About this episode
If you’ve experienced this… I want you to to know the #1 reason you’re not getting results from my 40 years experience, and most of all from the most recent comments, DMs and group conversations we have. Said 100% with respect to us all… but we have failed to commit to any one. While we’re complaining about the abundance of overwhelming and often conflicting information, we fail to realize it’s us who continues to let it in. Not saying that we should stop trying to learn or gain knowledge. You know I share summits with you from time to time. I share experts with you right here regularly who challenge your thinking. And I hosted a summit myself - one of the primary goals of that was to clarify for you the information and to probe guests for clarity wherever I sensed there could be confusion for you. But if we keep letting ourselves stay stuck collecting data, we’re procrastinating on changing anything. You ARE choosing. You’re choosing to stay stuck. You won’t “accidentally” find your best path to health. You’ll need to get a bit organized and choose what to take action on now, what you might take action on later, and what you’re just throwing out because you’ve tried it, tested it and you know it doesn’t work for you. This episode is to help you get out of your own way. You’re Not Getting Fitness Results? Keep Reading The only way I can do this episode is because I live it too. We can in any area of our lives sit in the middle of the room staring at the piles of things to be organized and picked up, put away, given away … and not know where to start and so never do. That, I believe may be hoarding. In 2013 I quit. I quit my job on January 16. I was going to start paying college tuition in August. I had to put my house for sale in November. In tears in early December instead of putting up Christmas decorations I was taking down every picture carefully placed and planned from my walls because the realtor said a new buyer needs to be able to imagine their things on the wall. For the entire first year of that new start I didn’t have a clear step-by-step. Very few had done this before, few if any had created an online fitness site exclusively for women in menopause without any technical background or knowledge in hiring someone I could trust who had one. It wasn’t until year two, when I got a vision of what steps mattered most, what could wait and be tested later, that I started to be able to pay my own bills again instead of borrowing off of the sale of my home. If you aren’t at a “it has to work” place, you may not commit. I was all in. There was no net. If you’ve had cancer, if you’ve had a virus so scary it made you wonder… then you know. You commit. You do everything and focus on just the important things and other things fall off the radar. You may need to do this for yourself. Take this podcast as your wake-up call. Trust me… you don’t want to be pawning jewelry, or selling homes, asking relatives for a loan… or having to choose chemo or not… but we often do wait for a diagnosis. Decide right now if you will or you won’t. If you think it’s inconvenient to eat differently than others in your house, if you think it’s just too hard not to have a drink or 3 every night, and you’re committed to that way of thinking, this may not be your episode. I may not be your girl. A stale, overused and very appropriate on-point term: choose your hard. The Number #1 Reason You’re Not Getting Fitness Results… You are not committing to one thing consistently for long enough to test it and only it. It’s not all your fault. You hear high protein is necessary to build muscle for successful active aging. You learn that the quality of essential amino acids in animal protein is higher per calorie than that of plant protein. You hear that fasting is good for longevity due to autophagy. Yet, you’ve heard the term low energy availability and identify with the concept of slowing down your metabolism because by eating less you will cause the body to breakdown muscle (especially while exercising more) and signal the body to burn less energy. Often the #1 reason you're not getting fitness results is because you’re not trying one thing at a time and committing to it. The problem? Isn’t really an abundance of information. It’s feeling a sense of urgency that really isn’t there. Yes, it’s important you make progress this YEAR, but it doesn’t have to today. You can choose. Test it. And you can choose again. The Reason you’re not getting fitness results: You are honing in on ONE thing that you hear, not necessarily the most important thing, and doing it at the omission of some important details. For instance, all the experts whether they favor plant-based protein earlier in life Agree that at 60 or 65 high quality animal protein