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#104 - Genetics vs Willpower: What's More Important For Weight Loss
25 Plays7 days ago
In this episode, we break down the role genetics actually play in weight loss—and how much control you still have over your results.
What we cover:
- What parts of your health are influenced by genetics
- How environment and habits shape long-term success
- How much control you actually have over your health outcomes
- 3 practical steps to start making real, lasting change
This episode will help you shift from frustration to empowered action.
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Transcript
Introduction & Podcast Mission
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome back to the Fit-ish Project with your host, Lathan Bass. As always, where we make fitness and health simple for regular people like you and I. We got another weekly episode coming at you before I get into this one. If you have not left a review and you can do that, I greatly appreciate that. Continue to get this information out to more people who need it and who could use it. I've been seeing more people start to listen to the podcast, more reviews coming in. So I really do appreciate every single one of you who has left review and people who continue to listen to the podcast, share it to other people, and just ultimately help more people. That's the goal here with this. So thank
Genetics vs. Willpower in Weight Loss
00:00:39
Speaker
you for that. But this week's episode, normally,
00:00:42
Speaker
When it comes to the episodes, a lot of my topics I get from conversations that I have with clients, like common themes that tend to come up, maybe questions that I get from people on social media, things like that. But with this topic, this was something that I've been seeing on social media just a lot talked about with, especially with like GLP ones coming out and just more people talking about this topic. And that is, is weight loss more about genetics or is it more about willpower?
00:01:09
Speaker
A lot of times you'll see people say like, it's all willpower, you just need to be more disciplined. And then you'll have other people on the other end of the spectrum that say, no, genetics plays a much bigger role. Is it because of your biology that you can't lose weight?
00:01:21
Speaker
And so you have people on both these extreme sides who try to shame other people into losing weight or saying like, it's 100% your fault and you should be making better choices. And then you'll have people on the other side that say,
00:01:33
Speaker
No, it's completely out of your control. There's nothing you can do. You're just destined to be obese and struggle
Role of Genetics in Health
00:01:39
Speaker
with your health. And as always, it is nuanced, but it falls somewhere in the middle. We don't want to be on either end of the extreme. And for me as a fitness coach and as somebody who helps a lot of people with weight loss, i don't think either one of those messages on either side Help anybody. And I don't think either one of those messages are true.
00:01:57
Speaker
Again, it's somewhere in the middle. And so yes, genetics, they play a role in people who struggle with weight loss in your health in general, in all types of things. Genetics plays a role in literally everything.
00:02:10
Speaker
But on the other side of the spectrum, there's also other things that are within your control that do give you a lot of autonomy and a lot of agency within this and help you to gain that control that you want so you can make better choices and ultimately change and be healthier and happier and all those things that we want
Personal & Client Weight Loss Insights
00:02:27
Speaker
to do.
00:02:27
Speaker
have and so in this episode i wanted to break that down a little bit talk a little bit about the science background not a ton but just a little bit so you can understand like how genetics do affect weight loss and health and things like that talk a little bit about my experience with it i don't really come from a family that was super fit and healthy and i've been able to make this transformation and now that i help other people i've seen a very similar thing a lot of people who come to me who have struggled with weight for quite a while Also don't come from a family background that was like super fit, super healthy, super thin, anything like that. And so they're also coming from this same place and they've been able to make these changes as well. So I start to think about, okay, what's actually going on here? What can we learn from these situations? So I want to talk a little bit about that.
00:03:10
Speaker
And then ultimately, What should we do about it? Like, you know, okay, genetics does play a role. Willpower is important, but like, what can we actually do about these things? What are some practical steps we can start taking to gain that control and start to see the changes that we want to see, look our best, feel our best, be healthy, live a long life, all those different
Nature vs. Nurture & Epigenetics
00:03:29
Speaker
things. So Before we actually get into the science part of it, we have to talk a little bit about like this nature versus nurture debate. And that's probably something that you heard of before. Like, are you born a certain way and are you just destined to be that way? Or does nurture basically how you are brought up? Does that also play a role? And
00:03:47
Speaker
we know that it's both right both of those things play a role and so when we think about genetics genetics is just your blueprint so you were born with this certain blueprint you did not get to choose your parents and so your genetics are your genetics and that is going to affect everything it also affects things with your health as well so like your hunger levels it can affect where you store fat on your body it can affect your baseline metabolism like there's a bunch of different things that your genetics will affect But again, nurture also affects those things. So your environment, your habits, your actions, your behavior, all those certain things are happening from nurture side of it. And so those things also are going to actually affect your genetics.
