I freaking quit.
Do you know the #1 reason why we don’t see the fat loss or muscle gains we want.
We simply, STOP doing the habits we need to.
Honestly we’ve all been guilty of giving up right before results truly have time to snowball.
Because it’s hard to trust the process when we feel like we’re working super hard, giving our plan our all, and results aren’t building as quick as we’d like.
But here’s the cold hard truth you’ve got to accept if you want to succeed…
Results NEVER happen as fast as you’d like.
There will always be ups and downs. There will always be setbacks.
Struggles are a part of success.
But that’s why I wanted to share some tips to help you get BETTER results FASTER.
While we can’t out exercise or out diet time, and there is no magic pill, that doesn’t mean we can’t do things to help ourselves see those wins to avoid wanting to give up.
And one of the first secrets to success is actually to slow down.
So let me share the tale of the two woodcutters to highlight the importance of slowing down….
Two woodcutters were in a competition to see who could cut down more trees by the end of the day. The first was an experienced woodcutter older in years and the second was a younger, stronger man eager to prove his ability.
Both men set out to chopping. After about an hour or so the more experienced man paused, sat down to take a break and invited the other to join him.
The younger, stronger woodcutter replied, “No way! I’m going to keep chopping and I’m going to beat you.”
“Suit yourself,” said the experienced man.
This pattern repeated itself several times throughout the day.
Every so often the experienced man would pause his chopping to rest,
while the younger stronger woodcutter kept chopping away.
At the end of the day when the two woodcutters compared to see who had chopped more wood, the younger & stronger woodcutter was astonished to find that the older woodcutter who kept taking breaks had chopped a significantly greater amount of wood.
He said, “How is that even possible?
You spent far less time chopping than I did. I’m stronger and never once stopped cutting down trees. What is your secret?”
The experienced man said, “every time I sat down, I was sharpening my axe.”
Hard work is key to results.
But hard work without direction, without focus, without intention, is often energy wasted.
Too often we just seek to do more in the gym.
Restrict foods while searching for magic fat burning option…
When really it’s about learning and dialing in those basics.
It’s even about doing the MINIMUM at times.
It’s not about effort it’s about efficiency.
Trust me if it was about EFFORT, I’d have lots of people in far better shape than me…people that train twice a day for hours a day and eat only “clean foods.”
While I sometimes do progressions that are 3 days a week and 30-40 minutes while enjoying my cocktails and desserts.
But sometimes we need to scale back on how frequently we train, the length of our sessions or even how much we do in terms of adjusting our nutrition simply so we can stay consistent.
Because that consistency often adds up more quickly than trying to do more in less time while burning ourselves out.
So don’t be afraid to PAUSE, assess and learn. Don’t be afraid to take time to plan.
Often by even THINKING about what we can do to consider the outcomes can save us a ton of time going in the wrong direction.
And then this even comes down to EMBRACING THE HARD.
I see it when it comes to our desire to avoid tracking.
And trust me…I get it…
I legit tried so much to avoid tracking because it seemed hard and overwhelming and tedious and boring. I even tried the potato diet.
I didn’t understand it so it felt complicated and like it wasn’t worth the effort.
But ultimately in my attempt to avoid the hard, I wasted a ton of time and effort.
I held myself back for so long avoiding the challenge of learning…and even struggling through it.
But there truly is no way around the hard.
All we can do is start by breaking things down.
What’s one small change you can make today?
Can you simply list out what you ate?
Can you start to measure out portions to see how much you’re actually consuming?
The more we can break things down, the more we are able to make changes that don’t feel as hard, but that let us build up to fully embracing the new habits.
But just realize there is no way around that learning process if we actually want to create new habits.
And then remember, you didn’t create your current habits, lifestyles, physical conditioning overnight and you won’t get changes overnight either.
Our body and brain doesn’t like change.
It wants to maintain what it feels is normal – what it’s been TRAINED to see as instinctual and natural.
And yes I do mean TRAINED.
We get good at what we consistently do!
Our body wants to maintain your current weight and will fight the weight loss process.
Your brain likes your current habits because they are easy.
So as much as 3 or 4 months is a long time if you have been working to see results, consider how long you’ve actually not been at your goal.
How long you’ve been implementing other habits…
Because often when we take this step back, we realize we’re expecting basically overnight changes in comparison to how long it took us to get away from our goal.
So as tempting as it is to say “I QUIT” when results aren’t adding up as fast as we’d like, recognizing how long you’ve actually been making changes for in comparison.
And realize that this cycle, quitting right at this point is what you’ve ALWAYS done.
Results take time to snowball
Maybe you’ve only lost 1 lbs. But 1 pound will become 2, will become 4, will become, 15 will become 50…
And the more you lose and the longer you keep it off the leaner you look.
But every time you quit, you doom yourself to keep losing and gaining the same few pounds.
Sure you’ll fluctuate as life ebbs and flows over the year and years, BUT I see my results when I focus in get better and better, not only because I’ve LEARNED as I’ve gone and focused on efficiency not effort…I’ve embraced the HARD, but also because I’ve simply stayed consistent and let time do it’s thing.
That’s why you haven’t seen the results you want.
If you’re about to say I QUIT, double down and keep going.
make changes.
Don’t do more, just keep at those habits, learning and tweaking.
But don’t give up!
And to help you avoid making 8 of the most common weight loss mistakes I see clients making, I’m sharing those tips HERE!
stuck in a rut.
It happens to all of us! Focusing on one small habit change you can make today helps!
Yet again, you save the day!! Your words and wisdom truly help keep my head in the game.
I’m not feeling well, not able to work out this week, no energy. Cough and sore throat. Feeling bad I can’t keep training right now. But I don’t have it in me. Any advice for me? 🙏🏼
How do I determine proper macro counts for me?
So glad it helps you stay focused and keep moving forward!
Being sick or needing to back off isn’t quitting. During these times we just need to focus on rest and meeting ourselves where we are at with a plan to move forward after. Focus on fueling to feel better.
Here’s a beginner’s guide to help you get started: https://redefiningstrength.com/the-beginners-guide-to-macros?sl=blogcomment