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#105 - 5 Things Fit People Do Behind The Scenes
19 Plays1 day ago
Most people think fit people are more motivated, more disciplined, or just built different.
But the truth is—they’ve built systems, not just willpower. In this episode, I’m breaking down 5 things fit, healthy people do that most never see.
What you’ll learn:
- Why focusing on the system beats obsessing over the outcome
- How fit people bounce back quickly instead of starting over
- The real reason motivation isn’t the answer
- What planning ahead actually looks like in a sustainable routine
- How failure is part of the process—not a sign to quit
If you’ve ever wondered how people actually stay consistent, this one’s for you.
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Transcript
Introduction to The Fit-ish Project
00:00:02
Speaker
Welcome back to the Fit-ish Project with your host, as always, Lathan Bass, where we make fitness and health simple for regular people like you and I. We have another weekly episode coming at you this week. Before we get into this, if you can leave a review, if you have not done so, just continue to get this information out to more people who need it.
00:00:20
Speaker
I really appreciate those of you who have left a review. Helps to get this out to more
Fitness as a Skill, Not Just Discipline
00:00:25
Speaker
and more people. So, thank you for that but getting into this week's topic so was thinking a little bit about this week's topic and uh one thing that i landed on was what do fit people do in other words what are fit people doing behind the scenes because a lot of times i will see people they have this idea that fit people are just naturally that way or that like fit and healthy people are just more disciplined or they're just more motivated and that the average person can't have these results, can't get fit, can't get healthy.
00:00:55
Speaker
And I don't think that's true at all. I think that when you look at people who are successful, there's this quote that says success leaves tracks. And so when you really start to look at these things, when you look at people who are successful in certain domains, whether it's fitness, whether it's their health, whether it's business, whether it's something else that they're really good at.
00:01:15
Speaker
A lot of times it comes down to just basic behaviors done consistently and done well and improved on over time. And fitness and health is no different because I'm somebody who thinks of fitness and health as a skill.
00:01:29
Speaker
Obviously, there's some components that you don't have control over, you know, your genetics and things like that. But a very large portion of what being fit and healthy is just comes down to repeating certain behaviors and taking on a certain mindset and really approaching this with a holistic view that you can get better and have that growth mindset. And once you start to embrace that and once you start to actually figure out, okay, what are the things that I need to do?
00:01:53
Speaker
How can I be more consistent at those and start to repeat those things? Being fit and healthy just becomes a byproduct of what that is.
Key Behaviors of Fit People
00:02:01
Speaker
And so when we're thinking about, okay, what do these healthy people do? Like behind the scenes that I'm not really seeing in order to get fit and healthy, in order to look the way they want to look, in order to be able to do all these cool things fitness wise. Like there are some things that they do that I've noticed that I'm going to share with you in this podcast today.
00:02:19
Speaker
And so these are just five things that I have noticed within my own experience, my own journey, also working with a bunch of different clients and also just being in the fitness industry and also just being around other people who also prioritize and value being fit and healthy. I've noticed these certain trends or these certain patterns that people who are fit and healthy, they do.
00:02:39
Speaker
that maybe other people don't really recognize or maybe they don't really even understand. And so I wanted to get into what five of those things were and just talk about some of those things in detail and give you some practical takeaways of things that you can start focusing on and things that you can start doing in order to move you towards all the goals that you have around fitness and health of feeling better, looking the way that you want to look, improving your health in different areas. And so getting into the very first one, fit and healthy people, they mess up too.
00:03:07
Speaker
But one thing that I have noticed is that they bounce back much more quickly than the average person. And so what I mean by that is they don't allow one mistake to spiral. They don't allow one bad meal or one off meal or one meal where they overeat to turn into an entire week or two or months off, or they don't allow one missed workout to turn into an entire week or two weeks of missed workouts or one choice where maybe they didn't make the optimal choice. They did something that they didn't really want to do and they kind of screwed up a little bit and they don't let that turn into multiple workouts.
00:03:41
Speaker
different mistakes. And it's the old analogy of like, if you had one pop tire, would you hop out and pop the other tires? Like, absolutely not. You're not going to do that because that makes zero sense. But oftentimes when it comes to health, when it comes to fitness, when it comes to behaviors around these things, we let one little thing turn into a bunch of things and then it turns into this really bad snowball effect and then one day or one meal or one workout turns into a whole bunch of meals a whole bunch of workouts and now we're really digging ourselves in a hole and the more that you continue to dig yourself into that hole the harder it is to get out the harder it is to kind of reverse that momentum and so it's never about perfection it's really just about the ability to get back on track
00:04:22
Speaker
quicker, because people who are fit and healthy, they have these challenges just like everybody else. They have days where they overeat. They have days where they miss workouts. They have days where they're not feeling it. And they have a couple days of just crap. Like they just don't do the things that they want to be doing or the things that that they feel they should be doing or they know they should be doing that's going to improve their health.
