108. How I Approach Fitness: Consistency and Patience

I will say this forever....consistency is the key to getting the healthy, fit body you want. Patience plays a big part as well. I started my Spring cut a few weeks ago and it has been a SLOW progress. In years past I would have gotten very discouraged and went to drastic measures to lose a few pounds. This year I am proud of my mindset and ability to show up despite not seeing changes on the scale. I have been reminded of the importance of consistency during this process and in this episode I am giving you little update on my cut as well as some insight on things I have been reminded of, I think both will help you.

Slow and steady wins this race. I think this episode will be a good reminder of what matters in this journey and will give you reassurance that we ALL struggle and that the progress will come if you put in the work.

The SMART SCALE I mention in the podcast

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Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:03

Welcome to the Un-Fuck-Your-Fitness Podcast. I am your host, christy Castillo, and I'm here to give you real talk and cut the BS so you can actually enjoy building a body you love. I'm a personal trainer obsessed with giving you simple action steps to take you from feeling stuck to feeling sexy. Let's go, hey guys, what's up?

Speaker 2: 0:34

Welcome to today's episode. For the last few weeks I have been cutting, cut calories in a cut kind of a situation. I don't go straight from like a certain amount of calories and then cut three to 500, like your typical cut right. If you were to do research, google it, look online, whatever you're going to see like a traditional cut would be about 300 to 500 calories. I personally do not slash my own calories like that and that's for a couple of different reasons, honestly, mostly because I don't want to. I'm not in a huge hurry to see the scale move. I want to do it in more of a sustainable kind of.

Speaker 2: 1:20

This is where we're going with this episode a more sustainable way of doing things. It seems less dramatic. It seems less drastic, it seems a little easier, it's more in my control, it's more doable, it's more realistic, right? If I'm just like, okay, one week let's cut the Cadbury eggs. The next week let's cut the Oreos. The next week let's cut something at whatever it is, or let's shift around my Greek yogurt instead of my oatmeal, let's it. I'm just kind of making these little changes that make it so consistent for me and it, mentally, is so much better than am I able to talk myself into a cut Absolutely, like? Could I say, okay, we're going all in for whatever reason I don't even know why I would do that, but for me it's just not a hurry, so I don't have to do that. But could I say you know, yes, I'm cutting 300 to 500 calories. This is what I'm cutting and I've done that before.

Speaker 2: 2:18

Absolutely this time and at this stage in my life, I guess I just don't want to do that, which is crazy, because I hit the highest number on the scale a few weeks ago that I've, that I've ever seen on the scale when I wasn't pregnant. Of course, when I was pregnant with child, I gained more weight, but being not pregnant, I have I hit the highest number on the scale I've ever seen a couple of weeks ago, like in it was in March and you would think I mean technically, I don't know seeing a high number, and I remember seeing it and being like, oh well, that's new. Never seen that number before while bulking or without being pregnant, and it wasn't really on purpose, I was just kind of enjoying life and eating too much of whatever or lifting heavy. And so I have a Renfro scale, I have a smart scale so I can see all the numbers. And I looked at it and I was like, sure enough, I have gained some fat, I have gained some muscle, it's fine Didn't really let it bother me. And it didn't bother me to the point where I stayed there for a few weeks. I stayed at that number and was like who, who are you? I was genuinely like what is going on, but that that felt like growth to me. When I looked in the mirror it was like, do I love what I see? Not necessarily Right, I'm not shredded, I'm not lean, I'm not, but I'm healthy and I love that for me, and I love not having to restrict foods and all of that. So it was so worth it.

Speaker 2: 3:54

I had lost, uh, two pounds and that I was sitting kind of like still heavier than I usually am at this time of year, still heavier than I want to be, but also not really in a hurry to do much about it. And that's where it kind of came from, was like I'm not really in a hurry to do this and so I am just going to gradually put myself in a calorie deficit and I'm cut. You know, we'll say and kind of see what happens? I'm going to put myself in a calorie deficit. I'm going to increase my calories to 12,000 a day. I've hit that most days. I think there was two days in the last month no, that's not true Two weeks that I haven't hit that goal, but I was close, so increased my walking a little bit. My workouts have remained the same and I've not hit all of those either. So all I did was increase my walking and decrease my calories, and not even by a certain amount. It was just like we'll decrease a little bit this week, decrease a little bit next week, decrease a little bit the next week.