00:04:32
Speaker
And this is what's called epigenetics. So you have your genetics, your general blueprint, your foundation, but epigenetics is how those actually play out. So just because you have certain predetermined things going on within your genetics doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to play out that way For example, we're all born with cancer cells, but that doesn't necessarily mean that every single person out there is going to get
Lifestyle Choices & Genetic Expression
00:04:53
Speaker
cancer. Some people have higher risk of getting cancer than other people.
00:04:57
Speaker
And a lot of things that we do within our everyday life, whether you smoke, whether you sleep well, what your diet is like, if you exercise, if you're overweight, like all these certain factors are going to play a role in how those genetics play out. And that goes for a lot of different things. So our genetics affect tons of different things.
00:05:14
Speaker
And so epigenetics is actually the way that I think about it is like how you let those things play out. And again, you don't have 100 percent control of how your genetics going to play out. Like there's things that happen.
00:05:26
Speaker
There's people that just are dealt a really, really tough hand. But there is a lot of things that you can control. And I think understanding that and really taking that mindset of like, OK, I do really have a lot of control on how I live my life and how my life is going to play out.
00:05:44
Speaker
even if you are dealt a certain hand, a more difficult hand, like let's say you are more predetermined to struggle with ah being overweight and like your metabolism isn't quite as fast and you struggle with hunger, like understanding that you have the ability to change those things and really embracing that growth mindset, I think is really empowering.
00:06:03
Speaker
And that gives you the motivation and also just lets you know that like you're not just destined to struggle with these things for your entire life. You can change and you have the ability to
Potential vs. Success in Genetics
00:06:13
Speaker
change. So when you think about genetics and when you think about like epigenetics when you think about like your behavior and how that all plays a role on that i heard some scientists say this a while back and they said like genetics is what loads the gun but your environment and your behaviors is what pulls the trigger so just because you are you have this certain set of genetics doesn't necessarily mean that like your destiny and how you're going to end up is a foregone conclusion the decisions that you make in your everyday life play a huge role in that
00:06:40
Speaker
And so when you think about this, like you, you can see this in real time, right? The nature versus nurture thing is pretty obvious. You can take two siblings who grew up in the exact same house, exact same parents, same environment, but they turn out completely different. They have very similar DNA.
00:06:56
Speaker
Same upbringing, even in the same environment, but they turn out different. And so genetics is sort of the foundation, but like the decisions that they make, the habits that they form, all those different things, the people that they surround themselves with is what ultimately ends up shaping their outcome. And so, yes, DNA, genetics, all those things is going to influence that.
00:07:15
Speaker
the things that are going on in your life, but it doesn't ultimately determine where you are going to end up. And you can see this with anything, right? And I think really taking in that growth mindset is so important in this because let's take, for example, like professional athletes.
00:07:29
Speaker
Professional athletes are very, very genetically gifted when it comes to that area of just athletics and their physical skills. And now I might be somebody who's like, I want to be a really good athlete, but like I'm 6'2", I'm probably not going to be in the NBA. Like my genetics just aren't set that way.
00:07:46
Speaker
Like I am not somebody who is not faster than a ton of people. I can't jump higher than a lot of people in the NBA. Like I'm not as good of a shooter. Like I don't have these skills. I don't have these physical intangibles. I'm just not really wired that way to be good enough to be in the and NBA. And I understand that. Like my genetics aren't weren't made to be in the NBA.
