The Unf*ck Your Fitness Podcast

158. Preparing for a Successful ‘Cut’: Being Intentional + Building Sustainable Habits for Long-Term Success

• Kristy Castillo

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I don’t know about you, but mentally…I’m preparing for Spring!


Since we’re (hopefully) getting to warmer weather soon, this is a great time of year to start preparing for a ‘cut’. I’ve found that this is something many people think about too late though, so let’s talk about it (and plan for it) NOW, before summer arrives!


Before you even *think* about doing a ‘cut’, you need to consider 3 missing pieces: your habits, preparation, and intentionality. You’ve got to be both flexible AND realistic with your goals, and make sure they’re attainable for you in this season of life. 


I can’t stress enough that you should be building habits that are SUSTAINABLE - especially before you do a ‘cut’. We’re not trying to constantly do 30, 60, or 90 day challenges, and then start back at square 1 - no thanks!


There will be sacrifices (usually short-term), when you’re in a ‘cut’ phase. Ultimately, it’s up to YOU to make sure you’re truly ready to commit to those changes. 


If you’re ready to build a body (and life) that you love, I’d love to support you in doing so. There’s no better time, so let’s GO!!



In this episode, we cover:

  • Thinking and planning ahead of time vs. waiting until the last minute
  • Setting yourself up with sustainable habits BEFORE you start a ‘cut’ phase
  • Being flexible & realistic so you CAN be successful with your long-term fitness habits
  • 5 things to really consider when going into a ‘cut’ phase
  • Breaking down what your ‘trade-offs’ can look like
  • Why you need to make sure you’re *actually* serious about your fitness journey BEFORE hiring a coach or starting a workout program 


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Speaker 1:

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? Welcome?

Speaker 2:

to today's episode. I'm super excited. We are kind of headed into mental spring, I think. For me, anyway, it seems like going into March is a good time to kind of feel a little more optimistic, start thinking about being outside more, even though I live in Michigan and, honestly, it can really snow a lot here in March and it doesn't snow often in April, but we have gotten a lot of snow at once in April. So by no means am I here in Michigan out of the woods as far as winter and cold and maybe snow and ice and things of that sort.

Speaker 2:

But mentally I'm starting to think about and I have been for probably two weeks, you know being honest, kind of leading up to this, thinking about a cut and losing fat and you know coming down on the scale a little bit and kind of what that means, and so I am really excited to talk about this, because I think a lot of people miss the boat on this and they think they think about things too late, and so maybe this has happened to you, where it's May, right, and all of a sudden you're like oh, oh, shit, it's getting warm, now I need to lose weight, right, and you start doing it like in May or maybe April or whatever, but it's essentially too late, okay. So we think like, oh, it's summer, I'm putting on shorts today and, whoops, forgot to diet or forgot to cut, forgot to lose weight, forgot to start working out, forgot to do my New Year's resolutions, right. And so I was thinking about this in terms of myself, like cutting and I've done this, I've done that. Well, we've all probably done this year after year after year, where we don't pay attention to things until it's too late and then we try to lose weight. We don't like how we look and we're like stuck in that cycle, right, but I want to change the cycle so that, instead of that cycle, we are thinking about this ahead of time. That's something that I, as I'm kind of saying this, I'm like why aren't we thinking about things ahead of time? We're very much stuck in now, right, I'm very comfortable, let's say, through winter, right, I had a lot of clients who were like I'm tired, and me too, I have been so sick and with pneumonia, my breathing has been terrible, my energy has been terrible.

Speaker 2:

I've had headaches and nausea. I've been so sick. I've never been that sick for that long in my entire life, so it was awful. I haven't been able to build. I've hardly been able to eat. When I did get my appetite back, it wasn't for anything healthy. It's just been crazy.

