Cori (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free work on and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share it with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in. Failing to plan is planning to fail. I’m going to butcher this morning. It’s going to be good, but we’re talking about hacking meal prep because it’s so important that we really do plan out how we’re going to hit our macros if we want to see results to start, because often we aren’t necessarily naturally hitting them. It’s a learning process. So I’m super excited to be joined by Julia, my fabulous registered dietician today to talk about hacking meal prep and really making sure that you’re hitting your macros efficiently and effectively For all of us. People who especially like me, are slightly lazy. So Julia, thank you for joining me.

Julia (01:04):
Of course. Thank you for having me. I am so thrilled to be here and so excited to jump on in and talk all things meal prep today.

Cori (01:12):
So let’s start out just talking about what the benefits of meal prepping really are.

Julia (01:17):
Sure. So I mean, first off, we know that it saves us a lot of time and money. We’re not having to eat out throughout the week. We kind of have those meals planned out and we’re able to actually utilize that food that we’re getting and we’re just buying what we need so no food is going to waste. It also reduces that midweek stress. So for people who again, have a really busy schedule, they’re not able to plan as well, this can really help you have that plan in place so that you don’t even have to think about it. It also helps us to increase our nutrient density in our diet to add in more produce vegetables, protein, foods that you may otherwise not really grab for in a pinch. And then it also ensures, like you said, that we are meeting our nutrition goals. So failing to plan is planning to fail, so it really just puts us ahead of the game ready for that success and also dismisses the question of what to eat when you are hungry because it’s already there ready to grab and go so you’re not having to scramble around.

(02:13):
Ultimately though, I think everything connects is that it really sets us up for success in the long term.

Cori (02:21):
It it makes a change because usually when we are working to hit macros, we are changing ratios, we’re making a change to our diet, we’re working towards a specific goal. It makes it easier because the more you’re having to think about things and try and adjust in the moment, the harder it really is and it’s easy to get busy and fall back into old habits. So with that being said, who do you recommend meal prep for? Besides lazy people just like me.

Julia (02:46):
I mean especially for anyone who is very busy, if you work long hours, if you are a busy parent or just anyone with a really packed schedule who may find it hard to find that time to sit down and cook a meal throughout the day, like you said, for someone who is struggling to hit their macro goals. So if you know that you are someone who struggles with that, planning ahead is really going to be key for that success. And then finally, if you feel like you’re someone who maybe you just snack throughout the day and you don’t really have that meal structure, it’s really hard to make good decisions in the moment when we let ourselves get really hungry. I tell my clients all the time, I would be the worst dietician if it wasn’t for meal prep because I wouldn’t make the best decisions in that moment. But it is really all about setting yourself up for success so that when you have those moments where you are hungry, your body’s telling you that you need to fuel yourself, you have that option ready to go right there, and it gives you that meal structure that you need.

Cori (03:38):
Often in making habit changes, it’s like trying to bring to light old patterns as we create new ones and it’s stressful, it takes a lot of willpower. We’re having to use a lot of mental capacity, and part of what meal prep really does is it makes things a little bit more mindless. We don’t have to think about what we’re eating, we don’t have to think about where we’re going to go to get it. We don’t even have to think about the macros or any of those different things. It also not only makes things more mindless, which makes it easier and less stressful to make the changes, but it does shift our environment. It allows us to have those foods on hand so we’re not necessarily defaulting back into old patterns going to the cabinet when we’re stressed. We know we have something in the fridge, which holds us a little bit more accountable too, versus if we don’t have anything, it’s easy to be like, well, let me have these other things going off of that before we dive into some tips to really get started, meal prepping if you haven’t done it before, if you are a parent, I think often we get into this thing of like, I’m prepping meals for other people.

(04:32):
How do I prep for myself as well? So with getting started and even potentially making meals for other people, what tips do you have? How can you really find that balance so you can hit your macros, not have to make a bazillion different dishes, but also make things easier and get started with it?

Julia (04:48):
Yeah, that’s an awesome, awesome question. I feel like it’s a really common struggle is that people feel like they see meal prepping, they see the demands of it and they’re not sure how they can adapt it to really fit their lifestyle. If you are someone who you are a busy parent, definitely customize it to your needs. So there’s not a one size fits all when it comes to meal prep. Don’t be afraid to play around with certain recipes and portion sizes if you need to maybe give your child a little bit more rice and if you want a lower carb split, you can maybe take that away and add some avocado on top to add a little bit more fat and just make those little tweaks, but you still can have those similar meals laid out. Ultimately, I think just strategizing and knowing what your needs are, knowing what your pain points are, right?

(05:30):
So if you are someone who maybe you struggle to get in enough vegetables, then you can strategize. Choose recipes that are really rich in vegetables, things like stir fries, salads, soups, or even utilizing frozen or pre-cut vegetables. If you are someone who maybe you struggle and you don’t have time to cook on the weekends, you’re a busy parent, you’re running around, you have kids soccer games a lot on your plate, make extra meals ahead for the weekend that you can save and freeze and just pop in the microwave real quick or plan your meal prep around the weekend and make those your eat out meals. If you are someone who you struggle to hit your protein goal, choose meals with really easy protein sources. Things like Greek yogurt, eggs, deli meats, rotisserie chicken or just prep some proteins in advance. We kind of call that like a bulk meal prep where we just pick some things like chicken or a shrimp and just have that on hand, ready to throw in salads, bowls and ready to go. If you are someone who maybe struggled with breakfast, you have a busy day ahead of you with work, then prepare something the night before that you can just grab and go, but whatever it is, I think these are all very different examples, but they all show that you’re identifying what your weaknesses and where you can really optimize your meal prep and get ahead of the game.