00:08:06
Speaker
But that doesn't mean that I can't become a really good basketball player and improve and get better at shooting and learn skills and learn the game of basketball and become a pretty decent basketball player. Or like you take a musician, like you look at a really talented musician and you're like, OK, there's something within that person's like genetics where like they are just extremely gifted.
00:08:25
Speaker
And that doesn't mean that they didn't spend thousands and thousands of hours. honing their craft and getting better and learning music and really just grinding but i could do the same exact thing and i am never going to be a professional musician i know that like i'm just i'm not wired that way that is not something that is in my dna i'm not super passionate about that that's not something that is going to be in the cards for me that doesn't mean that if i really put in a ton of time like could i become a better musician like i can play a little bit of guitar. I don't know if what I do you would call playing or musically talented, but like I can strum a few chords, I can sing just a tiny little bit, but like I'm nowhere near the level of those people. But that doesn't mean that I can't
Beyond Weight Loss: Health Benefits
00:09:05
Speaker
improve those things. And I think that's the same outlook that you want to take when it comes to your health and your fitness. Like
00:09:11
Speaker
understanding your genetics and dna and things like that they play a role but you can always get better there's things that you can improve and even when you take like weight loss out of the equation or you take like being overweight obesity that sort of thing out of the equation things that are going to improve your health that don't necessarily even have to directly do with losing weight like if you exercise regardless of whether you ever lose a single pound it's still one of the most beneficial things you can do for your mental and your physical health If you eat well, you are probably going to have better energy. You're going to improve your lifespan. You're going to feel better.
00:09:45
Speaker
Like doing these things, if you sleep well, that is also going to improve your health regardless of whether it affects if you lose weight or not. And so just because you're struggling to lose weight or your genetics makes it a little bit harder for you to lose weight,
00:09:59
Speaker
doing these healthy behaviors is still going to make you an overall healthy person. And I think remembering that is really important because people get really stuck on this idea. of i need to look a certain way. I need to lose weight. I need to see a certain number on the scale.
00:10:13
Speaker
And it's like, that's fine to have those goals, but understand that's not the end all be all. We want to be healthy so that we can actually live a long life so that we can enjoy life to the fullest so that we can enjoy experiences with the people around us and just be healthy and feel good and feel vibrant. And you can get a lot of those benefits from just doing healthy behaviors. Now, obviously weight is part of that equation. Like if you are overweight, you're There's no question that like the science tells us like there's a lot of health effects that could be going on from being overweight from a bunch of different standpoints. And we know it's not healthy to long term be at a very high body weight.
00:10:52
Speaker
But. Irrespective of that, doing these healthy behaviors is going to make you a healthier person. I think when you can kind of separate those two things and understand like I'm not just strictly eating well because I want to lose weight or I'm not just exercising to burn calories and you just just start doing those things because it makes you healthier and it makes you feel good.
00:11:12
Speaker
it's a little bit more intrinsically motivating and it starts to become part of your identity and it starts to just become a regular part of what you do. And a lot of times by doing those things, weight loss in turn becomes a byproduct of those things down the road.
Twin Studies & Genetic Influence
00:11:25
Speaker
And so setting the stage a little bit, getting into the science, How do we know that obesity is affected by genetics? Well, the best way that we know is they've done these what's called twin studies to prove that body weight and body mass index is correlated with your diet.
00:11:44
Speaker
genetics And so basically what that means is like they took sets of twins, identical twins who share a lot of their DNA, and they took twins who were raised separately. So like they're raised in different environments and they looked at the correlation between their body weight.
00:11:59
Speaker
And there was a 70% correlation between their body weight and these identical twins who shared identical DNA, but grew up in separate environments. So they were the nature and nurture part. They have the same nature. They have the same DNA. They have the same blueprint, but they grew up like they grew up differently.
00:12:17
Speaker
So their behaviors might have been a little different. Their environment was different, those sorts of things. But their weight was still pretty similar. There was a correlation, a pretty high correlation of their body weight being the same. Now, correlation doesn't necessarily mean causation.
