Someone clued me into this post so I figured Id come respond because I feel it’s critically important that people understand the point of my recent articles.
If you go to my site and read the LP column “Tearing Down The House”, I discuss the idea that I’ve spent alot of time in the past focussing on the details (as many do). Frankly - detail stuff is FUN for us science-types and some top flight athletes need this stuff to succeed.
Unfortunately though, many newcomers lock into these detail oriented articles first rather than the basic ones first and this is where the problem lies.
Before they MASTER (i.e. put it into practice for long periods of time) the essentials and then move to the detail oriented stuff, they get bogged down in the details and quit or flounder around.
In that article on my site I claim personal responsibility for my part in the confusion and offer that article, my DVD, and the last few articles at T-mag as recompense.
However, let me be clear. In no way do I think these articles are at odds with my past writing. Rather, there’s a chronology at work here for newcomers. They need basic habits repeated over and over again. They need to achieve success at these things.
Then, once they’re advanced (which few - even here at T-mag - ever become), they need to move on to advanced details.
I admit, I did my chronology backwards (details first, basics later). But if people read my stuff now, they’ll see Im trying to put things into their grander perspective by giving the information a “place” in my body of work - discussing it’s relative importance as below…
In my article here, The Seven Habits,
"So what about calories, or macronutrient ratios, or any number of other things that I?ve covered in other articles? The short answer is that if you aren?t already practicing the above-mentioned habits, and by practicing them I mean putting them to use over 90% of the time (i.e., no more than 4 meals out of an average 42 meals per week violate any of those rules), everything else is pretty pointless.
Moreover, many people can achieve the health and the body composition they desire using the 7 habits alone. No kidding! In fact, with some of my clients I spend the first few months just supervising their adherence to these 7 rules?an effective but costly way to learn them.
Of course, if you have specific needs, or if you?ve reached the 90% threshold, you may need a bit more individualization beyond the 7 habits. If so, give me a shout at jb@johnberardi.com, or search around on this site.
Many of these little tricks can be found in my many articles published right here at T-mag. But before looking for them, before assuming you?re ready for individualization; make sure you?ve truly mastered the 7 habits. Then, while keeping the 7 habits as the consistent foundation, tweak away."
In the end, the point of this week’s article is that certain proteins ARE better, certain fruits ARE better, certain meats ARE better. But North America hasnt reached the point where they need to know this. Now they need to realize that they need to eat fruit and protein - consistently. AND ONLY THEN should they worry about the details.
So experts should not be bickering, as they do - all the time - on forums (clears throat), on tv, at universities, about the subtlties between plans. They should be highlighting similarities that lead to success. As I say in this week’s article
“Throughout your lifetime, you?ll be inundated with new experts, new nutritional plans, and new “revolutionary systems.” Rather than letting these new ideas be a source of frustration and confusion, do your best to get past the marginalia, to get past the differences between all the new programs, and try to discover for yourself the basic principles all the successful programs seem to be built upon.”
If that didn’t come across clearly, I apologize.