Cori (06:44):
I love those tips because I found that I use a variety of them even depending on the time of year or what goal I’m working towards, where there are times where I want more recipe based things and I make those recipes even casseroles and then I cut them up. But there’s also times where I want a little bit more flexibility in the meals I’m eating because I’m not as sure of other meals, and so having that bulk prep of just vegetables on the side and different options of vegetables or different options of carb sources or different options of proteins, I can then combine ’em in different ways, whether I do make the salad or the stir fry out of the chicken or I add it to tacos or whatever else, I have things that could be used in multiple different ways even based on how the rest of my day went, which I find super helpful. So it is really key. We find those different ways of meal prepping that fit our lifestyle and realize there’s opportunity in all of these options that meal prep doesn’t just mean one thing, but if we are going into a meal prep session and we are really looking to hit specific macro ratios, how would you recommend that someone approach breaking down those meals to even determine what type of recipes they might need or what type of meal prep might work best for them?

Julia (07:51):
Well, first off, if you are someone who you are tracking macros, just taking a look at what those macros look like and maybe even dividing them by the amount of meals and snacks that you want to have throughout the day just to get a rough estimate of what that looks like. So for example, if you goal is 130 grams of protein, maybe you can divide that by three or four to account for at least three meals or one to two snacks throughout the day, and that gives you roughly 30, 35 grams approaching that you want to aim for at each meal. From there, you can begin to look at recipes that really match those macros, and the same for carbs and fat. Obviously it doesn’t have to be perfect meal to meal, but it really just gives you kind of that blueprint that you’re working with to hit those goals because we can meal prep in advance, but it’s not as beneficial for hitting our goals if we’re not making sure that we’re choosing recipes that are really working with those goals and then going off that just making it as simple and as realistic for you as possible.

(08:45):
So don’t throw in a bunch of new recipes at once. I always say just try to introduce one new recipe a week. If you love it, your family loves it, that it’s one of your staple recipes as we it, and you can cycle that in week to week, but definitely make it as realistic for you as possible. Like we said, don’t be afraid to play around with portion sizes if you need to for your family and just make it as realistic for your lifestyle as possible.

Cori (09:11):
And as you do that too, and even if you bulk prep some different things, think about family meals like the taco bar or the salad bar, all those are options where you can have all the ingredients prepped and bring them out for your family and everybody can sort of make something that hits their own macros, but I love that dividing up to really see what you would need at each meal because you can even then start to think about different ways that really make it fit what you need. I know I want to work in certain snacks or certain desserts or certain things, and so then I can work other meals around it even being like, okay, I’m not going to divide protein and carbs and fats evenly. I know sometimes people will be like, well, what’s a really high protein snack? And I’m like, I don’t use protein at my snack.

(09:49):
I try and keep carbs and fat for my snack and then work my other meals around it. So within having that breakdown of what you need to hit at each meal, you can start to say, Hey, maybe I’ll shift a little bit more here or a little bit more here to work in things that I love. What are some other suggestions you have for people if they’re really looking to make meal prep work for their lifestyle and find that balance? Because we don’t want to just be forcing some mold on ourselves that really isn’t sustainable, that we’re just dreaming of going back to what we used to do because then we’re not actually going to have the habit stick and we’re going to lose all the results we’ve worked hard to build.

Julia (10:20):
Yeah, I love that question because again, I think we see meal prepper, we hear it, and we think of all those containers laid out for every single meal throughout the day, and that can seem really overwhelming and not realistic for someone who isn’t able to do that. So again, just going back to the drawing board and adapting it to your lifestyle, remembering that there is no right or one way to meal prep, like you were saying, it’s all about identifying what works best for you. So this can look really different person to person. This can be prepping one to two recipes and eating the same meals for several days at a time. This can be, like you were saying, prepping several staple items, so maybe a ground Turkey, a rice, maybe some hard boiled eggs, maybe chicken salad, and then using them interchangeably throughout the week where you need to.

(11:03):
This can also look like just doubling the recipes that you’re making. If you’re making a dinner for your family, maybe you’re just going to double that so that you can have that for lunch for the next day or the next few days to have on hand or even prepping as you go. This can be as simple as you’re going to throw a crockpot recipe in there in the morning or you’re going to prep something for breakfast the next day. You’re going to have your smoothie ready to grab and go in the freezer, or you’re going to have an overnight oo on hand that you can grab and run out the door. So it doesn’t have to be as complex as we may think it is. It’s all about kind of finding out what your lifestyle needs are and how do adapt it to that so that you really can optimize and hack your meal prep

Cori (11:46):
And in that bulk preparation and keeping things simple, which I personally think is so key. I can eat the same meal over and over again for a certain period of time, and then I get really bored and then I’m like, I can’t look at this again. But for people not like that, I’ve even found where I can bulk prep things and use that simplicity and then freeze them and I don’t have to eat that the rest of the week. If I do tend to get more bored, like more food diversity, I can freeze that and use that the next week or the week after that. So there is even some flexibility to create diversity while creating that simplicity in that you can then have a ton of different things frozen in different ways to pull out when you’re in a pinch or even to allow yourself more diversity over that week.

(12:25):
Off of that. When you’re thinking about meal prep and we’re thinking about some of those things, right? Prepping for ourselves might be good, but in the freezer I also have meal prep I’ve purchased or cooked items I purchased because I am at times that lazy that I don’t even want to cook the things, which is great, right? It allows me to be lazier, but it can also add some cost. If someone was looking to potentially cut costs with meal prepping, what recommendations would you have to make sure that this is really budget friendly as well?