00:12:29
Speaker
But I think when you just look at these things a little bit and you start to just really see what's going on, like you can say that genetics does play a role in your body weight, in your health. But again, i think that environment,
00:12:42
Speaker
plays a much, much larger role than a lot of people realize. Because one of the things that I like to do when things get really complex or if I'm struggling to really like understand a problem is I just like to think about this from an evolutionary perspective. like Think about what was going on way, way back then.
00:12:57
Speaker
Thousands and thousands of years ago, like there wasn't a ton of people who struggled with their weight, there wasn't a lot of people who were obese and really struggling with their health and like all these different health issues around their weight.
00:13:09
Speaker
And so you think about it now and you're like, what's changed? Well, we're a lot more sedentary. There's a lot more hyper palatable foods, it's very easy to overeat. And those different factors play a massive role. Basically, people are just moving less and they're eating more. And that makes it a lot easier to be overweight, to have healthy issues and all those different types of things.
00:13:32
Speaker
Even with that being said, I think it's still beneficial to understand sort of the genetic
Metabolic Rate & NEAT Differences
00:13:37
Speaker
side of things. And so when we think about like genetics and how that plays a role, It plays a role in our metabolism. Some people have a naturally higher resting metabolic rate, so they just burn more calories than other people. You could take two people who are the exact same size, exact same body composition, same muscle, everything like that, and you might have one person that just naturally burns more calories than the other people.
00:13:57
Speaker
And so people who have a naturally higher metabolism, it's probably going to be a little bit easier for those people to lose weight or maintain their weight than people who have are on the lower end of it. Again, that doesn't mean that it's like this crazy extremes, but that does play a role.
00:14:12
Speaker
And a lot of this actually has to do with your NEAT. So your non-exercise activity, thermogenesis is what that stands for, your NEAT activity. And this is just things like fidgeting, moving throughout the day. And if you've ever been around one of those people like who just cannot sit still and you're like, but just like chill out, like take a chill pill, but like they just, they're always doing something like bopping their leg, they're moving around, they're switching positions, they're standing up, they're moving around, like That actually burns a ton of calories. And there can be a massive difference in somebody who is more wired that way, who's like always fidgety and always moving around in how many calories they burn versus somebody who's more chilled, more laid back, like doesn't really move a whole lot. Like that person might not burn nearly as many calories as this other person. Neither one of those people are thinking about those things. It's just something that they do naturally just because they're kind of wired
Genetic Impact on Appetite & Satiety
00:14:58
Speaker
that way. But that can make a really big difference in the amount of calories that you burn
00:15:02
Speaker
throughout a single day and then you start to add that up throughout weeks and things like that and you can see how for some people like it's really difficult for them to gain weight and other people it may be a lot easier because they're not burning nearly as many calories and so that's something that genetics plays a role in when you think about appetite and satiety so your genes ghrelin and leptin those are the genes that control your hunger and they also control your satiety and your fullness and these can change a little bit based on your genetics so Again, if you've ever been around somebody who like eats like a child, like eats like a toddler, they have like two bites and they're like, I'm full. Like they never finished their plates. I felt like that was a lot of my friends growing up. And then you have me on the other end who's like, I can eat for days. Like I still, even where I'm at now and like losing weight, like I can eat a massive, massive amount of food.
00:15:52
Speaker
compared to like one of my smaller friends who's like kind of always been that way, not really a big eater. if you meet some people that are just like not really into food that much, you talk to somebody and they're like, yeah, I forgot to eat today. And I'm like, what do you mean you forgot to eat today? Like I would be starving. Like I'd be on the ground. Like I've ate 30,
00:16:08
Speaker
four times today. What do you mean you forgot to eat today? But there's just some people who like, they're just not as interested in food. Their appetite isn't nearly as high. They don't struggle with things like being full. They they have a really good grasp on their like satiety and their fullness cues.
00:16:22
Speaker
And so genetics plays a role in that. You have things like food preferences and cravings. So your dopamine sensitivity, basically how much pleasure that you get from food is partially genetic. And so some people, again, they're interested in food like you ever...
