Interview with Deep

What makes X so special?

Deep: X provides me with accountability and coaching that I just can't get any other way, especially in a socially distant world.

Aaron has taken the time to get to know my habits, my tics, my triggers; he pushes me when I need it, and backs off when life is overwhelming. This, combined with features that just keep getting better (food tracking and analysis, weekly insights, combined analytics views, etc), helps me understand myself, too.

What has changed with your body or lifestyle since starting on X?

One of the biggest changes in my lifestyle is creating and establishing healthier eating habits. With the help of Aaron and X, I’ve slowly been creating better eating habits based on habit rather than emotional triggers. Of course, I slip every now and then, but my foundation is a lot stronger than it was a year ago. X as a platform has also enabled Aaron to give me custom workouts that have helped me achieve my health & fitness goals, which has been incredibly helpful in fixing posture issues and gaining muscle mass. 

What's special about your experience with your coach?

Aaron has taken the time to understand my strengths and weaknesses. He knows when to push me and when to back off; what I’m good at, and what I need help with. For example, right now he is pushing me a lot because he knows I need it and can take it.

What features in X have been most integral to your success?

Truthfully, I have not been great about keeping up with the food tracking lately. But when I do, it’s been instrumental in helping me see how my dietary habits correlate to changes in body fat and muscle composition. The new video feature is also great — it’s a simple thing, but it provides a way for Aaron to send me tips and ways to better my form for various exercises.

What are you doing differently since you started?

I’ve been a lot more mindful of my habits, which has allowed me to incorporate change slowly, one thing at a time. Gyroscope Coach has really helped hammer home that healthy living is a lifestyle, and change happens over time. Tactically, implementing intermittent fasting - even if it’s not perfect or if I don’t stick to it every day - helps put a system around when I can eat, which helps me avoid eating windows where I know I eat unhealthily.

Over time, this has built-in a longer “self-check” window before I decide to eat anything. “Do I need to eat this? Am I really hungry? Am I ok with going outside of my macros on this?” Even if I slip that time, I am in control — not my urges.

What is the most unexpected benefit you’ve gotten from using X?

I’m unexpectedly more mentally healthy for sure. A combination of continuing to see a therapist on the regular and using Gyroscope Coach has helped address many of my psychological triggers for unhealthy eating.

I’m not going to pretend I eat healthy all the time and I’m in tip top shape - far from it. But, I’m making progress here in a way I didn’t expect Gyroscope Coach to contribute towards. Plus, the breathwork pilot session was absolutely incredible for contributing towards being more mentally healthy.

What section are you most excited about on your roadmap?

I really like the way my roadmap is laid out and is thoughtful. It addresses foundational issues that are clearly more difficult or will take longer for me to tackle.

We are tackling “good stress” right now, which is all about creating a better workout routine with a combination of strength and cycling. Then, we’ll build on top off of that to optimize for weight loss.

Then, mood, then fasting, etc. Honestly, I’m excited about everything — because these are all things I want to and know I need to get better at. I’m especially excited because of the measured, tactical approach to making my goals a reality.

Holistic analysis from the Health Score

What section of your roadmap did you find most helpful?

The sleep portion was really really important. I didn't fully realize how poor my sleep habits were, which became aggravated during the quarantine. They’re still not great, but thanks to my data, Aaron was able to shine a light on this issue and create a plan for it.

How would you rate the insights you receive from your coach?

Insights are super helpful. They are either excellent reminders or great information I didn’t know about. I don’t always implement 100% of each insight, but I always keep them in the back of my mind. I will go back to old insights to brush up on them or work in the 30% of a previous insight I didn’t before.

What would you say to people who may be on the fence about X?

Like anything else, X isn’t a magic bullet. Lasting change has to come from you and requires ongoing care. X is the first platform that recognizes that and is the best tool to help make that happen.

Thank you, Deep!

Behind the scenes with Deep’s coach, Aaron

Hey Aaron. What methods did you find worked well for helping the Deep with his health goals?

Coach Aaron: A few things that really helped with Deep were:

• Highlighting positive meals that he already enjoyed and knew how to make. Confirming to him that these were solid go-to meals helped give him the confidence that any time he made and ate those meals, he was taking one step-closer to achieving his goals.

• Increasing his protein intake. Since Deep follows a vegan diet, we needed to maximize on certain protein sources such as a plant based protein powder to add to his morning smoothies. This became a staple in his diet. As well as adding in some meat alternatives like tofu and plant-based "meat." These helped to give every meal a solid protein kick which helped promote weight loss and muscle retention and growth.

I really pushed Deep to incorporate more resistance training into his already solid cycling routine. Cycling helped to burn calories, which is great for weight loss, but putting on muscle is crucial for increasing the body's daily energy expenditure. Think of it this way — cardio burns calories in that instant, where as muscle burns calories everyday just by existing.

Did your coaching approach with Deep change over the time?

Coach Aaron: Absolutely! At first, our focus was much more diet related and just building consistency with resistance training. Now, with that foundation set, we've started to focus how to progress in workouts and avoid plateaus, technique tips to maximize muscle growth and minimize risk of injury, as well as updating his program to target certain muscle groups. We've also explored other deeper concepts like breathwork and meditation.

Why did you choose the specific sections for Deep's roadmap?

Coach Aaron: Our first focus was really on cleaning up his diet, reducing his processed sugar intake, and including more healthy fats and protein.

From there, my focus changed to his workouts. I encouraged him to start resistance training 3x/week in addition to his cycling workouts. I wrote a full-body workout routine that suited his abilities, time constraints, and personal preference.

Once this was in place, I focused my efforts on ensuring he was eating the right kind of food and in the proper amounts to support his activity. I then worked on instilling better sleep habits to make sure he was getting enough sleep in order to both recover from his workouts and boost fat loss.

With this all in place, the next step I felt was important was to educate him on some of the science of resistance training - including the actual mechanisms of muscle building, how to make sure he was doing enough or too much, and how to progress workouts over time. 

I felt this was an important step because I knew that if I taught Deep these fundamentals, he would feel much more confident, empowered, and that deeper understanding would help him feel a lot more involved and in control of his progress. This would lead to a much higher likelihood of lifelong adherence.

It is not uncommon for people to gain weight back after losing it . Do you have any recommendations to help Deep and others not regain the lost bodyfat?

Coach Aaron: The advice I often give for this is...

• Make sure that whatever you do to achieve weight loss, you're either willing to continue for the rest of your life or that it at least bridges to sustainable habits that will support your new body weight.

• Spend time getting used to your new normal. You may have lost the weight but your body hasn't fully accepted this new set point yet and it will fight you somewhat to stay here. You need time to get used to how much food you can eat at this new size (e.g. a smaller body requires less food).

• You also need to give your body time to down-regulate certain processes it signaled in response to the "threat" that it perceives weight loss as being. These include increased hunger signals and reduced energy. So don't be in a rush to change your goals right away. Spend some time in your new normal and give your body time to get used to it as well!

Thanks Aaron!