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Go From Surviving To Thriving

Go From Surviving To Thriving

by | May 22, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast. Everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don’t want to hear. If you’re taking pride in being able to do it all on your own, you’re actually taking pride in staying stuck. So we have this image of the lone wolf thriving on its own, but the lone wolf is actually just trying to survive. So this realization came to me that we keep ourselves stuck by trying to do it all on our own. When I was up at three 30 in the morning, and I was thinking through this conversation with this woman that I had had on email, and she was very proud of herself for I know it all, I can do this on my own, and I’ve been there. So I get that ego in feeling like you can do it on your own.

(00:49):
You are strong enough, you’ll find a way. And again, it goes back to I’m a lone wolf. Well, I actually then had this idea at three 30 in the morning, why do we have this image that the lone wolf is this strong successful thing on its own? And I was like, is it even? How did this come about? So I went and Googled it because that’s what you do when you don’t know what something is at three 30 in the morning, of course. And I realized that the lone wolf is actually trying to find a pack. It is not trying to survive on its own. It doesn’t want to. It wants that pack to really thrive. And it made me realize, do we sort of do the same thing? We go out on our own thinking, we’ll be better off thinking we’re strong enough to do it on our own and ultimately hold ourselves back because we aren’t utilizing the knowledge of others, the perspective of others.

(01:36):
And so we’re not going as far as we really can and we’re limiting ourselves and it’s ego that’s getting in the way. So if you’ve been sort of saying, I’m a lone wolf, I can do this on my own. You need to question if you’re just trying to survive or if you really want to thrive, potentially leaning on others. And it’s hard to be vulnerable in that way. This is where really showing ourselves our own strength, our own ability to be receptive to feedback is so key. So I wanted to go over some strategies to help because I think the shift from feeling like we should or need to do it on our own and getting our ego out of the way is really what ultimately leads us to see better results faster and avoid so many pitfalls. I can tell you that the more I’ve embraced help from others, the further I’ve actually seen myself go.

(02:21):
So I wanted to share some really big, important tactical ways to give yourself that perspective shift. Because accepting help, accepting support is what will ultimately get you further. And if you even think about it, and this is something that really helped me because I was like, well, I know a lot knowing isn’t doing. And also we often can’t know what we don’t know. If you think about Olympic athletes, they’re often technically more skilled, more talented, even than their coaches are. Yet they have coaches to give that perspective. Anybody who’s succeeded at something, if you look down their path, you’ll see all the mentors. They talk about having all the different perspectives they’ve done, all the different they learned from some, gave them really positive experiences and some not so positive experiences. But even the things we do that don’t feel as positive in the moment, that feel like they set us back, we can learn something from.

(03:11):
So the more experiences we have, the more perspectives we get, the more we grow. So I wanted to go over some steps to help you embrace putting that ego aside and getting help. And number one, our step number one is stop overestimating your self-awareness. We simply don’t know what we dunno. And I can tell you that even the more I seek out contradictory opinions, I will literally say, I believe in tracking macros. I want to go read everything on why you shouldn’t track macros. I still am looking for all these things that contradict what I believe from my own perspective and lens. And often in this, we miss the little nuance of things, the little tweaks that could really add up. Maybe it isn’t that I should be finding perspectives against tracking macros, but maybe it’s that I should find perspectives against my belief that X person needs higher carb or this food is important and that’s really what adds up.

(04:01):
But I can’t see some of those things because I don’t know what I don’t know. And so by having outside help to see those opportunities and the nuance, I can start to question what I believe and even improve and grow. When we think about even our movement patterns, you’re focused on what you feel working and how the movement is going. There might be one little way you can cue something differently to get yourself to have an even better result from it, or you might be able to do a little heavier weight or slower tempo in a different way if you do a slightly different posture or position. But all these different things are just things we might not have been introduced to yet. And by putting ourselves out there and asking for help and asking for perspective and looking to constantly learn and grow and be receptive to that feedback and even normalizing feedback, we’re going to ultimately move forward faster.

(04:46):
But I would really encourage you to take a step back and say, I think I’m very self-aware. I think I know all these things about myself, but in what I’m perceiving as the self-awareness, where am I actually missing strengths and where am I missing flaws? Because in that too, we think about our weaknesses just as weaknesses, but a lot of times they’re attached to our strengths as well. And we can’t necessarily change the weakness without a detrimental impact on our strength. However, we do try going to changing the weakness. But what if you just double down on the strength? Instead, all these things are perspective shifts that we might not be able to see because we don’t see where things are attached, and we need that outside perspective. That’s step back to really help. So step number two, to putting yourself out there, being more vulnerable, risking the support of others.

(05:33):
And I say risking because sometimes it can be really uncomfortable is borrowing perspectives before you break. Often we do only seek out help when we’ve really fallen down, when we feel at the lowest of low. And instead of getting to that point, instead of failing, be like, Hey, I’m making great progress. How could I make better progress? Because I think too, we hesitate, our ego pushes back against asking for help because we’re usually asking for help at an uncomfortable time, A time we don’t feel like enough. And if we instead are asking for that perspective shift when we do feel great, when we do feel like enough, we’re going to be way more receptive to it. It doesn’t feel like that negative. It doesn’t feel like that thing that’s a ding to our ego or pride, our knowledge. So instead of saying, oh, I don’t know, be like, I do know all these things, what more can I learn?

(06:21):
Or because I know, I realize all that. I don’t know. If you think about Bruce Lee’s comment about I more respect and I more fear the person that’s practiced one punch a thousand times than the person that has practiced a thousand punches one time, or it might have been kicks if I butcher the quote. But it’s that ability to recognize that the better we get at something, the more we’ll realize there’s more opportunity in it. The more we can improve upon those basics, the more we even have to take ourselves back to those basics to keep improving. And so the more receptive feedback we really get, so instead of seeking out perspective when you failed at your highest of highs, say, what more can I do? Because that’s really where you launch even further faster. So borrow perspective before you feel broken. It shifts your whole mindset.

(07:10):
And even thinking about it that way of like, oh gosh, I’m not looking for support because I don’t know. I’m looking for support because I realize all that there is to know because I know a lot in this area. The more I learn about macros, the more I realize there is to learn and the more nuance I see in the things. So there’s always more to learn. And the more we have that positive association with asking for support, the less our ego pushes back. Step three, learn to love the pushback. The more I’ve almost seen getting feedback and pushback as a good thing, the more I seek it out, the more I want to do it, and the more I realize how much it’s pushed me forward. So think about the last time you did start a new program. You did ask somebody for help and how much you learned from that experience.

(07:53):
But the more you see that pushback is a good thing, the more you’ll find opportunities that weren’t even meant by the initial feedback that you got. But if no one’s pushing you, you are not going to grow. If you really think about everything in life, it’s kind of forged out of a hard, it’s forged out of a pushed, so to speak. We don’t often succeed because we don’t have any struggles. We succeed because of those struggles. If you think about the last time you became more confident, stronger, you saw results or progress, it was often hitting a hard and pushing through anyway, legitimately. Our muscles grow because we tear them down. They hit this hard, we force them into the struggle, and that’s what makes them adapt and grow stronger. That’s how everything sort of works. And the more we see that opportunity, the more we can embrace that pushback and realize how much that pushback is why we ultimately leap forward faster.

(08:47):
So I want you to really change your perspective to recognize that it’s your ego. And I say this, having had lots of ego and trying to do it on my own, but it’s our ego that wants to keep us in the comfort, keep us in the safety, but also keeps us stuck, right? We don’t want to feel bad at something. We don’t want to feel like we failed. But support and seeing opportunity in that support in that perspective isn’t failing. It’s believing in ourselves that we can achieve so much more. We don’t want to just be the lone wolf surviving. We want to be that wolf that finds its pack and really thrives. So I would love to hear how you are stepping back and embracing support, embracing perspective, how you made that mindset shift to allow yourself to see opportunity in the different perspectives. Because again, we can’t know what we don’t know. And only through asking for help, asking for support, seeking to see other vantage points and viewpoints, can we grow and prove to ourselves what truly is possible beyond our own limitations or beliefs?