00:16:37
Speaker
have that friend who's just like a crazy foodie, like they just love food, like they love everything about it. They love the taste, they love the smell, like they love restaurants, they love all that. And then again, you have somebody on the other end of the spectrum who's like, nah, I don't really care for food that much. Like it's it's not really something that I'm into.
00:16:52
Speaker
But some people like they're literally just wired more when they have that sort of food, like it gives them that dopamine hit. And they just really enjoy it. And so like if you have that, you might be a little bit more wired to seek out food, things that are a little bit more hyper palatable, highly salty, sugary, lots of carbs, things like that. And that could lead to just overeating people with like food noise or people who think about food all the time. That can also be part of this as well.
00:17:18
Speaker
Your ability to stick to a diet based on your behavior. So things like self-discipline or even like delayed gratification or your ability to like resist temptations is partly due to genetics. Again, these are all things that you can get better at and you can train yourself to be more disciplined and things like that. But there is a part of that that like some people are just born a little bit more disciplined than others.
00:17:40
Speaker
But with that being said, I've seen so many people who have changed their ways and changed their habits because like something like discipline, especially it's like discipline is very similar to like any other
Training Discipline Like a Muscle
00:17:51
Speaker
muscle. Like you can train yourself to be more disciplined by doing little things like cleaning up your environment, putting yourself in better situations.
00:17:58
Speaker
making the healthy choice the easy choice just practicing these little habits over time like you might be somebody who really struggles to work out now and then you start to slowly build up and then you look down the road six months and you're like like i've been working out multiple times for a week and i don't really struggle with consistency anymore i feel like i'm pretty disciplined about this I have a client right now who is that same way like when we first started working together really struggling to get workouts in and like just struggling to just be active and like really start to make it part of their lifestyle and then we were having a conversation just recently and he was talking about how like he just feels like he has such a better grasp on his discipline and like he feels like now if he says he's going to do something he knows that he actually has the ability and has that belief in himself that he's going to do those things so
00:18:45
Speaker
All these certain things are things that you can start to train and get better at and improve. And so I just want to point out that some of these things are influenced by genetics. But again, that doesn't mean that it's your ultimate destination.
00:18:58
Speaker
When it comes to exercise, like people respond differently to exercise. There's people that really, really love exercise. And there's people who are what you call like low responders, like they don't get the same effects as some other people.
00:19:10
Speaker
Whereas like I would say myself, like I like to exercise and like the feelings that I get from it mentally, like I really enjoy those. I understand that not everybody has those same things. Like they don't enjoy exercise as much as me.
00:19:22
Speaker
Now, again, I'll say that like there's hundreds of different ways that you can move your body and exercise. So finding something that you enjoy and just being willing to try different things to figure out a plan of action that actually works for you is crucial.
00:19:35
Speaker
And so don't just write things off just because like you try something or you had this one experience or this was what happened in the past and it didn't really work out and just write yourself off from those certain things completely. Because I think.
00:19:47
Speaker
a huge problem with a lot of people and where a lot of people get into trouble is this exact thing right here they try something for a week or two weeks or they had this certain experience or they had this habit that they've had for so long and they struggle to break it and they can't get over it after a month and they're like i don't know what's wrong with me i just can't do it and it's like you have to give these things time you have to really give yourself some grace with these things because changing is hard it's difficult your brain has been wired based on your past habits, your past patterns, just things that you've done.
00:20:18
Speaker
And so when you change, you are literally rewiring your brain to function, think, do things in a different way. And that's difficult because your brain doesn't necessarily want to be changing all the times. it likes that familiarity.
00:20:30
Speaker
It likes having things be a similar way, even if those things aren't necessarily the most beneficial to you right now. And so changing is going to feel a little bit difficult. It's going to take some time realizing that and embracing that and really just knowing that, okay, this is going to suck a little bit, but I do have the ability to change.