Speaker 2: 4:59

Four weeks had gone by and the number on the scale never went below. I'm just going to say it. I hate saying my weight because it's kind of a trigger for people, but it is what it is. This is my body, this is my podcast, this is it is what it is. 132 was the highest number. I'm five two, by the way and so 132 is the highest number I personally seen ever on my body without being pregnant. 130 is what I got down to and I had stayed at 130, even though I cut my calories, increased my movement, my walking cut, my calories again increased. And I'm not cutting them a lot. I'm talking 50 calories a week, right, so it's a very, very small amount. But I cut them, increased my walking, cut them again. Increase my walking or maintain my increased walking. Cut them again. Maintained my increased walking. And no movement on the scale. We did not get below one 30. In fact, we'd kind of fluctuate between one 30 and one 32 again growth for me because I didn't give a shit.

Speaker 2: 6:03

I kept doing exactly what I said I was going to do. I'm like, okay, I woke up and it's not even like I don't even typically weigh myself every day, so this is not my normal habit. I I'm kind of just trying something different for myself, just to see, right, because I want this to be forever, a forever thing. And judging by the mindset I was in, I'm like I kind of just want to do this gradually and see what happens. And if I mentally am not able to do it, I'll, I'll tweak it, I'll pivot Right, like I always say to you. But I kept going. I kept going. Every morning I'd get on the scale same number, I do the same shit. Next morning, same number, I do the same shit.

Speaker 2: 6:46

I never let the number on the scale determine my mood or my actions period. Never, ever, ever. And that is the key to continuing doing right what you're, what you say you're going to do. So that's the thing I want you to take away from this. If you're going to weigh yourself every day, or even ever, whenever you weigh yourself, you cannot let it determine your mood, because it doesn't define your worth. It's not, it has nothing to do with that. You can't let it determine your mood and you can't let it determine what you're doing to move that needle, because I'm telling you right now, right, I'm a, I'm a seasoned vet in this field, if you will, and I was doing the work very small, in a very small fashion, but I was doing the work and nothing was moving on that fucking scale.

Speaker 2: 7:31

Not one time in four weeks did it go down. Not, I'm not kidding, not one time, and I did not let it affect me. So I'm like this is growth, this is great, we're doing a good job. Keep going, you guys. Yesterday it went down to one, 29, and I cut again. Oh, that would have been. That was actually a Tuesday. Nope, today's Thursday. So that was a Wednesday. So we're already like halfway into this next week, I cut calories a little bit more, and I did do a couple of different things where we're starting sports this week, and so I decided at sporting events, I'm not going to let myself eat for a little while.

Speaker 2: 8:08

I'm because if I take snacks to sporting events for my kids, I'm eating all the snacks. So I'm doing something a little bit different where I'm like okay, we're going to move around at the sporting events, during track meets, I'm going to be walking around during baseball games, I'm going to get up and walk around. I just need to increase my movement and I don't need to be snacking there all the time. I can have, you know, fill my macros with foods before these sporting events and after these sporting events when I get home, which is exactly what I did the last two nights, my daughter started track, my son started baseball game on mama's dads, if you hear me. So I did do that, but calorie wise, everything was the same. Hear me? So I did do that, but calorie wise, everything was the same. Typically, though, I would be snacking during these events, so I did change that, but calorie wise, I cut myself right a little bit more this week.

Speaker 2: 8:52

I'm still well, obviously, I'm finally in a deficit is what's is what's happening? But anyways, yesterday I got on the scale as one 29. Today I got on the scale one 28. So I don't necessarily have a goal, like when I look in the mirror and I feel good about myself, which I actually already do. I could feel myself getting leaner and I could see in the mirror that like I felt leaner even when the scale wasn't moving. I was maintaining my muscle, I was losing some fat. I was at maintenance. I was gaining muscle, losing fat week after week after week. I was feeling leaner and my food choices were better. The quality was better. So I was, my body was changing and I was already feeling better. And I'm still. That's still happening. So I'm feeling really good and I don't have a certain number.

Speaker 2: 9:36

Obviously, I'm not going to let myself get too low, but on my Renfro scale I use a smart scale so I can see my weight, my BMI, my body fat. Let me just run down the list my weight, bmi, body fat percentage, my fat-free body weight, my subcutaneous fat percentage, visceral fat, body water percentage, skeletal muscle percentage, muscle mass, bone mass, protein percentage, my BMR and my, my metabolic age. All of them are in the green, which is great. Some of them are in dark green, which is even better, and some my subcutaneous fat is in the blue, which means it's even better than better. It's so good. So all my numbers are so good. So I'm so proud of myself and you can be proud of this too.

