Redefining Strength Podcast
You train hard. You try to eat well. You stay disciplined. And yet progress slows. Energy drops. Fat loss stalls.
The Redefining Strength Podcast is for women who work hard on their health… but still feel like their body isn’t responding the way it used to.
Hosted by Cori Lefkowith, founder of Redefining Strength, this show helps you understand what’s actually happening inside your body — and what to do about it.
Cori is the creator of the STRONG System, used by over 10,000 women around the world to transform their bodies and build results that last.
Through real coaching insights and conversations with leading experts in women’s health, metabolism, and behavior change...each episode breaks down the science in a way that actually applies to real life.
Because the answer isn’t working harder. It’s learning how to work smarter so your effort finally creates the strength, energy, and confidence you’ve been chasing.
If you’re ready to stop starting over and start building a body you can count on, this podcast will help you get there.
Redefining Strength Podcast
FHP 539 - Why Is Nothing Working?!
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Sometimes it feels like nothing is working! No matter how hard we try, we stay stuck in the same spot, asking ourselves, "Why is nothing working?!"
A lot of the time, what it takes is going back to those boring basics.
As much as it's tempting to search for a magic pill, as much as it's tempting to think we'll set a goal and that motivation will drive us...
If we don't take action the right way, we won't progress, and we'll be stuck thinking, "WHY IS NOTHING WORKING?!"
That's why in this episode, we're going to focus on HABITS.
Building Sustainable Habits for Long-Term Results
Speaker 1Hey guys , it's Kori from Redefining Strength . Welcome to the Fittest Hacks podcast . So today I want to talk about those boring basics , those habits that you need to see the results that you deserve , because , as much as we want something that's a quick fix , we want a magic pill . We want to set our goals and have that vision and live in that motivation . If we don't ultimately take action , we're not going to move forward towards our goals . So it all comes back to our habits , which sometimes creating new habits is not a fun thing . But I want to discuss how you can improve your mindset , improve some of those macro changes and even adjust your workouts to create sustainable habits , and I'm super excited to have Alianne to talk about what habit change really means and often the reason we don't see the results that we truly want . So let's jump right in . We set a goal , we know what we want . Maybe even we understand why we want it . We want to lose weight and we want to do this because we want to fit back into those pants that we had that we really love , or we want to train our movement patterns to move better so we can get up and down off the ground with our grandkids . We have our what , we have our why , but so often we don't set how . And I was thinking about this after I posted in the Facebook group what's one habit change you're going to make this week , and a lot of people were saying I want to increase my protein , or I want to be consistent , or I want to work out five days a week . And while these are all great goals and some of them are really related to habits , there was no how they were going to achieve it attached to it . And often we don't break things down in that way , which is what leaves us sort of spinning our wheels . We either don't take action because we're so overwhelmed try to figure out how we're going to get there because we haven't broken things down and we haven't been taking that one step , or we're so caught up in what and why that we never assessed well , what's actually going to lead to me reaching this right ?
Speaker 1Even in saying consistency , well , what does consistency really look like for you ? What does that mean ? Because that will impact how you're going to get there . So , as you're starting to set goals for yourself , as you're thinking about what you really want and why you want it , also think about how you're going to have to take action to get there . What does it mean for your lifestyle ? What is that going to look like ? Because often , even assessing what we're doing currently , we can change how we're going to approach it , because in thinking about the pitfalls and the struggles we've had , that might impact the how in terms of moving forward . So like , if you say consistency well , I'm going to work out five days a week , okay , how are you going to do that ? Oh , well , goodness , actually I don't know if I can do five days a week with my schedule . Well , maybe I'm going to do three days a week , because that could be consistency , right ? Well , how are you going to do that ? Well , I'm going to outline my plan ahead of time , okay , well , how are you going to make sure you do the plan that you outlined ? The more you go down this road , the more you're going to set yourself up for success and ultimately even create some plan B , c , d , e , f and G's off of that that will help you truly achieve that consistency .
Speaker 1Because in doing the how , we want to think about the minimums we can do . We want to think about the different ways that we can still keep ourselves . Consistent . Even if it isn't perfect , it relates back to something is better than nothing , right ? So as you're setting goals for this next week , as you're thinking about what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it , don't forget to outline the how . Really consider the actions you are going to have to take , because if you don't make a change , if you don't take action , you're never going to move forward . Even imperfect action is better because you can learn from it .
Speaker 1But that goes back to then assessing how did this work for me ? Why did this work for me ? What worked , what didn't work , to change the how . In terms of how you're going to implement to keep moving forward . I'm super excited to be joined by coach Ollie to talk about building those healthy habits and really seeing the results that you want , because it can be frustrating when we feel like we're working really hard but results aren't snowballing and we can feel like we're constantly starting over . So thank you so much , ollie , for joining me today . Hi , corey , so in terms of the reason we most often don't see results snowballing , it's because we give up . Can you talk a little bit about why you see clients often giving up when results technically actually are building , but they're just not willing to give them more time .