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.

Build Habits For That Shredded Summer Body

Build Habits For That Shredded Summer Body

by | May 15, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast, everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don’t want to hear. Life is constantly evolving, and at every new season we have to sometimes step back and assess what do we need now to meet ourselves where we’re at, to keep rocking those results and own lifestyle changes. So I’m super excited to be joined by Sierra, one of my fabulous coaches today to talk about how we can shift with the seasons to make sure that we’re always moving forward towards our goals. Sierra, welcome. Thanks for joining me today,

Sierra (00:37):
Cori. I’m so happy to be here and happy to talk about what the summer will bring.

Cori (00:42):
So with that being said, potentially we’ve started a new habit. We’ve built a new lifestyle. Starting in January, we’re feeling good with our progress, and then we hit the summer and all of a sudden it’s like, ooh, margaritas. Ooh, beach vacations, right? There’s all these different shifts that happen and trying to force the same old habits can backfire. How can we really start to assess what we might need to change to make sure that we’re meeting ourselves where we’re at and not losing everything that we work so hard for?

Sierra (01:15):
Great question. One of the first things I look at is planning to succeed. So you’ve probably heard the quote before, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, right? And we can’t underestimate that. The summer is an entirely new season. So what we do then is assess the entire summer in total, and then we dive into what that looks like, taking everything into account and I mean everything. So one of the first things that we consider is what does your summer look like? When is your actual summer is what I like to think of. Is it May through August? Is it kind of a calendar summer? Or I’ll ask about careers. Are you an educator where your summer is actually specifically designed into your career? Or who are you actually taking into account for summer as well? Do your kids dictate your summer? Does your spouse dictate your summer?

(02:12):
Are there graduations? Are there elderly parents? Are there parents that know that you have some time off, so they’re going to take advantage of that? We take a lot into account, but it’s really more about the planning than anything that will make a summer as successful as possible. So if we can take environment into account, take your people, your loved ones, your family, your friends into account, if you take even your environment in terms of school zones or summer schools or changing populations in the gym, that’s some factors that may not be as big until you get into the situation. Lastly, we can take even climate into account and weather changes. So for example, if you are kind of prone to sickness when the seasons change, it’s going from cold to warm or if you have pollen, allergies, anything like that. If climate changes, does that affect your workouts too?

(03:17):
Does it affect when you work out outside? Are you a runner? Do you need to now work out earlier in the day to avoid the heat in the afternoon? I know in my example, I live in southeast Louisiana and we have to prepare for hurricane season, and so anytime that happens, we have to figure out how our nutrition plays a part, how our evacuation zones play a part as well to keep up with reality. The reality of planning, so I’ll put it this way, there’s not too much to plan, but we have to be realistic in what our goals are and how that can play a part in a new season.

Cori (03:55):
It’s owning the reality, as you mentioned, so that our priorities, our needs don’t also become our excuses because a lot of times it can be like, oh, well it’s too hot now in the afternoon to work out. Okay, well you can own that. You can plan for it and then you can work out in the morning. Or I have dogs stepping on my face, which wake me up way earlier in the summer because it’s all of a sudden light out. Or even as you mentioned other people, as you said that, I was like, oh, I’ve never thought about the fact that my summer extends a little bit. Because Ryan’s birthday in September is usually a time we want to celebrate. And so the more we do consider vacations, which is something we usually jump to as the only thing, but when it’s light, the weather, all these different things, the more we can make sure that we’re meeting ourselves where we’re at. So those excuses don’t pop up because that’s often the problem. We haven’t owned that. Something’s changed, and then we get to this time where we’re like, what do I do now?

Sierra (04:55):
That’s absolutely the problem, and what helps so much is drafting and creating that calendar because like you said, we take into account vacations, but we might forget that a birthday is here, that someone’s graduation is then here, and then things will come up possibly. Or you might have to do some travel that you weren’t initially thinking of. And Corey, how many times have you done it? I’ve done it myself where I then look at my schedule and say, oh my goodness, there’s a birthday this weekend and then I have to go out with my girlfriend in two weeks and then the next weekend has something and the next weekend has something. So even planning and realizing that those long weekends, like Memorial Day weekends or even 4th of July, that even those two to three day weekends do play a huge part in how you,

Cori (05:57):
But the more we own that, the more we can find different strategies to navigate those things. Because I can tell you if there’s multiple weekends back to back, it’s easy to get in the mindset of like, well, does it even matter if I do anything during the week between because I’m basically going to be bad these other times? But it’s like, no. And how you even handle that might be based on your goals, your needs at the time where maybe you do a mini cut in between those two things, or maybe you just go back to normal habits or maybe because you know won’t be as motivated. You set some minimums and there’s no right or wrong, but by having that clear calendar where you can see everything, you can determine what might be the best course of action for you. And then even in that say, oh, that didn’t work out the way I planned. I had all these great intentions to do a mini cut, but I’m actually not motivated, so I realized that it didn’t work for me. How can we navigate that to help ourselves make the most educated decisions when it comes to how to handle the in-betweens, I’ll even say

Sierra (07:00):
Great question. One of the first things I would say is research, research, research, research. A lot of times, and we always think of vacations first, but I do want to also stress that it’s all the events that I’d recommend creating a calendar and putting all together throughout the summer months, but researching your environment and where you’re going to go and what that environment has is going to be a big first step. So for example, just some that I think off the top of my head, if we’re going on a vacation, will it be hot? Will it be cold? Are you in a hotel or in an Airbnb? Are you in some place with a microwave and refrigeration that will play a part in how your nutrition comes together? Do you even have control over your nutrition or are most of your food and drinks, will they be out?

(07:50):
Is something already planned? Is it an all you can eat buffet? Is it a resort, is it a cruise? Or do you have control of maybe one to two meals that you can go grocery shopping for? Are you going internationally? Is customs going to be something to plan for, especially if you’re bringing food items. So just all the things to research and know and don’t be afraid to delegate this research by the way. I would say don’t take it all on your back. If you can delegate that research and say, Hey, I need your help to look up this country or look up these cuisines, make it fun, make it family filled so that everyone can have an idea of what you’re about to embark on. So the research is going to be super important, but that also not only plays a part in nutrition, it plays a part in workouts as well.

(08:42):
What environment are we going move in? Are we close to a gym far from a gym? Is it a hotel gym or is it a hotel gym? We know the difference. Is it a hotel room floor that we’re looking at or are you able to walk with others? Is it going to be a trip where it’s a lot of steps? Disney World looks different than a cruise. So just all the different research that is kind of the first piece of putting those plans together. And then after you research, make sure to communicate. A lot of times we’ll do the research and then we’ll think that this journey and our goals is just by ourselves, but especially with unicorns, tell your wrangler what you researched so that we can help. We have all the different tips, tricks and plans to make sure that one vacation may not look like the same as another.

(09:36):
Vacation may not look the same as a three day weekend. So everything looks different. And so we want to help you navigate what’s realistic. And then also the people around you. Like I said before, you should not be the only person with all the research in your head. Make sure to let your trip mates know what you plan to do. I’m going to work out. I’m going to walk on a beach. Would you like to join me? I’m going to moderate my alcohol intake. I’m going to have a couple because guess what? I want to have a couple. We have a lot of Wrangler classes talking about alcohol, and the big key is if you want to choose to drink, then choose to drink because you want to choose to drink. But don’t be afraid to let people on your trip know that at the end of the day.