Speaker 2: 10:24

Like you listen to someone on a podcast who is, across the board, healthy Okay, at least physically most of the time and, uh, if, if I'm your coach, like I'm doing the shit that I'm telling you to do, I am a healthy person. I'm not up here with, like, all these different elements, right, pretending like I'm healthy. I'm doing the shit I'm telling you I'm doing. I'm telling you I'm doing the shit I'm telling you to do. That will help you be healthy. And this is proof. Like and my numbers don't really vary that much and my numbers are very rarely out of the green Like I'm in a very healthy state and I'm also at a place where, if I see it go too far, I'm like we have to reel this back in.

Speaker 2: 11:03

But looking at these numbers today made me very, very healthy. Technically, I've lost four pounds in the last. However, however, it was right that I was at my highest and that's great. I've maintained my muscle mass. I've, I'm just I'm, I'm really killing it. You guys, is what I'm trying to say. I'm just tooting my own horn over here.

Speaker 2: 11:22

But what I want to say is yesterday, when my weight dropped, I was pumped. I was like, oh, this is great, here we go again. Today I was pretty excited to see that it dropped. I was actually surprised, because dropping that much in two days is pretty rare. Today I was like I'm really hungry and if it doesn't drop tomorrow, I don't care, and if it goes up a little bit tomorrow morning I also don't care. I won't change a single thing. But what that led me to was okay. When I was reflecting back on that, I was like, okay, you've been so consistent. Again, I didn't let that number deter me, I didn't let that number affect me. I just stuck to the plan. So there's, here's the irony here. So I want to be very transparent about that as far as what I'm doing, how this works.

Speaker 2: 12:08

A lot of you and I just kind of talked about this on a little post I put on my stories, my Instagram stories, with a photo of my smart skill, like a screenshot. A lot of you and I've been here a lot of us, I could say. But I'm just going to talk to you. A lot of you cut calories, increase your walking, change one thing, change a couple of things, whatever it is, and you get pissed the next day when you don't see results, or the next three days when you don't see results, or the next week or the next month. And I'm here to tell you as a like I just called myself a seasoned vet in the whatever in the in the industry. Okay, not really that seasoned, let's be real, but I do know what the fuck I'm talking about.

Speaker 2: 12:53

So, as someone who's been doing this for years, I'm telling you that it took me four weeks of a gradual calorie deficit to see one pound move one pound. So it pisses me off when people are like, oh my gosh, I've been tracking my macros for a whole week and I haven't seen any results. No shit, same, but I also get it. So, while it kind of pisses me off that people think like this is going to happen so fast, I get it. I've had a podcast about this before where the people are out there saying 30 days you can lose X amount of pounds, like we've been given that expectation. So I understand why you have that expectation, but as someone who's doing the shit and having to wait for my own results, when when someone comes to me, frustrated that they've been doing the shit for one week and I've been doing it for like 15 years, right? Or I've been doing this for four weeks and I've not been seeing results and I've not one time been frustrated I'm like you have got to have more skin in the game. You have got to keep going, you. I had a client on my app message me this week and said I realized I've been. No, it was in the Facebook group, actually my Christa Castillo Facebook group.

Speaker 2: 13:59

I've been giving up too quickly, I think is how she worded it, and I thought that was such great awareness. And a lot of you are giving up too quickly and I've had podcast episodes on all of this individually where, like, you are giving up too soon. You need to stop quitting, right? That's the only thing that's creating this illusion for you that you're not succeeding is you keep quitting. The only reason you don't see weight loss is because you quit the calorie deficit, because you think it should happen faster. So, moving on from that, I just want to be real with you there and relate to you and honestly, yeah, let me just reiterate it again it's going to take a long freaking time. Sometimes you have to track your macros for months before you'll see movement. Right, you have to cut your calories for weeks before you'll see movement. For some people, it depends on where we started. It depends on how long I've been fucking around and not tracking my macros and not working out and not sleeping well, like how long have I been doing the bad things and how long is it going to take to reverse that and see some movement? So I just want to be real with that.

Speaker 2: 15:00

But moving on to a different kind of sort of the topic here, what is the key to making this health and fitness journey a lifestyle? How do you become healthy and fit forever? What is the key to making this? Last, you have to do it forever. Right, the only way to get healthy and fit forever is to literally do it forever. To make it a lifestyle, you have to do it every single day. That's what I did. I was consistent. Okay, we've already talked about this before.

Speaker 2: 15:35

Consistency is the one thing that I kept doing in those four weeks, and now I'm seeing this moving on the scale, and I will continue to do that. But if I would have given up, I wouldn't have seen these numbers drop. They probably would have went up. I would have been up. I wouldn't have seen these numbers drop, they probably would have went up. I would have been so irritated. Right, all the things.