Julia (12:55):
First off, if you are buying for a family or just wanting to meal prep, similar things, buying things in bulk. So again, even buying a bag of rice or oats will be so much cheaper than buying it in a smaller container. If you’re going to have these recipes on repeat, that can be super, super helpful. Even things like canned foods, nut butters, just easy things that you can buy in those large amounts and they won’t go bad. Also, not being afraid to take advantage of the frozen section. So I know frozen produce kind of gets a bad rep, but it’s usually harvested and frozen when it’s rip, meaning that it contains more nutrients for a fraction of the price than the fresh fruits and vegetables that we’re seeing. So do not be afraid to utilize that to throw that into things like chilies, soups, stir fries like we were saying, and really take advantage of that.

(13:42):
Also, of course, shopping the sale. So if you are someone who may be on the weekend or whenever that time looks like for you that you are going to plan out when you’re going to meal or prep and you’re writing out that grocery list, look up the store near you and look up what their sales are and see how you can incorporate those foods into your meals throughout the week to save you money. Another great tip is shopping this store brands. So for items like nut butters, like we were saying, there’s a lot of things that you can find that are similar ingredients if not the same ingredients of those name brands for a fraction of the price again. And then finally just prioritizing the perimeter in ear shopping. So we hear this all the time, and that’s because the perimeter is packed with those whole foods, which often offer a lot more micro and macronutrients than prepackaged foods in the middle aisles, again for a fraction of the price. So making sure to kind of work them into your recipes, and again, this is a huge benefit of meal prepping is that we can really be intentional about it and it chooses recipes beforehand and work these foods in.

Cori (14:44):
We can make sure nothing goes to waste. We can buy in bigger bulk because we can prep and then even freeze it again to use over a longer period of time. We can buy those frozen things, which lasts a lot longer too if we are worried about something going bad. But there’s lots of ways to really make it work. Even in the recipes you pick, I’ll try and pick recipes that use the same sort of ingredients to be able to buy one thing that I use in multiple different ways, and that way I’m not having to buy more diversity, which can really add up now off of this. So we have the being very budget friendly, potentially having to do a little bit more work. It often comes with it, and then we have the being a little bit lazier. If someone’s on the lazier side and willing to spend a little bit more money on something, what would you recommend to give them some hacks to really make meal prepping that much more of a lazy person game? I’m selfishly asking. I have a few of my own, but I’m selfishly asking.

Julia (15:39):
Yeah, of course. Just really taking advantage of those kind of more convenience foods. So again, if you’re able to get things like precut vegetables or fruits, if you’re able to do things like rotisserie chicken and then maybe you’re just chopping that up when you get home and throwing that in salads, bowls, things throughout the week. Also, things like canned tuna, canned salmon, chicken, canned beans, those are awesome options. Again, you’re just drilling them out of the can and able to throw them in right away. Even buying things like hard boiled eggs, again, it just doesn’t have to be super complex things. You don’t have to sit there and cook these foods for hours. You can typically get them already precooked. Even the same thing with chicken. A lot of times stores will have it frozen grilled chicken that you can easily just heat up when you get home, pop it in the fridge and it’s there to grab and throw in meals throughout the week. So definitely just taking advantage of those convenience items and also knowing where your weak points are. If you struggle to maybe get in carbohydrates, maybe you’re going to lean on the prepackaged rice instead of having to cook it yourself every week, but just not being afraid to really take advantage of those foods

Cori (16:44):
And in knowing your balance where you are wanting to be a little bit lazier, you can potentially spend a little bit more and then budget for the other things. But I know the easy microwave rice, all those different things, they can save a lot of time and make it easier even as you’re easing in even if you don’t necessarily want to do that long term. So it’s remembering too that sometimes we have to lower that barrier to entry, get ourself taking that action and getting that momentum building to then do more. I also want to bring up eating out when it comes to meal prep because I think a lot of times we think this is only cooking stuff at home, but part of meal prepping is even planning in those meals out and knowing go-to restaurants where you can hit your macros and work those things in because that allows us in a pinch when something does come up where maybe we can’t have our meal prep that we even planned to be able to have those go-to items, but also find that lifestyle of balance. Do you have any recommendations if someone is looking to work in meals out to their meal prep and to hitting their macros?

Julia (17:37):
Yeah, I would say just trying to kind of have a weekly menu in place, as we call it. So even if that’s you sitting down maybe a Sunday morning or whenever it looks like for you that you had that time to at least write out a rough plan, and I’ll even do this where I’ll leave maybe like a Friday night or a Saturday night or something open. I know those are going to be meals that I’m going to eat out and I really plan my meals around those and kind of write out even when I’m going to have for breakfast maybe those days just to have that rough plan in place. And this is also something really great that you can do if you have a family and you can really make it a fun experience for everyone. Let your kids chime in and kind of see what meals they want to have throughout the week and then plan around that, see where you can add in your lunch, your breakfast, those types of things. But really just giving yourself that plan ahead of time that you have so that you know that can default to that, and you’re working in those fun food experiences as well. So it’s not like you get to a point where you’re upset that you have to continue to eat your meal prep. You’re still working in those fun experiences, which I think is so key to making it enjoyable and sustainable long-term.

Cori (18:40):
You can find that lifestyle balance like meal prep isn’t just about prepping chicken and broccoli and only having to eat chicken and broccoli. It’s really about, as you mentioned, planning out that weekly menu so that you can say, Hey, we love pizza and game night on Friday night. I’m going to plan that in. How can I work the rest of the week to make that work so that you’re not skipping those things. It is that plan in place to create that lifestyle balance. Off of that key takeaways, things that someone looking to get started, you want to give as key reminders for someone meal prepping who might start to feel like if we get habit fatigue at times, what would you tell them in terms of getting them motivated to do this meal prep, to use these tips to really make changes that add up?

