.

Charlie contemplated for a second then cracked her knuckles “Let me see what I can do”

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You weren’t exactly sure what Charlie was doing but there was something hypnotic about watching her work. After a while she glanced up from her computer “All right it took some doing but now we can download. This beast has all the men of letters files. Time for a little drag and drop”

“Wow” Sam uttered in astonishment and you agreed with a smile “That’s awesome Charlie. Thank you” You saw Dean shoot Sam a look and knew now would come to the lecture to her about he mentioning the fact that she’d recently done a couple hunts. “So you been hunting” Sam offered and Dean added “Alone” in that tone of his that automatically made you have the urge to apologize because he sounded so damn disappointed. Charlie glanced your way for help so you gave her a small shrug she had to give some sort of explanation before you could jump in to defend her. “I know, not a good idea according to the supernatural books”

You looked up at the mention of those said books “When are you going to send me a copy?” Sam and Dean both gave you matching glares before Sam asked why Charlie couldn’t simply delete them from the internet. “Not even I can do that” She replied and you had to laugh at how offended Dean looked when he asked her where she foum and she replied “A top secret place I call Amazon” “Amazon has them?” you asked and Dean shook his head at you “No. You’ve been around a good amount of our hunting lives but there’s some things I prefer you not know”

“Oh now that just makes me want to order them even more!” you argued but Charlie interrupted the two of you when she said that someone uploaded all the unpublished work. “Who uploaded it?” Sam asked and Charlie shrugged “The screen name was Becky Winchester one seventy six. Ring any bells?” Sam’s hand flew out to cover your mouth before you could answer for him and said “No. There are no bells” you licked his hand and laughed when he quickly pulled it away.

Charlie looked between the three of you then looked back at her screen “Ugh these files are encrypted. This is gonna take a while” then she glanced back up “So, takeout, sleepover,braid each other’s hair?” “I’ll go grab take out. You two feel free to braid Sammy’s hair” Dean offered standing up to leave but Charlie quickly suggested “Why doesn’t Sam go with you? Give me and Y/N some time to talk without ya know you two?” Dean shrugged “Ok then Sammy we’re officially kicked out of our own bunker” You shot him a wink as he walked out “Don’t forget the pie honey bunch” and was rewarded with an eye roll.

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“So what’s it like living here with the guys?” Charlie asked as you showed her around the bunker to the areas she hadn’t seen yet or what you could show her anyways which mainly consisted of the library which she fell in love with. “I don’t know? Sometimes I feel like the mother hen, Dean eat..Sam get some sleep” “And other times?” She asked and you shook your head “Other times I’m just grateful that for the first time in a very long time I have a solid place to call home. Sam's my best friend and Dean is..well Dean that man is a force of nature in his own right" her grin lit up at your words and the horror dawned on you of what you'd just let slip to the smartest person you'd ever known. "Does he know? Oh does Sam know?"

"Do I know what?" you heard Sam and the two of you walked into the map room to see both guys coming down the steps. You crossed your arms and met Dean's eyes "Didn't Bobby ever teach the two of you that it's rude to eavesdrop?" Dean made a so/so motion with his hand "He said it was rude unless you wanted to know what was being said" You glared at him but he shook the bag in front of you "C'mon now I got you one of those energy drinks Sam hates you drinking" "I forgive you, this time" you teased taking the can from him. Dean grinned then glanced around "So game of thrones?"

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Dean was sitting on one side of Sam's bed with Charlie on the other. Sam had taken up residence in one of the chairs in the room and when you went to sit in the other chair Charlie patted the middle between her and Dean "C'mon Y/N there's enough room for you" you glanced towards Dean "Um looks like three would be a tight fit" "You can always cuddle me?" Charlie offered with a wide smile so you narrowed your eyes at her then climbed into the bed next to her. You sat with your shoulder against Dean's and she turned to be leaning more on you then the bed as Dean started the first episode.

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"Wow that Joffrey's a dick" Dean announced turning off the screen. Charlie grinned "Oh you have no idea, wait until he" "Woah, spoilers! Sam hasn't finished the books" you reminded her and Dean looked over at Sam "You're gonna read the books?" "Yes Dean I like to read books" he teased before Charlie stood up and asked Sam if he was planning on moving in anytime soon which resulted in a few words being passed between him and Dean.

Dean finally just stood up and said "I'm gonna go get us some more beers how about that" you stood up to go use the bathroom while everyone else was taking a break.

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Once you and Dean made it back to Sam's room Charlie said that the downloads should be done so all of you headed to the computer room to check the progress. When you walked in the room however there seemed to be some weird sort of cocoon behind the shelf. "What the hell?" you muttered while Charlie went to check her computer and the boys moved the shelf.

Once it was completely moved Dean pulled his knife out and cut into the cocoon. You weren't expecting an arm to fall out. Sam pulled his gun and aimed it on the cocoon while you moved forward to help Dean cut more of it away and a brunette woman fell out onto the floor. You knew both Sam and Dean were covering you so you knelt down and put a finger to her pulse point "She's alive" the moment the words left your mouth she took a deep breath and opened her eyes.

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The woman as it turned out was none other than Dorothy. Yeah wizard of old, ruby slippers. That Dorothy.She'd come to the men of letters for assistance in killing the wicked witch when all other options failed she used a binding spell to trap the witch for the last seventy five years.

"Wait so you're telling me we have an unkillable witch wandering around a magical bunker?" You asked and Dorothy nodded "Fuckin awesome"

From what Dorothy told all of you the witch was looking for something in the bunker and she needed to be found before she found whatever that thing was. Dean nodded "Ok Charlie dig in the files, find something that'll put a dent in a witch. Me, Sam and Y/N will have a look around" "I'm helping" Dorothy pushed but Sam told her "Why don't for now you rest up and help the smartest person in the room" You glanced back and shot Charlie a wink before closing the door behind you.

------

Crowley was the first stop. You stayed at the door to watch the guys backs should the witch pop up while they checked the armory. You could hear Crowley talking to them but tried to keep your attention on the stretch of hall. When a gunshot rang out you walked in and Crowley had a fresh bullet hole in his suit "Sweets, Squirrel doesn't play nice" you narrowed your eyes at him "Neither do I jackass now tell us what the witch wants" he smirked then unballed the paper in his hand which simply read "Key"

"Key what key?" you asked and he shrugged "Haven't the foggiest darling. I sent her on a merry chase before she could melt me. Told her your boys kept the keys in the kitchen. There is a kitchen in this craphole isn't there?" you glanced at Sam who walked around to lock Crowley back into the chain before all of you headed to check the kitchen.

------

The kitchen had been completely trashed but no witch in sight. "Damn it, I just cleaned in here" Dean grumbled and you looked at him "Dude witch! Focus. I'll help you clean up later if she doesn't kill us first ok?"

Charlie and Dorothy walked in about that time with a little good news. They'd raided the gun range and made some poppy bullets. They wouldn't kill the witch but they would stun her. "Something's better than nothing. Good job Charlie" you told her as you took the bullet she offered and loaded it into your clip. Bad news was there were only five bullets so each shot had to count.

------

The key that the witch was after was the key to Oz. Dorothy showed a picture and you recognized it from the inventory. "Where is it now?" Dorothy asked and Dean replied "My room. Me and Charlie will go grab it. Sam, you take Y/N and Dorothy and buy us some time"

------

You were ambushed by the witch in the library. Dorothy got one shot off but then the witch disappeared into the duct work which meant she could get anywhere in the bunker from there. "Split up, we'll cover more ground but watch your backs!" you warned heading one way while they went others.

------

You heard a shot coming from the direction of Dean's room and spun around on your heel to head in that direction. You slid into the room to find Charlie motionless on the floor "Dean? Is she?" you asked running to his side where he was crouched over her. He moved to roll her over but when you saw how limp she was a sob caught in your throat "Get her on the bed Dean. We need Ezekiel" you could see tears in his eyes.

About that time you heard Sam's voice "DEAN" you and Dean both hollered "ZEKE!" and you saw Sam's eyes glare and his posture change the moment he made it into the room. "You have to help her" Dean begged looking so very broken. "She's gone" Ezekiel said and you shook your head "Bring her back, like you did with Cas!" "I can not keep doing that Y/N" before you could respond Dean hollered "WHY THE HELL NOT?"

"I am barely back to half strength. Every time I use my power it weakens me, which means I will have to stay in Sam longer than any of us want. The witch running around your bunker is very powerful. I can help with the witch or save your friend" Dean looked at you and you nodded knowing what he was asking "We can handle one damn witch. Save her"

You moved to stand next to Dean while Ezekiel touched his hand to Charlie's head. It only took moments before Charlie was waking up and Sam was collapsing as Ezekiel became weak once again. "Check on her" you urged moving around the bed to Sam.

"Y/N, what the hell happened?" he asked as you helped him to his feet. You looked back at Dean and he said "The witch was about to put a whammy on me and uh Charlie jumped in front. She got zapped then the witch got the jump on you and Y/N spooked her"

"Did she get the key?" you asked Dean who nodded "Yeah she's gone" Dorothy popped into the door "No she's wounded so she could still be in the vents" Charlie who only you and Dean knew was freshly back from the dead pushed herself up "She's right. We have to" but she swayed when she got to her feet so Dorothy offered "You three go! We'll catch up" you grabbed Charlie's gun and held it out to Dean "Let's go get the bitch"

------

The three of you were working to clear the halls when Sam asked "Who's Zeke?" "What?" you asked hoping you'd heard him wrong. "When I came into the room, I could've sworn one of you said the name Zeke. Who's that?" "Um" you didn't really know what to say so Dean cut in "Look I think you're still a little punchy man. Let's just keep moving"

Sam moved ahead and you cut your eyes at Dean for just a second before continuing down the hall.