00:20:47
Speaker
And so understanding like all those things right there, like they are affected by your genetics in some way. But again, you have the ability to change a lot of those different
Identity Shift to Healthy Living
00:20:56
Speaker
things. And with that being said, like me personally, i don't come from a family that is like super fit, super healthy.
00:21:03
Speaker
A lot of my family has health issues or overweight and things like that. And I was the same way. Like most of my life I was overweight. I was always very active. was always into sports. I always like exercising and just like moving my body and things like that. But I just ate a ton. Like I was an overeater and like, I didn't really have any education around it. Like I didn't really have the good environment to be healthy and fit.
00:21:27
Speaker
didn't really have the habits in place, but I also don't think that my genetics come from a place of like, okay, you're just destined to be super thin very easily. So understanding that like now i know like okay i wasn't really in the best environment to make those choices but then as i got older as i started learning more as i put myself in better situations and really started learning what was going on and just took more control over my situation i realized that i could start to get better at these things when i started i had no idea like okay i don't know if i'm gonna ever be able to get like super fit or like you know have abs or like be able to dunk a basketball or be able to run or like
00:22:04
Speaker
you know, do all these different things, but I knew that I could get better. And I wanted to see what that was going to be like, but it definitely did not come without struggle because making those kinds of changes is a hard thing. And that's why i lost weight.
00:22:17
Speaker
I gained some of that weight back. And then I lost some weight again. And then I gained some of that weight back. And I did that cycle again, before I got to this point where I'm at now to where I'm like, okay, I actually feel really, really confident and comfortable about where I am in my situation. I don't ever have a nervousness or ever have a question about ever being overweight again, because I've taken that time to really like learn.
00:22:41
Speaker
I've taken that time to build the right skills and put the right habits in place. I've taken the time to like really fix my environment and put myself in a situation where it makes making those healthy choices so much easier. I get myself around people who also embrace a healthy lifestyle and enjoy exercising and eating well and things like that.
00:23:01
Speaker
And most importantly, I've shifted my identity over time from this overweight kid who I was my entire life. This kid who just ate all the time, was overeating, was a big kid to this person now who I look at as like healthy fit, like wants to be a good example for other people, wants to help other people hit their health and fitness goals. And so like that's my identity now versus where it was back then.
00:23:25
Speaker
And so like doing all these things now, like exercising and taking care of myself and eating well, it's just normal. It's just part of who I am. But that was not always the case. And as I mentioned earlier, that is not the case for a lot of people, especially if you have been overweight for a period of time.
00:23:40
Speaker
it's going to take some time to shift that identity to get to a place where you actually feel like, okay, this is something that I feel like I can sustain. But it is 100% worth it. Because living in a way where you do feel like it's not always a struggle, you can enjoy your diet, you do exercise, like all these things are going to make you feel better, both physically and mentally.
00:24:01
Speaker
And when you get to a point of where it's not like, oh, like I have to work out all the time, I have to eat well all the time. And it just becomes part of like who you are.
Focus Areas for Fitness Transformation
00:24:10
Speaker
That's such a better place to be. And so again, realizing that you have control within this, I think it's huge in like really, really focusing in on like shifting your habits and focusing on little things, you know, your steps every day, like getting walking in, starting to make better food choices, starting to really think about planning and prioritizing your food and your meals and your
00:24:31
Speaker
workouts, like starting to really tailor a good routine for yourself, finding accountability, like all these things are things that are within your control, and things that you can start to do, like really, really small steps that you can start to do to start to move that identity and start to build the right habits and start to push you in the right direction.
00:24:48
Speaker
Environment, as I talked about, is another huge one, like designing your environment to be healthy. Like it seems like such a simple concept, but it's something that a lot of people never really think about, like keeping a bunch of healthier, higher quality foods in your house and maybe some of that other stuff outside of your house, setting your environment up so that it makes it easy to do the things that you want to do.
