Here are 6 Daily Non-Negotiables I Do To Stay in Shape (Build Muscle & Lose Fat With Ease)
For me staying fit has become almost essential.
Partly because I need to capture the best possible shot for content for my work and to make a living for myself, but primarily because it has become a core part of who I am.
If I ever let myself go I’d likely struggle with self-esteem issues.
One common struggle I see in many of my clients is the constant comparison to a previous time in their lives, usually around college-age years.
Staying in shape was easy.
They trained with friends, ate whatever they wanted, and managed to sneak in the occasional crazy weekend without damage to the physique.
But as we age, we have bills to pay, we have a family to support, and our energy to maintain the same active lifestyle dwindles.
So over the years, I’ve developed some principles that make staying in shape as simple as possible for me, and hopefully, they’ll help you too.
Principle 1
So first and foremost, let’s prioritize sleep.
These tips are in no particular order, but I still think this might be the most important.
If you want a more in-depth guide on sleep, make sure to check out a few newsletters ago where I dive into sleep at length.
Truth is, If I don’t sleep 7 hours, I’m a miserable human being.
Emotionally, for one, but also physically.
Sleep is paramount to recovery, and if my sleep isn’t up to par, I’m way more inclined to junk food and have less control over what I eat.
Poor sleep skyrockets cortisol, the main stress hormone of the body, which can indeed lead to poor appetite regulation.
The brain will just go on autopilot, but not in the way that you would want it to.
If you’re trying to look lean and muscular, these do not make for a great recipe.
A good night’s sleep just makes showing up in your life a whole lot easier.
ALL of it improves with better sleep: gym, career, family, and hobbies.
I’ll give you some simple and actionable tips.
Don’t abuse caffeine – try not to have any after 3 pm as a rough rule.
Practice good sleep hygiene – no bright lights in the evening and night hours, especially overhead ones (it mimics sunlight).
Limit your phone usage in bed.
Keep your bedroom cool.
Adhere to a strict bedtime most days as best as you can.
If you keep these consistent and try to keep your time spent in bed around 8 hours, you will find yourself waking up without an alarm eventually.
The body is smart and adjusts to your schedule.
Some extra life hacks for me are a sleep mask, earplugs, and a California king bed.
As for sleep supplements, magnesium glycinate, ashwaghanda, and L-theanine make for a solid sleep cocktail.
Principle 2
The second principle I’ve found most essential is to stick to a few go-to meals consistently.
Most of us, both in-shape and out-of-shape, generally have 5-15 meals we eat on repeat.
Those meals make up much of your energy levels, body composition, and performance.
Find the 5-15 meals that you LOVE that keep you on track.
Keeping meals consistent throughout the week eliminates the time-consuming nature of calorie tracking.
I’m busy. I’m not bringing a food scale everywhere.
And my pockets aren’t that big anyway.
However, if you want to preserve muscle mass and control body fat accumulation, you must be mindful of your calorie and macronutrient consumption.
This doesn’t have to be strict tracking.
It could be learning to estimate calories, or simply identifying meals with appropriate protein and reasonable calorie content and incorporating them into your diet regularly.
Beyond this, you will find that most advanced trainees really just dumb their diet down to calories and protein.
Hit those, eat a fruit and vegetable here and there, and you are fine.
It’s about finding a practical balance between strict surveillance and complete independence.
We can use my rough daily routine as an example.
I usually fast in the morning.
I will have some milk or creamer in my coffee in the morning, so its not a true “fast”, but the point is that I don’t have a meal until somewhere around noon or 1 pm.
First meal, I have a few staples: a bagel with cream cheese and eggs, protein oatmeal, or steak with eggs if I’m trying to eat lower carbs that day.
3 meal variations there.
These meals may not be nutritionally balanced on their own, I know.
But I am familiar with the ingredients.
If I eat high-fat for breakfast, I will adapt my following meals to compensate.
If I eat fewer calories, I’ll compensate with a little more later.
No veggies in the morning?
Better believe I’m having some later.
Make it fluid.
This consistency enables me to keep an approximate estimate of my calorie and macronutrient consumption without the need for meticulous documentation of everything.
It’s less about consciously calculating and more about instinctively identifying the protein and calorie levels in my meals, which requires little brain work.
Principle 3
While we are on the topic of food, another technique I employ is to base my diet on whole, unprocessed foods.
While it is not necessary to completely avoid processed foods, focusing on fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meats, whole eggs, seafood, and grains will make it easier to stay on track and not overindulge and put on additional body fat, especially if you are active and regularly lift weights.
I don’t entirely exclude items like white rice, pasta, and desserts because, let’s face it, they taste good and my wife, Abby, likes baking.
And I don’t have the time to wait nine months to reward myself with my mom’s Greek cookies on Christmas (melomakarona if you’re curious).
I feel it is unnecessary to take an extreme stance, but it is critical to acknowledge the various levels of processing of foods.
If your diet consists primarily of highly processed foods like ramen and deli meats, you’ll need more calories to feel satisfied, and you might find yourself locked in a loop in which the more junk you eat, the more you crave.
It happens even to the best of us.
The primary goal here is to make healthy eating as convenient as possible.
