Fueling Your Body for Maximum Performance | Erica Ballard

Today's episode features Erica Ballard from Erica Ballard Health.

At first, Erica struggled with her self image and finding out what "healthy" really meant.

Through experimentation and education, she unlocked how to really help others achieve their peak health.

Now she's helping others and educating the world on what real health is.

Listen, learn, and let us know what you think about this awesome episode!
Episode Summary
Erica's Background

* Erica thought looking good was the key to her happiness
* She also thought she was doing fitness and health the right way
* Erica was actually working at a non-profit promoting healthcare and wellness
* Unfortunately, this non-profit wasn't promoting the best practices
* Eventually, she came to the realization that wellness isn't one size fits all
* It took her a while to find what worked for her

Creating an Experiment Mindset

The program that Erica went through pushed you to challenge your wellness beliefs
* It would convince you to be vegan and then highlight the benefits of meats
* Eventually, you start to see what makes real sense to you and not just following a narrative
* Then we discuss problems with the food pyramid and breakfast being the most important meal of the day
* To find what works for you she promotes experimenting
* Introduce one new piece to your wellness journey at a time and keep what works for you

Crowding In vs Eliminating

Erica promotes that you bring in the things that you want instead of focusing on the cut
* Add in more grains and more water, the things you're cutting out will eliminate itself
* Challenge yourself on the things you are hanging onto that are keeping you from wellness goals
* How are those bad habits serving you?
* Then Erica drops all kind of knowledge on us around sugar

Healthy People Perform

* We discuss how health and wellness goes beyond life expectancy
* It also impacts your job performance and thus your profit margins
* Entrepreneurs love to boast about performing on four hours of sleep
* That's impressive
* But imagine how well they'd perform on eight hours of sleep!
* Turn your good (which might be great for everyone else) into your great

The All-Important Sleep

Don't eat close to sleeping (2-3 hours between food and sleep)
* Get off the phone before bedtime
* Don't drink caffeine after 2 pm
* Sleep is the first thing Erica recommends you to work on for wellness
* We need 7-8 hours per night!
* Performing on four hours of sleep isn't interesting or impressive

Key Takeaways

* One size fits one: Erica highlights over and over just how personal that fitness and wellness are, experiment!
* Good Intentions: Even though Erica was working at a non-profit promoting health, she was still unknowingly a part of the problem

Call to Action

Experiment with your own health and wellness journey. Pick one thing this week to add. Whether it's exercise, water, or greens, just add one thing. If you see an improvement, keep it, and add another.

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