00:04:43
Speaker
But they just don't let this turn into something a lot bigger than what it really needs to be. And so finding that balance of what holding yourself accountable to a certain standard. But then when you slip up, being able to acknowledge that and then move on is such a big skill when it comes to health and fitness, because you don't want to beat yourself up. You just want to learn from it And I think of it a little bit in the context of like sports. If you have somebody who like goes out there and let's say they miss a shot on the basketball court or they take a bad swing in golf and they shank it or they miss a goal or whatever the case may be, they have something that doesn't necessarily go their way. If you continue to dwell on those things, how is that next shot going to go? How is that next?
00:05:27
Speaker
going to go? How is that next opportunity that you get to try again going to go if you're just dwelling on the past and you're just beating yourself up and you're in this negative headspace? Probably not very well. And so when I think about these things, I don't really think of it as like a win or a loss or like a win or a failure.
00:05:43
Speaker
I like to think of it either you win, like you did something well and that's awesome, or you get an opportunity to learn from it. And as long as you're learning from these things, like you're going to continue to improve, you're going to continue to get better. And then the next time that that situation arises, you're going to be better equipped to handle it a little bit better and you make less mistakes and getting back on track takes even
Modern Challenges to Fitness
00:06:04
Speaker
less time. and so Every opportunity where you kind of slip up or maybe you hit a little bit of a hurdle is just an opportunity for you to grow and for you to get better. And when you start to look at it that way, you can be a little bit less emotional about these things because when you start getting your emotions, that's when people start to quit. That's when they start to fall off. That's when they start to question, is any of this stuff even worth it? Like, why am I even doing this stuff? Like, maybe I'm not cut out for this. And
00:06:28
Speaker
That's just your emotional side of your brain just getting in your head and getting in your feels. And that's not where you want to be because it's really easy to spiral that way. But when you can step back a little bit, just look at it logically. Okay, like what what was the situation here? Like why did I screw up? Why did I fall off? Why did I hit this hurdle? Like what things could I have done better? When you take that logical approach and you just think about how can I improve this for the next time that this situation comes around to be better equipped and to make maybe a little bit better decision.
00:06:57
Speaker
then you can actually start to grow you can start to improve but if you're always just falling off or you're quitting or every time you hit one of these hurdles you're just letting yourself spiral you're always going to stay stuck and it's going to be a really crappy place to be the reality is like being healthy is not something that comes natural to a lot of people especially now today and i know that's kind of a weird concept to think about because you know when you think about 50 years ago, 75 years ago, 100 years ago, like being healthy wasn't really something that people had to really like focus on because we were just we moved a lot more. We weren't as sedentary. We didn't have tons of processed foods. We didn't have all this advertising. we didn't have social media like life was just a lot more simple. Like we ate real foods. We moved quite a bit. and
00:07:40
Speaker
there were certain things that we just did that, like, we didn't have to think about all these things. But now, in the world that we live in today, that's not necessarily the case. Like, we're more sedentary. There is more distractions. It is harder to be healthy. And there is a lot more people who are overweight, struggling with their health, like,
00:07:56
Speaker
that have different health issues, whether it's from a physical standpoint, a mental standpoint. And so being fit, being healthy is not something that just comes naturally to most people, unless you were lucky enough to like come from a family where like that was something that was really prioritized and you had really good examples from your parents and the people around you.
00:08:14
Speaker
But that's really not a majority of people. And so you have to give yourself some grace here as you're working through this and understand that these things that you're trying to improve on, these habits, these patterns, these ways of thinking,
00:08:26
Speaker
are likely things that you've been doing for so long, literally for years, a lot of times for decades.
Lathan's Personal Fitness Journey
00:08:31
Speaker
Because the example that I give, I shared this on social media and this hit home with a lot of people. When I decided to like really get into fitness and health, I was in my younger 20s.
00:08:40
Speaker
And before that, like I was always active, I was always in sports, but like I didn't really know a ton about nutrition. I didn't have the best health habits. Like I was active, but like my diet was just terrible. And I didn't really know what was going on. Like I didn't, I didn't have all the education and things like that. And so when I really got into it and started learning about like nutrition, and when I started learning about I need to eat this much protein, and I need to start focusing more on these certain types of foods, because they make me feel better. And they're going to help me hit my goals and like breaking some of those old patterns of overeating or having zero awareness around food, zero education around food.
00:09:13
Speaker
I was trying to relearn these things that I had been doing for the first 20 years of my life. And so to think that I was going to change that in a couple of weeks, a couple of months, even a year is not really realistic. Now you can make tons of progress with like six months, 12 months of like really focused in effort, really focused in.
00:09:31
Speaker
on just learning new things. But to think that like this person that I was for so long has literally a 20 year head start on who I'm trying to be now. So to think that overnight, these things are just going to figure themselves out and that this is just going to be normal and that I'm just going to be able to rewire all of these new learning patterns and rewire this new way of thinking and improve all these habits that quickly, it just doesn't make sense. And when you take a step back and you really think about that, you should have a little bit more grace for yourself and not beat yourself up so much because you're trying to do something that's difficult and that's change.
00:10:04
Speaker
Changing is not something that comes super simple to humans. And a lot of times we don't necessarily like change. Like we like what's familiar. We like what's similar. And so to make these conscious changes means that there's going to be some periods where you go through some struggles and you have some ups and downs. And that's all part of the natural process.