------

You were each clearing rooms. You heard Sam holler "Clear" followed by Dean "I got nothing" then heard Dean holler Sam's name. You ran towards the map room where they'd been at last in enough time to see the three of them on the floor. You saw her touch their heads and their eyes glowed with her power. "Oh fuck" she looked up at you but didn't bother attacking. No, she now had Sam and Dean for that.

They both looked up at you but you knew for a fact you couldn't handle them in a fight by yourself so you did the only thing you could. You turned to run.

------

Dorothy and Charlie weren't in Dean's room and you didn't see either of them hiding in the armory so you ran down the hall and saw a door open up ahead so you ran into it and wasn't really surprised that the bunker had a garage. The upper level lights were on so you ran up the stairs and spotted Dorothy and Charlie next to a motorcycle "She got the boys! She hexed them or something so we got to do something fast"

"There you are" you heard from behind you and cursed before turning around to see both Sam and Dean not five feet away "Do something with those nifty shoes" you urged Dorothy who'd just retrieved the ruby slippers from her motorcycle side car.

You backed up with Dorothy and Charlie and swallowed hard seeing Sam's eyes glow green yet again. "Which one do you want?" Dorothy asked and you nodded at Dean "He hits harder but Sam has a wider reach." She nodded "You take the harder hitter I'll take the wider reach"

"Charlie get to the witch!" you hollered as Dean grabbed for you and Sam advanced on Dorothy. "Pretty little hunter. You can die along with them as well" he growled slamming you back against the wall. "Naw, I'm not one for dying easy" you hissed and brought your knee up into his crotch. The distraction gave Dorothy an opening to catch Sam off guard. She threw the other slipper to Charlie "Go! We've got this"

You watched Charlie run out and ran to Dorothy's side. "Knock em out if need me but try not to hurt them" she looked at you like you'd lost your mind before saying "Tell them that!"

------

Dean caught you with a hard punch so you headbutted him back causing him to stumble "GOD DAMMIT YOU TWO CAN ONE UP ARCHANGELS AND NOT ONE BITCH" you grunted when he kicked you in the stomach. You looked up to see Dorothy wasn't fairing a lot better. Dean grabbed you by the hair "I'll deal with you after hunter. Dorothy is who I want dead" he threw you across the room and you saw that Sam had Dorothy around the neck and Dean now had the demon blade in his hand. You glanced around and spotted a piece of pipe and picked it up. You didn't want to hurt them but you couldn't let them kill her.

Right as you got to your feet you saw Dean's eyes glow again and let out a breath "Charlie did it"

Sam let go of Dorothy who came to your side "Y/N are you alright?" you nodded and spit out a mouthful of blood "Fighting is a lot easier when you can kill your opponent" she wiped her split lip and laughed "Tell me about it" Sam looked between the two of you "We did that?"

You shrugged "Actually Sammy you kicked Dorothy's ass. Dean kicked mine" you saw the guilt flash across Dean's face when you grimaced slighly from straightening up but shook your head "I'm fine. Let's find Charlie"

------

You all found Charlie at the top of the stairs leading out. She smiled and waved the key "Ding dong bitches"

------

Dean of course wanted to move baby into the garage after getting a better look at it so when all of you met back up in there his eyes flicked across your face and where you were sure bruises were blossoming before saying "Baby looks good in here doesn't she?" "Baby looks good anywhere" you replied and he smiled and motioned towards the empty space next to her "Room for the jeep" you nodded then said "I may move her in to keep baby company"

You and Sam took Dorothy the copy of her book you found in the archives while Dean spoke to Charlie. You cut your eyes at them then looked back at Dorothy.

After she thanked all of you for your help she said she had to get back to Oz to finish the rebellion she started then looking at Charlie "You coming or what?" "With you to Oz?" Charlie asked and Dorothy replied "You said you were looking for adventure Red. Well here is it. Come help me find my damn dog. I'd ask Y/N to join too but it's clear where her ties are"

Dean shook his head at Charlie "You have no idea what's in Oz. I mean there's flying monkeys, armies of witches. There's all kinds of danger" You had to bite back a laugh when Charlie asked him "Promise?" She hugged him then Sam then you. "You boys listen to Y/N"

You stood next to Sam and watched as Dorothy opened the doorway to Oz and the two of them walked in. Once the door shut you couldn't resist the urge to open it and double check but that doorway once again only showed the tunnel leading out the garage."Think she'll be back?" Dean asked and Sam nodded "There's no place like home"

------

Later that night Sam had headed to bed and so had Dean so you were up in the kitchen nursing a beer. The bruising had went down with the use of a vial of stuff Dorothy had offered and your ribs were just a little sore. You glanced up from the book you'd been looking over when you heard footsteps and saw it was Dean. He stopped at the doorway "Um Y/N.. I um" you knew what he was trying to say so you waved a hand "I know you'd never hurt me Dean. I wouldn't have gotten it so bad if I hadn't been worried about hurting you"

He chuckled at that then walked over to the table. He reached for your chin and you knew partly that was due to him being used to checking Sam over for injuries but that knowledge didn't stop the little shiver that ran through you at such a gentle touch from him. He turned your face to look at it in the light and his thumb brushed lightly across your cheek "I would offer you a free shot but something tells me you'd either not take it or save it until I was least suspecting" You smiled up at him "No free shot needed Winchester. Takes a lot more to hurt me"

His thumb barely ran across your bottom lip and you swallowed hard and knew he felt it. "Y/N Charlie um said something I wanted to ask you about" he spoke softly while still holding your face in his hand. "Ask me" you all but whispered and he started to lean closer to you but the hall light came on and you heard Sam's footsteps a half a second before he stepped in the room causing you and Dean to separate like you were guilty of something. He looked between both of you "Did I interrupt something?" You cleared your throat and turned your eyes back to the book "Just Dean feeling guilty for knocking me around under the witch's power. I told him I'm fine maybe you can convince him" you quickly gathered the book and beer then stood to head to your room "Night fellas" "Night Y/N" Sam said and you heard Dean mutter "Night" right before you stepped out into the hall.

Tags @facadeformyrealblog @akshi8278

#spn fanfiction #supernatural fanfiction #dean winchester x reader #dean winchester fanfiction #dean winchester x female!reader #always be yours

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bonesources · 3 years

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out of context ❝ it's alway sunny in philadelphia ❞ starters

tw: ...many things, but mostly alcohol & drugs

“you know what it is, bitch.”

“i will eat your babies, bitch!”

“make it work.”

“science is a liar sometimes.”

“this car is a finisher car, a transporter of gods! the golden god!”

“oh! botched toe. i botched that one. oh, that’s a botched job.”

“sounds a little gay.”

“i just want to be pure.”

“your hair looks small.”

“tell me i’m good, tell me i’m good, tell me i—”

“i’m going to have a really hard time if we’re both cannibals and we’re racists.”

“it’s covered in bird shit.”

“everybody’s dyin’, bitch. let’s get you some fruit.”

“i brought along a saber.”

“oh, whoops! i dropped my monster condom that i use for my magnum dong.”

“is this why we had to wait for you to go to bed bath & beyond?”

“wild card, bitches!”

“he only works out his glamour muscles.”

“can i offer you a nice egg in this trying time?”

“ghouls.”

“toe knife.”

“creatine shits.”

“can i put beer in glue?”

“you light one bitch on fire and everybody freaks out.”

“speed has everything to do with it.”

“oh my god, nobody look!”

“we’re not giving you and eye. where the christ would we get an eye?”

“i will strike you down!”

“i’m learning some amazing moves from this guy.”

“um, one please. one rock of crack. one crack— one crack rock.”

“40th beer of the afternoon.”

“then we’re gonna throw you twice in the trash.”

“this is grotesque.”

“it seems like you have a tenuous grasp on the english language in general.”

“what’s up bitches? i’m a man cheetah. wanna do somethin’ with this?”

“you haven’t thought of the smell.”

“i’m schizophrenic.”

“i didn’t go to school for that.”

“everybody get a weapon?”

“what is your spaghetti policy here?”

“hey, you guys! watch me bust out this sweet jackknife.”

“goodnight, bitch.”

“i am shattered to pieces.”

“the boys are out tonight, huh?”

“newsflash, asshole!”

“well maybe you shouldn’t dress like a bumblebee, bitch.”

“am i gay for god? you betcha.”

“i must insist on being referred to as cat.”

“do you like it? it’s very generous.”

“let me get this straight. you want to put your baby into a tanning bed.”

“we’re crab people now.”

“i’m not scamming the government, if that’s what you’re saying.”

“i gained and lost 60 pounds in 3 months.”

“well first of all, all things are possible, so jot that down.”

“if you’ve got crack, let’s boogie.”

“no one is going into your asshole.”

“the thunder of my vengeance will echo through these corridors like the gusts of a thousand winds!”

“we bet you’d like 3 charming men to take your trash from you.”

“what about your favorite food, what would that be?”

“i like to recommend to our first timers our signature cocktail, caribbean paradise. some people say it’s better than bustin’ a nut.”

“what is white trash about that?”

“surprise, bitch.”

“i forgot how to drive.”

“that felt good, was that sexy?”

“he faces his challenges instead of just retreating to the sewers, nude, to forage for rings and coins.”

“wait, that looks like a dick.”

“oh shit, there’s stickers. my god.”