Julia (19:20):
Just remember that it doesn’t have to be fancy. In fact, the more simple that we can make it, the more likely we are to follow through with it and at least stick with it at the beginning. But planning ahead is going to be what sets you up for that wary free week. I think a lot of the times we get overwhelmed with the work that we have to put in order to do meal prep, but when we look at the benefits that we get out of it and the time that we’re not spending throughout the week worrying, stressing, cooking, there are more benefits than there are cons to it for a lot of us. So just remembering, like you said at the beginning, that failing to plan is planning to fail. Just like you wouldn’t go into a test without studying, just like you wouldn’t buy a house without budgeting, all of your other goals require planning and preparation and so does hitting your macros.

(20:05):
So do not be afraid to take the time to sit down and plan it out a little bit. Even the most experienced coaches, everyone will tell you they utilize these meal prep and planning head stove because it is so, so key to success. So if you are someone looking to get started, you’re not sure where to get started, definitely check out our meal plan builder handout that we had dropped in the Facebook group. That is an awesome way to really show you the different options that you have when it comes to meal prepping and how to adapt it to your lifestyle,

Cori (20:33):
And I think that’s a key component. Adapt it to your lifestyle. When we’re talking about meal prep, we’re not talking about one specific way of doing it. There’s so many options and opportunities in that. So really think about what your lifestyle is, even maybe how you’ve approached meal prep in the past and what has and hasn’t worked and where you are right now to make it work for you because one size doesn’t fit all, and that applies to just about every habit that we’re going to implement, but the more we see the opportunity in the options, the better off we’re going to be. Thank you so much, Julia, for joining me today. Guys, I would love to hear how you use meal prep to help you hit your macros and what meals are your go-tos when you’re prepping ahead of time. 

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript

Cori (00:00):
Hey guys, this is Cori from Redefining Strength. Welcome to the Fitness Hacks Podcast. This is the show where I share all my free work on and nutrition tips. I’m not going to ever fill this episode with sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a review or leave a five star rating or even better share it with somebody you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone. So let’s jump right in. We all have those things that we feel we have to do to get results, but the more we can reframe these things as things we get to do, the better off we’re going to be. And that’s why I’m super excited to dive in today with my fabulous coach, Liz, into changing that mindset so that we’re doing things for us. So thank you Liz, for joining me today.

Liz (00:50):
Awesome to be here.

Cori (00:51):
So let’s talk about how can we shift this mindset from have to get to

Liz (00:58):
Well, I think the first thing is you have to sort of take a pause. You have to start to recognize that that is what you’re actually and how you’re actually viewing it. And once you bring that sort of to that frontal lobe, as I say, in terms of catching yourself, getting up in the morning and saying, I have to clean the bathrooms today, or I have to walk the dog or I have to do my workout. That can really set the tone for your entire day and sometimes your week, your month, your year. So the acknowledgement and sort of catching yourself in the act, if you will, can really be the first step to that big change. And once you recognize how you use your language, the words you use, how you sort of phrase that for yourself, and even the slightest shift in the way in which you’re saying it, the tone in which you’re saying it in your brain changes how powerful that can be to change the entire perspective of all those things, many of which we view as chores, but can quickly become things that we actually say, I get to get up and do those things because one, I’m strong enough, I’m privileged enough to be able to do those things and they’re going to lead me to be able to do other things that I even enjoy more.

(02:25):
And I think that shift can really set our day off in a way that really changes everything going to the grocery store and people getting in your way, someone’s stealing your parking spot, whatever it is, it all spills over in how we start with those things that are part of our regular routine.

Cori (02:44):
I love that you bring up that self-awareness because I think that’s often something that, well, it’s at the heart of every change that we’re going to make. We have to be aware of a pattern we’re repeating in the language we’re using before we can make that change. And when we start to see all of the times we say I have to, it’s not just the words, right? It is the words in that we’re saying have to versus get to, but it’s the attitude behind them and the mindsets behind them and not even recognizing the why behind why we’re doing those things. We say, oh, I have to clean the kitchen or I have to clean the bathroom. And while I don’t know if anybody will fully think that’s fun, and if you do think that’s fun, come over, please do mine. We can shift our mindset around the have to and the attitude behind that into, Hey, I love having a clean house. It makes me feel way less stressed. It makes me feel so much happier. It really changes my whole mindset. I know when my house gets cluttered, it does sort of pull me down and you can put it into the why behind it and sort of tie it back to something bigger in terms of that with some of the habits, especially around fitness and nutrition, how do you make sure that you are tying things back to your why so that it feels like something you get to do?

Liz (03:54):
Absolutely. And I think part of the changing the have to get to, I mean the words I have to actually trigger that stress response in us. And so when we start out with that stress response in our bodies, whether it’s first thing in the day that’s going to set the tone for the other things that we get to do. And so when we start looking at things such as I have to get up and do my workout, it becomes more, I get to do my workout and I get to do those other things too. And I love using the parallel of instead of using the word but using the word and I get to clean that kitchen and I get to work out because then it becomes inclusive and it becomes part of just our day-to-day routine, if you will. And it takes away that extra stress of I have to do that in order to do that.

(04:45):
So it doesn’t become mutually exclusive or an either or. It becomes an and I think when we start to view things with the way that we take care of ourselves, whether that’s self-care, that’s knowing that we get to go for a walk if we do these other things, it all adds up to the way in which we sort of approach every single day. And there’s a quote I love that is be that person you want to be that when your feet hit the floor, the rest of the world is going, oh no. Right? Because when you get up out of bed and you have that attitude of when my feet hit the floor, everybody else better be ready. That’s already where you’ve kind of made this awareness that you want to hit the floor and you want to be running and you want to be out there with a really positive attitude regardless.