00:10:23
Speaker
And this is something that I tried to explain to my clients a lot. So I had a client recently who had had a tough week. dealing with some tough news, overeating a little bit, kind of down. And this is something that happens because we know that life is gonna come and go.
00:10:34
Speaker
It's not always smooth sailing and it's not realistic to think that everything is just always going to be easy. And when these moments happen, I think it's just really important to understand, like, you're gonna have those feelings that start to creep in. You start to have that doubt that starts to creep in. You start to question if this stuff is worth it. You start to question if maybe you even have the abilities or the skills to show up and change and become this new person.
00:10:57
Speaker
And so when those start to happen, you just have to ask yourself, like, is this worth it? Is this something that I can continue to show up even when I have those feelings? Because if it is worth it and you can continue to show up, you are going to see things play out in your favor in the long term because you can either succumb to those feelings and just feel sorry for yourself and just say, screw it and play that out in your mind how that ends up 20 years, 30 years, 40 years down the road for the rest of your life. You're just struggling with your health.
00:11:25
Speaker
You don't feel great. you don't look the way you want to look you don't have the confidence you don't have the energy your lifespan is shorter your health span is shorter or you go through these moments where it is a little bit of a struggle especially on the front end when you're really trying to make these changes and rewire all those different brain circuits going on and rewire those habits and start to improve your environment and all these things that we want to do where it feels really really hard at the front end but as you start to get better at these things and as you start to play this scenario out things start to get easier And so understanding like you're going to mess up, everybody messes up the fit and healthy people that you see that look super great and look healthy and all that stuff. They mess up too. They just bounce back quickly. And so it's not necessarily that you don't ever want to mess up. That's not realistic. You just want to find a way to bounce back quickly when you do have those hurdles, when you do run into those challenges.
Systems Over Goals
00:12:17
Speaker
Number two, they focus on the system and not just the outcome. And so when we think about health, as I said, it's a skill. It's a lot of little things that are added up and they create this big result of you feeling great, looking great, all these different things. And so when I think about these things, so I don't just think about the goal. I think about the goal first and then I try to reverse engineer my way back from that goal. And so when you think about this, like what does this mean if we're talking about like workouts or our meals or sleep or steps? So if I have a certain goal,
00:12:47
Speaker
Let's take workouts, for instance, like I want to build muscle and I want to make sure that I am gaining strength because I know if I build muscle and I build strength that it's good for my longevity. I'm going to live longer. it's going to increase the quality of my life. It's going help me look the way I want to look. And so.
00:13:02
Speaker
How can I reverse engineer that to hit those goals and get to where I want to get? Well, I need to understand what exactly I need to be doing. I need to understand how much time I need to be spending in the gym. Like how many times a week am I going to be getting in there? How long am I going to be in there? What's my specific plan going to be when I get into the gym?
00:13:19
Speaker
And so really breaking these things down into really simple form, because if you don't have a plan for these things, they don't just happen. Like trying to wing these things, it just does not work. Because as I said, this does not come naturally to people in anything that you want to get good at.
00:13:33
Speaker
You have to put some time and effort into these things and really figure these things out. And so when you're just thinking about like your week moving forward, it's like, do you have a plan for your workouts this week? If I asked you that, do you know what days you are going to work out?
00:13:45
Speaker
when you walk into the gym, do you actually have a plan? Like, do you know what you're going to do in the gym? Do you have an idea of what kind of meals you're going to be eating this week? Like, do you have an idea of even what you're going to be eating later? you have an idea of what you're going be eating tomorrow?
00:13:58
Speaker
Do you know how you're going to get all your protein in? Do you know how you're going to get your steps in? Like, maybe you're struggling to get enough movement in your day. Do you have a plan for these things? Do you know how you're going to get to that goal? And if your answer is no then you probably wanna start thinking about these things because again, you're not just gonna wing these things. These things aren't just gonna figure themselves out And if you're trying to figure these things out, like when you're in the moment, it's really, really difficult. And so taking some time to really think about what's the system that is going to get me to these goals that I want to get to. And when you start focusing on the system, when you start focusing on these habits that you need in these daily and weekly disciplines that I talk about so often, it becomes much easier to hit these goals. And so like for me, i know on a weekly basis, like I need to get four strength workouts in. On a daily basis, I'm trying to hit eight to 10,000 steps within my day.
00:14:46
Speaker
on a daily basis, I'm trying to get at least 150 grams of protein to 200 grams of protein per day, because I know if I do those things on a daily basis, it's going to move the needle, it's going to help me progress. I'm covering those big rocks that I need to be covering.
00:15:00
Speaker
And at this point, I know how to easily do those things. But if you struggle to hit those targets, then break it down even further because your goal is sort of like the compass, but your system is like the vehicle that's actually gonna get you there. And so like, it's good to have that direction and know where you wanna get to. Like having a goal I think is is nice and it's important, but ultimately what's going to make you progress and what's going to get you there is your system to do that.