Speaker 2Well , you've actually seen a nail on the head . I think one of the reasons why I mostly see clients give up is because they're not willing to give themselves more time . I think that , going well , they're starting with , I would say , really unrealistic expectations when they're going in and they're thinking okay , I'm starting this and I should have this result by X amount of time . And whenever somebody asks me how long will it take , my responses always are a lifetime . I really like to lay it out straight to people and they're like well , this is going to take time . This is not a process . Sure , if it's the smallest of changes , yes , it can probably be quick , but overall , we're looking at lifetime transformations here .
Speaker 1No , we really are looking at those lifetime transformations . We also have to recognize that the further we've been from our goal , the longer we've been away from our goal , the more time we're going to have to take because our body's going to fight that weight loss process . Not to mention , we mentally don't know the pain of getting there right , and that is something that we have to embrace . So it's recognizing that what is a realistic time for you might really vary , and so often in trying to rush results , we actually sabotage our long-term success because we don't build those underlying habits .
Speaker 2No , I 100% agree , and I think rushing the results I don't even think it even gives us a chance to think properly of how are we going to get there and what roadblocks we're going to have along the way . I think I've also been so focused on the end goal , right . That's like all you see really gives you in the long run , like not even an opportunity to build any habits to . Even if you get to that goal right , like then in the end you can't be continued because you just rush through the process and all you wanted to do is get there . And then in the end you're like well , what do I do now ?
Speaker 1You truly have tried to almost like white knuckle your way through like force , all these unsustainable things and while you might be able to maintain them during like a perfect time , ultimately they haven't become a part of your lifestyle . It's like why we think we don't have enough willpower or self-control and we think , oh well , I just don't have the discipline . But discipline is truly built and it's built by making things become so a part of ourselves that we repeat them almost unconsciously .
Speaker 2I couldn't have . I'm honestly , I couldn't have self-advanced . I think discipline in itself is a habit . It is almost like needs to be put at the top of the habit priority list for everybody . Like , how am I going to build discipline on a daily basis , right , right on the sticky note everywhere ? I know it can become a well-made . But yes , like sticking to the habits in itself is just discipline .
Speaker 1Yeah , I was going to say so , it was sticking with the habits . I think you touched on it earlier . It goes back to first managing expectations , knowing that it does take a while , that results aren't going to build literally , that we're going to have to manage those expectations . Like going back to that , like any tips to manage those expectations , so that then we can get the snowball of actually ingrained habits that will last .
Speaker 2So what I would always say if you have a big goal , break it down small , break it down . Break it down , break it down . But it always , always , always starts small . Because when you start small it's less overwhelming . Then you don't have to do a bazillion things all at once . And , like I say , like life happens right , it's a lot easier to pivot off of a small thing and let's say , I don't know .
Speaker 2Let's say you're trying to drink more water , right , like it is a small goal , I've lost a lot of water , and my kids came in and I'm doing something else all of a sudden . So then , but it's a lot easier for me to fit in a small glass of water , let's say , half an hour later , once I've taken them to school , I'll come in and be like , oh my gosh , I forgot my water right by the glass . But if I had said to myself , okay , like in the morning , I'm going to drink like my two liters of water in like two hours , that's never going to happen . That's actually why I got distracted . I mean , it's a simple example , but ultimately giving ourselves less of a chance to fail , starting up so small and again , and that's just going like understanding that the process will take time , and it's okay for it to take time .
Speaker 1But then it's even celebrating different wins along the way and understanding that part of what you're doing in breaking things down is learning what will work , and the more you manage your expectations to embrace that learning process , the better off you're going to be . Not to mention , as you touched on it , it's not even just like what you want to achieve of drinking more water . It's how you're going to achieve it .
Speaker 2Oh , totally . And you know what About small wins ? I've been thinking about that a lot because I very often really encourage my clients not very often I do it all the time to celebrate small wins . I mean , if somebody else sent me a progress photo , I'd be like I don't see the progress . I'd be like , oh , but you can see your butts literally looking like that little bit up and they're like I don't see it . I'm like , but I do , let's celebrate . Let's celebrate that . But what I realized is for myself , I don't do that . And it was the . What was I doing ? The other day ?
Speaker 2I was with the kids out on the tennis courts and there was three of them and my niece was so excited to play . She wore everybody out . She just wouldn't stop playing . So I was like , okay , I'm gonna go play with you . And granted , she'd already played quite a bit before I did , but I kept up with her . And then I was like , oh my God , that is so awesome . This 11 year old cannot kick my butt . And I thought I was like that is actually a win . I had to give myself a slap on the back for that because . And then it just made me think , gosh , we really do not celebrate our wins enough , and it's so important because our brains love what's the word Positive ?
Speaker 1reinforcement , that positivity Recognize how you're awesome .