While my diet isn’t perfect, I believe there comes a point where adhering exactly to 100% unprocessed whole foods may be more trouble than it’s worth.
This threshold may vary depending on each person’s unique circumstances and preferences.
But generally, I have a big appetite so I tend to stick to high-volume, lower-calorie foods, like leafy greens, cabbage, broccoli, eggs, chicken/lean meats, yogurt, and oats.
Principle 4
The fourth principle: life happens.
I like to prepare for deviations from the plan.
Naturally, there are times in life when strictly adhering to a rigid training and diet plan is not possible or realistic, like a vacation or special occasions like a holiday or birthday.
But get this: my birthday occurs on the same day every year.
I know Christmas is December 25th this year AND next year.
I can anticipate these activities and plan accordingly.
Instead of going overboard during these moments and then having to deal with the consequences later, such as adding a few pounds and then working hard to lose them, I prefer a more balanced approach.
We often think of our routines on a small scale, but I think its better to zoom out.
Instead of 2,000 calories a day, think of it as 14,000 calories per week, or heck even 60,000 calories per month.
That looks a lot less overwhelming when you’re staring down a table filled with delicious desserts or reading a less-than-ideal restaurant menu.
On top of that, I increase my cardio sessions and/or step count in preparation for these times and somewhat change my diet to trim down, establishing a buffer so that the impact of indulging is less harsh.
This method helps me stay lean within a small range of fluctuations.
Beyond that, I lift weights, It’s what I do.
I work hard to maintain consistency in my weightlifting program ahead of time so that if I end up exercising less regularly for a week or two, it is a scheduled break that I am ready for and enjoy.
Or if it is a period of more regular travel, getting creative with hotel workouts or bodyweight workouts can prove to be a fun challenge.
While these strategies may appear simple, they are especially useful if you aren’t precisely calculating calories.
It’s critical to be honest with yourself and strike a balance between pleasure and restriction that fits your lifestyle and aspirations.
Principle 5
If you’re reading this far, I’m sure you lift weights or exercise in some appreciable amount.
So maintaining resistance training regularly is key.
I have not done a strict “bulking” diet in ages, which means I don’t see large muscle gains these days if any at all.
But it doesn’t mean I don’t approach my training as if I’m trying to build muscle.
Essentially, this means reaching my weekly volume targets, generally around 10-15 sets per muscle per week, keeping a regular training frequency, and aiming to use progressive overload wherever possible.
I also like to change up my training rather frequently to keep things exciting.
If I haven’t done a certain lift in a while, I’ll cycle back to it to work on a new skill and make some progress there.
There will be times when I switch things up altogether and start a new form of exercise, and in this current period of my life, it is running.
Without a consistent calorie surplus for me, growth is slow at this point, and I hit many plateaus.
So changing it up for me is helpful for the enjoyment and motivation factor of training.
But given that I’m hardly ever in a calorie surplus, I can be confident that the extra calories I’d eat in a period where I’m off track will help me gain muscle.
Principle 6
Last but not least, we have the mindset behind this all.
This is probably just as important as sleep.
The reality is that your excitement for training will fluctuate—it’s a normal part of the process.
Lifting weights isn’t always the most exciting activity for me.
There are times when I don’t feel in the zone for MONTHS.
After doing this for almost 15 years, boredom is likely to set in at some point, and there have been many periods where it happens.
The goal is to seize the moments when you’re feeling inspired and on track with your training.
Make the most of those times when you’ve made progress, discovered a fantastic rhythm, or have had a coach or a training partner for a while.
With a method like this, you can take a break or lower your workout frequency without feeling bad when motivation wanes.
And you’d be surprised how little training volume it takes to maintain muscle once it is built, it could be as little as one full body workout a week to maintain gains.
Personally, there are weeks, even months, when the majority of my workouts feel uninspiring.
And keep in mind that I’m someone who has to stay in shape for a living and has an excellent workout music playlist.
If I go through this, I’m sure others will too.
During these periods of low motivation, I don’t watch hype videos before the gym.
No slamming caffeine and blasting dubstep on the way to the gym.
Instead, I reduce my training to the very minimum—two or three sessions per week, each lasting approximately an hour.
This worked great for me during medical school in the busier rotations like surgery or internal medicine.
I might pivot and ski more, go for runs, open more spots for training clients, etc.
After a few weeks of this strategy, I usually rediscover my enthusiasm for training and progressively increase the intensity.
The gist is to ride the waves of motivation and modify exercise frequency and intensity as needed.
Being conscious of these swings makes reaching exercise goals—whether getting in shape, keeping in shape, developing muscle, or shedding fat—much easier.
While I recognize that some people enjoy the challenge of physical activities, I think it is foolish to think this applies to everyone.
Keeping good physical shape in the long run does require making your process and routine simple so consistency can be maintained.
So there you have it, my 6 daily principles for staying in shape.
I’m hoping they gave you some insight into my life and my philosophies. If you have any questions, you know where to find me.
And if you need more help with maximizing a busy schedule, or with proper training and nutrition to build muscle, lose fat, or improve your health markers, fill out the application below and I will reach out when I have spots available!
Best regards
Dr. CP