00:25:10
Speaker
So going to a gym that you actually enjoy, maybe you're getting a training partner or you're getting a training coach like all these little things that you can start to do to make these choices is going to be very very helpful and so if I had to get super super tactical and I was going to leave you with like three really practical things three things that you would focus on I would say focus on your habits focus on your environment and then focus on your identity and so when it comes to your habits I would pick one thing maybe two things and just really nail down what those things are and I personally like to pick the highest leverage things things that I know that people can handle but also things that I know are going to actually move the needle a significant amount because when you think about health and when you think about like fitness like it can be so very overwhelming when you're getting into this because you're like I need to be doing this I need to sleep more I need to manage stress
00:26:04
Speaker
I need to eat more vegetables. I need to eat more fruit. I need to eat more protein. I need to eat less of this. I need to drink water. like I need to exercise this many times a day. I need to do cardio. Like there's a million different things that you could focus
Habit Changes for Better Health
00:26:15
Speaker
on.
00:26:15
Speaker
So just pick one or two of those things. Like in, when it comes to like really high leverage things to focus on, like, some of them that i always recommend my clients are like start with focusing on more whole foods or focus on like hitting your calorie goal or your protein goal like getting protein at every meal maybe focusing on getting so many steps within a day or focusing on getting three workouts in per week like if you focused on any number of those things like you would start to see a really good change within your physical and mental health just by focusing on one of those four things
00:26:47
Speaker
calories or food protein steps or workout so i would pick one of those four maybe two of those things really start to focus in on what that looks like decide okay this is what i'm going to do for this day like this is going to be my daily discipline so for example for protein it might be i'm going to eat protein at every single meal and i'm just going focus on that for the next two weeks three weeks four weeks and really just get that nailed down or maybe it's workouts i'm going to focus on getting three strength workouts in per week Once I get that nailed down, I'm going to add in something else or maybe it's steps like walking is such a great place to start.
00:27:21
Speaker
I really like starting with walking because it's so simple, like everybody already does it. And so just boosting that up into a little bit higher number and really making it a focus and just prioritizing walking can be a really good place to start. So maybe your goal is going to be, I'm going to get 6,000 steps or 8,000 steps per day for the next two weeks. And then once you get that nailed down, once you feel good about that, start to add other high leverage activities. So That's where I would start with habits.
00:27:45
Speaker
When it comes to your environment, this is a really good one because like a lot of these things that you do with your environment, you do it one time and like it makes a massive difference. So one of the things that really helped me and one of the things that I will recommend to clients a lot is just starting to improve
Creating a Supportive Health Environment
00:28:00
Speaker
your environment. So like if there's foods that you know you really struggle to moderate right now.
00:28:04
Speaker
like maybe you take those out of the picture for a little bit, like you don't buy those things. And you just keep those things out of your house. That doesn't mean that you can't ever have those things, or that you need to follow this crazy strict diet. But it creates a barrier so that now I just have mostly high quality, healthier types of foods in my house and have access to those things where I don't even have to use willpower or use my like, decision making skills on picking something healthy, because my house is just full of just healthy options or just having meal prep ready. Like that's another huge one. Like, Just taking some time to plan and prep your decisions out ahead of time can make a massive difference. So start to clean up your environment a little bit. And again, I've said this multiple times, but start to find a way to make the healthier choice, the easier choice, because when you can make things easy, like when you can make these choices that you want to make easier, you are more likely to do them.
00:28:53
Speaker
And so when you look at somebody who you think is super disciplined, I guarantee if you look at their environment and the way that they have their life structured in their routine, those things are very easy for them now because they put some thought and some planning into those things and so now it just seems like they're super disciplined but that's just their default choice like it's not really that hard for them anymore because they've spent so much time doing it but two they just Set up their environment in that way. And so start to think about that start to make that a mindset of like, how can I make this a little bit easier to do because as you start to do that you'll notice that this whole process starts to become a lot easier.
00:29:30
Speaker
And then the last thing I would say just with as far as like shifting your identity, which again I think is a very underutilized part of this whole process that not enough people talk about or focus on. is just start to make those daily decisions, those little things each day, like keep those promises to yourself.