“i don’t like to eat it with the skin. i’m not allowed to eat it with the skin. i’m not allowed!”

“see, you got no commitment. you’re finished! you’re never gonna get anywhere in life!”

“i eat stickers all the time, dude!”

“well, i’m gay.”

“that doesn’t sound right, but i don’t know enough about stars to dispute it.”

“i’m waterboarding your sister.”

“don’t swim to europe.”

“it’s my understanding that there is a war going on right now.”

“i will smash your face into a jelly.”

“gatorade. and it’s gotta be my favorite flavor — blue.”

“seize the gap, you old fat bitch.”

“i’m the trophy husband. he’s my bottom.”

“don’t say stage freeze, just do it.”

#indie rp #sentence starters #ask meme #iasip #dearindies #rp starters #ask memes #rp memes #inbox memes #rp meme #inbox meme #our memes #our resources

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romanwhyte1767-blog · 5 years

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How obtain Weight And Build Mass Without Getting Fat

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ebenpink · 5 years

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Nutrition is not a belief system. Why wishful thinking won’t get you results, but science might. http://bit.ly/2SABsC3

Nutrition is often seen as a belief system. In other words, the answer to “What should I eat?” is often based on faith, magical thinking, emotional attachments, and/or what feels “truthy”, rather than on real evidence or the scientific method. Until we fix this, nutrition will get more confusing, not less.

++++

Imagine the Google search by someone who wants to eat better.

They might want to lose weight. Or build muscle. Or stay a little healthier so they can play with their grandkids longer.

So they might look for terms like:

Healthy eating.

Healthy diet.

Good nutrition.

The result? Well…

“Healthy eating” gave me 63.6 million options.

“Healthy diet” gave me 188 million options.

And “Good nutrition” gave me a whopping 213 million options.

When I check out some of these search engine results, I notice something.

Each of these websites has a story to tell: A story about which diet, supplement, food, or nutrition practice someone believes is best.

Many of these stories completely contradict each other.

But they have one thing in common: The authors treat nutrition like it’s a set of beliefs, there for their own picking and choosing.

Unfortunately, “nutrition” is often seen as a belief system.

But beliefs don’t necessarily have anything to do with facts.

When we believe something, we choose to accept that it’s true, which may or may not have anything to do with factual certainty.

This approach of “believing” is frequently applied to nutrition.

As in:

“I believe that sugar is poison.”

“I don’t believe that humans were meant to eat grains.”

“I believe in only eating foods that are natural and organic.”

In other words, the answer to “What should I eat?” is often based on faith, magical thinking, emotional attachments, and/or what feels “truthy”, rather than on science.

Yet nutrition is not a belief system.

Nutrition is a science.

I’m a strength coach and Precision Nutrition Certified nutrition specialist.

(I completed the Level 1 Certification in 2013 and I’m now in the middle of the Level 2 Certification Master Class).

Most of my work is with professional and amateur athletes. And my job is to use nutrition (plus strength and conditioning) to get my clients the results they want.

When your meal strategy can be the difference between getting a multi-million dollar contract and not, there is no room for “hoping” the nutrition will work.

I can’t go on faith alone. My clients’ careers literally depend on me doing my job well. Which is why the scientific method, not beliefs, govern my practice.

For example, my client Ronda Rousey, a mixed martial artists, model, and actress, doesn’t care about what I believe about food. She only cares about what I know about nutrition’s effect on her body and performance.

That’s why I need to ensure that my nutrition recommendations are based on measurable, accurate reality. On science. On the best evidence that we have right now.

And physiology is physiology.

Believing something, or wanting it to be true, or feeling it should be true doesn’t mean it is true.

Physiology (like chemistry, like physics) follows certain known principles.

That’s why we research things like macronutrients, hydration, and/or supplementation. That’s why we try to understand the biochemistry of digestion and metabolism. That’s why we learn about things like osmotic gradients and the physical structures of cells and molecules.

It’s why we ask questions like these:

“What’s the relationship between protein intake and muscle function as we age?”

“How does ketosis affect the body’s choice of fuel?”

“How does fructose consumption affect insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic people?”

“How do short-term but cumulative energy imbalances predict subsequent food intake?”

And we use a particular method for determining the answers.

These are just a few examples, of course. As you can imagine, scientists have thousands of questions about optimal nutrition, and they’ve answered some questions more thoroughly than others.

But, in short, we’re trying to understand as much as possible about the biochemistry of digestion and metabolism, so we nerd out about things like osmotic gradients and the physical structures of cells and molecules.

Knowing the science behind the field allows us to make evidence-based recommendations to create a known physiological effect.

Will honey and cinnamon “rev my metabolism”?

Some people believe this (or want others to believe it).

But nobody knows.

Will creatine monohydrate improve my power output?

Now we’re talking.

We know some things about creatine monohydrate and its effect on the body, because it’s been scientifically studied.

Creatine monohydrate has a known chemical structure.

Creatine monohydrate has a known mechanism of action. It increases the phosphocreatine stores in your muscle. This can then be used to produce more ATP (energy), which is a key source of fuel for power, heavy lifting, and anaerobic events.

We know this because we have carefully experimented and objectively measured what happens. We’ve also reproduced those findings over and over.

See how that played out?

One claim is speculation based on, perhaps (I’m guessing) rumors about blood sugar and metabolism along with a few studies about cinnamon as an antioxidant?

The other is fact based on a documented physiological outcome.

The big problem: Most people start with the internet.

Wondering what to put in your smoothie? What to eat before you work out? How much bacon you should eat?

There are all sorts of answers on Google, not to mention Facebook and Instagram.

You don’t have to look far to discover a charismatic person with an excellent body and sales pitch offering up their own beliefs as a “protocol” or “system”.

These systems tend to include:

A set of certain foods and/or supplements to eat. (Like acai berries hand-picked at sunrise.)

A set of certain foods to avoid. (Nothing a caveman wouldn’t eat. Nothing that isn’t “natural”. Nothing that’s been sold, bought or processed.)

Rules about how much to eat, when to eat (or not eat), and possibly even where to eat. (No food after 6:30 pm!)

If the belief system (or the person who invented it) is compelling or “truthy” enough, it can be pretty tempting to believe them.

After all, many of these “systems” come with lots of reasons to believe, including:

Irresistible promises

Clever branding

Photos, graphics, and other visual “evidence”

Testimonials and/or celebrity endorsements

Powerful personal stories (“If this guy did it, I can too!”)

Sex appeal

Scholarly citations pointing to studies that turn out to be poorly designed, fatally biased, or not yet replicated (a hallmark of — you guessed it — actual scientific fact)

Before you know it, you can’t remember the last time you didn’t put honey and cinnamon in your oatmeal…and yogurt…and tea.

We’re not bad for wishing something were true.

Just like Fox Mulder, sometimes we want to believe.

It’s very human, actually.

Belief systems can bring us comfort. Following a clear set of rules can be a huge relief to those of us that find nutrition confusing or overwhelming.

Belief systems can also make us feel like we’re part of something: A community that shares our values, aspirations, and desires. We may feel a sense of importance, identity, and belonging.

Bonus: We’re closer to our goals… together!

Not to mention, these beliefs usually promise the things we desire the most, whether it’s sparkling clean health, glowing skin, freakishly awesome performance, the body we’ve always wanted, or all of the above.

When we buy into a belief system, we’re looking for help. We want to make a change, or finally find a solution to a problem that’s bothered us for a long time.

That’s completely normal and natural.

The people who start or share a belief system aren’t bad, either. Most of them are good, genuine, positive people just trying to make other people’s lives better.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to believe.

Or wishing some things were true.

The problem happens when we base our own health decisions on emotional bias or the rules of a certain philosophy… and either ignore what science has to say about the facts, or perhaps have no idea whether such facts even exist.

Science is anything but simple.

It would be great if there was a single ingredient to cure cancer, or a single exercise to get you ripped.

But physiology isn’t simple, and neither is science. Especially nutrition science.

You might be able to find a study to support nearly any nutrition-related belief you want. This is especially true if the study was small, or sponsored by a particular interest (like a supplement company).

People who read research understand this. They understand the weight that the particular evidence holds, and where it is placed in the hierarchy of nutritional importance.

But a new trainer in the industry, or a mother looking to get back in shape, or a dude who just got a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, may not know the difference. They may assume that if it was demonstrated in one study, it is a fact.

This isn’t how science works, and it’s not how the truth is discovered.

Did you know that drinking alcohol increases muscle tone?

Don’t believe me?

Well, imagine I’m telling you this while shirtless, smiling shiny white teeth, and sporting a six-pack:

“In 2013, a double-blind clinical trial found that men increased testosterone 17% after a low dose of alcohol. In 1987, another study found similar testosterone-increasing results. Finally, a 2000 study showed that alcohol also increases testosterone levels in women.

Understanding that alcohol increases testosterone, and knowing that as testosterone goes up, so does our muscle mass and strength, I conclude that we should all get drunk to get jacked! (Results may vary.)”

Of course this isn’t true though, right?

Because that would be ignoring:

Other data that suggest alcohol actually lowers testosterone, and the two studies that show it has no effect.

Data on how alcohol can harm our health and fitness.

The fact that alcohol contains 7 kcals per gram, which adds up quickly when you get drinking (especially if you add mixes), and then normally increases appetite shortly afterwards, which leads to further snacking. (Street meat anyone?).

The fact that I am always fully clothed when telling clients stuff.

Instead of picking just one study, you have to look at all studies on that topic to see where the overall weight of the evidence lies.