00:15:26
Speaker
And so like, if you came to me and you were like, I wanna lose 30 pounds, What needs to happen for that to happen? Well, obviously we know that we need to eat less and probably move a little bit more. So we need to improve our diet a little bit and we need to exercise and move a little bit more.
00:15:39
Speaker
But when you break that down, like, what does that actually mean? Like we all generally kind of know like, okay, to lose weight, I need to do this, but like, When you start breaking that down, okay, I need to eat better. So what does that mean? I need to get this many calories. I need to get this much protein.
00:15:51
Speaker
Okay, how am I going to do that? What type of meals am I going to have? What's going to be on my grocery list? when i'm ah When am I going to go grocery shopping? When it comes to exercise, what exactly am I going to be doing? How many steps do I need to get in?
00:16:03
Speaker
Having these things broken down into a very clear and specific plan is going to help you tremendously. And I know it seems kind of tedious and it seems like simple and it almost seems childish. It kind of reminds me of when I was teaching and I did my student teaching and I did a period of my student teaching at an elementary school, elementary PE teacher.
00:16:23
Speaker
If you do not give these kids the most specific examples and most clear and concise directions, they will not do what you want. And it reminds me of this because like a lot of people have a general idea, but then when you really start to dig into it, you start to ask them some questions like they actually don't know what to do because they haven't really put any thought into these things.
00:16:44
Speaker
And so get super specific about these things so you know exactly what to do, because when you have that clarity around these things that you want to do, it leads to confidence within the plan. And when you have confidence within the plan and what you're doing, and knowing what you're going to do and actually knowing what you are doing is actually moving you in the right direction, you become more consistent with the plan.
00:17:03
Speaker
And when you become more consistent with the plan, you actually get results. And so really breaking things down and focusing on the habits, focusing on the system is something that a lot of people really overlook.
00:17:14
Speaker
But if you're struggling and you're not really seeing the results that you want to see, start focusing on the inputs rather than just strictly the outputs. Like having goals is great. That's awesome. But like, if you want to have different outputs, if you want to reach different goals, you really have to focus in what are the inputs that I'm putting into these things and how is that going to get me to the goal of where I want to be?
Building Automatic Habits
00:17:36
Speaker
The third thing, they do not rely too much on motivation. Yes, motivation is nice. Sometimes we have motivation. A lot of times we do not have motivation. And so instead of just relying on motivation, this is similar to the previous point is they build habits that sort of run on autopilot. So you have these certain daily disciplines that you know when things get tough, when life gets busy, when you're stressed, when you're going through a hard time, when things are just kind of crazy or chaotic like you have these daily disciplines that you can rely back on that are kind of on autopilot that you know we're going to continue to get you the things that you want to get.
00:18:12
Speaker
And I think it's important when you talk about this to really start small and build up over time because People have these really big audacious goals, which is great, but like they come in and their plan doesn't really match their ability of where they're at. And so they have these, I need to work out seven times a week. I need to eat super clean. I need to eat all the fruits and vegetables. I need to get this many grams of protein.
00:18:35
Speaker
I need to do this. I need to do this. And they have like a dozen different things that they need to do in order to move them. to where they want to get to. And it's like, yeah, that's great. I'm glad you are very like excited about this, but like, is this something that's actually realistic for you?
00:18:48
Speaker
Because if you are if you're motivated it's great like if you're motivated which most people are especially at the beginning like you'll have a little bit of extra energy you'll be motivated you can maybe do those things like you can check off all those boxes you can do a dozen things you can go to the gym six seven days a week like you can do that for a short period of time but then when that motivation starts to wear off like where are we at with that like are we going to be able to stick to that or was that just something that we thought was going to be great we're going to be able to stick to it and now that that motivation is kind of worn off like where are we at well We're falling off track. We're not doing the things we want to do. And so it's really important to start small and build that up over time because
00:19:26
Speaker
relying on motivation is just, it's not reliable. Like it's not something that you want to become super focused on. And so I think a better place to put your energy and to put your focus is to start to cultivate the type of identity that you want to create around being a healthy and fit person.
00:19:42
Speaker
Because once you start to become the type of person who make makes health and fitness a priority, it no longer feels like something that is like a drag to do. It's just part of who you are in A really strong driver of human behavior is how you see yourself, which is basically your identity. And so like if you played sports growing up, if you were an athlete, you know exactly how this works. Like if you were an athlete, you just did what athletes did. Like you practice, you lifted weights, you trained, you hung around other athletes, you probably ate a certain way. you probably talk the language of whatever sport that you were in. Like you had these little things that you did, little weird quirks and things like that.
00:20:22
Speaker
And it just felt natural to you. Like that was just what you did. Like I was an athlete growing up. And so like, that was a lot of what my identity was tied up in. And so I did things that athletes did and my behavior replicated all those things that a typical athlete would do.
00:20:37
Speaker
And so as you start to shift your identity into this person around like, I am a healthy person, i am a person who prioritizes my health, these things start to become more natural and now you're no longer relying on that motivation.