00:29:47
Speaker
You can kind of mix this with the habits one. Let's say that you say I'm going to get 6,000 steps in per day, like make that a goal and stick with that goal. Like keep that promise to yourself because as you start to turn into that person who is making these little decisions,
00:30:03
Speaker
you will start to develop more of that self-belief, more of that self-confidence that you are that person that you want
Daily Actions & Health Identity Shift
00:30:09
Speaker
to be. And when you get to that point, being that person that you really want to be, this becomes so much easier and it doesn't always feel like a struggle because a lot of people have that imposter syndrome when they start with this. They feel like,
00:30:22
Speaker
I'm wanting to turn into this other person, but I have all this doubt because I have done these certain things in the past. That's just not who I am right now. And so they have this self-doubt, this imposter syndrome that they can't even turn into this fitter, more healthy, just overall, just more confident person that they want to be. And so they're scared to go for those things. And it just feels really uncomfortable. But as you start to do these little things throughout the day,
00:30:45
Speaker
as you start to focus on drinking more water and getting more steps in your day and making healthier choices and getting more protein and deciding to be that person that you want to be as you start to do those little things day in and day out that starts to shift your identity into being that healthy person so you're no longer trying to be that healthy person because if you're doing these actions every single day like if you're getting your steps and you're making healthier choices you're getting your protein you're getting your workouts and you're prioritizing being healthy You are that healthy person.
00:31:16
Speaker
The outside results might not show that quite yet, but you are that healthy person. And every single decision that you make every single day that you can stack on top of each other, just getting that little bit better, that 1% better, you're becoming more and more and more of that person.
00:31:30
Speaker
It just starts to turn into this cycle of where like you building up all this momentum, all this progress. And then you look a year down the road, six months down the road, five years down the road and you are a completely different person.
00:31:42
Speaker
When people see where I started versus where I'm at now, a lot of times they're like, I would have never guessed that you were overweight. Like when I tell people that I used to be an ah offensive lineman and I used to weigh over 300 pounds, they never believed me anymore.
00:31:53
Speaker
because I'm in such a different place now, just both with physically, mentally, how I feel, how I approach everything, how I think about fitness, that I'm completely separate of that person, of that mindset, of that identity that I used to be.
00:32:06
Speaker
And the way to get there is by doing these small things day in and day out. So hopefully that's helpful. That's practical. That's something that you can actually use and start moving you towards that person that you want to be and getting you to that ultimate goal of just Looking better, feeling better, living the life that you want, because I think that's where everyone really wants to be. And I know i can speak from experience from myself and experience with clients who have also just made these physical transformations and lost weight and gotten healthier and just feel better, more confidence. Like it is it's worth it.
00:32:37
Speaker
It's just, it's 100%
Conclusion & Coaching Offer
00:32:39
Speaker
worth it. And so wrapping this whole thing up. ah Hopefully you understand, like after talking through this whole thing, genetics does play a role. And I think it's important to be aware of those things and to really know yourself and just understand how those things affect you.
00:32:52
Speaker
But at the end of the day, just having that growth mindset and understanding that you have a lot more control over your situation than maybe even you understand or know right now and that you have that ability to change, I think is super, super empowering and something that you should really embrace. And With that being said, if you are somebody who wants help with this stuff, I know there was a lot of information in this podcast.
00:33:17
Speaker
That is what I do. I help people with this stuff one-on-one, help you with your particular situation, help you come up with a plan so that you can move forward and start to see this change and start to get to all those goals that you want to get because it's not easy, but it is worth it. And my goal is to help as many people as possible get to this place where they truly do feel proud of themselves, where they truly can live the life that they want to live.
00:33:39
Speaker
And health and fitness is the way to do that. And so if this podcast can help move you that way, freaking awesome. If you need a little bit more hands-on help and you want somebody who has been in your shoes and who can help support you and guide you along that way, that's awesome too.
00:33:53
Speaker
can click that link. We'll have a conversation, see if you're a good fit for the program. But as always, i appreciate you listening and we will see you next