(10:22):
So it’s going to be that communication after that research plan, how your movement works. And then lastly, create an exit strategy. How many times do you get home and nothing’s in the refrigerator? How many times do you get home and you’ve eaten a lot of salt or had some alcohol and then all I want is a salad and some broccoli and none of it’s there. So creating that exit strategy, return home with a plan. One of our coaches, Lynn actually talked about this all the time, is schedule food delivery in advance. Make sure there’s food delivered when you’re at home or have some frozen options so that you can pop in the oven, pop in the microwave, the air fryer, and then maybe go grocery shopping after that. But you can prepare with protein and fruits and vegetables, make sure you have something. So at the end of the day, that was a lot, but it’s a lot to say, do the heavy lifting beforehand, research it, communicate and plan how you’re going. Move, come out with an exit strategy and know that all of that is to benefit you and your goals.

Cori (11:32):
It’s coming back to not only what your schedule is for the summer, but what your goals are, what your priorities are, how you want to strike balance. Because I brought up the in-between and I love that exit strategy because that leads back to the in-between and how we’re handling it and how we’re getting back on track because sometimes we just go right to the vacation, right to the holiday and we think, I can’t do something on this to reach my goals. And we try and white knuckle our way through, which ultimately sabotages us. Instead of saying, Hey, I’m a cocktail girl. I want my cocktails on vacation and I’m not going to have access to a gym, so I’m going to work out on the patio that’s there, which I’ve done patio workouts, I’ve done bed workouts, I’ve done any sort of workout, I need to figure out ways to do stuff.

(12:14):
But sometimes it’s just not possible and sometimes you don’t end up wanting to do it, and that’s okay, but owning that balance to then know how you’re going to have that exit strategy, how you’re going to get back in a groove, there is no one right way. And you might even determine that how you’re handling a vacation right now when you’re really driving hard towards a goal is not how you handle it later on. And I think the more you research, the more you see the opportunity or even see some of the struggles you’re going to face, right? Because if something is too hard to do and we’re ultimately assessing it and we’re not going to do it, then plan for it, right? Even if you ideally wanted to maybe cook more meals or work out consistently or do different things, if it’s not going to be possible, the more you can own that, the more you can then strike that balance around it.

(12:58):
And I do think you hit on something so key in the communication because we need to manage our expectations, and this also means managing the expectations of those around us. If you’re going on vacation with a spouse and you’re making changes to how you’ve usually vacationed, the more you have that clarity with them and that conversation, the more they’re also going to be on board and they can find their own balance versus you both wanting to do different things and then being on vacation and be like, oh no, we’re not on the same page. And then someone ends up giving and then there’s not happiness with something. So I think communication is almost the missing piece that we don’t see people utilize enough to find their balance on vacation even or through the summer or new season. Would you say that that it’s a key component,

Sierra (13:42):
Massive component. Corey, I cannot stress how many times have we been on a trip with others and we don’t want to be the buzzkill, we don’t want to be the person that wants to be the health and fitness person. We have our goals, we know what we want to do, but we know that everyone else might have different goals in mind. There’s no reason, especially if we are traveling with loved ones who know that we are on this journey, we’re on this goal trek, we want to make sure that we’re the best beast at ever. If that’s the case, why not share it with the other people around us? It’s not to be a bus kill, it’s to own your own journey, but also find the balance. And you touched on that recently, balance is going to be key because you still want to have fun at the end of the day, you’re going on a vacation, you don’t want to squander it an entire vacation if you realize that tracking to a complete macro ratio to a normal calorie range, if you’re all the way, for example, if you’re in a caloric deficit, if we’re focusing on fiber, if we’re focusing on a bunch of different things while not on vacation, and if that is just too much to focus on while you’re on vacation, own that reality, realize it, and then we talk about how to find the balance, then do we need to set a calorie cap?

(15:03):
Do we make sure that instead of two drinks a night, maybe it’s one drink a night or have a space in between drinks, make sure that there is moderation there. Do we focus on hydration because it is a lot of heat, right? Do we make sure that we set a hydration goal and a protein goal so that it’s much better for you to hold at the end of the day? It’s not really the numbers, it’s the consistency on the numbers that are going to maintain your results. So all that to say the communication is going to be exceptionally important, especially when it’s a bunch of people on the trip that also have access to the itinerary too. Two,

Cori (15:47):
I love that you brought up the different macro options because I think we get very set in viewing habits in only one way and balance over the year doesn’t mean that every day has the same balance. It could mean on vacation being like, Hey, my balance is that calories don’t count. But knowing this and the impact that’s going to have, no, I’m not going to make the excuse that every day is legendary and special and I can do this every day. That’s not giving yourself grace, that’s giving yourself an excuse, but you could say, Hey, this vacation to X place is really special or this holiday does mean a lot to me and so I’m going to strike a balance around it. Going more intensive with the macro ratios, focusing on fiber, focusing on quality foods and then saying, no, maybe I’m not tracking off of that. How do you navigate different options? I know you brought up the calorie cap and the protein minimum, but how can someone be not on their phone tracking if they’re on vacation and that doesn’t feel like the right balance for them, but still holding themselves accountable,

Sierra (16:47):
That’s where their communication comes in again. So obviously talk to your Wrangler. We have different strategies, especially we want to make sure that the balance is there that you’re not having to figure out and play Tetris with macros all at the dinner table. So for example, hand portion guide comes into play. We make sure that we can see what your meals are even tracking in different ways. If it’s not on your standard tracking software, maybe it’s taking pictures. Pictures are also important, and by the way, it’s a twofer because when you take pictures, you also have pictures of your vacation and trips. And a lot of times you’ll see that a lot of foods are very nice and pretty and with a lot of accoutrements. So it’s a twofer and it’s a win-win situation right there. So you can take pictures, you can plan your meals in advance.

(17:39):
Maybe the ones that you have more control over than others if you would like, maybe it’s the same breakfasts, maybe it’s the same lunches or it’s the same breakfast, the same snack. So that dinner can be a choice. Maybe it’s the calorie range and the protein range. Maybe you only track protein. I would say make sure that you at least track or do something. If you track and do something, you can then have reflections afterwards as opposed to an entire vacation, an entire weekend or an entire trip, kind of just going over our heads. Maybe have something tangible and some data that you can then return back to a year from now, maybe 20, 27 in the summer and say, Hey, this is what worked and this is what didn’t. So now I’m going to use what worked and I’m going to go 1% better and still be able to enjoy myself. So at the end of the day, I make sure to track something, make sure that you have a plank on what to track. But there are tons of ways to follow macros. Hit protein without having to go completely in your phone and miss out on all the beauty of your vacation trip in summer.

Cori (18:54):
Please, we know you’re taking pictures of your food anyway to post to Instagram. I mean, we all do it. We’re all guilty of it. But I love that because it’s even a memory for future plus. It’s that accountability, and I think what you touched on in there is so important of even the 1% improvement for next year, but meeting yourself where you’re at right now was something you’ll feel successful with because I do think a lot of times we think in ideals of ideally what we’d like to do and we don’t own. Again, this goes back to doing the research planning ahead and the more we say, Hey, what would make me be 1% better this summer? The more we meet ourselves where we’re at, and we do those improvements and then because we feel successful with them, we even want to do more. Because we might say it’s not possible to track on vacation, but if you’re taking a lot of trips, maybe there are some vacations that aren’t meant to be as much as food trips.

(19:46):
Or maybe there are days in that vacation where you’re like, Hey, I have more control. I can be a little bit more consistent and every day doesn’t have to be this legendary day and it makes the other days even more special. But there’s different ways to really strike that balance and make those 1% improvements so we can keep moving forward. So off of this, thinking about the different seasons, how would you, again, summarizing all the great tips you’ve given, how would you really tell someone to get started making the assessments? They need to understand that stuff does shift with the summer. That’s not a bad thing, but we’ve got to focus on meeting ourselves where we’re at.