Speaker 2Yes , they absolutely love it . So I think it's so important Once we know that we feed off of that positivity . I'm just creating that environment to just be your biggest cheerleader and every time you be like keep doing something great , you've logged your food . Fabulous , like tying little things .
Speaker 1But that's also how you build those habits that lead to those results . And by celebrating even the Habo wins themselves , you're going to give yourself the power to embrace the time that it truly takes , because you're not just recognizing progress in only one way , which goes back to managing our expectations , so to speak .
Speaker 2Oh , absolutely , but I think it also . You know what it also allows us . It allows us to enjoy the process , because truly nobody wants to do something that they don't enjoy .
Building Positive Habits for Long-Term Success
Speaker 2And if you can't create those habits in an enjoyable way as much as possible , we'll then get the squad . You won't mind it taking as long as it is , because it's just fun and it's supposed to be fun . Well , actually , some of it really isn't , but you know , we'll pretend that all of it is fun .
Speaker 1Well , it's not necessarily that every habit you do , every action you take is fun , but it's that you can see it paying off in the direction you want . So like you're making those little sacrifices to do more of what you love , and that is fun , that's always fun .
Speaker 2Yes , of course , right , I always say it's like you know , when you , let's , say you want to go and like I don't know what 300 pounds , some people really want to do , that my bag does it , but right , and you know that that is a huge goal and you know it might take you a few years , but you know , showing up at the gym every single day and putting in the reps , that is actually all you need to do . Just put in the reps over time and time and time , but making it fun , right , and then see in your strength progress every time , right , like , even if it's by something , even if it's by something minute , but then you know that you're getting stronger and in the end I actually think that it just that doesn't even become about the goal anymore , it just becomes about a process .
Speaker 1You built that discipline , you built that habit . But it is building it small piece by small piece and then also realizing that in habit change it's really multifaceted . It isn't just about the new thing you're doing , it's about really realizing some of the old patterns you were repeating , and that could be really hard .
Speaker 2Oh , that requires a lot of self-reflection . I think it's actually taking yourself out of where you're currently in and going like , okay , where am I at , even almost down to writing a list , and going , okay , like , what am I doing on a daily basis and what's serving me right and what's serving me wrong , and then seeing like , what can I change ? And then , yeah , that requires a little bit of work and a lot of awareness . And then , because , let's face it , we don't know , not all of us want to accept the things that we're doing , something wrong .
Speaker 1It's hard . It's hard sometimes to be like this is not something that I'm either good at or that I'm doing well , or that I should be doing , especially when it has become comfortable . And you do excuse it . Oh , it's even the . I'm not that bad right now and you know you're eating 16 holiday cookies that you really shouldn't be eating , right ? Oh ?
Speaker 2yeah , 100% , it really . I think it's taking ownership right . It's taking ownership about where you're at , where your currency at right , and then also recognizing , like we say , that it's gonna time . It's gonna take time to change that and to get you to where you need to go . But I always say , you know , like , as much as we wanna make the process fun , I'd love to throw your quote in , you know , when you say embrace the suck . And I actually like learning to embrace the suck . To embrace the suck is so key , Sometimes just going and someone gonna like , oh my God , this is so gonna suck , but I'm gonna do it anyway .
Speaker 1Yeah , I mean again , even though we'd like to think that the journey is fun every single moment . The journey is fun because we see the things that sometimes we don't like , those boring basics . They become less negative , less boring , less hard , less whatever . They just become part of it , right . But you are embracing the suck to get to do more of what you love , which makes the suck sort of worth it .
Speaker 2Yeah Well , I don't know if you think about it like when we doing something that we don't want , oh sorry , when we doing something that maybe doesn't serve us as well in life , right , like I don't know whether it's spending too much time on social media , right , like in the moment , it's that instant gratification , right , like whatever void that we're trying to fill in that moment that serves the purpose , right , and we don't really think about , you know , if we stop doing that , how much benefit would it create for us in the long run ? But the reality is is that we're not really taught to think that far ahead . Humans are a little bit more in the moment type of people , right , and we love that instant gratification . So , learning to think , I think broader and have a little bit deeper about our actions and how they serve us , but , more importantly , how they serve us in the long run , right .
Speaker 2So let's say , like I'm starting a new workout or whatever , I'm decided to hit the gym after how many years ? I know I'm not gonna get fit in one day , much as I would love to , but I know that putting in the reps , consistently , showing up in three years from now , will probably give me the body that I'm looking for , right . So if I approach it with that on block , then it's like great . But if all like I'm in and I'll go like , ah , you know , after one workout looking in the mirror , yeah , I still know , jeez .