00:20:49
Speaker
I think this really became clear to me when I really got into running. because I was always like growing up, I was the person who like, I hated running. Like I just hated it unless it had to do with sports and even in sports, I didn't like it. But like, since it was in sports, like I could obviously tolerate it. I didn't really mind it. I wasn't thinking about running, but like any kind of distance running, I was like, no, I'm not doing that. I hate it.
00:21:10
Speaker
Never want to do it. And now fast forward to today after like I went through marathon training and I started getting into running and I started just doing it for a while. I started to have this shift of where like, okay, I no longer,
00:21:21
Speaker
Say that like I'm not a runner because I am I run consistently I run two three four times a week and it's something that I actually enjoy but forever like for so long i avoided it because I just told myself I was not a runner it was not part of my identity.
00:21:34
Speaker
It wasn't something that I cared about it wasn't something that i wanted to be interested in. But then when I got into it and I started doing it, I started seeing all these benefits. I started actually enjoying it and really like taking it on. It started to become part of like who I was. It started to become something that I really enjoyed, something that I got tons of really good benefits from.
00:21:51
Speaker
And now I consider myself a runner. It's something that I do pretty regularly and it doesn't feel like such a struggle. Like I enjoy going out on a run. I enjoy... Going out and like hitting a new trail or going to a new city and going on a jog and things like that. And it's not something that feels like such a burden.
00:22:06
Speaker
And health and fitness is that same exact way. But the thing that's really difficult about this is like at first, it feels super unnatural. Like it feels like... This is not who you are and it's not who you're used to being. And so it does. It feels very unnatural. It doesn't feel like part of you. It doesn't feel like part of your identity. It doesn't feel authentic to you.
00:22:27
Speaker
And so what you have to realize is that Action is what's going to create this identity shift. Isn't just like going in the mirror and being like, oh, I'm a runner now. Like, you know, these positive affirmations of like, oh, I'm a person who's healthy now. Whereas like, if you're not doing the actions that follow through on these things, like if you're not doing these small little things every single day, if you're not making these votes towards the type of person that you want to be, well, then you're not going to believe it. And you're not going to have that identity shift. Like if I say that I'm a runner, and but then I never run, I skip my run every single time it comes up.
00:22:57
Speaker
then I'm not gonna think that I'm a runner. That's not gonna become part of who I am. If I say that I'm healthy and I really prioritize my health, but then I skip all my workouts, I eat like trash, I never take care of my body, I don't really focus on any of my mental health, well then of course I'm not gonna believe that that's part of my identity and that's who I am.
00:23:14
Speaker
But as you start to do these very little things, which is why I'm such a big proponent of the 1% better thing, because every single decision, every single small thing that you are doing is moving you towards that direction because you're generating evidence That you are that person who you really want to be.
00:23:30
Speaker
And so now it's not just like ah you're not trying to like trick yourself into like being this different person. You are fundamentally that person if you are doing these actions that align with that person that you want to be. So if you're doing the things every day, if you're getting your steps in, if you're focusing on getting some water, if you're starting to eat more healthy meals, if you're doing all these healthy behaviors.
00:23:50
Speaker
You are that healthy person. And so just continuing to reinforce that, especially when it does feel a little weird and it feels a little bit unnatural at first, understanding that over time, you will start to see that shift.
00:24:02
Speaker
And I think this is really a big deal, like the identity part of this, as you start to really feel that shift and as you start to take that on and as that starts to become someone that you really feel you are, this stuff starts to become so much easier and it starts to feel more natural and it doesn't just feel like a struggle. Because I know when most people get into this, like it does, it feels so unnatural.
00:24:22
Speaker
Like we're just not used to it. It's not something that we do often. We're not used to these new habits. We're not used to this mindset. We're not used to this lifestyle. But as you continue to do those things over time, you do them long enough, you start to turn into that person and it doesn't feel like this is such an impossible thing to get to. And so I would say start to focus more on that identity shift versus just relying on motivation.
00:24:44
Speaker
And then my third thing that I would say about just not overly relying on motivation is setting up your environment to make being healthy easier.
Environment and Planning for Fitness
00:24:53
Speaker
And I've said this on multiple other podcasts, but making the healthy choice, the easy choice and setting up your environment in a way where like, that's just, that's just the default.
00:25:03
Speaker
why not make this process easier on yourself? I've already said that there's some difficult parts of this, like changing is hard. And so why not set yourself up to make the decisions that you want to make and make this whole process of change easier on yourself.
00:25:16
Speaker
And there's so many different ways that like these fit and healthy people do these things that they they don't even think about anymore. It's just something that they do naturally, but things like getting a training partner or getting a coach or working out with a group, as you start to bring in other people around you who also identify as somebody who's fit and healthy, as somebody who values their health, you are going to start to do those same things.
00:25:39
Speaker
Plus, you have some accountability and now it's easier to stick to the choices that you want to make. buying certain food items. Like I know if you keep all these certain foods that are really easy to overeat and maybe not quite as healthy for you, maybe not quite as high quality, like if you keep tons of that stuff in your house, you're going to eat it.
00:25:56
Speaker
So why not just keep less of that stuff in your house? And if you want to have that stuff, then like go to store, go buy it, go have it Like I don't ever think to me like there's anything off the table that I can't have. Like, I don't, that's not the way that I look at food. That's not the way I approach food.
