Hey friend,

I was having a conversation with a mentor the other day, and he said something that blew my mind. In his own words, "Belief is the thermostat that determines what you accomplish in life."

When I think about this statement, I think about all of the goals that I've set out in front of myself and achieved. The first thing that had to happen was believing that I could actually do it in the first place.

If I were to put my coaching hat on, I'd ask you 2 questions:

• What is one belief you hold that holds you back from accomplishing what you want in life?
• What's a new story we can tell ourselves that would push us to that belief?

This is not about being all woo-woo and talking to the universe. Most people ignore the mental side of attainment, when that is arguably the most important part that you have to fix.

So ask yourself those questions and see what comes back. You never know. It might change your life.

Here's what caught my attention this week.

Here Is your 4 Minute Friday:

1. The Cheapest Fat Loss Tool Most People Sleep On

A client came to me last year who was eating clean and training three days a week, but the scale was barely moving.

Aside from the usual questions, I asked him how much he was sleeping, and he told me 5.5 hours most nights. This is what we call a bottleneck, and here's why:

Researchers put 10 adults on the same exact calorie deficit twice: once with 8.5 hours of sleep and once with 5.5 hours of sleep.

The exact same food, the same amount of calories, and the same people. With enough sleep, most of the weight they lost was fat. The proportion of weight loss as fat dropped by 50-55%.

Another trial was done to test the other direction: 80 adults who normally slept 6.5 hours got one sleep coaching session and added about 1.2 hours a night.

They didn't change their diet or their training. What happened was they ate 270 fewer calories a day without being told to.

Sleep is the most underrated lever when it comes to fat loss, and most people are literally sleeping on this.

2. What Your Poop Says About Your Health

I don't know who needs to hear this, but your number 2s in the bathroom give you a window into what is happening with your health.

Doctors grade stool on a 7-point scale, called the Bristol chart. One is hard, separate lumps, and seven is liquid. Three and four sit in the middle, which is where we usually want to be.

Type 1. Separate hard pellets, hard to pass. Everything sat too long. Type 2. Lumpy, sausage-shaped. Still too slow. Type 3. Sausage-shaped with cracks along the surface. Good. Type 4. Smooth, soft, log-shaped, easy to pass. This is the one. Type 5. Soft blobs with clean edges. Moving quickly. Often a fibre signal. Type 6. Mushy pieces with ragged edges. Too fast. Type 7. Liquid, nothing solid in it. Diarrhea.

Where you land on this chart matters more than how often you go. Doctors have found that anywhere between 3 times a day and 3 times per week is normal.

What you're looking for is monitoring whether your stool is at a specific level and stays there.

If you've been parked at one end of the extreme for a few weeks, then it may be time to check what's happening underneath the hood.

❤️ My Favourite Thing This Week

When I think about improving my health, I look at the things I do every single day. It could be drinking water, breathing, or brushing my teeth. If you do something 730 times a year, whatever you're putting into your body during that should be worth questioning.

This is why I switched to Boka. Their toothpaste is built around nano-hydroxyapatite instead of fluoride. Hydroxyapatite is the mineral your enamel is already made of, and it makes up about 97% of your tooth structure.

The research shows that hydroxyapatite matches fluoride in remineralization and cavity prevention, with one difference that matters to me: it's biocompatible. If you swallow it, nothing happens.

Also, Boka is free of SLS, parabens, and artificial dyes. I use the ela mint flavor. It's clean without tasting medicinal.

I have no affiliation with them, I just love their product.

Check them out over ​here​.

Client Of The Week - Ashley, Real Estate Agent 

Ashley is an entrepreneur who wanted to lose weight, boost her energy, and regain confidence in her body.

Her biggest challenge was managing her eating habits while running a business and keeping up with her kids.

In just 6 months, she’s dropped 47 lbs, doubled her energy levels, and feels more confident in her body than ever. She even achieved her goal of getting back into her little black dress.

Here's how we did it:

• Built a nutrition plan that fit her busy lifestyle
• Created simple, sustainable routines she could stick to
• Focused on consistency without sacrificing family or business

Ashley found the right system, committed to the process, and completely transformed her body and energy. Amazing work, Ashley!

​Are you an entrepreneur who wants to drop the fat, gain muscle, and boost energy? Click this link to apply for our coaching program.

One Quote To Finish Your Week Strong

A question that I like to pose to myself is: Where do you think that thought came from?

Usually, the things that we believe and tell ourselves have been learned from one place or another.

It's up to us to understand where we got these things from, hold them up to scrutiny, and decide whether or not we want to keep these stories because they help us, or to choose a new one because they hinder us.

As promised, get healthier in under 4 minutes.

- Dan

References

1. Nedeltcheva AV, Kilkus JM, Imperial J, Schoeller DA, Penev PD. Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity. Ann Intern Med. 2010 Oct 5;153(7):435-41. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-153-7-201010050-00006. PMID: 20921542; PMCID: PMC2951287. 
2. Shokouhi N, Mohammadi S, Ghanbari Z, Montazeri A. Development of a new version of the Bristol Stool Form Scale: translation, content validity, face validity, and reliability of the Persian version. BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2022 Dec;9(1):e001017. doi: 10.1136/bmjgast-2022-001017. PMID: 36564095; PMCID: PMC9791448.

Disclaimer: This email is provided for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute providing medical advice or professional services. The information provided should not be used for diagnosing or treating a health problem or disease, and those seeking personal medical advice should consult with a licensed physician.