Fat loss is not a "date"

If you need dates on a calendar to pull you forward and keep you motivated with your fat loss…

Weddings. Vacations. Birthdays. Anniversaries.

There’s a very high probability that you’ll never actually adopt it as a true, sustainable lifestyle.

Because fat loss is not a date. It’s a state.

A state of mind.

A state of being.

A state of identity.

And if you’re someone who finds yourself losing and regaining the same 20lbs every year despite your best efforts, this might be why.

Don’t get me wrong, you’re talking to someone who loves using vacations as external motivators.

They help me lock in.

They help me tighten things up.

They provide a great deal of external motivation.

But that’s where it ends for me, and where it should for you, too.

Because that’s all it really is — external motivation.

And if you’ve ever tried to get in shape for longer than a few weeks, you know very well that motivation isn’t something you can rely on.

For me, a hard deadline like a vacation simply serves as the icing on the cake.

Something to help me squeeze out that last 5-10% so I can show up at my very best.

But the cake itself — the other 90-95%

That’s made up of equal parts consistency, discipline, and most importantly, identity.

This is, by far, the most common road-block I help my fat loss clients work through.

Yes, we optimize training and nutrition.

We optimize sleep and recovery.

We optimize hormones.

But guess what? All of those things are useless if you’re not able to compound them over a long enough time horizon.

And in my experience, the most effective way to do that is not with motivation hacks or short-term tactics.

It’s at the identity level.

Specifically, flipping the switch in your mind from:

Health and fitness is something I do.

to

Health and fitness is who I am.

At which point, you’re then able to filter your decisions through that distinction.

“Is hitting the snooze button and skipping my workout in alignment with who I want to become?”

“Is stuffing my face with appetizers and alcohol at this event congruent with my new identity as someone who prioritizes his health and fitness?”

“Is laying on the couch instead of getting my steps in part of my value system?”

Those questions hold real weight.

Because they force you to look at your actions through the lens of identity.

And as humans, a challenge to our identity is perceived subconsciously as a threat.

Here’s the key most people miss.

You have to claim this new identity first, even if you don’t fully believe it yet.

Because conviction leads to belief.

Belief leads to momentum.

And momentum to action.

I hope this helps you.

— Coach RK