00:26:09
Speaker
But I know even with where I am now with losing a hundred pounds, with being way more disciplined around my food choices, with having the education around it, I know that if I bring a bunch of that kind of stuff in my house, I am going to eat it. Like it is just going to happen. Like eventually I'm going to overdo it. I'm going to have more than I want to. And so for me, it's like,
00:26:29
Speaker
I'm not going to restrict myself. Like if I go out to eat and I want to have some chips and salsa, or I want to have this certain item that's super high in calories. I want to have this dessert like and I really, truly want to have that. Then I'm going to have that stuff.
00:26:40
Speaker
But like majority of the time, I don't want to have to use that willpower. I don't want to have to make those decisions in my house, like in my home, in my environment. So why not just set myself up to make that healthier choice, the easier choice?
00:26:54
Speaker
Little simple things like carrying a water bottle. If you carry a water bottle around, you're going to drink more water. Drinking more water is going to help you feel better, give you more energy, going to be less hungry. There's just like so many little different downstream effects you get from that one simple thing. Like if you're a person that works out in the morning.
00:27:10
Speaker
Doing everything possible to make that workout easier in the morning can be super helpful. So like maybe you lay your gym clothes out, you pack your gym bag, you make sure you have a snack ready to go. You know exactly what program you're going to do when you get into the gym that day. Like you make all these little choices ahead of time to make it easy to do the thing that you want to do.
00:27:29
Speaker
Maybe at work you start to keep some snacks around or you have meal prep around. Like having these things done ahead of time can make this whole process so much easier.
00:27:40
Speaker
And so relying on motivation, not a great long term strategy. It's nice when it's there, but it's not always going to be there. And so finding these other ways that you can set yourself up for success that include things like shifting your identity, building better habits, improving your environment is way more reliable.
00:27:57
Speaker
Number four, planning ahead. This one seems extremely simple, but it's also one of the most important things on this list. And it is just planning, like planning your meals out, planning your workouts.
00:28:08
Speaker
When you travel, do you have a plan? Like if you have to travel for work all the time, do you know what you're going to on the weekends? Do you have any sort of plan? Like I find that a lot of people, they have some sort of plan Monday through Friday, but then the weekends hit and they have zero plan at all.
00:28:21
Speaker
If you don't have a plan on the weekends, you're two out of those seven days you're not really sticking to any sort of plan well that's not great percentages like if you're going off the hinges or going off the rails two days out of your seven day week well all those things that you're working towards maybe you're not seeing the results you want to see because you're just not doing the things you need to do on these other days and so having some sort of plan during these different scenarios, like with work, with travel, with weekends, like just having some sort of plan, taking a little bit of time to just think about these things. Maybe it's five minutes before you go to bed.
00:28:55
Speaker
Maybe it's 10, 15 minutes at the beginning of the week. You plan out when I'm on gonna work out this week. am i going to have to eat this week like what kind of things do i have coming up and this is something that i ask my clients to do every single week like i ask them to actually think about and plan out okay i ask them when are you going work out this week do you have any challenges or any obstacles or any hurdles that are coming up this week what does the week look like for you? Because you actually have to take some time to plan these things out. And when you actually take the time to plan these things out, you are much more likely to succeed. And this isn't just like me saying this, like, yes, I've seen this with myself, with clients, but there's actually science that backs this up.
00:29:31
Speaker
You plan out ahead of time, like if you actually list when and where and like what you're going to be doing in a certain scenario, you are much more likely to follow through with these things. And so like fit and healthy people, they don't just wing it. They set themselves up Because if you are failing to plan, as the old saying goes, you are planning to fail.
00:29:48
Speaker
And it's really just as simple as that. As I've said, like being healthy is a set of skills and they don't just happen naturally. Eventually, we want to get to a point where like these things are just habitual and they just become your habits.
00:29:58
Speaker
But at first, you really have to think through these things. Like you have to think about what am I going to make for my meals? Like what is my meal prep going to look like? You have to think about what am I going to do on weekends for food? You have to think about how do am I going to stay on track when I travel for work?
00:30:12
Speaker
You have to think about how am I going to get all my steps in? I need to get 8,000 steps a day. Okay, I've been struggling to get my 8,000 steps. I've been hitting 5,000. Where can I find some space in my day to get in 3,000 steps?
00:30:24
Speaker
You have to think about how can I actually get my protein? For most people, when they start to actually focus on protein, it is a lot more than they were ever used to. And so they struggle to get enough protein. And so you have to think about, okay, how can I actually...
00:30:35
Speaker
Break this down so I can get enough protein at each and every meal to make sure that I'm hitting my target. I'm not getting enough sleep. Okay, how can I adjust my bedtime routine? How can I get some more sleep? Because if you ask a fit and healthy person like what their plan is, like if you ask them about their workout routine, they'll have some sort of answer for you. They'll tell you like, I work out this many days a week. This is typically what I do for my training split. You ask them like, what are some things that you eat quite a bit? Like they'll be able to tell you like they'll know if you ask them,
00:31:01
Speaker
how many calories do you eat on average? Are you asking like, how much protein are you focusing on? Like a lot of fit and healthy people, they aren't just winging these things. They have gone through this period of really putting in the work and figuring out what works well for them.