Speaker 1But you even hit on such an important thing too within terms of , like , the mindset behind it . Because a lot of times when we're doing a habit we see as negative , even and we recognize it is negative , even if it is providing that instant gratification we make ourselves feel guilty for it and , instead of being a positive thing , that guilt doesn't make us do less of it . It often makes us do other negative habits to compensate in the moment and find a positive outcome for ourselves , even if it's a short-term fix . It's why we might eat out of emotion or might not go do our workout or any of these other things . So I love that you brought up in the past like replacing those negative habits with a positive one , instead of feeling that guilt or taking ourselves down sort of that dark mindset road .
Speaker 2Oh , I think and again it's like it's understanding I think we're really how our mind works and how much we love that positive reinforcement , which is good feeling , right . So if we have a habit that we're trying to break , right , and we know it's not potentially that great for us , but there's a void that we're trying to fill , replacing that with a positive one , again , fill that void , but in a way that makes it more beneficial for us .
Building a Sustainable Lifestyle
Speaker 2There was a podcast that I want to listen to and I cannot remember what it was , but they were talking specifically about feeling guilty during , like , those moments you know , like , let's say , I'm emotionally eating and I need , like you know , 20 cooks , but then I feel bad about it , and so what they were talking specifically was saying , like , before you do something , think about how it's going to make you feel . If it's going to make you feel guilty , right . Like , if you think that I'm going to do this now and it's going to make me feel guilty , like then don't do it .
Speaker 2But if you know that you're going to feel amazing after eating 20 cookies or drinking a bottle of wine , or spending an hour on Facebook whatever it is they would like then do it because it's enjoyable . And when I got out of it , I'm like they were like , just do the things that you enjoy , right , like you only live once , then why would you do something that you just don't enjoy ? And , by the way , I'm not saying that . So if you have , it's a lot enjoyable and they're good ones and you're trying to make them , that's not an excuse not to do them . Well , what I'm saying is , you know , replacing them with the , replacing that feeling of guilt , with the feeling of , I think , pride and joy , just again , changing that mindset of how you view things will certainly lead to just you being able to stick with the habits over a longer period of time .
Speaker 1That's what really builds that lifestyle , something we can do consistently that becomes sustainable . And recognizing that something that becomes sustainable isn't necessarily easy to start , because often we'll look back at changes we made and be like , why didn't I do this sooner ? And it's because it didn't feel sustainable and because it won against what we were originally doing . But in that assessment of , will this make me feel guilty or will I enjoy it , it goes back to not trying to hit somebody else's arbitrary standards of clean right . Someone else might say alcohol is evil , you should never drink it , but you might find that a glass of wine is part of your Friday night routine . And if you're like , hey , I'm not going to make myself feel guilty about this because I enjoy it and I'm not going to hit someone else's arbitrary standard of clean , you're ultimately going to build a lifestyle which will probably allow you to do a lot more of what you love and feel and move even better as you get older .
Speaker 2Oh , I think building a lifestyle and whatever that lifestyle means for you right and hitting that balance of enjoyment and ultimately achieving your goals right Is where I think we all want to be and it's totally going to look different for everybody .
Speaker 2But you know , coming back to this , say that glass of wine on a Friday night , like if that's what you love and you enjoy absolutely . But sometimes there are drawbacks with that . So , accepting that potentially there could be drawbacks , whatever that might be , you know , and especially as you get older a little bit and our bodies might not tolerate alcohol as well right , like understanding that there is usually you know there's a cost benefit to pretty much every habit and you know it's whatever that means to you . But it has to be specific to you . It shouldn't be you pleasing somebody else or living up to somebody else's unrealistic lifestyle that they live right . And I think that , ultimately , is what makes it sustainable , because the minute that we stop comparing ourselves to everybody else and focus on what we want and the balance that we require , then again that just makes that whole process come together and a lot easier to sustain too .
Speaker 1It truly does , and I think it's even recognizing the difference between starting to build those habits and transitioning into that lifestyle , because so often we do a program to build habits right and we start to make these changes and we're doing the habits , but that doesn't fully mean they're a lifestyle , even though we think they are . I mean A . It takes a lot more time to truly make something a part of who and what we are . But I think there's other components to building a lifestyle and making sure that those habits really stick . What would you give somebody in terms of advice that they're like okay , I'm starting to do these habits , I'm starting to do them consistently , but I'm worried I'm going to fall back into old patterns .
Speaker 2So I think one of the things that I would say to somebody is get yourself an accountability buddy . That is truly , whatever I mean , whether it's accountability buddy or you get yourself a coach , that's truly fantastic . Investment in yourself , in yourself somebody , or basically surround yourself with an environment . Build yourself an environment that you know that you will be more likely to succeed in , because we truly are a product of our environment . You know how to always know , like when you start something I don't know , when people start a new diet , and their friends and family always like well , why are you doing this ? Or like , are you really not going to eat that piece of cake ? Or like , why don't you just have an extra cocktail ? And gosh , it can really weigh you down If that is constant in your life .