(05:32):
And I think when we start to rationalize not being able to do things because of other things we have to do, it becomes that slippery slope of if I have to do that, then I can’t do that. Instead of it being I get to do this and I can do this. And that just changes our whole outlook on the way we take care of ourselves. It’s a little bit of putting on own mask before putting on somebody else’s. If we’re not putting our own mask on by getting to do the things that we want to do and need to do for ourselves, filling our buckets, putting deposits in our banks, then we will forever be trying to figure out how to get to that place, how to get to the get tos. We’ll always be thinking of it as the have-tos.

Cori (06:17):
It’s tying the habits back to the importance for you, but also connecting things that you already are inspired to do that you get to do to things that maybe you don’t necessarily yet feel that way about. And I love that use of and to do that because you are connecting things that maybe you are prioritizing in your life to things that you haven’t yet prioritized through that. And I even think it goes so far as to start your morning with something you already feel you get to do or you want to do. Because as you mentioned, that really does set the whole tone when you have this feeling of I have to do this, I have to get up and do this, I have to do things. I don’t necessarily yet prioritize or value as much as maybe I should because I haven’t seen that connection to my why or haven’t felt that connection to my why. The more you can even start the day with something you get to do that you are inspired to do, the more you set that tone then to even change your mindset towards other things that maybe you haven’t yet found that priority in or that value in potentially.

Liz (07:18):
No, and I agree and I think the why piece is so powerful and we’re all in different places on that. We all have whys that might start here but evolve into here. And as those whys become more clear or become stronger or even change, and that happens as we evolve through this journey is our whys potentially maybe get more clear and maybe they change, but at the end of the day, we all want to feel energized, we want to feel good. So we know intellectually those feelings that we want to experience, we’ve experienced them and sometimes we have to sort of prioritize that as I get to get up and do this because I know that I’m going to feel amazing, strong and energized when I am finished. And that becomes the why. And it also I think sometimes helps the prioritization. And when we try to prioritize the things that are most essential in our lives, there’s a lot of noise, there’s a lot of distractions, and we sometimes have to get right back to one, making sure that that’s something that is maybe not negotiable.

(08:27):
That’s sometimes a way in which to look at things that we get to do versus what we have to do. But also it ties back really to how we know we’re going to feel. And that gets back into the why I want to feel really good because I know that I’m a much better mom, I’m a much better spouse, I’m a much better whatever friend when I have that why fulfilled. And it comes down to I think the idea of feeling as if we have that worthiness to validate that that is really important to us and that we are so lucky to be able to get up and lift that heavier weight if that is in our workout today or we get to be able to go fill our plate with nutritious foods and those are things that just become part of our muscle memory over time it becomes more so the get to as opposed to the have to, the more we practice it, the more we get up and just say I get to as opposed to I have to.

Cori (09:26):
And sometimes even if the habit doesn’t feel like something you get to do and you’re mentally thinking, okay, I can repeat get to, but it feels like something I have to do, we can tie it back to something that makes it feel more like a get to even in overcoming some of the challenges. Because I can tell you the workout that feels the best is the one that you do when you feel like you have to over you get to. And so even in thinking that on a day where you’re like, oh gosh, my mindset is I have to do this, be like, Hey, I get to do this and I get to feel extra strong because I’m going to have done this when maybe my original mindset, my original thought was the have to. And in thinking that sometimes you can even shift the mindset of, oh yeah, I feel so much better when I do something at a time maybe I don’t want to do, it’s not like a glossing over everything or a Pollyanna in everything, but it is recognizing to the value in those things and even the things that you maybe don’t prioritize right away the and can be so valuable.

(10:24):
Because I know for me sometimes in the morning to do things that I will otherwise let slide from the day because they aren’t yet priorities for me. I will do them and say, I am doing these things and then I get to do this other thing that maybe I do really feel I get to do. That excites me. And by doing those things first I’ll make sure they get done. Ultimately they feel less have to because they’re tied to something even that’s positive and we forget that association sometimes between something we maybe don’t yet have that positive feeling toward. That feels like a have to and tying it back to that get to change the perception of it because it is that. And as you mentioned,

Liz (10:59):
Yeah, and I totally agree, Corey, to your point, it is really important to acknowledge that there are definitely have tos in our life. I mean, we tell our kids you have to brush your teeth otherwise you’re going to have issues when you get to be older. And so it’s not to say that there isn’t an important aspect of the things we have to do because I mean we all have things we have to do. It’s the way we look at it and even that have tos can be like I have to mow the lawn. Oh, that’s awesome, but maybe I get to, but that doesn’t really do it for me, but I have to mow that lawn. Okay, good. Just approach it with a great attitude because as you say, when I get done mowing that lawn, I’m going to get to go stand up paddling. So in some ways it is, yes, it is that habit linking I like to call it, it’s almost like those pairing of habits. I get to do this and then I get to do this and has a much louder sort of voice and calling to you. And sometimes it’s the motivator too. It’s the thing that motivates you to get through the first, get to the second get to.

(12:14):
I think it’s really important to distinguish between cheerleading and really supporting. It’s like I need to make sure that I approach this with the right mindset versus I’m just going to convince myself that this is good.