00:31:13
Speaker
And so put some thought into these things. One of the things that I really start to notice and one of the things where I know like my clients are making these shifts within like the whole mindset part is when they start to talk to me about these certain ways that they are planning ahead of time.
00:31:26
Speaker
And so like I had a client who like And we're going to the movies with a friend and like they planned out, okay, I want to save some calories to have some snacks and enjoy myself as I am at this movie. That's awesome. Planning a hit.
00:31:38
Speaker
have another client who has to travel a ton for work. And so like we talk about that, like, what are you planning to do for when you have to travel, like, are you bringing some snacks with you? Are you going to buy some snacks when you get to your destination?
00:31:49
Speaker
What are you doing for lunch and dinner? Are you just going to go super light for your breakfast so that you can save your calories since you have to eat out multiple times? Like, what does that strategy actually look like? Or have a client who like, yeah, they have, I have something coming up this weekend. Like I'm going out to eat with some friends or I have this party. And so I'm going to calorie cycle earlier in the week, basically just budget or save some calories earlier in the week, eat a little bit less so that I can budget some calories enjoy myself on the weekend, not overdo it, but enjoy myself.
00:32:16
Speaker
And I'm right back on track. I'm like, I'm on track with my plan because I actually took some time to plan ahead. And so when you can take this time and actually think about these things, and it does, it seems a little bit tedious on the front end. Like you have to spend some time actually planning these things and actually going through those things.
00:32:32
Speaker
But the more often that you do it, the easier that it gets. And then as you start to get better at this stuff, it doesn't even seem like that big of a deal. Like I think about the things that I do now just kind of naturally. And like, they were not the things that I did naturally back then. Like, I didn't even know how to do some of these things. I didn't think about some of these things. I didn't even like, it didn't even register in my brain that these were things that I could do.
00:32:53
Speaker
But now, like fast forward where I'm at now, like I'm the leanest I've ever been, healthiest I've ever been, like strongest, like all these different things. And like, I don't even have to think about these things anymore because I,
00:33:04
Speaker
put some time and actually planning those things out. And as you start to get better at these things, you realize, okay, it is possible. Like I have to start thinking in a different way, but as I start to do these things, it's possible to enjoy myself, enjoy a social life, but also hit all my fitness goals. Also feel great. Also look great. And so put some time into the front end of actually figuring these things out because it is definitely worth it on the backend.
00:33:26
Speaker
When you think about it from like a broader perspective, like Yes, it's a little bit tedious. Like it takes more time. Like you're going to have to put some effort into it. But like, say you do this for like a year and you're just in a way better spot. Like you're good at this stuff now. Like you have the habits in place. You have a better mindset. Well,
00:33:44
Speaker
what's one year of time in your 80 year, 90 year, 100 year life, if it improves the quality of your life that much more, because we know that health is such a big factor in everything. Like if you don't have your health, you don't have anything.
00:33:56
Speaker
But if you just put like a really, really solid, dedicated full year into like really figuring this stuff out, really changing your mindset, really building your habits, how much would that improve your life for the rest of your life?
00:34:07
Speaker
Looking at it from that perspective has always helped me. And it's something that I try to like point out to people is like, It takes some work in the front end, like it takes what it takes. The reality is it is going to take some time and you're going to have to really put some effort into these things. But it is so worth it on the back end as you start to feel better, as you start to look better, as you're able to do more things, as you build confidence, fan as your energy improves, like as your mental health improves, like there's so many benefits downstream. So it's definitely worth putting that effort in up front.
Learning from Failure in Fitness
00:34:37
Speaker
And lastly, number five on the list of things that fit people are doing behind the scenes. They're not afraid to fail. They try new things. They tweak their routines. They adapt, but they are not afraid to fail.
00:34:49
Speaker
Every single time that you fail, it's just another opportunity to improve and to learn. It's not a reason to quit. And I think that's something that a lot of people really struggle with because they feel like they should have this all figured out. They feel like they should maybe be further ahead or maybe that they should know exactly what they should be eating and things like that. And I tell my clients this all the time, but this is a trial and error process. You're going to try some things.
00:35:10
Speaker
that are going to work really well. And even some things that I say on here, like you don't need to listen to everything that I say, because everything that I say might not necessarily work for you and your lifestyle and your goal and your needs.
00:35:21
Speaker
And so don't be afraid to like try some new things and figure out some things that work for you, because everything that works for me isn't going to work 100% for you. And so being okay to try some different things and even trying some things and finding out that some things don't work really well, like that's okay, that's part of the process. But I think a big thing that people need to do a better job of is like removing the expectations about what this whole process is gonna be like, because,
00:35:44
Speaker
One thing that I've realized is that with humans, we're not really that great at managing expectations. And especially when it comes to like weight loss, when it comes to fitness, when it comes to just these goals around our health and fitness, we often think it's going to take less time than it does. We think it's going to be easier than it really is. And social media is probably a big contribute to that.