Speaker 2So I think , again , one understanding that if that is your environment , how you can modify it and then building yourself another environment within , maybe within that environment , right , but if you can't modify it , then you take yourself out and you go find yourself . No , I'm not saying you go and find yourself a different family , but you can find yourself in a different community where you know that you're aligned with your wishes and your goals and who can support you along the way . I truly think like that . Support is everything and I see it with clients all the time and truly I think one of the reasons why I see people don't people end up giving up is because they don't have that support . So some are truly not strong to stick it out .
Speaker 1But I think it's also our self judgment and our worry about how someone else is going to reflect whatever image we want to see back on us , right ? So we fear their judgment before they've even given it or assess what they're going to be judging us for . And I mean , I can tell you like I was actually thinking about , as you were talking about , the community around you there was a long time where Ryan and I kind of sabotaged each other , where , especially during the holidays or right before January , we know we were going to be good , get back on things , and so both of us , you know , on that Friday night , be like well , I know I shouldn't , but you want Taco Bell ? No , we shouldn't , should we ? And we would like do that whole thing , egging each other on until , basically , we wanted to give in .
Speaker 1So I would even blame ourselves because we actually wanted it , which allows you to feel the impact of other people in your community , but at some point , like hey , you'll evolve together , like we both found different shifts , but we also both found what we wanted with it too . And so I think that even makes you stop being a bad influence on yourself or allowing even other people's statements to bother you , because a lot of times they're not even necessarily meaning something negative . They're even trying to learn or they're expressing their own insecurities or you're judging yourself before they even had the opportunity to . So I think it's also recognizing that , because , while we do want to find supportive communities , sometimes we can't necessarily or don't want to change your family . We love our family , but there are things that we will see necessarily eye to eye with them on in every aspect of life .
Speaker 2But you know what . You've hit that , actually , as you were telling me your story about you and Ryan , right , and how you guys kind of grew and evolved . But you know what ? I also realized that sometimes when people are studying something new and they want the change , but they're not ready to accept the change within themselves , and then that's where I think a lot of sabotage comes in , because they're like , okay , well , I want the change , but I'm not ready to change . Right , but I want it , but like this is requiring me to do this , but will that make me a different person ?
Speaker 2And all of a sudden they're like that identity that they've been living in for such a long time , it just threatens them . It's being threatened , is like , well , I just don't know who I'm going to be Right , like what if this happens ? Like where am I going with this ? And they think it's right . Like until you actually accept that not only your habits need to change on your lifestyle , but you have to change as a person . Right , like you're not going to be living in your old skin anymore . And when you do that , the people around you and it doesn't matter who it is , nobody can threaten that . Then you're strong , then you know who you want to be Right and it doesn't matter what anybody else says . Like you have your path and you're going to get there Doesn't mean it's going to be easy , but it doesn't matter because you've got your values down and , like when you know confidently who you are , like you can tell you otherwise nobody .
Speaker 1And I think it's being okay with change . I do think it's something that as we get older , we start to see identity as this fixed thing and if we're changing then oh well , that makes it seem like I don't know who I am . No , you know who you are , but you might evolve as you realize that parts of your lifestyle changed or your priorities have shifted . Like evolving identity doesn't mean that you don't know who you are . You're somehow less than or like don't have a solid sense of self and aren't very confident . It can actually mean that you're more confident . Like re-embrace change when we're younger .
Speaker 1But we do sort of see this as negative thing as we get older . Not to mention a lot of times how we embrace those habit changes is like fake it till you make it right , instead of saying , hey , I'm acting as if until I'm acting as I am . And in acting as if , you're seeing the lifestyle that the person that you want to be has and you're simply doing those things to move forward , to fully embody that . It's not that you're faking anything right . You are embracing that new identity , which is basically what you're doing to see a new and better result , becoming a new and better person
Embracing Change and Personal Growth
Speaker 1. You're 2.0 . Not that that was bad before , but it's still 2.0 , right ? Who doesn't want to be a 2.0 ?
Speaker 2Well , absolutely , absolutely right . And you know what A cool example , a cool example of that . So my best friend , her husband , had a after his 40th birthday , ended up having quadruple bypass surgery , right , it was insane . So then , of course , then we were on the phone and we were talking about it and how he's recovering , and we were actually just talking about the changes that he's making . I was like gosh , I wish he'd made the murder .
Speaker 2But , irrespective , right , like that was a pretty , that was a pretty major , major surgery . But but he is literally becoming a 2.0 . Just embracing everything that that life's , that life throws at him . Right , like he is doing his rehab , he is doing a bit of counseling and doing the exercises and adding the walks , right Like in there eating better , and , of course , it's nice to have a supportive wife along just side too . But you know , he I think for the longest time , even even when he was having chest pains , he was just completely in denial about it . He was just like you know , this is not me Like I don't know what that is , he just put it down to anxiety until I'd realized that he probably had somewhere too minor heart attacks in between and they put it up in the hospital . But watching him evolve into like this awesome new 2.0 version of himself has been like unbelievable and embracing that too and not being scared .