Sierra (20:26):
First things first is you have to know where you’re, so especially things like roadmaps and how do we know where we’re going? If we don’t know where we are right now, make sure that you understand. Are you in a caloric deficit? Are you trying to lose body fat? Are you at maintenance? Are we building? Are we bulking? Are we trying to gain strength? So know what your goal is first and foremost, and know that whatever choices you make, own those choices. Knowing that choices no matter what, have consequences and that could be beneficial or that could be not as beneficial towards your goals. So the more that we know where we are and where we want to go, we can then plan how the summer and how these months are going to impact it. Just know for example, if we want to go out of town, we want to have fun, but we also want to continue to lose weight, then there are going to have to be some choices that you might have to make.

(21:24):
And what we want to do and what we want to do, don’t always meet and agree. So for example, what we want to do with our goals and what we want to do when we’re out on vacation might clash. So then what’s our priority? Hopefully it’s goals. So we might have to make those decisions based on the research, based on the communication, based on how we put plans together. So best place to start is know where you are and then know where you want to go, especially all throughout the summer. Summer is a time where we might not be wearing as much fabric or clothes. So that’s already a great, great strategy in terms of, okay, I might need to figure out what ratios or what hydration I need to stick with to make sure that in my summer months I can wear short sleeve shirts and feel phenomenal in these summer months.

(22:20):
I want to wear a bikini and I want to feel phenomenal. So that’s where knowing where you are, also planning how you are going to go through month to month and every event is going to look different. Corey talked about it even within the same event, every day will look different too. So will there be some days where maybe you can focus on the food and then maybe there are some days where you don’t focus as much on the food, but all of that compounds and it snowballs and it snowballs. We just have to make sure that it’s not multiple setbacks in a that when you come out of the summer, now we’re five steps away from our goal. So start with knowing where you are and then know where you want to come out of the summer with, and then all of the things in the middle, we talked through the details there

Cori (23:14):
And you hit on the most important word and mindset with it is choice. We have a choice every time we’re presented with how we want to handle something and how we handle it in a specific situation or season of even our goals might be different than how we want to handle in the future. And instead of seeing that as restrictive even, or maybe even against our goals, we just see it as the balance we’re creating and recognize that we can always make a different choice at a different time. And the choice we make, this might not ultimately work, and that’s okay, but it’s making those small changes because if we do too much, we also have to recognize the sabotage that can create despite the fact that we have really good attention. So it’s always sort of balancing everything on that. Any other closing thoughts? This has been fabulous, Sierra.

Sierra (24:06):
Just one. I am no expert at the summer, but I do love to talk through and all of the wranglers love to talk through different seasons and what struggles it might create and might bring about. So not only have we gone through different seasons and how they change, but we’ve also coached others through how to navigate the seasons and how to be even realistic and celebrate the wins that come out of these seasons. So think my final words are make sure that you have the reflections out of the season once it comes to August and September, once we start to trail and transition into the fall, either have it written down or notated how this summer was, that can be based on, you can do journals in the reflections, pieces of the playbook pages. There are so many places that you can actually write down how that summer went.

(25:02):
What you never want to do is go into the next summer, make the same exact decisions and choices, and then we’re in the same place. Again, those reflections will be important. Don’t forget that, but also avoid overcommitting. And this is one that I personally struggle with is a lot of times we’ll have events that are on our calendar ready to go, and then how many times has this happened? Friend comes up, says, Hey, you want to go out for X, Y, Z? Oh, hey, we got a three day weekend. And it’s typically the friends that do not plan by the way, but they’ll say, Hey, you want to come to do this? Let’s go here, let’s go there. You have a choice to say, okay, let’s do it, but I need to do this while X, Y, and Z. You could even say, Hey, I’m good for today.

(25:51):
Let’s plan something out in July or August so that I can still spend time with you. It’s not going to work for right now. So avoid overcommitting to every single event that pops up and comes your way as I wrangler. Liz, let me know earlier this week, a great way to say it is say yes to less, and that way you can have the room to enjoy yourself without feeling like you’re always having to do something, especially in the summer that it would be a lot. And the last but not least, ride the waves. There is so much, so much, so much that can happen and there’s a lot of planning that you can do, but not everything always happens the way that we plan. And that’s okay. Ride the waves, continue to have fun. Enjoy your loved ones, enjoy the people around you. Be present in the moment. And then we come out on the other side and then we talk about how to keep trucking in 2025.

Cori (26:52):
I love it. And that reflection component does make us learn from everything. It helps us find a better and better balance. As you mentioned, we’re all constantly evolving that balance. I know my summer balance is different than it was the previous summer because I’ve learned from mistakes and things I really liked, and we are just enjoying life as we’re trying to move towards our goals. So Sierra, thank you so much. This was so helpful guys. Would love to hear what really resonated with you, how you are planning ahead for the summer months and really meeting yourself where you’re at. But thank you Sierra. Have a great rest of your week.

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.

How To Become The Best Version Of Yourself

How To Become The Best Version Of Yourself

by | May 8, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

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Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

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Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast. Everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don’t want to hear. Act as if I want to talk about four ways to help you become the person that you want to be. And I say, act as if and really differentiate this from fake it till you make it because there is a big mindset shift that happens when you think I am acting as if I am the person I want to be versus I am faking the habits. Just that word fake means that you’re not embracing them, that you don’t believe in them. And I realized the big difference between these attitudes when I was first starting redefining strength. I’ve actually noticed it multiple times throughout my life when I went to college and I was told I wouldn’t play because I was the lowest recruit.

(00:44):
And I decided I was going to act as if I was the top recruit that year and going to play, and I ended up playing. But I also saw it when I first started redefining strength. And I was telling myself, I’m not that person in front of the camera, which you might not believe now. I’m not that person to take the photos. I’m not that person to do X, y, and Z thing. And ultimately it was a big push from Ryan, my butthead and my partner in crime, my now husband who at the time I was dating, and he said, if you’re going to do this, you need to step in front of the camera. You need to embrace all these different things. And I thought to myself, that’s not who I am. I’m the nerdy kid at the back of the class. And then I realized I hadn’t been that person for a while.

(01:20):
That going to college, I decided I was going to be more outgoing, that I wanted to change the way I interacted with people, my social setting, my social appearance. So I started shifting my identity at that point, and I had embraced acting as if it wasn’t faking anything, it was just saying, Hey, this is the person I want to be. What traits, what actions does this person take? And so with starting redefining strength, I realized, okay, I have to step in front of the camera. I have to get comfortable doing these things. And it’s not easy to start, but I realized I was acting as if I was the person that I wanted to be. And at some point it becomes just who you are. And I wanted to give you some tips and perspectives to help you also embrace that mindset shift. Because change requires change.

(01:58):
And if we’re constantly fighting back against the changes, we’re never going to see the new result that we want. And in acting as if we are choosing to really create the new habits, embrace the new habits that align with the identity of the person that has the goals we want. Because when we are trying to reach a goal, it’s not just losing the weight, it is becoming the person that has the lifestyle that maintains that weight loss even long-term. So tip number one, embrace the discomfort and show up anyway. A lot of times when we are acting as if it does not feel natural, it does not feel normal, but we have to start shaping even our mindsets because that’s the thing. We a lot of times put actions on ourselves, put tasks we should do on ourselves, put habits we should do, but they aren’t aligned with what we’re actually thinking.

(02:42):
And that’s where the disconnect happens, where we don’t embrace those things, we go on another diet plan versus adjusting our lifestyle. So as you start to think who is this person that has the life, has the goals that I want, and how can I act as if you need to recognize that it’s going to be very uncomfortable times or discomfort as I like to say, because it makes you sort of smile and embrace it a little bit more. And again, mindset is key, but we want to think about how can we show up as that person every single day? How can we take those actions? How can we not mentally rebel against the changes that we really need to make? And I think it’s key that we recognize that a lot of times when we say I can’t, it’s not actually that we can’t. It’s really us saying to ourselves, I’m not comfortable being uncomfortable in that way.