00:36:05
Speaker
But that is why like I put out this content, especially like in podcasts and long form things. And And I just try to be as real and authentic as possible about what this whole process looks like, because a lot of people are not that way. They they market to you and they try to sell you things that just aren't true. Like this stuff takes work.
00:36:21
Speaker
But when you do it the right way and when you have the right expectations going in and just understanding, like, you can dramatically improve your life through health, through exercise, through fitness, through taking care of yourself, all those different things.
00:36:33
Speaker
But you also have to understand that it is a process and it does take work and it typically does take longer than you want it to take. But as I said earlier, like, one year of really dedicated focus, like how much better could you be? And so when you start to disconnect a little bit from like these end outcomes of like, I need to lose 50 pounds or i need to gain 20 pounds of muscle.
00:36:51
Speaker
And again, you start to focus more so on just the process and start to realize that these things that I'm doing, they also make me feel better on a daily basis. Like I, Feel like when I go on walks, my mental health is a little bit better. Or when I'm exercising on a consistent basis, I don't have as much pain.
00:37:06
Speaker
When I focus on getting more sleep, like I have better energy and more clarity. When I eat better, I don't have all these digestive problems and I don't feel like crap. Like I actually feel like I'm pretty like vibrant and I have some energy and start to really realize that not only is this moving you towards those end goals that you really want to have, but it's making your life better in the dayto day to day.
00:37:26
Speaker
And so when you can sort of like disconnect from that and stop focusing so much on just like the particular weight loss goal or the and outcome, it becomes easier to stay with these things. All these fit and healthy people that you see, like they have gone through their period of struggle. They've gone through their period of trial and error and they put in their time to get to where they're at now where this stuff doesn't feel as difficult. There was times where were like they didn't feel motivated.
00:37:50
Speaker
They didn't feel like they had any sort of discipline. They had doubts about what they were doing or if it was even worth it. They had times where they wanted to quit or maybe even they did quit or phases where they like fell off really hard. They had lots of times where like they probably felt dumb and they were in the gym and they didn't know what to do. And the fact of the matter is like they stayed with it and you just have to be willing to keep showing up and keep getting that 1% better. And when you can do that, this starts to become sort of a lifestyle and it starts to become something that you get better at.
00:38:18
Speaker
And over time, as you start to learn these things, again, these are skills. As you start to go through those four stages of learning where like, you're not really competent at it. And as you start to work through and you start to become more competent at it, these things start to become just part of who you are. They start to become part of your lifestyle.
00:38:33
Speaker
And then you get to the point where like, you are one of those people, like you feel great, you look great, you're healthy, like you are at the top and you feel super, super awesome.
00:38:43
Speaker
That is a place that I feel like everybody can get to, but you have to be willing to approach it with the right mindset. And you have to be willing to understand like, These things that it takes like it does take some time, but it is also 100% worth it. And so with that being said, there was a lot of info in this podcast, but hopefully that was a little insight into some things that you can start focusing on if I do kind of boil it down maybe three practical tips or three practical takeaways because always like to leave you with something super tangible is If you have an area that you're struggling with right now, like you can pinpoint it in your head right now, like maybe it's not getting enough protein, maybe it's eating too many calories, not enough fruits and vegetables, not getting your workouts in. Like think about what that area is that you want to improve and literally just sit down and take five, 10 minutes about how you can improve that in this next week. Like write down tangibly,
00:39:31
Speaker
This is the area that I want to improve in These are the steps that I need to do it. And literally just taking five to 10 minutes to do that, you will noticeably see how much easier it becomes to start working towards these goals that you have. It's really that simple. Just get clarity so that you can actually be confident within the plan and actually start to become more consistent with the plan.
00:39:49
Speaker
And then understand like when you do slip up, just try to get back on track sooner. Every single time that you slip up, make it a goal to get back on track sooner and sooner and sooner. And pretty soon it's like, you don't even feel like you're really falling off track. You just understand that, oh, I just hit a little bit of a hurdle and I'm just right back to the routine.
00:40:05
Speaker
It's not a big deal. I don't stress it. It's nothing to worry about. Like I'm i'm just with it instead of letting days, weeks, months pass where like you're kind of off track and now you're just like feeling like you're starting over at day one every single day. And then lastly, I would say is just understand it's not win or lose. Like you're either winning or you're learning.
00:40:22
Speaker
The only true failure is if you're like messing up and doing these things and you're falling off, but you're not learning anything from it. That's really the only true failure. So you win or you learn, remember that, and it helps you take the sting out of it a little bit and you don't have to beat yourself up over things. But with that being said, lot of information in here, if you're somebody who is interested in maybe getting some one-on-one coaching, you can always check that link in the show notes. I know figuring some of this stuff out by yourself is sometimes difficult. And so it's nice to have somebody who has been in your shoes and who helped hold you accountable and kind of walk you through this whole process. And so
00:40:55
Speaker
That is what I do one-on-one. If you are interested, you can always check out the link in the show notes. We'll have a conversation and see if you are a good fit. But with that being said, I really do appreciate you listening and we will see you next week.