Speaker 1And obviously , ideally we won't wait till something big in our life has happened that makes it something we have to do , or that we put ourselves at greater risk for something else or set ourselves back in some way , like we want to address things as quickly as we can , which isn't always easy . But to help us be proactive , any tips to help people you know embrace the hard . Sometimes habit changes like take that like hard , look at themselves . To build that self-awareness , to make those changes shift their identity , build that new lifestyle when maybe they're feeling kind of stuck and just like giving up right now .
Speaker 2I say get a coach .
Speaker 1We're biased in thinking this , but then as coaches , we have coaches , so it's just something I got .
Speaker 2Absolutely no , but truly I mean I cannot . I cannot even say , because , honestly , I see so often and I also like work with people in our , in our studio , and I and I so often see people are stuck because they just don't know what to do , right Like when they are in that hopeless spot and you just like I'm like go get somebody to help you . It doesn't matter , you talk to a friend and I do like get somebody to help you make the first step , whatever that first step is .
Speaker 1I was going to say it's almost borrowing confidence from somebody else , because a lot of times your friend will be like you can do it right , or they'll say you've got this , or here's what you do . It's like borrowing that outside perspective or borrowing the confidence so that we can believe in ourselves to make the changes that we deserve .
Speaker 2Oh , absolutely Like anything . Sometimes people , all they need is just that tiny little nudge to get started . But what I also always encourage I'm just like be curious , be open , right . Like don't be , don't close your mind , right , like it is so vast and there are so much opportunity out there and just embrace it .
Speaker 2And I know it's hard , especially if you've been living a certain way and change is hard and actually more than anything , not knowing whether it will work or not . But , like we say , what outweighs more , right , the pain of being stuck or the pain of change , right . And then once you realize and again , there's no guarantees , right , but just do it anyway . Just do it , it doesn't matter , right . Like , even if you fail , you'll never grow until you fail multiple times , and that's okay , right .
Speaker 2And I think also , what we always think , you know , like when I think , especially in the fitness industry , we always think about these results needing to happen immediately , right . And we live in this world of instant gratification where it tells you okay , like 10 days from now you'll be 20 pounds lighter , and if you drink water and honey and cayenne or whatever it is that you just found , it is , and I think it is so hard to see that and then go like , okay , but this is not how life actually works , right , like we just have all of these unrealistic expectations in instant gratification that we expect to happen to us and when it doesn't , it sets us up for a disappointment . But also , quite often , when you do something once and you do something twice , and every time it sets you for disappointment , like you just don't want to do that anymore , right , and then people end up spinning their wheels . I think I've digressed a little bit from the original question .
Speaker 1No , I mean , that's so true , but I think it's even in that , owning the challenges before they start to realize that , yes , you might be taking action that doesn't directly lead to your goal , but that action shows you a way not to go right . It's like , okay , let's just say you can't fully tell on your GPS which way to turn , so you turn a little too soon . Okay , well , now you realize that wasn't the right way , right
Just Start
Speaker 1? I always like to say that , like , failure is just learning with frustration . Owning that it's frustrating is A okay , but it is still learning , if you choose to see it that way . Too often , though , we give up when we hit that roadblock because we don't manage our expectations . To see that still is an opportunity and learn from it . We have to reflect on those things instead of running from them .
Speaker 2Oh , you know , 100% with 100% , and again , like , just bring it back to that self reflection , right . Like always self reflecting , always assessing where we're at right , like always tracking our progress . Is this working ? Is it not working Right Like it is ? It is always evolving . Literally , all we have to do is start , and I think people are often fearful of starting when they don't have the final destination or they don't know if they're ever going to get there or if it is going to work . Just go , just go Rather than sitting . Still Head for it . If you take a wrong turn , that's okay .
Speaker 1No , I mean , I love that . I think that is like the big takeaway Just start . Because even in the group today , like I have someone comment well , should I wait till after vacation because I can't do the full cycle ? It's like well , a , you can still do three weeks of the cycle and B , even if you were leaving tomorrow , start today , because then you can know , okay , this is what it feels like . So when you give back from your vacation , where you might not be doing those same habits , a you might be more aware , so there might be other benefits in the vacation itself , but B there's no point never waiting to start . You can't stop right . Life doesn't pause , it doesn't rewind , it doesn't anything Like . So today , just start , because you're going to take one step to learn something that will move you forward .
Speaker 2Oh , and you know what , and I think just starting especially about going before vacation at any time , you know , everybody always wakes up from Monday . I'm just going to start on a Monday , or I'm going to start off to Christmas or January 1st , and you're like just do it . Like , why are you waiting ? Like why wait , why wait , just start tomorrow when you can do it today . Totally Just do it .
Speaker 1I was going to say , boom mic drop , that is it . Just do it . Just do it today .
Speaker 2You don't like the Nike . I always say the Nike had like the best slogan Just do it . It dawned on me the other day . I was like God , those people are smart . They couldn't have come up with a better thing . And it's so simple , it's a check mark , just do it . Oh my God , genius .
