We're currently in a Nutrition Challenge and I sent this message to my team...
In college, I lived on my own, bartended full-time, and commuted. It wasn't the easiest five years of my life, but don't worry—I had a little fun, too.
I remember trying to save money, but I never could with all my expenses and lifestyle. So then I finally tried something different. I figured out my daily overhead (rent, car payment, insurance, cell phone, utilities, tuition, and clubbing money), and anything over that amount, I would throw in an envelope, date it, seal it, and toss it in a safe. In case you're wondering, that number was $125 a day even back then!
In many ways, that's what we're doing with macros and calories here. We're figuring out our baseline, so to speak. My baseline is 2,500 calories.
I made some great money as a bartender. There were nights that I would save $50, $100, and sometimes more, but for most shifts, I could only save $10-20. There were more bad days than good days.
Much like our nutrition, there's a chance that you've had more bad days than good days, which is why you've entered this challenge.
It was over two years later, but one day, my safe wouldn't shut. I thought the door was broken or jammed. When I looked closer, I saw the safe packed with envelopes. I never really thought to look; I just stayed the course.
So I sat at home and counted up my savings. It took a few hours to sort through the dirty singles, but could you believe there was over $60k in that safe under my bed?! At the time, I couldn't believe it myself! It was amazing. That's a lot of tips! I wish I had 60K right about now!
I could've never done that if I hadn't had a plan and stuck to it with blind faith. I used that money to pay off any student loan debt, put a down payment on my house, and even pay for our wedding. It was a great and simple time and taught me a valuable lesson. Insert any cliché quote here" ___________________________."
A healthy lifestyle is like the process of saving and the prize isn't a pile of cash, it's your health. Ironically, health and wealth rhyme.
You may not notice it at the moment, but one of these days, you'll either get a glimpse of yourself in a mirror or a photo and be amazed at your progress. Maybe you'll get blood work and notice you're in the top percentile. For me, it's always been fitting into my old clubbing outfits...you know, those DKNY tight leather pants with cut-off Moschino T-Shirt. Sorry, I had a moment there. But in all honesty, your health is the big payoff.
This challenge we're so invested in is the key to building your wealth. That wasn't a typo.
And if you lose your way, you have the tools to find your new baseline. Through movement, whole foods, and time, you're right back on your way.
But you must remember that progress isn't linear. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is to have more good days than bad days; so we can enjoy our magnificent bodies, enjoy some delicious snacks along the way, and live a long and healthy damn time.
Keep going team! You're all doing great!
YOUR PROUD COACH,
DP
PS—I hope you enjoyed that little story, too. Young Dave would've said nothing good in life comes easy, and he was right!
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