Speaker 2:

But what I'm saying is a lot of times in winter we're like it's cold and I'm tired and it's dark and I don't have time and I don't want to get my steps in. And yeah, it is a season of kind of slumbering inward right and I don't think there's anything wrong with that. But it's the intentionality that comes with it. If we intentionally scale back and eat a little bit more and be comfortable and plan ahead and you know, honestly, just be intentional with winter that's one thing that I don't feel guilty about it but also be intentional going into spring. Spring's going to come. It comes every year around the same time. So let's not be surprised when that happens and think like, oh shit, I did it again. Well, you had some downtime in the winter to kind of plan for this right.

Speaker 2:

So I want to talk about setting yourself up for that. A lot of people miss that mark and this is the perfect time to set yourself up with habits going into a cut. And then I want to talk about whether you're setting unattainable goals for yourself, if that's honestly something that you're chasing, if it's something unattainable, then really recognize that and think about starting to set goals that are attainable, because you'll actually reach them, you'll actually gain momentum, you'll be motivated right, Chasing something unattainable and maybe you don't know it's unattainable but really sit down and think about whether you're chasing something unattainable, something unattainable and, like, as I'm talking through this, I think that will happen for you, naturally, as I talk through habits that you're going to need to change and possibly, probably things you're going to have to give up and change about your life. If you want fat loss and if you want weight loss, but you have to start it now, okay, so that's the premise of this episode and I'm really excited. So the first thing I want to talk about is not like every other podcaster or every other fitness influencer who's just like you're going into a cut and these are the things you have to do, right? I think it's really easy to say that and to talk about that and, yeah, a lot of people come to me and, of course, I have episodes on that topic of what you need to do to cut. I just walked through a couple weeks ago about surplus and maintenance and deficit, right Calories and the actual, tangible tips of that. But here's the thing If you don't have the foundation and you're not set up and ready to do those things, you can't.

Speaker 2:

You cannot just wake up one morning and start eating the right amount of macros and a deficit working out every not every single day, but every single workout that's on your calendar. You can't start to hit 10 to 12,000 steps. You can't start to hit your water. You can't do all of those things just one morning, instantly. And that's what we try to do. We start a program or we start with a coach and we think that person's going to help me be accountable to my workouts, my walking, my water, my macros, my move. You know all of the things instantly. Like instantly, something's going to click where. It's like oh, this program is going to change every single thing that I do in my body. That's not how it works. You have to make the changes and a coach and a good program is there to help you and teach you what those things are, to help you put them into your life so that you can execute them.

Speaker 2:

Okay, so that is the part that a lot of people miss. It's like here comes April, here comes May and we're like, oh shit, I'm looking for a 90-day program or a 30-day program or a quick detox because I waited too long and now I have a vacation booked for four weeks and I want to drop 20 pounds. That's where this shit tries to creep in, or does creep in, and then we're essentially screwed because that's not good for you and it's not even possible. Screwed because that's not good for you and it's not even possible. So we don't want to do that, right. But what the missing piece a lot of times is is that intentionality and the preparation and the habits. We forget that, the way to make this last long term.

Speaker 2:

Nobody has ever come to me and said okay, my goal for the next three months of working together, or six months, those are my options for coaching right now. Let's say so. I'm just kind of talking about those. No one has ever come to me and said my goal for the next three months is to lose 10 pounds, to tone up, build muscle, all these things. But right after I'm done working with you, I don't mind gaining all of that back and looking exactly like I do right now and feeling like I do right now. No, people come to me. They don't necessarily say I want X, y and Z and I want to keep it forever. No one says that out loud. Really, some people do actually Some of my ladies do. They're really great about that intentionality before they come to me. Thank you to this podcast for sharing the good word.

Speaker 2:

So when clients come to me, they're like okay, I know, I want this to last forever, so I know that, realistically, in these three months I need help setting up habits. I love that when a client says that to me, because that is exactly the shit that needs to be done and it makes me so happy. Actually, that happened with a client this week, last week, and I was like I love this for us. I'm pumped. But I'm pumped for all goals, don't get me wrong. But I'm like so pumped when someone's just like I want this to last long term, like when that comes out of their mouth, I'm like let's go.