Cori (12:32):
Yes, we don’t do well at the fake it till you make it. It’s more the act as this. And in that with the get tos too, it’s doing it for you. And I bring this up because I think that’s an important thing that we also gloss over that we’re doing these things for us. But that’s also why so often we do let some of the get tos slide and we can even feel like they are have tos when we do enjoy them. We do enjoy our workout, but we feel like we get to do our workout and we feel a little guilty and then it becomes a have to because we want to prioritize other things for other people. How do you help clients sort of work through the feeling of potentially even guilt with saying, I am doing things for myself and I want to do things for myself, but I feel like I get to and then it becomes a have to because I feel like I shouldn’t be prioritizing myself.

Liz (13:23):
And that is huge for a lot of people. I mean people who are taking care of others a lot of their lives. And I think there comes a point in time when there then almost becomes this resentment to the other parts of their lives where they get so far down that road that it’s very hard to pull back to a place where they feel good. And the first thing that typically I’ll encourage a client to do is to sit down and really write down what are the things that fill their energy bank. And I use the bank or the ATM sort of analogy because I think it’s very visual for people to see. We have a bank and if we always have withdrawals of those have tos, we lose sight of one why we’re doing them. Our bank becomes overdrawn and we lose sight of what we need to make those deposits.

(14:19):
And I mean time is a resource. We have so much time, it’s finite. And how we use that time becomes a matter of priority but also desire. How do we want to use that time? And I always say that with your ATM, you have so much time in that ATM, right? So much money in that ATM, what are you going to do to make deposits to that, that’s going to fill that why? That’s going to give you a sense of purpose and fulfillment for some people that is working out, if we use working out as an example, for some people that is working out for other people not so much, but they know the benefits and they do it because they know that it is good for them, but they would much rather be out hiking. So I think that there’s an element of knowing, having awareness, acknowledgement over what are the things that you need to deposit into your bank because you got to be making deposits in some way, shape or form.

(15:17):
And some of those are get tos and a lot of those are get tos. And there are probably a few have toss in there too, but as long as there’s always more deposits than there are withdrawals on a regular basis, you’re always going to have some kind of balance in the bank. And I think that when a client starts to recognize what their deposits are, many times some of those have tos actually become get tos because they realize actually they are for them. And it’s not so much of a chore that it’s actually something that does fill their bucket. It does give them a deposit and it helps to minimize some of the withdrawals. For some people the deposit is also a withdrawal. So when we look at how do we constantly reframe some of these things that we are doing to change that attitude with ourselves, first of all, it’s okay to have a bad day.

(16:09):
I mean I would say that it’s okay to have a bad day. The most important thing is how do you respond the next day? How do you take that, what you’ve learned today, what was the challenge you had today and where’s your opportunity to change that for tomorrow? And when they start to think about, well, what is it that’s going to make me start my day off better tomorrow or maybe change something that happened today that I can do differently tomorrow, all of a sudden it becomes a much more mindful practice as opposed to a reaction. And the response starts to be much more proactive as opposed to reactive. And I think sometimes when we get in that I have to mode, it’s a lot of times because we lose sight of being proactive and seeing things that we know might be coming and coming up with a plan and a response that’s going to help us to keep that attitude sort of where we want it to be.

(17:04):
Not because somebody else wants us to change our attitude, but because we want to change the way we look at it so that it’s coming from internally and not the external constant noise of what we have to do or what other people expect us to do. How do we do these things for ourselves? And that’s I think a big shift for some people to even just quantify or articulate is a better word, articulate what that is, what are those things? And once you know that you can go back to those time and time again and they’re often tied back to why you’re doing those things. And it all comes back around to where we started of how do we start with the right attitude of we get to do these things.

Cori (17:54):
But I think you hit on it right there. It’s tying it back to that why and realizing that everything you do is your choice. Because so often we do act like all these things are acting on us and we are doing absolutely everything for ourselves, even taking care of other people. Yes, it’s for them, but we’re doing this because it makes us feel good as part of who we are. We get to even do those things. And that reframing of that mindset, it doesn’t happen overnight, but it is so key. And the more we recognize truly stepping back, we’ve set our why. This means that when you set your why, everything you’re doing for your why, you’re doing for you and not in a selfish way, in a good way. And the more you do, the more you do, as you mentioned, if we get into that haveto mode, everything becomes a haveto.

(18:37):
Even things we truly enjoy on a daily basis. I mean I’ve had those bad days where it’s like I have to do this and I have to do that and I have to do this, and half those things I even want to do slash put on my calendar to do because they were get tos. But because I got into that mode, it became a have to. And then we have to remember the more you do, the more you do. So the second you feel yourself getting into that mode saying, Hey, how can I flip this? How can I even pause in all the things I now feel I have to do and put in something I feel like I get to do? Because again, it goes back to the, and you can say, now I get to do this. I want to do this on this day despite everything else that has happened and after that, all of a sudden now I get to do this and this and this because of doing that. But it’s recognizing the direction of your momentum, so to speak.

Liz (19:22):
And I think that there’s so many ways to approach it. And one of the things that seems to be a common thread, I think for many people, myself included, is that we get this sense of busy equating to purpose. And I always say busy is a four letter word, but it took me 55 years to figure that out. And so when you get to that place where you recognize that being busy isn’t necessarily fulfilling a purpose or serving us in terms of doing things for ourselves, we stop and need to pause. And one of the things, another thing that I find really helpful with clients who come from a place of a lot of overwhelm where they might be involved in a million things and all of a sudden they wake up and they go, boy, I have really got to focus on myself, right?