But let’s get real.

People are busy.

Health and fitness clients don’t usually have the time, the experience, nor the interest to pore over research. They have jobs and lives.

So it can be easy to fall into the trap of taking one or two studies as gospel — especially if those results are delivered to you by a charismatic speaker with a great body. Enter my new supplement: Buff Booze!

What’s the harm in believing?

In the Precision Nutrition’s Certification programs, they talk about scope of practice. It’s crucial for health and fitness pros to:

Know what they know, and what they don’t know.

Know where they can legitimately make recommendations based on actual expertise, and where they need to refer out to another health care professional.

In other words, to make appropriate, evidence-based recommendations about nutrition, it’s not enough to simply:

Have made a big change to your own body (such as losing weight, or succeeding at a new sport).

Follow some blogs.

Have a stack of health and fitness magazines on the back of the toilet.

These are a great way to begin. I didn’t know stuff when I was new to the field, either. That’s why we learn and practice… and practice and learn… and then practice and learn some more.

But leaning on those methods of “research” — aka believing instead of knowing — can be dangerous.

There’s an old saying:

You know just enough to be dangerous.

For starters, beliefs without evidence can cause physical harm.

Nutrition can affect the human body’s systems dramatically — that’s the amazing power and opportunity, and it’s why we coaches love this field.

The downside is that doing the wrong things can change our bodies in ways we don’t want.

Back in the mid-to-late 1800s, a man named Wilbur Atwater had a Ph.D. from Yale in agricultural chemistry.

He measured the calories and macronutrients in hundreds of foods to eventually come to the conclusion that the only two elements that humans needed to be concerned with when creating their diet were:

protein, and

total calories.

He wrote newspaper columns, lectured, and told anyone who would listen about his beliefs. He truly believed that this was the solution to human nutrition and even poverty.

He was a well-respected scientist doing real research in a lab. Yet he didn’t have all the knowledge he needed to make the right recommendations.

Instead, he told everyone to eat fewer vegetables (because they were low calorie and low protein), while eating more fatty pork.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, can’t it?

Atwater’s diet eliminates:

whole grains

healthy fats

fruits and vegetables

vitamins and minerals

fiber

various other nutrients and micronutrients (such as antioxidants).

Thanks to research, we now know that all of these play their own unique role in health. Cutting out all of these nutrients is downright dangerous.

Now, this is an extreme example, perhaps.

But some of the most popular belief-based diets today have adherents alter their nutrition choices in strange and/or misguided ways. They:

Completely give up grains, beans, and legumes

Swear off all fat

Eat only raw food

Base their intake on a single food (e.g. grapefruit, cabbage)

Eschew solid food

Only drink “detoxing” juices

Hold their daily calorie intake to some “magic” number, like 600

Replace all carbs with bacon

These diets either selectively use research (for instance, a study in rats showing that grape juice prevents tumors — time for the magic anti-cancer grape juice diet!) or get stuck on small details while missing the big picture.

Also, beliefs without evidence can prevent the health and fitness industry from making progress.

Most people working as health and fitness pros chose this industry to help people change their lives for the better.

Confusing the crap out of ourselves (and clients) with these weird belief-based “systems” does not support that goal.

When we choose belief over fact, we don’t just hold ourselves, and our clients, back. We hold the entire industry back.

Let’s commit to improving everyone’s nutrition knowledge.

Our collective job as coaches is to create the healthiest and happiest people in the world.

How do we do that?

Treating nutrition as a science, instead of a belief system, is a strong step in the right direction.

As is constantly pushing to improve our own knowledge, and thinking critically about our convictions.

Nutrition science is a big field. We can’t know everything, and certainly not all at once.

But we can commit to putting the beliefs away and embracing a lifelong process of learning, studying, thinking critically, and applying evidence-based analysis to every decision and recommendation we make.

What to do next: Some tips from Precision Nutrition.

1. Practice having an open yet critical mindset.

“Because it worked for me” is not enough evidence to recommend “it” to another person.

Be curious. Ask questions.

Explore the evidence that supports a given position. Be aware of why nutrition science is so complicated. Ask for scientific references, and then scrutinize those.

And, by all means, experiment on yourself (in Precision Nutrition Coaching, we call this writing your Owner’s Manual).

Try different things. Document the effects.

Over time, that’s as legitimate a way of knowing. (Make sure you’re always tracking and revisiting, though — bodies do change!)

2. Live in the middle ground.

Biology rarely operates in extremes. Only in very specific contexts (for example, actual diagnosed Celiac disease) do “always” and “never” have value.

So be suspicious of “always” or “never” language in nutrition talk.

Instead, try “some people” and “sometimes” and “it depends”.

For example, a coach might insist that everything should be “100% natural” or else it’s bad. But just because something has been processed in some way does always not make it inferior.

In some cases, processing can actually improve the desired effect and/or nutritional profile. For example, in 2011 the Journal of Nutrition published a report showing that without supplements or enriched foods:

100% of Americans would not get enough Vitamin D.

93% not enough Vitamin E.

88% not enough folate.

74% not enough Vitamin A.

51% not enough thiamin.

46% not enough Vitamin C.

22% not enough Vitamin B6.

Sure, maybe there’s some “perfect” diet floating around out there, but for most of us, having a few fortified foods and even synthetic vitamins in the roster is probably a good idea. A diet full of processed, fortified foods and synthetic vitamins, not so good.

3. Notice when words and concepts trigger emotions.

Most belief-based nutrition systems are couched in marketing that purposely gets you worked up, maybe by poking at your traumas, insecurities, or ego (the current “clean eating” craze is a good example).

Recognize when you feel “pulled” by a certain idea.

Ask yourself, am I considering this “system” for the right reasons? Am I looking for an “easy” solution because I feel sad/frustrated/lost/stressed today?

4. Scrutinize claims that are tied to financial gain.

For example:

“Eat as much as you like and still lose weight!” (A real-life claim aimed at selling a diet book.)

“Ripped abs in 1 minute!” (Real claim. Workout DVD this time.)

“Control insulin levels, decrease blood sugar, speed metabolism, lower LDL cholesterol, burn belly fat and suppress appetite!” (Real claims from the makers of a cinnamon supplement. That’s right, cinnamon.)

In my teen years, I spent unthinkable quantities of my hard-earned McDonald’s money on ineffective testosterone boosters and nitric oxide products.

Trust me bro, I was getting “jacked”.

In this marriage between beliefs and profit, science didn’t show up to the ceremony.

5. Be skeptical of one-size-fits-all approaches.

Trying to use the exact same macronutrient ratio (for example) serve every human’s needs and goals is a telltale sign that a coach needs more knowledge and/or has an emotional connection with the plan.

Humans are unique, complex systems. They should be treated as such.

There is no one best diet. Any plan should be a system that’s based on evidence, and truly reflects the client’s unique lifestyle, goals, and needs.

6. Get qualified coaching.

If you don’t feel confident reading research or understanding the science, consider finding a Precision Nutrition Certified coach or enrolling in the Certification yourself.

Knowledge is power.

Passionate about fitness and nutrition?

If so, and you’d like to learn more about it, consider the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. Our next group kicks off shortly.

What’s it all about?

The Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification is the industry’s most respected education program. It gives you the knowledge, systems, and tools you need to really understand how nutrition influences a person’s health and fitness.

Developed over 15 years, and proven with over 100,000 clients, the Level 1 curriculum stands alone as the authority on the science of nutrition and the art of coaching.

Whether you’re already mid-career, or just starting out, the Level 1 Certification is your springboard to a deeper understanding of nutrition, the authority to coach it, and the ability to turn what you know into results.

[Of course, if you’re already a student or graduate of the Level 1 Certification, check out our Level 2 Certification Master Class. It’s an exclusive, year-long mentorship designed for elite professionals looking to master the art of coaching and be part of the top 1% of nutrition and fitness pros in the world.]

Interested? Add your name to the presale list. You’ll save up to 33% and secure your spot 24 hours before everyone else.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019.

If you want to find out more, we’ve set up the following presale list, which gives you two advantages.

Pay less than everyone else. We like to reward people who are eager to boost their credentials and are ready to commit to getting the education they need. So we’re offering a discount of up to 33% off the general price when you sign up for the presale list.

Sign up 24 hours before the general public and increase your chances of getting a spot. We only open the certification program twice per year. Due to high demand, spots in the program are limited and have historically sold out in a matter of hours. But when you sign up for the presale list, we’ll give you the opportunity to register a full 24 hours before anyone else.

If you’re ready to boost your education, and take your nutrition game to the next level, let’s go down the rabbit hole together.

References

Click here to view the information sources referenced in this article.

Ahtiainen, J P, et al. “Muscle Hypertrophy, Hormonal Adaptations and Strength Development during Strength Training in Strength-Trained and Untrained Men.” European Journal of Applied Physiology., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 7 May 2003

Baliunas, D O, et al. “Alcohol as a Risk Factor for Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Diabetes Care., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Nov. 2009

Barnes, M J, et al. “The Effects of Acute Alcohol Consumption on Recovery from a Simulated Rugby Match.” Journal of Sports Sciences., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 15 Dec. 2011

Bhasin, Shalender, et al. “Testosterone Dose-Response Relationships in Healthy Young Men.”American Journal of Physiology – Endocrinology and Metabolism, American Physiological Society, 1 Dec. 2001

Bhatty, M, et al. “Alcohol Abuse and Streptococcus Pneumoniae Infections: Consideration of Virulence Factors and Impaired Immune Responses.” Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Sept. 2011

Branch, J D. “Effect of Creatine Supplementation on Body Composition and Performance: a Meta-Analysis.” International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 13 June 2003.