Speaker 2:

But even if a client doesn't say that, I know that's what they want, right, I'm not stupid. Like I know, I know no one's going to come to me and be like well, out of this six months, I just want X, y and Z, and then I guess I'm fine with going back to normal, or I don't really care what happens after that. No, of course. Of course. What they want is to get the results and then keep them long term. That goes without saying, out loud to yourself, to anyone, right To a coach. It solidifies that like this is the long game. I'm doing this for long term and it changes the time frame literally and it changes the time frame in your mind. So you're not like God, I have got to in three months. I've got to. You know, lose X, y and Z pounds and tone up and all the things.

Speaker 2:

There's nothing wrong with having a goal. If you have a vacation, you want to look better, you're getting married, you have an event right, or you're just like listen, by this time I'm done fucking around. By this time and three months from now, I want to have habits in place, I want to look different, I want to feel different. That's great. There's nothing wrong with setting a timeline and a goal for yourself. So I'm not saying that. But you hopefully can distinguish the difference there of what I'm trying to say. You want that timeline, but then you also want to keep the results. It's not just that three-month period and then you're like, well, fuck the rest of my life. No, I get it right.

Speaker 2:

But what happens is not that. What happens is we wake up one morning and we're like, okay, starting Monday, I'm going to start losing weight and I'm never going to. You know, I'm not going to eat a carb again and I'm not going to eat these Oreos. I'm going to clean out my cupboards and I'm going to go for a walk and I'm going to hit the gym and I'm going to blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you think all these things are just going to change instantly on Monday. And it not because the program's not good, not because the coach isn't good, not because X, y and Z of those tangible reasons. It's because you weren't intentional with planning ahead and getting your habits in place.

Speaker 2:

If walking isn't a habit, if water isn't a habit, if movement and lifting weights and going to the gym and getting up early and prepping your food and tracking your macros I know that sounds like a lot and it is If those aren't habits for you, you're not gonna do it. Okay, it's not something that you think about consciously and even if you do, it's overwhelming If I think about each one of those things when I'm saying them out loud. Even I was like Jesus. That's a lot, but I do all that shit habitually every single day, just like I do a lot of other things habitually, like I start the laundry and I take a shower and I do my hair and I put on a little makeup and I brush my teeth and I wash my face at night, I make dinner, like there are so many things we do habitually because they're habits. These things have to be a part of your life. So we have to start now with setting up habits that will get you to your goals, and that's what I want to lay down. The foundation of right now is you need to start very slowly, intentionally, and take notes, if you can, and if not, go back and listen or just go through the transcript and kind of pull these things out. Right Now. There'll be some things in the show notes, of course, and all over my content on social media, but we have to start now.

Speaker 2:

Let's say you're listening to this, it's Tuesday, so for the rest of this week, I want your intention to be to drink more water. That's it. Once you get that habit down, start getting in more steps. That's it. Once you get that habit down, start getting in more steps. That's it. Once you get that habit down, start a workout program that you know you can stick to three days a week. That's it. Once you've got those three habits down, start tracking your food and then, after that you have all that down, and that's very habitual, it's very habitual and you're starting now. So, let's say, by the end of March you have all that down, and that's very habitual, it's very habitual and you're starting now.

Speaker 2:

So let's say, by the end of March you've got these things on habits. Are they perfect? No, but you're doing them. You have the action. So now we can clean them up a little bit. Now you can hit a water goal. Now you can hit a step goal over time. You don't have to do all that at once either. Right, we're dragging this out and it's fine, because all of these things are going to stack up, all these little choices, brick by brick. These choices are going to add up. They're going to stack up to results, these little things, even if you're not hitting a step goal, a water goal, a macro goal, you're just tracking and getting in more steps and being more intentional with it, right, but then you can clean it up. Like I said, you can start hitting 8,000 to 10,000 steps, or 10 to 12, whatever is increased for you. You can start hitting half your body weight in ounces of water a day. You can start hitting a certain amount of protein. You can start cleaning up those habits.