(20:16):
Well, you can’t just flip the switch. You can’t just all of a sudden say, unless you’re going to move to an island, I am just not going to do any of that other stuff and all I’m going to do is take care of myself because that isn’t typically the way it works. And instead really sitting back and starting to take a look at again, just sitting back and bringing some clarity and articulating on the things that are most important to them. Again, the why. And I think when you can identify what are the things that are most important to you, and then identify what are the actions you need to take to align with that and start with the most simple step. So in other words, getting out of bed in the morning and then you first say, I have to go do X is the first step is stop, wait, I just heard myself.

(21:11):
I say I have to, right? That’s the first thing. And the more that you practice catching yourself and making that change, the more progress you’re going to make. And it really comes back to really taking a look at, there are a couple of things that I think are wonderful ways to look at our lives and the way all of this fits in this big puzzle as we call it. And part of it is, is that the pieces of our pie constantly shift. That’s just life. And we know there are times that we can prioritize certain things more and certain things less. And one of the visuals that I find really powerful is the visual of a dial. There are times when we need and want to dial up and there are times that we need and want to dial down. And how we do that really is up to us and how we choose to prioritize things.

(21:58):
And sometimes we don’t always get our way, that’s life. Sometimes we have to make choices, but at the same time, we also know that when we say I’m making the choice to get my workout in this morning because I can and I get to that, that’s a priority that you’re choosing. And it’s important because it is for you and it’s not because somebody else says you should because the other piece, we’re not listening to what we should be doing. But instead, because we know it’s a commitment we’ve made to ourselves and that we’ve identified, that is something that is really essential in our lives. And the most powerful thing that I think that we can recognize is when we need to say yes to less with all the other stuff and how we then can start to make space for these things we get to do to minimize or mitigate how they become the have tos. And we actually find that bandwidth to be able to enjoy and really engage in it.

Cori (23:05):
I love that phrase, say yes to less because I think that really is in the heart of the busy being a four letter word. We think of all the things we should do have to do, even the things we get to do are in there, but it’s all these things. And we often even turn to trying to do more when we want to hit our why, when we want to reach our goal, and then we get super frustrated because the effort doesn’t always equal the outcome. And a lot of times we feel like we’re giving so much more to get what we’ve gotten back in return. And a lot of it isn’t actually the changes we’ve made, the things we’ve done truly in direct progress towards our goal. It’s all these other things that we just feel like we should add in. And the more we do go back to that why, but even consider, what does your lifestyle truly look like right now?

(23:51):
What are your should feelings, your have to feelings, your get to feelings or things and looking at the person you want to become with the goal that you want to achieve, what are maybe the shoulds have to get to potentially there? And what does that lifestyle look like? Because I think in a lot of that reflection, we’ll realize a lot of the extra things we’re even doing that have absolutely no relevance to where we want to go. And we’re clogging up a lot of our mental space, our time with those things over saying, Hey, here’s one other thing that is part of the lifestyle that I want to lead part of the person I want to become. How can I add that in and shift my priorities? Because in doing that, something that was a should or a have to might get to become a get to or it might even completely fall off the list. But we’ve got to do that honest assessment of where we’re at and where we want to go because we do let busy become our excuse and it ultimately slightly holds us back.

Liz (24:50):
It’s true. And I think when we have that vision of who we want to become or in some ways it’s what do I want things to look like? And whether you use a week, a month, a year, three years, five years, wherever you are in your stage of life, if you will, for some people a week out is far enough for others, five years, it might be a certain benchmark in your life, a milestone in your life, but whatever it is is really taking a moment to step back and say, what do I want that to look like? And then reverse engineering and really taking it step by step backwards of what do I need to do starting today to move in that direction? What are the actions that I can do now that will move me in that direction starting now, not in two weeks, not in a month.

(25:53):
I’ll get to it next year when I don’t have to be the room parent for. So-and-so’s class, and it goes on and on and on. And I think this is the biggest shift that as people who are fully engaged in our lives, and I always say that a full life is a great life. It’s prioritizing what you want to fill your life with. And one of the things that is I think an evolution process for many people is getting to a place where we have the confidence to say, my plate is as full as I would like. Not my plate is full. My plate is as full as I would like. That’s my choice. And I may have said yes to, I may have not agreed to do some things that aren’t serving me as well, may have decided that these things that I’ve been doing forever aren’t serving me because I’m focusing on what I want to look like in five years or be light in five years, and that’s my north star, that is my guiding star that I am moving toward in that direction.

(27:07):
And I think when we have the power of that vision, now the first thing is sitting back and really starting to articulate it too. I mean that’s not easy, is that starts to align our decisions and it gives us the opportunity to do it with confidence and really lean into it, leaning into those get tos and saying it with confidence. I know I’ve got 50 other things to do, but I get to go do my workout right now and leaning into it with not letting those other things become the detractors and those pressures. And I think that’s a huge, huge movement that can change the trajectory of that long-term vision.

Cori (27:55):
It is that shift, and going back to even what you said of don’t do it in two weeks. If someday is going to be the day, why not make someday today? But in that you have to give yourself something actionable. And with you talking about doing more of less, saying yes to doing less and even thinking about what’s on your plate and making sure it’s only as full as you’d like, it really got me to thinking even about with trying to get started to find your get tos to know you’re doing it for you to really prioritize things. Even making a list of all the things you do in a day and saying, do I really need to be doing all of these things every single day or are there overlapping things? Are there things not serving me well? But even then, taking that list and crossing things off and prioritizing maybe a circle around three different things, it can really highlight some of the wasted energy that we’re spending on things or things that we’ve kept in because they fit a different part in our life, but we never really assessed what we need.

(28:51):
Now off of this, if you were to give someone a way to take action today versus saying someday, what would be three things you would have them do to recognize the get tos versus the have tos? Recognize that language and even potentially realize and own that they are doing these things for themselves. And that is a positive empowering thing, not a selfish thing.