Speaker 2: 15:51

Consistency is the thing that I have going for myself, that a lot of people don't, but that's what. That's the only thing I did in those four weeks that made a difference. When I looked back and I'm like okay, I literally thought if the key to all of this is consistency, how do you build muscle? You? You lift weights consistently forever, like you have to lift the weight over and over and over and it has to be heavier and heavier and heavier, over and over and over. How do you lose fat? You're in a calorie deficit consistently, right, day after day after day after day after day, like you have to keep doing it consistently. That's the only way. If you stop lifting weights, you lose the muscle. If you stop being in a calorie deficit, you gain fat. Like the consistency is the only thing that matters here. So if consistency is the key like the literal key to all of this?

Speaker 2: 16:45

Why do we dive in headfirst with something we can't do consistently? Why are we out here cutting carbs? Why are we out here cutting out processed foods that we know we can't or don't want to live without or we're going to put back into our diet 30 days after the challenge? Why do we try to go to the gym every single day when, realistically, we can only go three to four days a week? Why do we try to change everything at once every single day when realistically, we can only go three to four days a week? Why do we try to change everything at once? Why are we like I'm going to cut out the processed foods and I'm going to start eating things I don't like and I'm going to start using a meal plan and I'm going to start eating from a food list and I'm going to go to the gym every day and I'm going to wake up? Why do we start doing all of those things at once that we can't do consistently forever, when consistency is the only thing that's going to get us to what we want to look like forever? Why do we do challenges that are 30 days for what? Why do we do those things? Do you see what I'm saying. It doesn't make any sense.

Speaker 2: 17:41

And I had that epiphany. It was like I mean, I already knew this, right, but it was just like it came into my head, just like that today when I looked at the scale and I'm like God, good for you. You have been so calm and so consistent and you didn't give a shit about that number. You didn't let it change your mood, you didn't let it change your actions. You literally showed up day after day after day, christy, you fucking did what you said you were going to do. So, proud of myself for one, like mind blown a little bit.

Speaker 2: 18:12

And then I'm like, if that's what it takes, then why would I do a 300 to 500 calorie cut when I don't need to right off the bat? Why would I do these crazy things that I'm not going to do sustainably, like I'm not going to put myself in a 500 calorie deficit the week of Easter when I know I'm going to eat more than I should on Easter. I'm not going to do that anymore. It doesn't make sense. So if the goal is to lose as much weight and possible as possible in 30 days and then gain it back, go for it, right. If that's your goal, it's like man, I'm going to do this 30 day challenge, I'm going to get all this weight off, I'm going to restrict and I'm going to gain it right back afterwards. Then do the 30 day challenge right. If the goal is to rely on someone else forever, then keep doing a meal plan and keep eating from a food list and keep not understanding the journey. Keep purchasing things from people who are like this is the thing you need and trust me, and just eat from this list and do these workouts. Like then, do that. If you don't want to ever understand how to make this work, do that. If you want to understand it, work with someone who cares and who's going to teach you.

Speaker 2: 19:23

If the goal is to be skinny, fat and have no muscle on your body, then don't lift weights, but also don't say you want to be strong and be toned If you're not lifting weights. Right. What is the goal? What is your goal? My goal was to cut a little bit of fat off of my body before summer, before I really need to be in a bathing suit, honestly, and that was it. So I knew I had a couple of weeks. My goal was to do that sustainably. My goal was to still have some snacks in my life, to get through Easter, to really do it gradually and honestly. That was it. That was my goal.

Speaker 2: 19:55

What's your goal?

Speaker 2: 19:58

How do you want to do things? Do you want to cut fat? Do you want to build muscle? Do you want to just lose weight? Do you? What do you want? And then, what will get you there? If you want to be healthy and fit, you have to do shit that will make you healthy and fit. If you want to gain muscle, you have to lift weights consistently, and if you're not willing to do that, then find a different goal, because nothing else is going to get you there. You're not going to build muscle by running and going for walks, and you're just not. So you have to do it for longer than 30 days, for longer than six weeks, for longer than 12 weeks. I hate to break it to you Now I do have, like I used to have 12 week programs and I used to have a six week program, and I love those, for you know things like going into a cut for a couple of weeks or really pushing yourself for a couple of weeks, or I'm going to do some extra core work for a couple, like there are times when you can go all in on certain things and you I hope you know what I am talking about, what I'm saying consistently.

Speaker 2: 20:58

It's not that I never want I'm going into a cut right now Of course I am and then I'll be at maintenance and then I'll go into a surplus. It's not like I'm doing the exact same things consistently for the rest of my life. I have to pivot, but my goal is the same. I want to be healthy and fit. I want these numbers on my Renpho smart scale to be in the very healthy range and I'm going to have to do things. I'm going to have to grow muscle at times. I'm going to have to lose fat at times and I'm going to have to grow more muscle and I'm going to have to live in maintenance. I'm going to have to put my needs to the side and focus on my kids, right, I'm going to have to do certain things and put myself to the side and focus on my family again later in life. Like things are going to change, but the end goal is the same. So how can I make that work? And there are cycles and there are ways to do that.