Speaker 1So what we're going to do now , thank you all . I guess put start today and a big square , and when you start today you get to check it off , and then we'll always think of the Nike . Just do it now , perfect . Well , thank you so much , ollie . This was fabulous advice . Guys , I'd love to hear what you are starting with today to get going and making those habit changes and seeing that those results snowball by taking action .
Speaker 1So I wanted to talk about some macro tips to help you create habit changes that truly laugh , because often when we are trying to make dietary changes and especially face with macros , we can think oh no , macros are so overwhelming I can't track , I don't know how to do any of this . And , yeah , it is a big change for a lot of us . Unfortunately , we aren't taught this in school when we probably should have been . I firmly believe that macro math is far more important than calculus . You can hand on me for all for that , all you want . But when we're faced with making a hard change instead of going to some of the easier things that we often see promoted with diets , even if they do keep us stuck like cut this out , don't eat after this time , right . Some of those rules are great if they help you create the boundaries sustainable for you , but often we're inflicting these restrictions on ourselves that we can't maintain long term , and that's why we move forward towards the goal but then ultimately sabotage ourselves and fall off because we're creating habits that are based on truly understanding what we need , or the lasting habit changes that build the lifestyle that build a new identity for ourselves
Sustainable Habits for Nutrition and Workouts
Speaker 1. So , in terms of talking about creating some habit changes , I think we always have to go back to what is the minimum I can do , because the more we meet ourselves , we're at and make those changes so small they almost seem silly , but they become so easily ingrained the more we create that discipline to build off of right . It's almost like putting dirt in a hole to help raise ourselves up out of the hole . If you pile more dirt in and you step on that dirt , you're raising yourself slowly up back up to the level out of the hole , even though it might not feel like you're doing much at the same time , but you're creating that foundation that gets higher and higher .
Speaker 1So think about , like , what is the minimum I could be doing in terms of my nutrition ? Can I just track what I'm eating currently , because in that accountability I know I'll start to make changes . Can I just drink a little bit more water ? Can I put a protein minimum that I want to hit ? What are some different minimums that you can do to help yourself move forward towards your goals and allow those habits to become very , very easy to maintain , something that you can really be consistent with before you make a change ?
Speaker 1So if it is for you , you know , cutting out a specific food , great , but just make sure that you're not cutting out something you love the most or that you want to ultimately include , because if that is an unsustainable change and not truly a habit , you think you can replicate long term . You want to have an exit strategy . So I will tell you that in trying to reach a goal , in trying to lose weight , you're going to do things that you might not do to maintain your weight long term . So sustainability is going to evolve , a lifestyle is going to evolve . But you do want to consider when you're doing something is this a long term solution ? If it isn't , what's my exit strategy from that ? So in tracking macros , I love that because you can work in any foods you want . You might choose to restrict alcohol . You might choose to cut out specific foods because you know they're not quite as healthy or you know they lead to you generally wanting more , right . You might choose to do these things to create that balance , to lose the weight . But then you also know , hey , with my macros I can still work these things in right . So you want to have that exit strategy but you want to consider what are the minimums I can be doing and even what you can do to add in over just cutting out .
Speaker 1So , thinking about with habits , it's a lot easier to create that mindset of addition over subtraction , right , when we subtract things , we restrict things , we feel deprived . It makes us sometimes one of more . I can tell you that the second I told myself I couldn't have dessert . When I was first trying to get leaner , I wanted dessert all the more . But now there are even days which I can't even believe I'm saying this . I don't care about dessert as much . I might not even have dessert gasp . And it's because it's become something that is negotiable now , because I know I can always have it , and if I haven't worked it in , it's because I've potentially worked in cocktail or something else at dinner that I really wanted or whatever else to create my balance , and I know on a different day I can't have it right .
Speaker 1So it's learning those minimums that you can do to create those sustainable habits and the underlying principles to them , the foundation of them . The more we understand where the habits are coming from or why we might be implementing something like why you might choose not to eat after a certain time of night to help yourself not snack later , or to create that calorie deficit that you need or maintain your calorie intake right , the more you understand why something is being implemented in terms of a habit , the more you can adjust as your lifestyle changes . But do consider the minimum you can do in terms of your nutrition to move forward , because too often we do overwhelm ourselves with trying to make all these dietary changes , which then makes macros or tracking or any of these things feel way more complicated than they actually are . But assess what you're doing currently to make changes that meet you where you're at and then consider that fast to sustainable continuum . Again , if you want faster results , you might have to make more sacrifices . But have an exit strategy if you know you're doing something that might not be your long-term solution and understand how you can bring it back to something a little bit more sustainable .
