In order to create the incredible benefits that my clients enjoy today, they frontload their fitness workload right from the beginning. They work hard right from the get-go, do the meticulous planning, acquire new and sound nutrition and training principles, and they reap rewards for years.
First, establish the goal. And the goal isn’t “I want to lose 20lbs” or “see my abs”. Those goals are too subjective and not quantifiable enough to be productively instructional. If it's behavioral base, than it will have a better and more consistent outcome. When people say "it's a lifestyle change" or "create habits and results will follow", that's what they meant, behavior modification.
A better goal would be “I will only go out to eat once a week in order to avoid unnessary calories that are typically more dense than cooking at home” or “I will read a book on how to squat and deadlift so I can learn how to safely lift heavy things, in which will burn the most calories compare to other form of workouts and build the most muscle for the least amount of time invested.”
You want to narrow your focus and get rid of distractions. Anything that doesn’t have to do with cultivating the habit of eating less and moving more is a bad investment of your time, money, and energy.
When you have the willpower (which never last very long before life stressors take them away), use it on meaningful actions like cooking more satiating foods, tracking your calories, and lifting heavier things progressively with good form. Don’t drain your physical resources on meaningless repetitive movements like jogging or circuit training that has little to do with reshaping your body (bodybuilding) or creating the energy deficit you need for fat loss. Don’t drain your mental resources on meaningless dietary rules like “cut out sodium” or “drinking 2 gallon of water a day” in which has little to do with the principle calories in and calories out.If you cut out fluff crap, you’ll be able to focus on more scientifically sound methods that will actually give you the instant and quanitifiable positive feedback that you need to continue making progress while doing things you don't really like.
You’ll have to be willing to read and learn things for yourself and not ask your trainer or nutritionist to “just tell me what to eat and tell me how to move!”. Your coach can’t be with you 24/7. The most sustainable way to approach your fitness goal is to actually learn it for yourself.Learn how to modify your program when you’re on vacation or is injured, how to count macronutrients when you meal prep, and be resourceful enough to find your own recipes, shop, and manage your time wisely to cook for yourself. If you frontload the hard work of education and practice, then the knowledge that you've gained will reward you for years of eating flexibly while maintaining an awesome physique.
Do the work NOW. Stop messing with fluff. That's how you get results.