Speaker 2: 21:42

But in this episode, what I just really want to drill in is, like maybe you need this epiphany too, like if your end goal well, whatever your end goal is I was going to say if your goal is, I was going to say an example. But whatever your end goal is, the only way you're going to get there and stay there is to do X, y and Z consistently. So chances are listening to this episode because you relate to me and what I talk about, fitness wise, is building muscle, losing fat, body recomp, being at a healthy weight, balancing your hormones metabolism like this general view of health. Right To do that. Balancing your hormones metabolism like this general view of health right To do that. You're going to have to build muscle, you're going to have to lose fat. You're going to have to build muscle, lose fat, like. Just continue to do that consistently.

Speaker 2: 22:28

So if that's you, stop doing the meal plans, stop doing the food lists, stop doing the 30 day challenges, stop cutting out all processed foods. Can you cut out some? Absolutely? Can you cut out certain foods that maybe you eat too much of, that you binge on, or whatever? Absolutely, you can do little things to help you get there, but stop the all or nothing mindset, thinking you're going to be able to do something forever. Right, I have to give up this to achieve this. Well, if you can't give up the first thing long-term, then you won't achieve what you want and keep it. And then what's the point of even getting it in the first place to me? I don't necessarily want to be healthy and fit for a week. I want to be healthy and fit for the rest of my life. So I'm going to choose to do things that have that end goal as the result.

Speaker 2: 23:22

So this is why you don't stick with something. I have a lot of people that are like man, I commit to something, I purchased a program, I hire a trainer, I have done all the things and I can't stick with it. I can't stick with it. Well, you've either purchased a program that wasn't right for you or you've hired someone that you couldn't be open with and say, hey, I can only go to the gym three days a week. So how do I do this? Yeah, it's going to take a little bit longer. Absolutely, absolutely. It took longer for me. If I would have cut 500 calories in the first week, I probably would have lost two pounds in the first week. I didn't want to do that. I could not do that long, long-term.

Speaker 2: 23:59

So what's the point, right? So if you probably not worked with someone or did a program in the past that you could stick to, and if you couldn't stick to it you thought you were the failure or the program sucked. You started something and you didn't finish it. Stop doing that. Stop signing up for things. Stop actually talking yourself into doing things that you can't do. And I'm not saying, I'm not saying only sign up for something when you think you're ready or only sign up for something when you can go all in, like that's the opposite of what I'm saying. Sign up for something now, buy a program now, hire a trainer now, because it's the knowledge, it's the habits, it's this kind of stuff that you need to learn along the way to make it really last. So I'm I hope that you're not thinking I'm saying like well, don't start something because you can't finish it. I'm saying start the right thing, start slower, like I did, and don't let anything. Don't let anything change your actions that day, don't let anything change your mood that day. Say this is what I'm doing for the next four to six weeks, regardless of the outcome, and I'll pivot after that, but until then I'm not doing a single thing differently. This is what I'm doing, but make sure it's maintainable, make sure that you can do the things for most of the days. Right? I said I was going to hit 12 K steps every day. I didn't, but I got closer than I would have if I wasn't trying. So I digress.

Speaker 2: 25:30

I hope that this really hit home for you. I hope it's something you needed to hear. I hope it's kind of a refresher and you know, a reminder, because that's really, really, really. I hope it's kind of a refresher and you know a reminder, because that's really, really, really what I want it to come across as I really want to unfuck your fitness. Like that is what all this is about.

Speaker 2: 25:48

I can't create episodes on something that's just meaningless. Like I need it to like hit home for you so that it changes, and I hope that this episode was exactly that. If you could do me a favor and share this episode with a friend, because we literally all need to hear it. I needed to hear it, too this morning. That's why I popped in my head Like why have I done all these things before, when this is. The only thing I needed to do was be consistent. So share this with someone who needs it. I appreciate it so very much. Sneak into my DMs and let me know if you love this episode and if you have any episode ideas, suggestions. I love to hear those too, and I'm working on a few of those now from those of you that have given me suggestions, and I'm super excited about those, and I will talk to you next week.

Speaker 1: 26:37

Thanks for listening to today's show. Go ahead and leave a rating and a review and, of course, follow the podcast so you don't miss out on any future episodes. And I would love it so much if you came to connect with me over on Instagram at Christy Castillo Fit. I will see you next time, thank you.