(03:28):
And that’s where we have to push back. We have to challenge ourselves to be like, well, why am I not comfortable being uncomfortable in this way? Why do I believe I can’t? Where am I feeling the pushback from the hard so that I’m not wanting to embrace this habit? Not wanting to embrace this mindset. And a lot of times we’ll say, well, nothing’s ever worked before or this hasn’t worked before. And we’re dooming ourselves with doubt because we don’t truly know what’s possible and where we are right in this moment isn’t where we once tried this habit even before. And that shift in lifestyle, in mindsets, in beliefs, in anything in our environment can really make something that even didn’t work before work now or the way we approach that habit change can be different now because of other factors. So we want to think about even though the action is awkward, how can we embrace one small change and be comfortable with that small change?

(04:18):
How can we push into the hard just a little bit more? Because growth really does mean taking action before we’re ready. Then tip number two, set identity driven habit goals. So when we’re thinking about it, we want to think about, okay, what’s in line with the ultimate identity that I need that I would like to call destination be set. It is our dream identity, so to speak. Now looking at the reality of who you are, you might be like, oh goodness, that’s actually quite a far journey to the identity I want to embrace. And I don’t think I can get there in one step, but what’s one step you can take today to move forward on that path? Because often we just see the end destination and think, I’m so far from that. How do I get there that we don’t see the one clear action we can take right in front of us?

(05:06):
So as you’re setting identity driven habit goals, don’t only think about where you want to go, think about that identity enough to have that outlined, but then take it back to where am I currently? What does my current lifestyle look like? Because the more we meet ourselves where we’re at to take that one step forward, the more likely we are to ultimately get there. Habits can be broken down into so many different ways and we can build upon them. If you have to eat 130 grams of protein in one day and right now you’re eating 90, maybe it’s not realistic to just go revamp all your meals because you’ll feel miserable. You’ll reject the habit so to speak, because you have to do such a big increase. Maybe you’re like, okay, I’m eating 90 grams right now. How can I eat 95? How can I eat a hundred?

(05:44):
How can I make one small shift that is towards the identity that I want to build? And that’s really where the magic happens. And this can feel weird, and I can tell you I always believed I wasn’t a goal setter. I resisted New Year’s resolutions. I’m like, oh, I don’t like setting goals. And I realized it was because they weren’t driven by action. A lot of times they were just wishes and dreams. But when you’re outlining that identity and you’re understanding the habits it takes to be in that goal identity that you have, you’re giving yourself action items and then you can list those out and break those down to really help yourself move forward. But it is about giving yourself even those micro goals so that you can see the little habits adding up. It is about really anchoring yourself in where you are now with that clear vision of what that lifestyle really looks like.

(06:29):
And remember that all of these habits that you’re taking on a daily basis, our votes for who you want to become, they’re all what truly creates the goal, even though you can’t see it snowballing right away, but the little actions and if we can celebrate those wins, they reinforce the identity we’re building. Then tip number three, create minimums so you always move forward. I am big on doing the minimum, and don’t get me wrong, I like to see results as fast as possible and complain with the best of them about how results aren’t happening fast enough, even when I know the reality of results in achieving body recomp and achieving different fitness goals. But we have to remember that the minimums are what ultimately move us forward. It’s not doing a perfect plan at the perfect time. We all do that. We all get really good at dieting down because in January we get motivated and we do these six week shreds and 21 day fixes, but ultimately we only are good at dieting down and we never learn to maintain because life shifts, we don’t have that perfect time anymore.

(07:29):
We can’t just be on this perfect plan. Life happens and we don’t know what to do. And that’s where minimums really come into play. It’s about making our lows less low because the more you can do at the worst of worst times, the more you’re going to be able to do at perfect times. And if you can make your lows less low, trust me, your highs are going to get higher. So really consider the minimums that you can do. Minimums are what make us disciplined and disciplined is what creates that identity because we’re replicating those habits without thought. So as you’re going through thinking about the changes you have to make, if you’re starting to feel that the effort doesn’t feel worth the outcome, think where am I maybe doing a little bit too much right now that is pushing you back against other priorities in my life or other things that I value, or even just the time that I have and the schedule that I have, which time comes out of what our priorities are?

(08:16):
Because our priorities, if we don’t own them, become our excuses, but consider what the pushback is against. Is it against you cutting out a non-negotiable? So how can you do the minimum? How can you do a little bit more than what you’re doing right now to move forward? How can you even scale back a habit that’s feeling a little bit too hard to stick with something that’s still an improvement? Because in those improvements, not only are we changing our habits ultimately to take steps forward towards that person we want to become, we’re acting as if, but we’re shifting mindsets because we don’t recognize that the more you do, the more you do. And that success mindset builds through what we accomplish. And when we feel like we’re not being successful with something, we doubt the habits even more. Our mindset becomes a negative one, which makes us shift into not taking the actions we need and defaulting back into the comfortable.

(08:58):
So remember that these minimums aren’t just about the habits that you’re building that are transforming you and are pushing you on that journey to the identity you want to become. They are you acting as if, but they’re also creating that success mindset and that mindset helps you more embrace that new identity, helps you truly believe that you’re acting as if, and again, not just faking it till you make it. Then tip number four, take full ownership whether you want to recognize it or not. Ultimately, you are in control of who you become. Yes, life throws things at us and we can’t always control every event that comes our way, every situation we find ourselves in, but we can always control our perspective. We can always choose to see it as obstacle or opportunity. We can choose to learn from it or we can choose to give up.

(09:40):
We can ultimately always choose how things impact us and how we respond. And again, in acting as if when you’re hit with something hard, when you’re hit with something unexpected, think about that identity that you’re building. How would that person act in that situation? When you find yourself defaulting back into your natural response, your comfortable response, the response you’ve always done, the routine you’ve always repeated, pause, assess, take ownership of this opportunity to make a change and will it be easy? Oh no. It goes back to tip number one. You’ve got to embrace the discomfort, but you’ve got to really see it as that opportunity and vote big vote for who you want to become because those hard points, the points where it would be so easy to default back into what is natural to self-sabotage when we’ve always self-sabotaged to go to the cupboard and grab out cookies or chips when we’re stressed because that’s what we’ve always done at those points.

(10:30):
That’s where we can take that big leap forward into our new identity by pausing and really pushing into the hard. But it means taking ownership versus blaming things outside yourself. Well, it was a stressful day at work. Well, this came up well, this is just the pattern I’ve always done. This is who I am. No, this is who you were. But take ownership. Take time to recognize that you have this opportunity to act as if and shift those mindsets because we are what we believe, whether we want to recognize it or not. And we don’t often realize the tapes sort of playing in our head, but it’s playing. And the more we can pause and build that self-awareness, the better off we’re going to be. But reflect on the failures, reflect on the learning experience, reflect on the good things that happen. Too often we’re like, yay, I did it, and then we just move forward versus being like, how did I do this?

(11:15):
How can I repeat more of this? How can I embrace whatever happened here? The magic to use more of this in other areas, but take ownership and really use that reflection to learn a lot about yourself, both good and bad situations. So with all of this and acting as if, I want you to really take a step back because I think in making some of these changes, we think, oh, well, I’m bad at this. I’m bad at tracking. I’m bad at being consistent with my workouts. I’m bad at this. No, you are not bad. You just haven’t practiced it yet enough. And in acting as if we are practicing consistently and we’re going to still make mistakes, but we’re practicing to learn to get it right, then we can’t get it wrong and then until it is who we really are, it’s a big part of our being.