Speaker 2:

You have the habit of doing it and just going for a walk, whether it's 10 minutes, and then it can be 12 minutes the next week, and then it can be 15 minutes. Right, you have the habit of drinking more water. You have these habits. Maybe you have a checklist on your phone, maybe you set alarms, maybe you have visuals, you have sticky notes all over your freaking house and in your car, I don't care. Figure out how that piece works for you of where you think about it and you check it off like a to-do list. But then eventually it's like oh yeah, it's six o'clock at night. I'm going to go for a 10-minute walk around my kitchen island, on my walking pad, around the yard, whatever, right, I'm just getting up and walking for 10 minutes at six o'clock every single day. Six o'clock might be a very unreasonable time, but you get what I'm saying, okay.

Speaker 2:

So once you have those habits in place, then you can start cleaning them up and then you can start reaching goals and then you can start losing fat, gaining muscle and all the things. But you can't do those things unless it's a habit. Because that's the problem with a 21 day program, a 30 day workout program, a 90 day program yeah shit, you can do all that stuff for 21 days. If you're like I have blocked out the next 21 days, life is perfect. I have nothing going on no kids things, no work events, like nothing. My calendar is completely open for 21 days. So I'll do this 21-day program. I can hit my water, my steps, like I mapped it all out. Right, you've meal planned, you've got everything like set up, but what happens when it's 30 days or 60 days or 90 days or someone gets sick or whatever? Like you don't have the habit built?

Speaker 2:

And people say you've heard those quotes like takes 21 days to build a habit. I don't know who the fuck says that, but it does not. That is not true. It takes way longer than that to solidify it, right? Yeah, you can do anything for 21 days if you put your mind to it 75 hard. You can do anything for 75 days, if you really, really, really put your mind to it, that's great. If that's what you're looking for.

Speaker 2:

If you're looking to do something long term, I personally am going to advise you to not start like that and I'm personally just going to do that. Long term, I personally am going to advise you to not start like that and I'm personally just going to do that, because it doesn't work for me to start like that and it doesn't work for any of my clients, dare I say anyone that I've ever coached and worked with one on one or even in fit club or whatever. It's never worked for them to go both to the wall for 30 days or literally even a week, because it's not realistic. It's not realistic. A spouse is going to get sick, a family member is going to get sick, your kids are going to get sick, you're going to get sick, there's going to be work stuff. You're going to have a car problem, you're going to have a schedule conflict, something's going to happen. And if you think you're going to be doing this for 21 days straight, 30 days, 60 days, 90 days straight, 75 days, I can do this. It's going to be great and perfect. Good for you Like. Seriously, I hope that you follow through with that. I know those programs work for some people in that timeframe.

Speaker 2:

That's not what I'm referring to in this episode. I'm referring to setting up long-term successful habits, long-term successful results and a body you love and a life you love. So you can stop doing programs and you can stop doing all these fixes and you can stop thinking in terms of 30, 60, 90 days and you think this is the cycle that I'm going to be doing. Okay, so to wrap up that version, don't chase something unattainable as far as a time frame, a program, things like that. I want you to start messy. Start with what you have, start and mess it all up. Start ugly, right. Let's just start with the most ugly schedule and ugly thing where, like, I really didn't do my best today but I tried, right. That's how I want you to start. I don't want you to start when life is perfect and you have a deadline and things. I want you to just start right now, today, and do something 1% better, one thing better. That's how I want you to start, because that's how, honestly, that's how the rest of your days will be.