Liz (29:14):
Yeah, it’s such a great question because everybody is so different. Everybody approaches things differently. Some people get up in the morning and they start the day great, and then within an hour and a half something goes south and it completely derails them for the rest of the day. But I think the overarching theme, if you will, or I should say effort that can really be turned into almost this momentum is what are the things that you want to get to do? What are those things? When we know when we can articulate and we know what are these things that we get to do and can do and we can articulate it and we can put it up on the refrigerator on a sticky note that we look at every single day multiple times, then we’re more likely to look at those and incorporate them into our day-to-Day lives, looking at priorities.

(30:05):
I would say that’s one of the biggest things. Like you say, what do you do in a day? Where are things that really and truly don’t align with your doing it for yourself, your get tos? Are they things that can be maybe dismissed or changed? And I think the final thing is, is know that every day is not going to be perfect. This is not about perfection. This is not about doing things for yourself and all of a sudden it being magically perfect. It’s this messy, imperfect lives that we live. We love them and we learn from them. And what can you learn from today if you got up and say, I get to do my workout, and then it still didn’t happen, what do you learn from that? It’s not a you thing, it’s a thing. It’s not a you thing. So what is it that needs to go maybe one step further on that?

(31:02):
Yes, you get to maybe it’s the wrong time of day. So those are the things I think strategically when you know what your get to list is, right? And I’ll be honest, sense of humor. Okay, so sense of humor about failing and getting back up again and all that. That can be really helpful when you have get tos that all of a sudden become half tos. But it really is, I think, articulating what it is that are your get tos, prioritizing those within the context of your lifestyle, not your next friend, your best friend or your neighbors or your sister-in-laws or somebody else’s, but within the context of your life of what is doing it for you. And understand that as much as sometimes those distractions that are all around us, the noise around us every day, all day, what’s most important is what’s important to you? What is essential for you? Is it friends? Is it family? Is it you’re lifting a heavier dumbbell for your bicep curls? Is it that you’re going to hit your macros within two grams? You name it, you decide it and then you go after it?

Cori (32:14):
Yes, that’s the perfect way to end it. Yes, go after it. But I have to add to that, with everything you were saying, it even made me think it’s not just the habits or the actual tasks that we’re doing that we get to do. It’s the learning from the failures. It’s the mindsets behind it. And I think we don’t even consider that sometimes when we’re thinking about get tos, but hey, I get to learn from doing something new and probably failing at it. And if we can think about the get tos behind even some of the actions, it can really help. Not to mention, I love that you brought up a slight change to our environment, seeing the things that you prioritize, seeing, the things that you value, because we don’t realize how much our habits are a product of our environment. And the more we put those things forefront, the more those visual reminders.

(33:02):
As silly as, I mean I sometimes think it’s silly to have a quote or whatever else, but I have my to-do list. And in a weird way, that’s the same thing. It’s creating the environment, putting out the clothes you go work out. All these things are visual reminders, changing your environment to remind you of the things you get to do. And we have a lot of visual reminders, often of the have tos. So why not use that in that positive direction to put us in a positive mindset? And again, still not every day is going to be perfect, but it can really help.

Liz (33:30):
And it really is the overall, it’s the way that we approach it overall. I mean, I look at the three pillars, vision, desire, action, and how we put that together for ourselves with the support of somebody else, with the support of a coach, with the support of experts. But it really is ours. And I think that’s one of the things that is really important for all of us to remember that this is our decision and choice as to how we want that to look and really making sure that it’s coming from our heart, it’s coming from what we see. And then behind all that is your strategy and plan. I call the nuts and bolts and the vision. So we can do nuts and bolts all day long, but if you don’t have the vision, we don’t know what we’re building.

(34:23):
I think even within those nuts and bolts comes that attitude. How am I approaching those nuts and bolts, right? Am I loving them or not? And the piece that I think can really be impactful from just an emotional change is from the learning perspective, is always remain curious, always have a curiosity about the why, whether it’s your why or a why that somebody else is trying to explain to you. But always remain curious about what can happen, what can occur, what can you do? Because when we remain open and we sit in some discomfort sometimes, and we get a little sticky and icky in some places, and we don’t necessarily know why, a lot of times if we remain open, I always say, you have to remain open to receive. If you sit there with clothes like it’s not working, I can’t do this, it’s all terrible, it’s all have toss, take me away.

(35:27):
And you’re not open to receive. You’ll never see it. It’ll go right by you. And I think one of the things that we can do for ourselves is always ask, are we open to receiving? Are we remaining curious? Are we allowing ourselves to shift the way we look at things, our attitude toward even the nuts and bolts of things, or are we letting those things just stew? And I think when we start to really look at that bigger picture, if you will, all of a sudden you start to see so much more, and not just what we’re capable of, but what we want to be capable of.

Cori (36:11):
We see the potential, and I think there is nothing better that we could do even today, is just to be open, be curious, sit down, and really think what are things I’m saying I have to do and how can I reframe them as things I get to do? Using that and as a powerful tool to even tie in things, to really inspire ourselves, not to get into that have to mode, but to get into that positive mindset of embracing our choice and our decisions to really reach our why and make our vision come true. Thanks for listening to the Fitness Hack podcast. Again, this is the place where I share all my free work, workout, nutrition tips. I’m never going to run sponsorships or ask you to buy anything. All I ask in return is if you’re enjoying the podcast to leave a rating, review or share it with someone you think it might help. This will only take a few minutes and it would mean the world to me and possibly change the life of someone.

*Please Note: this transcript is auto-generated and there may be some errors in the transcript