(11:58):
But remember, you have to practice to get better at something, and that means embracing that you are going to make mistakes that you are going to have to learn. And there is no right time to start. The right time to start was probably yesterday. The next best time is right now because the more you, again, learn to do the minimum at times that don’t feel ideal, the more you’re going to be able to feel strength and confidence in what you can overcome, but also move forward when times are really good and capitalize on those perfect periods to do a little bit more to see results a little bit faster. So I want to encourage you act as if outline what that identity you have to embrace to have the goals you want to have really looks like. Then take a step back to look at where you are right now and start connecting the dots with little steps forward and little habit changes and little mindset shifts, but you’re not faking anything. You are truly embracing the habits and actions that you need to take and how your mindsets have to shift to really promote and believe in those things because that is how you’re going to act as if to become the person you want to be.

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.

Why Your Hard Work Isn’t Paying Off

Why Your Hard Work Isn’t Paying Off

by | May 1, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW
Download Journal Page

Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast. Everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don’t want to hear. You’re doing the workouts, you’re tracking the macros, you’re working really hard, but it still kind of feels like you’re spinning your wheels. And it’s not a lack of willpower, that’s the problem. It’s that you’re planting in a field that hasn’t been cleared. And I want to break down this analogy for you because often what we really need is to slow down to speed up. So in this episode, I now only want to go over three steps to help you do this so that you can finally see the results that you deserve, but give you some reflection questions to ask yourself. Because I think a lot of times we just go all in and we try and speed ahead. And what we ultimately need to do is take that step back to realize what we’re applying all of our hard work to.

(00:56):
And if we don’t take that first assessment, a lot of times we’re adding on all these other things to a field filled with weeds. We’re trying to plant seeds where they can’t grow. So let’s go through the different steps that I think you really need to take the slow down to speed up to ultimately see better results. So step number one, and I bring all this up because I get a ton of questions and comments of people just saying, just tell me what to do. And the problem with that is, is that you can’t just be told a plan to do. You need to build a plan around where you’re at right now, and that means assessing what’s in your field, right? You are a field. What is in that field? Is it filled with weeds? Is it growing very smoothly? Does it have proper irrigation?

(01:43):
But step number one is you need to take that time to actually prep, can’t rush it. You need to assess where you’re at right now. If you want to create sustainable, lasting habit changes because that ideal plan you’ve been searching for, it doesn’t exist. And the more you keep trying to seek it out, the more you’re ultimately trying to force yourself into a mold that doesn’t really work for you. Like saying, I’m going to do six days a week, because that’s what the plan says when you can barely do three means that you are having a mismatch in what’s actually possible. You’re saying, oh, I’m going to grow this plant here That thrives in tropical climate. When you’re in the desert, it’s not going to work. So you have to pause to prep and make sure you are going to be able to plant things that can grow.

(02:29):
So I want you to think, what is my actual lifestyle looking like right now? I want you to assess what’s going on that would make things stressful. What have I tried in the past that hasn’t worked? What mental resistance have I built up towards tools? What tools have worked for me in the past? Really reflect on what have you done and where are you at? Ask yourself even the question of what quick fix have you chased before? And what happened when the motivation wore off? Because if you think about it, every time we’re looking to make a change, we’re super motivated. We’re super driven. Maybe it’s that we tried on those pair of pants that didn’t fit, or we stepped on the scale or we don’t like how we look, or we just feel low energy. Usually that drives us forward with motivation, and we’re even willing to embrace more sacrifices to see the result that we want because we feel bad.

(03:23):
But that bad feeling also then gets attached to a lot of the habit changes we’re trying to make, especially if with tracking, we feel restricted. And so then we have negative feelings towards that. So we have to assess what did we try and do when we’re motivated and what was the impact of that? And then how do we try and do too much, which ultimately sabotaged us. This pause right now to reflect on all those different things can save us a whole bunch of time and energy later. Yet so often we just say, I want to be told what to do, and we jump right in. So the first step is really pausing to prep before you make any changes. And it can be hard. It can be hard to slow down to speed up, but if you clear that field, you have that field cleared to then be able to plant the seeds so they can grow properly.

(04:07):
But if there’s a whole bunch of weeds, nothing’s going to thrive. Then step number two is really knowing what is in your field. We don’t often even realize what is and isn’t a weed. It could be a really pretty looking flower, but ultimately a weed that could kill everything else if we let it thrive. I don’t know a ton about plants, so I don’t know what that pretty flower that would kill everything else would be. But there are plants that do that. And the same thing can happen with habits that we’ve already ingrained, routines that we’ve already ingrained patterns that we’ve already created. Think about how many times you try to make that healthy habit change, and then you come home after that stressful day at work and you go to the cabinet and before you know it, you’ve got that whole bag of chips half eaten already on the couch and you’re going to devour the rest of it.

(04:50):
That’s a pattern, a seed that has been planted some time ago that now has grown into something that you might not even be aware is there. And a lot of times what we try and do is cut it off at the stem, right? We don’t actually pull out the roots, but we’ve got to truly understand what has grown in our field before, what it actually has available to it. Again, if it doesn’t have proper water flow, we can’t grow something that needs a lot of water. So in pausing to prep our field, we also have to pause to recognize all the underlying things that are there, all the roots that might still be buried, all the seeds that we haven’t recognized that have even grown, because these are all the mindsets, the patterns that we’ll repeat, especially when we get stressed, especially when that motivation wears off.

(05:33):
So I want you to look at three habits you’re repeating that might be holding you back currently, three patterns you found yourself falling back into, especially when you’re stressed. And then even think about what beliefs are you holding onto that are causing you or slowing you down or causing you to slow down. And I bring this back to the tracking that I brought up earlier. When do we usually go to tracking our food when we’re not happy? And then what do we do with tracking? We cut things out. No wonder we have a negative association with it. We’ve used it in a negative way in the past when we haven’t felt good. It’s felt like punishment. It’s felt like restriction, but tracking itself is none of those things. So we have to recognize the habits we might need, the lifestyle change we might need that we’ve pushed back on in the past, oh, I’ve hated increasing my protein, or I’ve hated doing strength work, or I’ve hated doing this, right?

(06:25):
Assess why you dislike those things and how you’ve implemented them in the past and how they might serve you now and resisting those hard changes might be the one thing that’s keeping you stuck. But the more we reflect on the mindsets and beliefs and habits and attitudes that we have and the interaction between those things, the more we can help ourselves really understand the situation we’re dealing with to move forward. And then step number three, build the right environment. When we see results, it’s because our environment is reinforcing the habits that we need. Ever notice the second you go on vacation and then you come back and you’re thrown out of your routine, it’s way harder to get back into things and you feel like you’ve completely lost the flow. It’s because of that shift in environment because maybe you don’t have the same meals prepped even coming back, or you don’t have everything ready the way you have, or you’ve been out of that routine, out of that environment.

(07:18):
It’s even something I see happen with clients and coaching is they’ve built these habits, they have this routine, but they don’t even recognize how much. Having that constant reminder of some of the resources or the community really helps them. I green those things. Or even when you think about going to the gym first thing in the morning. The first morning you don’t put out your clothes or you haven’t put out your clothes the night before. It’s a little bit harder to get yourself up, a little bit harder to get to the gym often, and it’s because we don’t have that same environment, as silly as some of these little habit things might seem. But those visual reminders, those environmental reminders, those habit repeaters almost, they are the things that keep us in the routine. If you think about it, on a stressful day, you walk in the door the same way you put your bag in the same place, you go to the cabinet the same way you go to the couch in the same way if all of a sudden you weren’t to come in your front door or you want to put your bag down the same place or you weren’t to have the thing in that cabinet, those are environment interrupters, pattern interrupters.