Speaker 2:

And once I realized for myself, like if my days can look messy and I can still get this done. That's how it's going to work, because I used to do these programs and try to set myself up for perfection and I had I was chasing unattainable goals physically, mentally. And like the program, I was chasing unattainable goals physically for my body, like that's not what I can look like doing these programs. I kind of wanted to look like I look now, but I was trying to lose weight and not build muscle and run. It was crazy. So it was unattainable with what I was doing. And then, like that program was unattainable, it was unattainable with my life, my lifestyle, what I wanted. It was just unattainable.

Speaker 2:

So chasing something that is attainable, like habits, is so much easier and so much better. So make sure what you're chasing is attainable. Set up these habits right now and I'm telling you, do not sleep on this. Do not think that I am crazy, do not think that you have time, do not think I'll start next week, do not think I need to wait until this is perfect. I need to get a better water bottle before I start increasing my water intake. Cool, if you want a new water bottle, I love my HydroDrag and go grab one, but at the same time, don't do that as well. Don't just chase something that's unattainable. Don't wait until life is going to be perfect because it's not Okay.

Speaker 2:

So to kind of wrap up that I want you to start now. I want you to really focus on taking messy action and setting up habits, because you cannot get the body you want without habits. You cannot Let me say that again you cannot get the body or the life or the job or the anything right. But physically right now, because we're unfucking your fitness, you cannot have the body you want without habits. You can't. Period, period, I'll die on that hill.

Speaker 2:

You have to have habits in place so that when your day is messy, when your day sucks, when you are tired, when you are sad, when you are sick, when you are okay within reason, you're still doing the things most of them anyway that are going to drive you to that healthy body. Okay, people that are healthy, people that are fit, people that are muscular, people that look good, people that you're like damn, I bet that person has more time than me and I bet that person right. You know the people. They don't. They just have better habits than you and they spent that time doing this messy shit, this messy action, doing it wrong. Their form sucked, their schedule sucked, their food tracking sucked, it all sucked. I was bad at all of that for years, but I showed up and did it anyway. That's what you have to do.

Speaker 2:

I cannot stress the importance of getting these habits in place before cleaning them up. Get your habits in place before trying to make them perfect and look like someone else's on Instagram because that person has been doing it for a very long time. Okay, so let's move on now to since it is cutting season ish. Once you get to and now I want to be clear on this once you have your habits in place and you're like okay, I am kicking some butt. I am walking my 10,000 steps, I am drinking my ounces of water, I'm tracking my macros, I'm hitting my protein, kind of going over and under on my fats and carbs, but Christy says that doesn't really matter. So we're fine, right, we're lifting weights, we're getting better at our form, we're perfecting it. Obviously, we go along. Things are looking good, right. We're like okay, I'm killing it. My habits are good, I'm feeling really good. I'm sending Christy a message on Instagram like hey, thank you so much for helping me. I feel so good. I've cleaned up my habits and I've lost X amount of weight already because I love those messages so much.

Speaker 2:

Now you can continue to do those things. You do not have to go into like a quote unquote cut, or quote unquote build or anything. You can continue to do those habits because if you're feeling good, you're probably having more energy, you're sleeping better, you have more free time because you've scheduled things. Things are going to start falling into place where you're like I feel good about this and then hopefully also your body is changing. You're building muscle, the scale is changing, whatever it is, you have some wins and you'll have a lot of wins if you really sit down and think about it. But you have these wins. You can keep going doing exactly that for as long as you want. There's no rule to like you have to cut and you have to maintain and you have to build.

Speaker 2:

I talk about that all the time because that's what people like to hear and they want to know and there's a lot of questions about those things and I love clearing that up and that's how I live. My life is in a cut and a build and a maintenance seasons and I'm going into a cut soon. So that's why I want to talk about this. I'm going to also get it. I am currently getting my habits in place because I lost a lot of them being sick. So I'm in habit stacking phase, right, and that's good, and I'm going to be talking about that a little bit more on social media the importance of getting your habits in place before. Even for me. I've been doing this for years and I'm still adjusting my habits Once you get to where you're like okay, I want to lose some weight, I want to lose some fat, I want to shred down for summer.

