PSA: Today’s newsletter focuses on nutrition. If you know someone who suffers from an eating disorder or a harmful addiction, please consider taking the time to FaceTime, Hangout, or Zoom them. Disordered eating patterns and addiction can be exacerbated during times of stress and anxiety.
On Sunday, April 19th Cut Seven will host a conversation with Registered Dietician Allison Tepper on Zoom. Register here for this free workshop/Q&A on intuitive eating and nutrition tips while quarantined.
Cut Seven shares free weekly workouts, tips, and advice to benefit your physical and mental health. If you enjoy reading, please consider forwarding to a friend or subscribe to Cut On-Demand.
Cut On-Demand offers expertly-programmed, At-Home Equipment Pack and zero-equipment workouts you can do from the comfort of your living room. For just $49 a month, you gain access to up 17 streamed workouts a week, ranging from 5 minutes to one hour in duration.
Why We’re Talking About Nutrition
Many things in life are outside our control. What we choose to purchase in the grocery store—as long as it’s in stock—is one of the few things that remains up to us.
Food plays a role in both our mental and physical health. Today, my hope is to offer a little inside information to help you make choices that benefit you.
How Comfort Foods Weigh on Our Physical and Mental Health
During stressful times we are all tempted to reach for comfort foods—the sugary, salty, and fatty foods that seem to make us smile from the inside. These foods, like drugs and alcohol, can alleviate stress for the short term. Like a voodoo priestess they conjure happier times, and spark orgasmic hits of dopamine in the brain.
Issues occur when these de-stressors become a regular part of our meal plan. If we’re unable to reel it in, our long-term physical and mental health pay the price. Eventually these would-be tranquilizers become shots of adrenaline, increasing our anxiety, sleeplessness, and depression.
Overeating sugary, salty, and processed foods can take a major toll on our immune systems (and now is not the time to be fucking around with our immune system). The more energy our body spends attempting to digest the indigestible, the less energy it has to fight and resist infections.
Coping Mechanisms Outside Food and Alcohol
There is a time and place for self-soothing with comfort food. I made and ate a pizza this weekend with my Pizzazz and ate about 10 chocolate Easter eggs sent to me by my mother-in-law. Typically, that kind of activity would lead to a month of weening off sugar. But since I’m stuck making a single grocery trip a week, all I have to do is not buy it once, and the cravings will be gone by Thursday.
Our best bet is to find other ways to cope rather than turning to food and alcohol. Here are just a few tips that have been suggested by experts, worked for me, and used by my clients:
Positive Self Talk: Don’t shit on yourself for not doing “the right thing.” Practice optimism, and remove the word “mistakes” from your vernacular. What we call mistakes are not mistakes—they’re part of the learning process.
Schedule Comfort Foods: If you’re still crushing pages on your bullet planner, schedule out your menu for the week. Have a specific day/time where you’re going to give yourself an indulgence. Try to build and keep a routine.
Practice Mindful Eating: If your body tells you it needs something, listen to it. Want something sweet? Try some fruit. Craving chocolate? Go dark and bitter. Looking for savory? How about a taco stuffed with your favorite salsa, guac, and Mexican flavored tofu?
Go.The.Fuck.To.Sleep: What are you, 15 years old? Go to bed. The less sleep you have, the worst your food choices become. A lack of sleep limits our ability to listen to our bodies and make positive life choices.
Exercise: Duh. Healthy habits build healthier habits. Sleep, nutrition, and daily exercise promote a long, healthy lifestyle.
Here’s Some Free Exercise For You
Bonus Full Length Total Body Workout
Can’t Workout Without Music? Me Either.
A buddy of mine DJ Chris Styles put together a workout mix for you! Check it out here.
Cut Seven Live: Free Vimeo Workouts + Schedule Changes
Cut Seven offers daily, free Live workouts to non-subscribers. To join, log on to vimeo.com/cutseven.
Note, Schedule Change: The 12:30p.m. Free Live Classes will now be equipment based. Purchase our At-Home Equipment Pack here.
Follow our coaches on IG to see their schedules: Coach Alex, Coach Clarence, Coach Katie, Coach Mere, Coach Marcus, Coach Chris
Arms / Ass Monday 4.13: 5:30p EST
Chest / Heart Tuesday 4.14: 10a, 12:30p*, 5:30p EST
Legs / Abs Wednesday 4.15: 10a, 12:30p*, 5:30p EST
Back / Heart Thursday 4.16: 10a, 12:30p*, 5:30p EST
Abs / Arms Friday 4.17: 10a, 12:30p*, 5:30p EST
Heart Day Saturday 4.18: 9:50a EST
Ass / Chest 4.19: 11:30a EST
*Equipment-based workout using the Cut Pack
Subscribers are able to replay these workouts and other on-demand content anytime, on any device.
Reminder: This newsletter will remain free for healthcare workers, service workers and anyone who was laid off and/or had hours cut due to COVID-19.
We added more time-slots to our Zoom small group training program. Please email us at info@custeven.com to find out more. Cut Seven resistance packs (featuring resistance bands, mini bands, sliders, and a door anchor) are available for purchase now and can be shipped to addresses outside of the DC area.
What I’m Eating: Pancakes
Yield: 9-11 pancakes
Ingredients
1 cup Birch Blenders Pancake Mix (Alex likes the “Paleo” one as it’s “easy on her stomach”)
1T of Cinnamon
1/3 Banana
1 Egg
1/3 cup Water
Butter and Organic Date Syrup (only 12g of sugar vs 52g in regular syrups), for serving
Magic Bullet/Nutri Bullet
Instructions
Combine all ingredients together in a Nutri Bullet or blender.
Pre-heat a skillet over your stovetop on medium heat. Grease with olive oil or cooking spray.
Pour pancake batter into the pan. Wait for bubbles to form, then flip.
After the first batch, reduce heat to medium-low.
Enjoy warm immediately, or serve cold as a pre-workout (add butter/syrup before placing in the fridge).
Great to have you this week! If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please leave a comment. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about this Sunday’s workshop or about Subscriptions.
Chris