Speaker 1In terms of creating workout habits , something is better than nothing , and I think a lot of times we do ask , like , what's the ideal workout schedule ? There isn't one . It's all about optimizing for your reality , and what that means is creating systems that all work together . If you only have 15 minutes and you design workouts for those 15 minutes , you'll design your nutrition , you'll design all the rest of your recovery or your sleep , everything around that , right . So there really is no one ideal , and I think shooting for some arbitrary standard of what we saw you know an Instagram influencer doing in terms of their two-day schedule to even compete is very different than what we might need and we have to find something we can be consistent with .
Speaker 1So one of the key things to creating workout habits that last is designing for the time you have , because , especially starting back , if you have been out of the game for a while , you're going to get very sore and if you do a lot in that first session , even if you feel good doing it and you might have been able to do it in the past a lot of times you won't allow yourself to build that consistency because you'll make yourself so sore you can't train for days , right ? And then the more you do , the more you do and in this case , potentially the less you do , the less you do , the less you'll be able to get into that routine . So really consider designing for the time you have meeting yourself or your ass and it can be hard when we've been out with injury or we've been off for training . If we used to be able to do something to scale back even from that . But I want you to think how can I make myself crave more ? Because in craving more , you're going to make that habit that you're already doing so easy that you can build off of it and then , when you do have a stressful time , come up instead of defaulting back to doing absolutely nothing . You'll have the discipline to even maintain . Maybe it's just five minutes , maybe it's 10 minutes , whatever else it is , but you'll have the discipline to maintain that because it was so easy that you almost do it now , unconsciously , right ? That's what discipline is Habits that are so easy , we almost do them unconsciously .
Speaker 1It's just so part of our lifestyle that we wouldn't think of not doing them , and so it might be starting back five minutes just so that you crave more , you want to do more , you want to build off of that . But we're trying to raise up the minimum of what we can almost unconsciously do , do without thought and do without willpower . But design for the time you have and then think about , as we're coming back , not making yourself so sore that you can't keep moving forward . And even if you have been training for a while , so often we try and make our work out harder . We vary things up so often that we're constantly making yourself sore and be down that we're not able to truly get in the habit of training in a consistent way , creating that progressive overload . So avoid making yourself so sore and doing constantly new things . Really design with a clear focus to your training .
Speaker 1Make yourself , as I said , crave more . So if you have 15 minutes designed for 15 minutes and when you're designing your workouts , remember something is better than nothing . So even if you had that usual 30 minute session , you lay out five minutes . Do something , because a starting with just saying I'm going to do five minutes , I'm going to set a timer for five minutes and do what I can on my workout , you often will just do the entire thing . We'll find the time right and we've got started with it . But then you still did something . You still created that routine and habit by still marking out that five minutes you kept yourself in the mindset too A lot of times . Even just saying this bump I did five minutes when I would have done nothing before is enough to mentally make you want to do more the next day and the next day and keep in that habit . So we have to remember , often it isn't even what we did in terms of the workout floor , our health floor or weight loss , for whatever , even when , like going back to nutrition , like it's not always even that we hit a specific macro breakdown , like just even tracking , can hold us in the mindset right . It's all about creating that positive mindset , that mindset that builds momentum because it goes back to the more you do , the more you do .
Speaker 1But if you do have like 15 minutes and you're feeling stressed , and then that's making you not want to do what you would normally do , set a timer when you're designing those workouts . Even think about timed workouts , because they do think a lot of times too , when we're starting back or we're trying to design for the time we have , we're like well , what if this takes longer ? And then , because we're worried it's gonna take longer , we don't even get started . If you design your workout based on a 15 minute timer , right , I'll even put intervals for the foam rolling , for the stretching , for the activation , for the workout , and have this so timed out that I know exactly how long it's gonna take me . It's much easier to put into my schedule when I'm pressed for time . So don't feel that every workout has to be designed in a specific way .
Speaker 1As much as you might generally go towards reps and sets , right , think about timed intervals for your strength work . It can help you really fit what you need and in a way that's mentally going to allow you to embrace that time , because you know it won't be an hour . When you thought it was gonna be 30 minutes , right , you know it's gonna be only the 15 minutes that you really need . And then just remember , even if it's 15 minutes that you usually do , if you only can do five minutes , keep in the habit by doing something . Something is always better than nothing , because it really does make the minimums that we're doing that much higher , so that when we are needing to rely on discipline because life is trying to sabotage us . We're doing something or that 1% improvement off of what we would have done in the past .
Speaker 1Well , that's a wrap for this episode of the Fitness Hacks podcast . Remember , guys , that building those habits it might not be sexy , it might not always be fun , but it is a means to an end and the way that you're gonna ultimately do more of what you love . And those boring basics are essential for a reason they really do help you build that strong foundation to feel your most fabulous . So embrace doing them , knowing that they will get easier with time . And remember those 1% improvements really pay off because they need you where you're at to move you forward . Learn from everything that you do . I hope this episode was super helpful . I'd love to hear what your takeaways were from it . I'll see you , guys , next time .