Koziris, L P, et al. “Effect of Acute Post-exercise Ethanol Intoxication on the Neuroendocrine Response to Resistance Exercise.” Journal of Applied Physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985)., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 2000

Mendelson, J H, et al. “Effects of Acute Alcohol Intake on Pituitary-Gonadal Hormones in Normal Human Males.” The Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Sept. 1977

Phipps, W R, et al. “Acute Ethanol Administration Enhances Plasma Testosterone Levels Following Gonadotropin Stimulation in Men.” Psychoneuroendocrinology., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2 June 1987

Sarkola, T, and C J Eriksson. “Testosterone Increases in Men after a Low Dose of Alcohol.” Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 27 Apr. 2003

Sarkola, T, et al. “Acute Effect of Alcohol on Androgens in Premenopausal Women.” Alcohol and Alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 22 Jan. 2000

Sierksma, A, et al. “Effect of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Plasma Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate, Testosterone, and Estradiol Levels in Middle-Aged Men and Postmenopausal Women: A Diet-Controlled Intervention Study.” Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 7 Jan. 2004

Sowers, MF., et al. “Testosterone Concentrations in Women Aged 25–50 Years.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 1 Feb. 2001

Turati, F, et al. “Alcohol and Liver Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies.” Annals of Oncology: Official Journal of the European Society for Medical Oncology., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 14 Mar. 2014

Välimäki, M J, et al. “Sex Hormones and Adrenocortical Steroids in Men Acutely Intoxicated with Ethanol.” Alcohol (Fayetteville, N.Y.)., U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 1984

Ylikahri, R. M. “Low Plasma Testosterone Values in Men during Hangover.” Low Plasma Testosterone Values in Men during Hangover, Journal of Steroid Biochemistry, 12 Dec. 2002

The post Nutrition is not a belief system. Why wishful thinking won’t get you results, but science might. appeared first on Precision Nutrition.

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undesired-attention · 7 years

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okay, i have a little bit before i want to go to bed so ig ill write about whats been going on

my dad found out i smoke weed, but he hasn’t tried talking to me about it or brought it up to me. he told my mom he knew because i ordered this pretty pipe to smoke from that is a crystal, but i had it accidentally shipped to my house and my dad found it in the mail. it was shipped from china so it had what it was on the package, but he still left it with my ipsy bag to get when i woke up the next day so idk. he’s found out i was doing stuff like that before, maybe not pot but cigarettes and would scream at me and stuff but he didn’t with this, and since he hasn’t yet i know he won’t at all (unless relevant in his eyes in a future fight, always possible). he basically told my mom to tell me not to get caught with it in my car, which i wont.

these next two things are both things that happened yesterday so these are what sparked the slight urge/interest in wanting to type it all out,

so first i came back from lunch yesterday and my roommate was standing in our kitchen and said “you just missed the craziest shit” and i was like lol, okay what. she broke up with her boyfriend over the weekend and had sex with another boy (what a life, right? whatever tho) and he was in our room with her yesterday just hanging out because they are really good friends and are going on a group trip somewhere and were looking at plane tickets. so she heard the front door open and close then heard nothing, so she got up and opened her bedroom door and her ex was right there screaming at her to open her door and talk to him and she was holding the door closed screaming at him to leave and the boy in the room was helping, but apparently he had ACL surgery recently and couldn’t really help, so her ex eventually got in. he shoved my roommate into the closet, knocking her curtain down (we don’t have closet doors in our dorms here) on her face, then started screaming at the boy “you fucked my girlfriend” because he had hickeys on his neck from the previous night with her, and he just made up a lie that he had a gf and whatever. so they got into a fist fight, it moved out into our kitchen, then out into the dorm hall and my roommate was screaming and calling the police and the RA down the hall.

so at this point her ex runs out of the building with my RA chasing him telling him to stop, 5 cops show up, and it was 12:30 and she had class at 1 so they only talked to her for a few seconds and then she had to leave for class then go to the police station after. (this is when i came back, there was no cops and she was literally walking out the door) well her ex was texting her saying “im on campus, im not telling you where i am, and im not leaving until you talk to me” so she had a bunch of bigger boys walk her to class, and basically her friends ended up seeing him just off campus at a wawa and chased him here into the police station (where she was at this point, after class) and she didn’t press charges and neither did the boy he fought, but the police banned him from campus.

--okay next story

also yesterday, i went to my clinical. i really wasn’t in the mood, i was tired. our prof. showed up 40 minutes late and said the boy in our group who was assigned to go to the children’s ER (special experience for our peds rotation) called in sick so one of us needed to go in his place, so i went because we don’t have to fill out any paperwork due the following week so that just made my life slightly easier at this point in time. so i got down there and talked to the charge nurse and she said they were getting an emergency trauma in ~5 minutes so just to hang around and watch (usually we are assigned a nurse, nothing exciting usually happens, just respiratory infections usually or accidents like broken bones and burns) so they got this 17 yo girl unconscious from a suspected suicide attempt and i got to watch in the room as like 20 people total were talking and running around getting stuff for her. it really was exciting, i got to watch them insert an IO (im assuming thats how you use the abbreviation) which is an IV they drill into the bone in the leg when they can’t get peripheral IVs in (happens in IV drug users, this girl was very dark skinned though and it was hard to see veins) so they draw her blood, get her on a vent, insert foley, several epi drips, several narcan attempts (antidote for heroin) and nothing was reeeeally helping, so the lab work came back and she had a blood sugar of 1400, which is AMAZING because that’s INSANE i’ve NEVER EVER EVER heard of blood sugar over 600-700 range from when i work in the ICU as an aide and i take blood sugars there, but this was basically BEYOND critically high. i didn’t even believe the nurses when they told the doctor in front of me, i thought they had to have been talking about a different value. her creatine was also SEVEN, for an ADULT female it should be under basically 1, she isn’t even an adult yet and it was 7x that.

basically, her Dx was diabetes, DKA to be specific. she didn’t have a known diagnosis of diabetes, so this wasn’t expected at all. the nurse told me this girl must have been sick for months and nobody really noticed. so because her creatine was 7 and BS 1400, her kidneys were basically destroyed. she will be on dialysis for the rest of her life because of this. another doctor came in to insert a dialysis catheter so they could start her STAT because that was the only way to lower her levels at that point and i was just like a lil mouse squeak “can i watch?” and he was like “yes please! that would be great, as a nurse you’ll assist in these and it will be really educational.” so i was like iight then, i had to basically scrub in and then he talked me through (along with a med student) how it all worked, it was really cool actually and there was a LOT of blood, which doesn’t bother me but i’ve just never in person experienced that before. it was pretty neat, the whole experience was not expected. at one point a nurse asked me”do you have any questions?” and i was like “oh god, not that i can think of,, i wasn’t even supposed to be here today!” so i got really lucky. i won’t be able to follow up with her, but hopefully she is okay and can recover.

the last thing i wanted to mention that was shocking:

i was sitting at my window last thursday and it was a really really nice day so my window was left open (i open it to smoke cigarettes out of it, not allowed but i’m just a rebel whatever) and i heard a girl sobbing and screaming into her phone below my window and i looked down and there is a little table hidden in an area where you can’t really see it, the main lounge in my building protrudes from the rest and there is all picnic tables around it and it’s just a little corner where people go to smoke weed and stuff, so i just took a picture of her and sent it to my friends saying there was a girl screaming at her boyfriend on the phone crying below me. so about 5 minutes later i look back down because she’s still crying and she’s just clearly (from my angle, directly above her) cutting herself. she kept looking around to see if anyone could see, but she never looked up. i was SO SHOCKED at this point that i texted one of my friends who has gone through a lot of the same things as me (past history of self harm, to a pretty “bad” extent) and asked if she was in her room (my building) and she wasn’t, she was still in class so i told her what was going on and so she told me when she was leaving and a minute or so after she started walking back the girl got up and left. i just didn’t know what to do, i just know i’m the type of person that when i’m upset or even when i used to hurt myself and if i ever did again, i don’t like talking about it. if someone tried i’d just shut them down or walk away. but i didn’t know this girl at all, so i didn’t know if she was going to flip out, run, try to hurt herself/me so i didn’t go down. it all happened so fast so i didn’t call anyone else, and she hasn’t been back since.

it was just surprising and like blood-chilling to look down and see a girl hurting herself because i’ve never WATCHED someone else do it, i used to do it really bad, i have scars from my wrist to my armpit on my right arm (left handed aye), some on my left upper forearm, my thighs and stomach so i can really relate to self harm, but i just have a hard time relating to people because my friends in high school were just complete opposites of me, they were/are just such happy people overall and none of my close friends ever were depressed or self harmed so i just never really had anyone to relate. so i didn’t know what to do.

okay, so that’s all of it. i feel really bad it’s so long, but it’s been about a weeks worth of stuff built up.

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nahoy01-blog · 4 years

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8 Main Mistakes That Limit The Development Of Your Muscles!

Bodybuilding is a sport that requires more than excess, discipline. It is not about how rushed you are to have gigantic muscles, but rather dedicate yourself to making your muscles grow healthy, lean and at a good pace to avoid consequences.

So why do so many bodybuilders sabotage their results to speed up their results? You can save yourself months of problems by having knowledge of these 8 Main Errors That Limits The Development Of Your Muscles.

In the continuous search for more muscles, which can often become our worst enemies, it is when we particularly hear that something begins to go wrong.

