Iâm a big fan of simplicity (and The Lord of the Rings đ).
I remember a few years ago, I discovered a couple of guys who talked about a pyramid in relationship to losing weight, lifting weights and bulking up.
They called it the “The Pyramid of Nutrition Priorities” and I LOVED how simple it made things.
The idea wasâŚ
Most people put wayyyy too much focus on the wrong things.
For example, plenty of people think if they take the right supplement, theyâll lose weight or bulk up.
Thatâs why bodybuilders take Creatine, Beta-alanine and BCAAS⌠and aspiring skinny people take Green Tea Extract, Guar Gum or maybe something more exciting like Instant Knockout or Trimtone.
They mistakenly believe that they need (often expensive) supplements to succeed.
The problem is…
Supplements are one of the least important factors when it comes to losing weight or bulking up.
That means if you get your supplements right but the more important stuff wrong, you fail.
Think about a pyramid.
The most important items are at the bottom of the pyramid where they take up the most space while at the top you have the things that help but not very much.
On The Pyramid of Nutrition Priorities, supplements are at the top.
That means theyâre the LEAST important factor when it comes to losing weight or bulking up.
Interesting, right?
Especially considering the popularity of supplements đ¤Śââď¸
One level down from supplements is meal-timing or frequency đ
That is⌠when do you eat your meals?
When it comes to losing weight or bulking up, meal timing is more important than supplements but still not very important.
One level down from meal timing is vitamins and minerals (micronutrients). More important than meal timing and supplements but still not that important for losing weight or bulking up.
One level down from vitamins and minerals is carbs, proteins and fats (macronutrients).
Your macros are actually kind of important since they’re the 2nd row from the bottom. Itâs far more important than supplements and meal timing and still more important than vitamins and minerals.
However, itâs still not the most important factor.
That means you can get everything I just mentioned right (supplements, meal timing, micro and macronutrients) and STILL FAIL to lose weight or bulk up.
To give you another specific example…
Articles and books that talk about The 12 Healthiest Vegetables for Weight Loss or Top 9 Vegetables To Include In Your Diet To Burn Belly Fat are a COMPLETE WASTE of time UNLESS you’ve got the bottom layer of the pyramid sorted (vegetables are mainly about micronutrients which puts them in the middle of The Pyramid of Nutrition Priorities).
Why?
Because you missed THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR (the ONE problem to rule them all) when it comes to nutrition for losing weight and bulking up:
Calories đ¤¤
Yes, thatâs right.
If you eat too much (too many calories), you WILL gain weight (regardless of how perfect you get your supplements, meal timing, micro and macronutrients and zucchini).
And if you eat too little (too few calories), you will NOT gain weight (despite everything else being perfect).
Hereâs what The Pyramid of Nutrition Priorities looks like (h/t to Rippedbody.com):
Interesting, right?
The key takeaway isâŚ
If you focus on the wrong things (even if you do them perfectly), you wonât get the result youâre after đ
Or to borrow a quote from systems theorist Russell L. Ackoff:
“The more efficient you are at doing the wrong thing, the wronger you become.”
Most everything in life works like this.
Losing weight.
Bulking up.
And yes, dealing with anxiety, depression, a racing mind, inability to feel anything or self-doubt that just won’t leave you alone.
If you focus on the wrong things, you donât get the result youâre after.
So, the question is:
When it comes to anxiety, depression, a racing mind, insomnia, inability to feel anything or self-doubt that just wonât leave you alone, are you using equivalent of âsupplementsâ to fix the problem?
Or are you working on the bottom, most important layer of the pyramid – the nervous system?
If you’re sick of supplements that don’t work and you want to work directly on your nervous system, you know what to do:
Cheers,
John Wood
P.S. Know anyone who struggles with anxiety, depression, self-doubt or a racing mind – but doesnât know how to work on the root problem (the nervous system)?
Refer them to The Daily Growl (this email newsletter) and give them better tools for being healthy, happy and whole.