is a must for muscle synthesis to avoid sarcopenia resulting in frailty and falls. Experts who were not long ago suggesting fasted exercise who now are more in tune with maintaining and gaining lean muscle mass and bone density are all about fed exercise. Yet, they do observe and recommend fasting. But what length? Should you do a 24 hour fast? Should you do 20 ? Even 18? How about we try 12-14 regularly first and stop snacking between meals and instead actually have meals. Stop skipping, skimping or eating a “protein bar” pretending it is full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals the way a plate of food or even a smoothie will all the goodness of greens and healthy fats and light fruits and fiber. What to Do When You’re Not Getting Results If you’re stuck between animal or plant protein… How much muscle do you have? Compare that to last year and the year before that. Don’t have those measures? Get them started now. Because if you’re nearly 60 like me, you’re knocking on the door of muscle losses that accelerate to 1-2% a year unless we’re doing the right things to avoid it. If you don’t know for sure what the right things are, write down your choices. Because you sure DO know what is confusing and conflicting. Let’s just agree that we have to stop complaining about being confused. We have to start taking responsibility for the information, for making choices, taking action and then being okay with making a new choice if it doesn’t work. But no one is going to get “data” from an experiment of starting one thing and then not really doing it. The worst possible answer to a question, “How did it go with the magnesium this week?” or “What happened when you introduced dairy this week?” is… well it worked okay when I remembered or I had it a couple times but didn’t notice anything. These are NOT following the process for adding magnesium or re-introducing dairy, respectively. When a client says, “I don’t feel any better this week and I haven’t lost weight” and then in reflection, 50% of the time she committed to what we agreed on and the rest of the time didn’t, we can’t expect to get results. What we have is data: That it isn’t urgent or important enough to matter She isn’t committed to the changes she agreed to Take Action If You’re Not Getting Fitness Results What I suggest is that you choose: Choose ONE thing to take action on. Plot your plan ALL the way through. Choose the next thing you might choose after you see this one through. Before you start anything MEASURE: Weight. Body fat %, and girth measurements. Record your subjective ratings of sleep, energy, libido, brain clarity, digestion. Take 3-4 weeks at least to commit. Spend a little time deciding how you might have to tweak this experiment. Will you need to start smaller than your original goal? Will you be able to begin right away? July 4 started walking 30 minutes a day. I might also strength training or do interval training. But I was walking before 8am every day. Some days I had to do it later because I missed it earlier. But I kept that promise. Some days I hiked and it was a longer walk. A couple days it was chilly and rainy and I did indoor “walking.” Other days still I have had a hard time getting in a solid 30 but got 10 minutes in three times. But I stuck with it. What happened after 90 days? I’m hooked as I have been 3 other times in my life, body composition improved. Tone and definition and mood improved. You can always move on. Choose the next. But do it.. Documenting. Do what you said you’d do consistently. Make sequential changes or tweaks if required. (With introduction of magnesium or with Betaine HCL, for instance). Don’t just throw it out completely. Is it timing? Have you tried shorter instead of longer, tried it in the morning instead of at night? No idea? Get a coach. Have an assessment. I can help you derive a plan if you’re committed to changing once you’ve got one. Got this? Please let us know if this was valuable! AND share it! If it’s been helpful for you it will be for another woman too. Resources: Ultimate Assessment https://www.flippingfifty.com/store/coaching-programs/private-coaching-90-min/ Coming up! Blissmas (12 days of light exercise for holiday strategies without the stress) https://www.flippingfifty.com/blissmas Flipping 50’s Annual Holiday 2023 Gift Guide https://www.flippingfifty.com/goodgiftsguide Other Episodes You Might Like: How to Love Your Midlife Body More | Stop Self-Sabotage https://www.flippingfifty.com/midlife-body/ How to Stop Self Sabotage, Stay Motivated, and Get Results: Episode 2 https://www.flippingfifty.com/how-to-stop-self-sabotage-stay-motivated-and-get-results-episode-2/ Why It’s So Hard to Change Health Habits (and What to Do) https://www.flippingfifty.com/change-health-habits/