Speaker 2:

If you plan on taking that seriously and you really want to see results, if you're just like I'm going to try to do it be realistic is what I'm trying to say. Be realistic and I'm going to go through five things that you're going to have to give up, modify, change, think about that are going to have to sacrifice, they're going to suffer a little bit. Okay, if you're going into a cut phase and this is just the reality of the situation, let me be kind of clear about this first, too. When you're going into a cut phase, it's 12 weeks max, because a lot of us a lot of you listening are not in a place where your calories are high enough for you to be cutting for a very long period of time. I even have a lot of clients right now I'm working with Fit Club and one-on-one clients where they're like Christy, I heard your last episode Should I be cutting 300 calories off of 1,500 calories, 1,600 calories? And the answer is no, probably not. So if you're not ready to go into a cut phase, stay where you are. Do some things different, like work on these habits, work on being very intentional, and that can take a really long time. You can do that for a year, you can do that for years. It doesn't matter, right, there's no timeframe. This is for you. But if you are ready to go into a cut and you're gonna cut like 300 calories off of your wherever you're at right now, hopefully you've been tracking and you know where you're at. Talking to myself, I need to get back to tracking so I know where I'm at. Right now I'm just eating Post Malone Oreos and mini eggs and I'm loving every second of that, knowing that I'm going to be giving them up soonish. Okay, so number one of things you are going to have to give up. I'm just going to say these and then we're going to dive into them.

Speaker 2:

Number one food. When you are in a cut and this is just when you're in a cut I'm just talking about a cut and I'm specifically talking about cutting fat, okay, and cutting, yeah, that means weight loss loss. Of course, if you're going into a specific cut, you're going to have to sacrifice one food, obviously. Usually, anyway, if you can obviously work out more and you can obviously run, start adding cardio, you can obviously add in steps to get your calorie burn increased. That's a whole different conversation. But, to be honest, if you're going into a cut deficit calorie-wise, you're going to have to give up some food. It doesn't have to be 500 to 300 calories. We can offset that right. We can add in more steps and take away a little bit of food. Or you can take away a lot of food, or you can leave the food the same and add in a shit ton more movement, but chances are you're going to have to give up some food. So, fyi, big shocker there, I know, but if you're going to cut, you're going to have to give up some food.

Speaker 2:

Number two social events. Yep, you're going to have to give up some social events, because if you're serious about building a body you want, you're going to have to go to the gym and you're going to have to give up some food and you're going to have to go to the gym and you're going to have to give up some food and you're going to have to go to bed early and you're going to have to drink. Right, you're going to have to change your habits, change your lifestyle. So, social events, you don't have to give them up not all of them, and you don't have to give them up forever, but on occasion you're going to have to be like no God, I really can't go out tonight, I can't consume more alcohol, I can't go out for pizza, that's not in my macros and, yeah, I could go over. But then do I really want to go over? I promised myself I'm in a cut, I'm not breaking promises to myself. You're going to have to go through this little routine here of I'm going to have to give up this social event to go to the gym, because that's the person that I am now. So that's up to you, but that's something I want you to be aware of.

Speaker 2:

Number three it's going to cost you some energy. When you are decreasing calories or you're increasing movement, your calorie expenditure is different and you're going to be more tired. Chances are in a cut. Like I'm saying, I personally am giving up food Not all food. I'm giving up food forever. Sorry, no, but I will be cutting out some calories and giving up some food. Essentially so, energy comes to our body by way of food. So when I'm eating less food, I will then have less energy. So I need to be aware of that and know that by the end of the day, I'm going to be freaking tired, I'm going to be hungry and I'm going to want to go to bed. I'm just going be hungry and I'm going to want to go to bed. Like I'm just going to like. That's going to be the reality of the situation. Okay.