Many coaches or people in the bodybuilding world have quite a few misguided concepts that are super important in this area. Some may recommend double consuming any product or simply eating in the most inappropriate ways.

Here's a list of what I think are the eight biggest mistakes bodybuilders make. Take a look and see how you could be wasting your time, your money and your energy.

We also recommend that you read. . . 15 typical mistakes of a beginner bodybuilder

8 Main Mistakes That Limit The Development Of Your Muscles!

Intake of Excess Supplements.

Supplements are called supplements for a very specific reason. Supplements are supposed to fill in the gaps in your diet with whole foods and help you get more than you can achieve with your simple efforts at the gym. They are not, and never will be, a substitute for a proper diet.

Time and time again, I've talked to people who spend most of their monthly food budget on overpriced supplements, when what they really need is meat, sweet potatoes, and other basic whole foods, intelligently supporting with the elements staples such as protein, fish oil, creatine and pre-workouts.

Make sure your diet is really the right one for what you want to accomplish before you start adding more demands on your training routines. Better results are achieved by mastering basic nutrition than if you have an unsatisfactorily superior supplement diet.

Adding More Volume And More Workouts.

In my opinion, people spend too much time arguing about whether or not overtraining is correct. The real question should be: Can you train too hard, too often, and for too long? The answer, I can say from experience, that it can, only that the results are not going to be based entirely on this.

It is common to have the mentality that "more is better" and this opinion has penetrated bodybuilding, subtracting many benefits from the workouts of people in full preparation, especially when applied to the duration and frequency of workouts. Why? Because muscles grow is outside the gym, that is, after your workouts.

We also recommend that you read. . . 5 Mistakes Made in a Training Session

If you train hard enough, work done in the gym will cause microscopic tears as well as trauma to the muscles. The work that is done outside the gym should be extensive with factors such as diet, drinking water consumption, adequate supplementation and above all a restful rest for the muscles.

When a muscle is trained hard again, before you give the muscle a chance to rest, you will not only take away its potential for growth, but you will open a door to cause further damage with unnecessary pain.

If you want your muscles to be bigger and stronger, you will need a longer rest time to recover mainly. Let your muscles heal completely before starting to train again and you will enjoy quick muscle gains, injury free.

Set Greater Elite Expectations.

You probably have a picture in your head of what your body wants. Maybe it's someone you've seen before or someone famous with an enviable body. This is how many people communicate their fitness goals: You might say, "I would like to look like him, he looks great." Maybe it's a personal trainer in the gym, a professional athlete, or just a random photo that saw you somewhere.

Regardless of what it is, I bet that person has spent years, or even decades, working on building their body. Please, I don't think I'm saying that you can't achieve what you want. I am simply recommending that you set realistic expectations for your progress and the time frame required to achieve it without reaching the unreal.

If you don't, I guarantee you will be discouraged. You can enjoy your progress and have the satisfaction of setting and achieving your own realistic goals. Little by little you will be able to establish other new strategies by increasing the demands at the same time that you will observe how your lean muscles are improving.

A Dirty Calorie Intake.

By now, we have all seen enough cases, and the volume increase in the bodybuilding world is easily criticized. Diet will always make a difference because it is not the same as gaining weight eating pizzas, hamburgers and ice cream, than eating under a fairly balanced diet controlling the calories that your body really needs to grow.

The human body is so noble that also eating garbage and training hard, supported by good genetics, you can obtain super muscle growth. What happens is that you can never achieve a lean and marked muscle. Rather, the volume may be more of molded fat than defined muscle.

The consequences not only extend to unhealthy excess weight, but you will also end up spending large amounts of time on a diet to fight body fat, and as a result you will lose more muscle than if you had become just as lean. Avoid this by eating as healthy as possible and sticking to a correct eating plan for a bodybuilder and his lifestyle.

Perform more professional level routines.

It would be a dream to have legs or arms like a famous bodybuilder right? As it is a safe dream you will want to copy his workouts and everything he has done to reach such a level. Well let me tell you, this reaction is totally wrong! While there are plenty of great tips and techniques that can be learned from professionals, you should hesitate before following your actual workouts on a regular basis.

Athletes who perform these exercises have been training at a high level with an almost perfect diet and with excellent and adequate supplementation for a long time. They have trainers, nutritionists, and years of muscle growth to support everything they do. Putting it all together in a short time is a serious mistake because they are simply acclimatized people to perform heavier workloads than an average person.

If you want to learn from the professionals, you must settle down is in the study of their principles, not in their training. Q erhaps can follow their advice or recommendations exercise workouts, not your total training volume and duration. Otherwise, your ways of training would be a recipe type of overtraining that I talked about earlier.

Stagnation In The Same Routine For A Long Time.

Change your training routines from time to time . No doubt you've heard that you have to change things to keep moving forward in the gym. I agree with that statement, but it is how people change that I often disagree. Instead of modifying the amount of weight used, the rest between sets or the repetition game scheme, you should completely change the exercises.

First of all, in bodybuilding there are certain movements that become irreplaceable to gain muscle mass , such as the squat and the deadlift. These lifts require an immense amount of skills and practice to perform properly with a strong mind-muscle connection. If you are not practicing regularly, it is likely that you are leaving the muscle gains on the table.

Secondly, many programs have loading and unloading phases, which cannot simply be connected to another program. Do yourself a favor and give your training program the opportunity to vary your exercises.

Not listening to good advice.

Do you already know what they say about correct opinions? If you are going to seek training, advice or supplementation from someone in your gym, make sure the person knows what they are talking about. Appeal to logic and filter all the information you can get.

What there is no doubt about is that nobody knows your own body better than you. You can spend all your time in tune with the programs, workouts and next to the stacks that are built around the fundamentals found near bodybuilders. Listen to logical advice, and you will know that the results are not so far from reality without delay.

Commit to lifting more and more weight.

When you get to the gym, the first thing you should do is leave your ego at the door. Lifting weights heavier than you should would open the door to horrible injuries with chronic pain and progress would be slower than if you were exercising with a weight for proper training.

When was the last time you saw a bench press on stage in the middle of a bodybuilding contest? How about a leg press contest on the sideline of a soccer field? Isn't it true that this does not exist ?, and this is because weights are mere instruments to help athletes improve in their sports. Exercise is not the sport in itself, unless you are a weightlifter specialized in weights as such.

In conclusion:

Analyze your training, your nutrition, your lifestyle and the way of thinking regarding what you are doing to gain more volume in your muscles, and do not be afraid to question what they tell you. If you wonder where the line is between enough and too much, it will be in your training where you can determine it.

One of the things that most discourages people when they go to a gym is not being able to perceive the changes in their own body, mainly in people who want to achieve muscle hypertrophy. There are several these factors that prevent you from obtaining the best results, among these we have the main factor: diet, poor planning in training and, very importantly, the lack of necessary rest time between training sessions.

In the same way, it is important to highlight that each person is different in what refers to genetics since it influences in a powerful way the results obtained on your muscles.

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mmjjbbaannkkss · 4 years

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2020 March 8-14 Dod yn ôl at fy nghoed.

While the covid-19 is odd, it doesn’t scare me, there’s even a possibility that training until your immune system is low, for four years, and being around many viroids, that just taking a rest week, and eating the oranges nobody is buying, will be enough. Long post. I’m going to go to the gym to see if it’s open in a few days from now, but generally speaking, it’s time for a break.

Yesterday, two days ago, I somehow jammed my outer wrist, and it’s an injury that can cause serious af problems later on; the ball of my left foot keeps getting cramps, after getting new shoes the ankle and perhaps posture improved, but it’s another worry; and my back, obliques, traps, all in knots, so the next phase of training is just walking and stretching and reading books outside. In the fresh air, in the park, laying down in the forest and inheriting what it has to offer. Playing outdoors builds immunity, the microbes and extremophiles we share with the planet will steer our evolution, this might just be an upgrade to the next immunity level on the way to Mars, and you can get the vaccine at PHARMACY when it’s ready. If you’re not already healthy.

It was sad to see people with masks that don’t work buying things they don’t want, which is why I park across the pond at the supermarket Christmas eve and laff at them, today went to buy eggs, and panic buying had cans and tp empty, even tho like i keep telling the lefties, capitalism doesn’t stop just because the demand goes up, and they keep panicking anyway, site to store, distribution centers to home, wait in line, etc. All you’re doing is driving the price up.on yourself. I literally have libertarian prepper amounts of food, so this is rather Sodom and Gomorrah territory, and why I study the logics, the stoics, and the zenists. I do have to worry about mom’s cats, but again, capitalism isn’t stopping, i’d bet manufacturers are popping corks before the next quarter starts.

Isometrics, outdoor cardio if you’re urban, calisthenics, are perfect options if you’re still aversive. I’m going to finally do my taijiquan, walk in the mornings, stretch outside, read books, actually enjoy my tea, and meditate. Food reduction is mandatory when not exercising, your calorie intake/expenditure, caloric deficit measures. I’m going into a cut, and so you don’t have to, meditate for hours on end. Eat small, meditate on my emotions and senses, controlling my metabolism with my mind, confronting how perceptions and emotions control me and resolving my fears of social anxiety, especially now. I’ll be sure to post my cutting diets and my carb-less fever dreams of the chocolate cake from Portal 2.

My ancestors lived on muddy rivers in homes dug right into the earth, this virus isn’t exactly neighboring raiders or attackers after our knee-high mud paradise. Wuhan closed it’s last makeshift hospitals. Be logical, don’t get emotional, or get emotional in a preworkout-fuled rampage IG story and fight locals for the crown of TP mountain.