(08:13):
So really think about your environment and is it setting you up to repeat the same patterns and habits and routines that you don’t like, reinforces the same mindsets that you don’t need or that aren’t serving you? Or is it being developed in a way that reinforces the person you want to become, the habits you want to implement, the new lifestyle you want to lead to reach your goals. So I want you to think about what do you need to stop doing to make the space for the results you want? And what’s one small habit you’re ready to plant this week? And I want you to think with the stop doing to make space, think about it as what we prioritize or what we value we prioritize, and what we prioritize we’re going to do no matter what. So if there are things in your day, you’ll do no matter what right now, because they are priorities and they’re usually also your excuses for why you don’t have enough time for other things.

(09:05):
Put them last in the day instead of leaving your workout to the end of the day to put all the priorities you have first, put your workout first because that way you’re going to do all those other things, you value them, so you’re going to find the time to do them. So put first a thing that you won’t find the time for. If a push comes a shove at the end of the day, or you’re stressed out or you’re tired, but think about what even do you need to stop doing to make that space? Do you need to stop doing specific things in your environment? Do you need to shift your environment? And I’ve used this example before, so I apologize if you’ve heard it, but it’s something for me that was so eyeopening in how much the environment can shape what I do. But I had candy in the cupboard and I would play the one more game when I was stressed and I would go, Ooh, one more piece of candy, one more piece of candy.

(09:50):
And I keep going back to the cabinet. All of a sudden, one day I just threw that in the freezer and it was like the game stopped. Is the candy just as delicious and just as accessible in the freezer? Yes, it might even be arguably some of the pieces of candy more delicious. But that change in environment and the fact that I’m like, well, it’s here forever, even though it would’ve lasted a heck of a long time in the cabinet, it’s here forever. It shifted the environment. It was that pattern interrupt I needed. So as you’re thinking about something that you want to implement, think about some of the things you need to stop doing or shift how you’re doing or change your environment to help you prevent the same pattern from repeating as you’re planting that seed. Because we can’t plant the seed in a field overgrown with weeds.

(10:35):
It’s not going to thrive. So if we’re only trying to add new habits, do more workouts, do the macros work harder When the environment isn’t set up for success, we’re not going to seed things snowball. So hopefully these questions are helping you start to reflect. And if you want more, I want you to check out the journal entries and the journal questions that I have in the video description that will really help you or in the show notes that will help you also dive into these things a little bit more so that you can go through these three steps and really take action. It doesn’t have to be more than 10 minutes, but even take 10 minutes to really reflect and pause to prep. Are you clearing the field to then be able to put in the work in the right way with the seeds that you want planted there, the habits that you want?

(11:21):
How are you shaping that environment to help you move forward to see the results that you want? And it’s not easy. It’s really hard to even pause ourselves to take this time to think through things before we just jump into an ideal plan. But this desire to just be told what to do, to implement something that seems perfect is what holds us back and doesn’t allow us to meet ourselves where we’re at right now. So stop thinking about trying to do more and think about how to do things differently this time. Slow down, clear the field, plant the seeds, and put in the work strategically to help them grow.

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.

Tips For A Healthy Life (Take Action Today!)

Tips For A Healthy Life (Take Action Today!)

by | Apr 24, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

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Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast. Everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey. Even the stuff you don’t want to hear. I know what to do, but I just can’t make myself do it. I think we’ve all had those moments. It’s really hard at times to parent ourselves, and this is a big, but if we don’t embrace that knowing isn’t doing and find a way to take action, we are never going to see the results we want. I love the quote, the world is full of educated fools because I think we can all relate to this. We go searching for more information, searching for a new plan. We seek to learn more, partly because we hope there’s a magic pill or some quick fix out there, but we think that in learning something, something will magically click that will all of a sudden get us to our goals.

(00:51):
And that’s just not the case. No matter how much knowledge we have of we can’t implement those things, ultimately that just keeps us stuck and we’re very educated, but we’re still the fool because we’re not at our goals. So I want you to take a good hard look at yourself as you maybe want to work towards a new goal. Are you doing a lot of research, searching for some quick fix or not even something you think is a quick fix, but some answer out there when in reality you have enough information, you just need to take action on something? This is where that shiny object syndrome comes into play, and we kind of do it to ourselves where we go in search of something new because we don’t want to just do something that we already know we should do, and this is where we have to go.

(01:28):
What change am I resisting against the most? Because that’s probably the one I need to make. What’s the unsexiest of unsexy habits that’s sitting right there that I could do right now that I’m not taking action on? Because when we do that reflection, that brings us back to what truly will move us forward from where we’re at right now, not even where we used to be, because I think a lot of times we also get caught up in searching for some answer based on where we feel like we should be based on where we used to be. Oh, in my glory days I was here. I used to be running marathons. I used to have abs. I used to, well, it doesn’t matter what you used to have, what matters is where you’re right now. And so in order to not just be an educated fool, in order to have knowing payoff and doing payoff and getting the results that you want, you first really have to assess where you are right now.

(02:16):
If you assess your current lifestyle, your current needs, your current goals, your current mindsets, and you do that reflection, you’re going to be able to find one action you can take today. And then I say one action for a reason, because so often we see all the things we should do, all the things we could do, but it doesn’t matter. It’s that whole phrase, and I think this analogy is really gross, but also very accurate. You eat an elephant one bite at a time. Same thing goes for our habits. There’s a lot of things we could do. There’s a lot of things we probably should do, but ultimately we can only do so much. And so if we can take action on one little thing that builds momentum, we don’t recognize enough that so much of what we take action on and how we actually move forward and see success is because of our mindsets.

(03:01):
And if you feel successful doing one thing, you’re going to want to do more of that. If you feel unsuccessful doing something, you’re not going to want to do more of it. If you’re doing less, you’re going to want to keep doing less. And so much is that momentum of our mindset. So if you know where you’re at and you find one small action you can take, you’re going to feel successful in taking that and you’re going to want to do more. We get caught up in seeking some ideal, some perfect mold that we should be fitting instead of assessing who and what we are and then taking one small action with a minimum. And when we get caught up in perfection, which I’m sorry, we’re human and we’re flossing, but we’ll never be perfect, we’re going to hold ourselves back from doing something, and we do.

(03:38):
We go in search of more tools, more tactics, but really we need more time taking even imperfect actions to see results build. So I would urge you, if you’re struggling with knowing and feeling like you just can’t see the results, I know I just can’t get myself to do it first, really assess where you’re at. Second, really set one small change you can do and focus on those minimums. And then also think about goals in terms of habit changes. Celebrate success with the boring basics and the implementation of the boring basics. We only set our goals is I want to fit back into those jeans. I want to look fabulous in these photos. I want to do that pull up. What about just saying, I want to hit my goal today of doing these habits and then feeling really successful with it because those are the things that we can control.

(04:28):
Those are the things that build. We don’t celebrate success with those boring basics daily. Instead, we think, gosh, how long do I have to do these things? Do I really have to do ’em forever? No wonder we don’t like doing them. No wonder we don’t stick with them long enough. No wonder we go in search of trying to find something else, something that feels better, that’s sexier, but I’m sorry. The things we have to do to reach our goals aren’t sexy. The results are sexy, but the habits aren’t. And the more we embrace that and the more we celebrate that and see is it even a good thing, the better off we’re going to be. But it goes back to knowing who and what we are and the lifestyle we’re leading right now over trying to fit ourselves into some ideal. And I think this is a very accurate way of describing it, of we try and go on a program versus adjusting our lifestyle.

(05:11):
And when we try and go on a plan, we’re not truly embracing the changes that have to happen. It’s the fake it till you make it versus the act as if, and in trying to reach a goal, you are creating a new identity. You are stepping into new mindsets, new routines, new patterns. If you don’t embrace that, you are ultimately never going to really see results snowball in a lasting way. So I would say own where you’re at. Set those minimums. Focus on one habit change you can make today. Really celebrate the daily habits as success in and of themselves in a goal in and of themselves. And then recognize too that self-control, an infinite thing. Self-control is like a gas tank. Everything that happens through the day basically depletes it. Your bosses a butthead at work or you get stuck in traffic or you get a flat tire and something happens, right?