No I don’t want you to transmit, yes I want you, to look up the symptoms, and compare them to other viroid symptoms, yes you should look at the physicality of those getting it, and those who aren’t. Some of you may need perspective before causing fear. It’s been suggested to practice “social distancing” and my inner child is ROFL at the idea that I’m not already. I’ve been doing the Vulcan salute for 20 years, and now everybody tryna jack my steeze. I’m taking a week off, or more idk what the gym plans to do, and it only took a global crisis to trigger it. It’ll also allow time to see if I present any symptoms while not spreading disease. Practice hygiene and some civility will follow. LLAP

Celebrations Held at Wuhan’s Makeshift Hospitals After City Closes Them Down https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJLC1WInVzQ

PS I’m going to post regular updates proving i’m not sick, not disproving that I’m not freaking out right before the zombie apocalypse, but just to post and inform to entertain your time, if i can figure out how to talk to the camera again, it always feels rehearsed so be kind.

>workouts/notes

Week 6 (mixed: heavy neg & fst pos)

#31 Heavy Push

Treadmill 5 > Shldr Press *6/1030507090 > Lat Raise *6/10*4,15? > Hoist *6/35*3,50*3 > Chest press *6/507090110130150170- > Dips *8/6/666/66 > Pec Deck *8/100*3,115130145160175- > Smith Bench *6/100*3,150-1 > Tricep Machine *8/b mñn v e/prolly, 304560 > Pullover Press *8/50506060 > Twist *8/506070 > Treadmill 12, stairs 25-, 5

Shldrs wanted 20 more nice place tho, lat raise cld better but not sure if by cable or db; hoist idk if improved but feels better, where started doing double sets bc pwo, chest press finish low glycemic, dips above avg doubled ended bricked up biceps, smith bench should've pumped bricked hundo instead of 150, was a challenging final rep; pec deck finally in range reps worth repeating, quizás the pwo, a little warm; triceps would've been better at cables, pullover PR if I did them right; still weak left obliques, maybe I'll take up rock golf at the lake;

Singularity's entire new album >>>>> https://youtu.be/eyirbcaGbC8

A few days without legumes feels fine; we are the masses that can't park straight until mid May;

½ L, 4 eggs, c rice; ½ L, sammich; veggie straws, gym, pwo ½ L, ½ L lite, ½ L water, done; veggie straws;

#32 Lite Pull

Treadmill 15 > Palms-In pulldown *7/7085100*3120*2 > DB 1-Arm Row *7/15202530355065 > Wide Lat pulldown *7/30*2,50*5 > Pulldown/over *7/30*3; > Shrug *7/60*3,100*3,150? > Row *7/100*7 > Delt Deck *7/15202530354250 > Preacher Curl *7/5050656580809595105105- > Straight Bar Curl *7/20303030404040- > 1-arm cable curl *7/15*3,20*3,25- > Treadmill 5

Chaz Cardigan, Not Okay

Defrosting windows. ½ L 30g whey; 4 eggs, 2 potato toast, ½ L+; 4 eggs, 2 potato toast; gym, 1 L pwo, veggie straws; c rice, 4 eggs; ½ c cottage cheese, mandarin, 2 bread, spinach artichoke dip, cheese, ½ L 30g whey;

#33 Heavy Legs

Treadmill 15 > Mule *6/5050707090110130 > Horizon Press *6/1030507090110130150170190210- > Deadlift supine curl *6/60*5- > Hack Squat *6/x > Leg Ext *6/1030507090-1 > Leg Curl *8/305070 > Heel Raise *8/30507090110 > Side Bends *8/(2)152535506580100? > Chair Crunch *8/7590105120135 > Press crunch *8/ > Stairs 25, treadmill 5/2;

Bad session, mule stress, horizon press possible PR, deadlift/curl better, skipped hacks b/c possibly last week didn’t mend before retrain window //drove to officeplace for errand across shopping centers 5 min// leg ext better form maybe better reps, leg curl better depth, heel raise worse/cold, side bends PR get some, chair crunch improve better form, would like to do slower crunches, muscle confusion, almost press crunch, but was there way too long, circa packed start, weird wrist…

My right wrist or forearm has become stiff, inflexible at first, might have slept right palm left face and hyperextended it, idk so much,

Everyone washing their hands, wiping down equipment, not jumping in front of me, brodin wut

Svartport, Orbit Culture; After gym, grocery store, home, had crockpot chicken mediteraneano, ½ cup rice, ¼ L 15g whey, fell asleep; woke, ate a piece of cheese and another ¼ L, watched a show, back to sleep; however, none-not-theless, i’d only had breakfast and ½ L liquids before gymming, by the time i got home i was past hangry and into cold;

C rice, ¼ lb gr beef, ½ L 30g whey; ¼ L 20g whey, $1 cashews, gym, 1 L +pwo, 1L electrolytes; chicken mediterraneo, rice; muffin and milk, slice of cheese;

#34 Lite Push c/lb/x >> FST

Treadmill warmup > Shoulder Press *7/10303005507070 > Bb Raise *7/20*7 > Plate Lat Raise *7/10*7 > Incl BB Bench *7/60*7 > Chest press *7/50*3,70*3,90*3,110*3 > Crossover *7/20*7,25*7 > Pec Deck *7/100*7 > Pullover *7/x > Tri-bar tricep *7/15153030454560607575 > Twist *7/507090/x > Stairmill 25, treadmill 5/2

C rice, 4 eggs, ½ L 30g whey; 2 mandarins, ¼ L creatine/aminos, 1L pwo lite, 2 mandarins, ¼ L creatine, done; 1 country biscuit, ½ cup cottage cheese; ¾ med chicken bacon ranch pizza; piece of cheese

#35 Slow Pull > Treadmill warm-up 15 > Lat Pulldown *6/305070 > Low Row *6/100*5 > High Row *6/35506580100- > Chin Up Palms In *6/666- > Facepull *6/202530355065 > Shrug *8/100*3,150*2- > EZ Curl *8/203030505050 > Cbl Curl 1-Arm *8/15152020 > Preacher 1-Arm *8/15153030454560-60-1 > Twist *8/ > Stairs 25, treadmill 5/2

Cup of rice, 4 eggs, 1/2L 30g whey; fries and 2 cups coffee; Angus burger; pause,

#36 FST Legs > /halt

#covid-19 #coronoavirus #gym #powerlifting #bodybuilding #immunity #cure #how not to #how to #how to fight #how to stop #health #wellness

0 notes

oovitus · 5 years

Text

Nutrition is not a belief system. Why wishful thinking won’t get you results, but science might.

++++

Imagine the Google search by someone who wants to eat better.

They might want to lose weight. Or build muscle. Or stay a little healthier so they can play with their grandkids longer.

So they might look for terms like:

Healthy eating.

Healthy diet.

Good nutrition.

The result? Well…

“Healthy eating” gave me 63.6 million options.

“Healthy diet” gave me 188 million options.

And “Good nutrition” gave me a whopping 213 million options.

When I check out some of these search engine results, I notice something.

Each of these websites has a story to tell: A story about which diet, supplement, food, or nutrition practice someone believes is best.

Many of these stories completely contradict each other.

But they have one thing in common: The authors treat nutrition like it’s a set of beliefs, there for their own picking and choosing.

Unfortunately, “nutrition” is often seen as a belief system.

But beliefs don’t necessarily have anything to do with facts.

When we believe something, we choose to accept that it’s true, which may or may not have anything to do with factual certainty.

This approach of “believing” is frequently applied to nutrition.

As in:

“I believe that sugar is poison.”

“I don’t believe that humans were meant to eat grains.”

“I believe in only eating foods that are natural and organic.”

In other words, the answer to “What should I eat?” is often based on faith, magical thinking, emotional attachments, and/or what feels “truthy”, rather than on science.

Yet nutrition is not a belief system.

Nutrition is a science.

I’m a strength coach and Precision Nutrition Certified nutrition specialist.

(I completed the Level 1 Certification in 2013 and I’m now in the middle of the Level 2 Certification Master Class).

Most of my work is with professional and amateur athletes. And my job is to use nutrition (plus strength and conditioning) to get my clients the results they want.

When your meal strategy can be the difference between getting a multi-million dollar contract and not, there is no room for “hoping” the nutrition will work.

I can’t go on faith alone. My clients’ careers literally depend on me doing my job well. Which is why the scientific method, not beliefs, govern my practice.

That’s why I need to ensure that my nutrition recommendations are based on measurable, accurate reality. On science. On the best evidence that we have right now.

And physiology is physiology.

Believing something, or wanting it to be true, or feeling it should be true doesn’t mean it is true.

Physiology (like chemistry, like physics) follows certain known principles.

It’s why we ask questions like these:

“What’s the relationship between protein intake and muscle function as we age?”

“How does ketosis affect the body’s choice of fuel?”

“How does fructose consumption affect insulin sensitivity in non-diabetic people?”

“How do short-term but cumulative energy imbalances predict subsequent food intake?”

And we use a particular method for determining the answers.

These are just a few examples, of course. As you can imagine, scientists have thousands of questions about optimal nutrition, and they’ve answered some questions more thoroughly than others.

Knowing the science behind the field allows us to make evidence-based recommendations to create a known physiological effect.

Will honey and cinnamon “rev my metabolism”?

Some people believe this (or want others to believe it).

But nobody knows.

Will creatine monohydrate improve my power output?

Now we’re talking.

We know some things about creatine monohydrate and its effect on the body, because it’s been scientifically studied.

Creatine monohydrate has a known chemical structure.

We know this because we have carefully experimented and objectively measured what happens. We’ve also reproduced those findings over and over.

See how that played out?

One claim is speculation based on, perhaps (I’m guessing) rumors about blood sugar and metabolism along with a few studies about cinnamon as an antioxidant?

The other is fact based on a documented physiological outcome.

The big problem: Most people start with the internet.

Wondering what to put in your smoothie? What to eat before you work out? How much bacon you should eat?

There are all sorts of answers on Google, not to mention Facebook and Instagram.

You don’t have to look far to discover a charismatic person with an excellent body and sales pitch offering up their own beliefs as a “protocol” or “system”.

These systems tend to include:

A set of certain foods and/or supplements to eat. (Like acai berries hand-picked at sunrise.)

A set of certain foods to avoid. (Nothing a caveman wouldn’t eat. Nothing that isn’t “natural”. Nothing that’s been sold, bought or processed.)

Rules about how much to eat, when to eat (or not eat), and possibly even where to eat. (No food after 6:30 pm!)

If the belief system (or the person who invented it) is compelling or “truthy” enough, it can be pretty tempting to believe them.

After all, many of these “systems” come with lots of reasons to believe, including:

Irresistible promises

Clever branding

Photos, graphics, and other visual “evidence”

Testimonials and/or celebrity endorsements

Powerful personal stories (“If this guy did it, I can too!”)

Sex appeal

Scholarly citations pointing to studies that turn out to be poorly designed, fatally biased, or not yet replicated (a hallmark of — you guessed it — actual scientific fact)

Before you know it, you can’t remember the last time you didn’t put honey and cinnamon in your oatmeal…and yogurt…and tea.

We’re not bad for wishing something were true.

Just like Fox Mulder, sometimes we want to believe.

It’s very human, actually.

Belief systems can bring us comfort. Following a clear set of rules can be a huge relief to those of us that find nutrition confusing or overwhelming.

Belief systems can also make us feel like we’re part of something: A community that shares our values, aspirations, and desires. We may feel a sense of importance, identity, and belonging.

Bonus: We’re closer to our goals… together!

When we buy into a belief system, we’re looking for help. We want to make a change, or finally find a solution to a problem that’s bothered us for a long time.

That’s completely normal and natural.

The people who start or share a belief system aren’t bad, either. Most of them are good, genuine, positive people just trying to make other people’s lives better.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to believe.

Or wishing some things were true.

Science is anything but simple.

It would be great if there was a single ingredient to cure cancer, or a single exercise to get you ripped.

But physiology isn’t simple, and neither is science. Especially nutrition science.

People who read research understand this. They understand the weight that the particular evidence holds, and where it is placed in the hierarchy of nutritional importance.

This isn’t how science works, and it’s not how the truth is discovered.

Did you know that drinking alcohol increases muscle tone?

Don’t believe me?

Well, imagine I’m telling you this while shirtless, smiling shiny white teeth, and sporting a six-pack:

Of course this isn’t true though, right?

Because that would be ignoring:

Other data that suggest alcohol actually lowers testosterone, and the two studies that show it has no effect.

Data on how alcohol can harm our health and fitness.

The fact that I am always fully clothed when telling clients stuff.

Instead of picking just one study, you have to look at all studies on that topic to see where the overall weight of the evidence lies.

But let’s get real.

People are busy.

Health and fitness clients don’t usually have the time, the experience, nor the interest to pore over research. They have jobs and lives.

What’s the harm in believing?

In the Precision Nutrition’s Certification programs, they talk about scope of practice. It’s crucial for health and fitness pros to:

Know what they know, and what they don’t know.

Know where they can legitimately make recommendations based on actual expertise, and where they need to refer out to another health care professional.

In other words, to make appropriate, evidence-based recommendations about nutrition, it’s not enough to simply:

Have made a big change to your own body (such as losing weight, or succeeding at a new sport).

Follow some blogs.

Have a stack of health and fitness magazines on the back of the toilet.

These are a great way to begin. I didn’t know stuff when I was new to the field, either. That’s why we learn and practice… and practice and learn… and then practice and learn some more.

But leaning on those methods of “research” — aka believing instead of knowing — can be dangerous.

There’s an old saying:

You know just enough to be dangerous.

For starters, beliefs without evidence can cause physical harm.

Nutrition can affect the human body’s systems dramatically — that’s the amazing power and opportunity, and it’s why we coaches love this field.

The downside is that doing the wrong things can change our bodies in ways we don’t want.

Back in the mid-to-late 1800s, a man named Wilbur Atwater had a Ph.D. from Yale in agricultural chemistry.

He measured the calories and macronutrients in hundreds of foods to eventually come to the conclusion that the only two elements that humans needed to be concerned with when creating their diet were:

protein, and

total calories.

He wrote newspaper columns, lectured, and told anyone who would listen about his beliefs. He truly believed that this was the solution to human nutrition and even poverty.

He was a well-respected scientist doing real research in a lab. Yet he didn’t have all the knowledge he needed to make the right recommendations.

Instead, he told everyone to eat fewer vegetables (because they were low calorie and low protein), while eating more fatty pork.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, can’t it?

Atwater’s diet eliminates:

whole grains

healthy fats

fruits and vegetables

vitamins and minerals

fiber

various other nutrients and micronutrients (such as antioxidants).

Thanks to research, we now know that all of these play their own unique role in health. Cutting out all of these nutrients is downright dangerous.

Now, this is an extreme example, perhaps.

But some of the most popular belief-based diets today have adherents alter their nutrition choices in strange and/or misguided ways. They:

Completely give up grains, beans, and legumes

Swear off all fat

Eat only raw food

Base their intake on a single food (e.g. grapefruit, cabbage)

Eschew solid food

Only drink “detoxing” juices

Hold their daily calorie intake to some “magic” number, like 600

Replace all carbs with bacon

Also, beliefs without evidence can prevent the health and fitness industry from making progress.

Most people working as health and fitness pros chose this industry to help people change their lives for the better.

Confusing the crap out of ourselves (and clients) with these weird belief-based “systems” does not support that goal.

When we choose belief over fact, we don’t just hold ourselves, and our clients, back. We hold the entire industry back.

Let’s commit to improving everyone’s nutrition knowledge.

Our collective job as coaches is to create the healthiest and happiest people in the world.

How do we do that?

Treating nutrition as a science, instead of a belief system, is a strong step in the right direction.

As is constantly pushing to improve our own knowledge, and thinking critically about our convictions.

Nutrition science is a big field. We can’t know everything, and certainly not all at once.

What to do next: Some tips from Precision Nutrition.

1. Practice having an open yet critical mindset.

“Because it worked for me” is not enough evidence to recommend “it” to another person.

Be curious. Ask questions.

Explore the evidence that supports a given position. Be aware of why nutrition science is so complicated. Ask for scientific references, and then scrutinize those.

And, by all means, experiment on yourself (in Precision Nutrition Coaching, we call this writing your Owner’s Manual).

Try different things. Document the effects.

Over time, that’s as legitimate a way of knowing. (Make sure you’re always tracking and revisiting, though — bodies do change!)

2. Live in the middle ground.

Biology rarely operates in extremes. Only in very specific contexts (for example, actual diagnosed Celiac disease) do “always” and “never” have value.

So be suspicious of “always” or “never” language in nutrition talk.

Instead, try “some people” and “sometimes” and “it depends”.

For example, a coach might insist that everything should be “100% natural” or else it’s bad. But just because something has been processed in some way does always not make it inferior.

100% of Americans would not get enough Vitamin D.

93% not enough Vitamin E.

88% not enough folate.

74% not enough Vitamin A.

51% not enough thiamin.

46% not enough Vitamin C.

22% not enough Vitamin B6.

3. Notice when words and concepts trigger emotions.

Recognize when you feel “pulled” by a certain idea.

Ask yourself, am I considering this “system” for the right reasons? Am I looking for an “easy” solution because I feel sad/frustrated/lost/stressed today?

4. Scrutinize claims that are tied to financial gain.

For example:

“Eat as much as you like and still lose weight!” (A real-life claim aimed at selling a diet book.)

“Ripped abs in 1 minute!” (Real claim. Workout DVD this time.)

In my teen years, I spent unthinkable quantities of my hard-earned McDonald’s money on ineffective testosterone boosters and nitric oxide products.

Trust me bro, I was getting “jacked”.

In this marriage between beliefs and profit, science didn’t show up to the ceremony.

5. Be skeptical of one-size-fits-all approaches.

Humans are unique, complex systems. They should be treated as such.

There is no one best diet. Any plan should be a system that’s based on evidence, and truly reflects the client’s unique lifestyle, goals, and needs.

6. Get qualified coaching.

If you don’t feel confident reading research or understanding the science, consider finding a Precision Nutrition Certified coach or enrolling in the Certification yourself.

Knowledge is power.

Passionate about fitness and nutrition?

If so, and you’d like to learn more about it, consider the Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification. Our next group kicks off shortly.

What’s it all about?

Developed over 15 years, and proven with over 100,000 clients, the Level 1 curriculum stands alone as the authority on the science of nutrition and the art of coaching.

Interested? Add your name to the presale list. You’ll save up to 33% and secure your spot 24 hours before everyone else.

We’ll be opening up spots in our next Precision Nutrition Level 1 Certification on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019.

If you want to find out more, we’ve set up the following presale list, which gives you two advantages.

If you’re ready to boost your education, and take your nutrition game to the next level, let’s go down the rabbit hole together.

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