(06:02):
There’s all these things. We’re using self-control to keep ourselves moving forward through all these challenges where we don’t react in a way that would be bad, and then we think, oh, well, I just can’t eat well because I don’t have willpower in this way. No, no, no. All that stress is going in one bucket. All that stress is depleting your self-controlled gas tank and you’re going to be on empty at some point. That bucket is going to overflow, whichever analogy you prefer. And if you’re not conscious of the fact that everything is contributing to the emotions that you’re feeling, not just your workout or diet changes, if you’re not recognizing those things, you’re ultimately going to sabotage yourself and not recognize the minimums. Maybe that you have to go back to make habit changes or celebrate those boring basic daily habits that seems small that are so important.

(06:46):
That can be so hard the more effort we’re giving other places. But we have to recognize that self-control isn’t just this infinite thing to meet ourselves more where we’re at having a stressful season of life, Hey, maybe you can’t do the macro tracking you used to. Maybe you can’t do the six day a week workout plan that you used to, but there’s something you can do right now if you really own your reality and focus on those small changes to meet yourself where you’re at again, versus going and trying to find something better out there. It’s going back to those basics consistently and constantly that really pays off. So if you’ve been struggling with a feeling of like, I know what to do, I just can’t get myself to do it, don’t go in search of more information that’s only going to hold you back instead, really take a look.

(07:30):
Even sit down right now and be like, where am I at? What does my lifestyle look like? What are my current habits, my current mindsets, my current struggles, my current priorities? Because their priorities will often become our excuses. When you assess that, focus on one small change and then celebrate consistency with that, but recognize your self-control isn’t going to be infinite, and at times where it feels depleted, that’s the timing where we sort of self-sabotage and we wait for motivation to go search for something else, or we start searching for other things because we’re losing motivation. We feel out of control. We feel overwhelmed. We feel like the effort isn’t worth it. With some of the habit changes we’re doing, again, why celebrating those things even as wins themselves and as goals themselves can be so key. But I just wanted to highlight this. If you are struggling with the feeling of I know what to do, I just can’t get myself to do it, because I think action is often the hardest part.

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.

Why You Aren’t Losing Weight

Why You Aren’t Losing Weight

by | Apr 17, 2025 | podcast

Listen:

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Change Requires CHANGE

If you’re feeling stuck and know deep down that you could be doing better, don’t wait any longer. Your life is not going to change until you take action and make a bold move towards your goals. If you’re ready to take control of your life and start moving towards the results you want let us help you achieve your goals. ⬇️

APPLY NOW

Transcript:

Open Transcript:

Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast. Everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey, even the stuff you don’t want to hear. What if not having changed anything is truly the problem? So I had someone comment, I haven’t changed anything, but all of a sudden I’m gaining weight and getting that comment, I slightly smiled because I think often we think, well, I’m not doing anything different, so why am I getting a different result? And my comment back to her, I could tell it slightly surprised her, but my comment back was, have you considered that not changing anything may actually be part of the problem? Because guess what? Your body, your lifestyle, your mindset, your goals are constantly evolving. And if you aren’t adjusting your workouts or diet to match that mismatch now with what used to work when your body and lifestyle and goals were all in a different place might be part of the problem.

(00:57):
What we do to reach one goal can often hold us back from reaching the next, even if our goal is still weight loss. And I bring this up because I think over the seasons, we need to assess what does and doesn’t work for our lifestyles. We need to assess where our mindset is right now. But in thinking about all this, when we think about sustainability, we also think about this as one thing. So think about what was sustainable for you in college? What was sustainable, maybe as a newlywed, what was sustainable when you had young kids? What’s sustainable when you’re an empty nester? All these things are going to be different. Sustainable is going to mean something different to you at each of these phases. And if you try and clinging to what felt comfortable and confused, comfort with sustainability, you’re going to ultimately hold yourself back because nothing works forever.

(01:40):
And everything is constantly changing. And I bring up the seasons too, because I think we think often, okay, yes, now I’m older, so I have to adjust, or my goals have changed, so I have to adjust. But even over just the course of a year, your habits are not going to look the same, driving towards the same goal. And the more we own that, the more we can come back to the fundamentals, but evolve the exact implementation of habits before we fall off. So if you think about a workout plan, you’ve done a workout plan, or maybe you’ve done a diet plan even, and all of a sudden you’re like, oh, this is just not sustainable any longer. Well, how has your lifestyle changed? What’s happened? Is it simply that you’re hitting that hard? Where at 21 days you always start to give up? Okay, well maybe that’s the case.

(02:23):
Maybe it’s just a timeframe thing. It’s not that anything else in your lifestyle has even changed. Well, then how can you get over this hurdle still doing more than you would’ve done in the past? What works in January when you’re super motivated, all of a sudden it’s summer, you’re traveling more. Those habits might not work. And if you keep trying to clinging to them, that’s where you can end up falling off and sabotaging yourself. Same thing with the holidays. So the more we’re constantly assessing, okay, A, am I getting the goal or reaching the goal I want, maybe then I do keep the habits. But if I’m not seeing the results that I want, or even going backwards and I haven’t started to fall off my plan to get less consistent, what is a mismatch that I need to address? And I think it’s really key that not only do we do a lot of reflecting along our journey and set those checkpoints, so not only a deadline for our ultimate goal, but even, and I won’t say deadlines because I think deadlines mean, oh, we’re supposed to be done here.

(03:12):
I do like to call ’em checkpoints, but just times to check in, be like, okay, every three weeks I’m going to do a check-in. I’m going to assess how things have gone, assess my true consistency, and then reflect on what it can change. Because it’s kind of like we’re a mechanic on our car. You don’t want to have your car and then not do the check-ins, the oil changes, all those different things. You want to be doing those things so that your car works really well. But so often we’re not doing those checkups, so to speak, on our diet and workout routines as we’re working towards our goal. All of a sudden we’re just like, oh, it’s not working. The car’s broken down. I’m just going to set it on fire and leave it there and go do something else. No, you wouldn’t do that.

(03:47):
You got to take care of that car. So it keeps moving. You don’t want to have to go buy a new one. You can’t buy a new body. So you got to do those checkups. But I want you to really reflect if you are struggling with seeing results, what other things have changed? Because sustainable doesn’t mean that it is comfortable. It doesn’t mean what we’ve always done. It is going to mean that there is some hard, it just has to be something built off. Those basics that we can consistently do that we know will drive us forward. And that’s even where we so often see that response of, oh gosh, why didn’t I do this sooner? Well, it didn’t feel sustainable to start, but now it does. But you embraced the why behind it. You reflected on what you needed to meet yourself where you’re at.

(04:25):
You went from those January habits where you could do six days a week, one hour in the gym to realizing all of a sudden that felt like the effort wasn’t getting the outcome that you wanted and it wasn’t feeling worth it. And so you’re going to give up. But instead you’re saying, no, no, no, I’m going to do three days a week because there is no ideal. It’s just about meeting myself where I’m at. And in that evolution, in that willingness to change, in that willingness to even say, Hey, it’s not a right or wrong thing. It’s just that nothing works forever. What I did in college doesn’t work for me now. Right? That reflection is what ultimately drives us forward to create sustainable patterns that will evolve. Because sustainable means being open to evolution so that we’re always meeting ourselves where we’re at. So if you have been frustrated by your lack of progress and say, but I haven’t changed my healthy habits, really dive in and reflect on what in those habits might need to evolve because something else in your lifestyle, even if it’s a mindset, even if it’s a routine because of work, a family life, that you’re not going to change, especially, how can you then evolve everything else to match what your body, your goals, your lifestyle needs right now?

 

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.