Speaker 2:

Number four is alcohol. I kind of touched on that. I cannot have alcohol tonight. I cannot go to this social event, right? Alcohol is going to be something you're going to have to give up at least a little bit, kind of think about it a little bit more. But that's something you're going to have to think about. Is not so much of that if that's something that you consume a lot of, and number five, your current lifestyle. Okay so, food, social events, energy, alcohol and your current lifestyle. If you're like girl, no, I'm not doing that, I'm not giving up all of that, I'm not giving. I'm certainly not giving up alcohol Like you no, that's not happening right.

Speaker 2:

If any of that stuff is going through your mind right now, I just want you to know it's going to be harder, it's going to take longer for you to get the body that you want, to have the habits that you want, the more that you're like. Oh my God, my best friend just invited me to dinner and I swore to God that I would not go out to eat this weekend. But she's my best friend and she wants to go have drinks and she's going through a hard time. Then go Go with your friend and that's great. We love that for us and we love friendships and we love that time. But it's a sacrifice. So it is what it is and I want you to be aware of that.

Speaker 2:

These are things that you potentially have to give up when you are considering going into a cut, because these are things that cost you either energy or they cost money that you maybe can save the money from a social event and spend it on healthier food or a gym membership right, this is the reality of getting cut. If you see someone's body and you're like that is the body I want, that is my expectation, that could be unattainable for you, is what I'm trying to show you. Okay, a lot of people that you see, and if it's someone that's really fit and they compete, they're a bikini competitor, they're a power lifter, they're X, y and Z. Right, that person gave up a lot of food choices that they're not eating post-millennials. I can tell you that right now, they're not going to a lot of social events. They don't have a lot of energy and what they do have, they're spending on movement and things that matter physically for their body. They're not drinking alcohol and their current lifestyle probably doesn't look like it would had they not chosen to live this lifestyle. Right, but essentially it is a different lifestyle.

Speaker 2:

People will shit on you. People will be like you're not coming to the party. You've come every single year for our entire life Since high school. You come to this party and you're not going to come. Or you're at the party and you're not drinking. Why are you not drinking? You're no fun, right, it's going to happen. So these are the things I want you to be aware of. And it doesn't have to happen all at once. It's not like all of a sudden, right On a Monday, you're now walking, tracking your macros, getting your workouts and drinking your water, and you're now not going to social events. You suck on energy no, alcohol, right, it doesn't happen instantly, but over time these things do have to change.

Speaker 2:

If you want your body to change, if you want your life to change and that's just the reality of the situation as we are unfucking your fitness right now, I can't stand here and say to you you can keep everything exactly like it is right, exactly like you're living right now. You can continue to do all those things and just change a couple things and drastically change your life and drastically change your body. No, I freaking wish, but that's not the case. If you are overweight, have no energy, are feeling really sluggish, hate the way you look in the mirror, hate the way your clothes fit and you're like dude, I don't like this at all for myself then you have got to stop living the way you're living, eating the way you're eating, drinking the way you're drinking, and you've got to make some changes. That's just the reality of the situation. I know it sucks to hear, it kind of sucks to say it because I know it's not fun, it's not sexy, but it's the reality of the situation. So if we dive into these things just a little bit further, right, just to make sure we're aware, hopefully we are at this point. But when? Further right, just to make sure we're aware, hopefully we are at this point.

Speaker 2:

But when you are going into a cut, yes, you don't have to all like. Your calorie deficit does not all have to come from food. Like I said, you can increase your movement and you can decrease your food a little bit. Play around with that and see how it goes. But the easiest way because it takes time to go for a run, it takes time to increase cardio, it takes time to go for a walk. Time to go for a run, it takes time to increase cardio, it takes time to go for a walk. So you either have to give up time to increase your energy expenditure or you can just cut out some calories. That's free and it doesn't take a lot of time to just not eat Oreos and not eat Cadbury eggs and track your macros right. So that's kind of the trade-off there.

Speaker 2:

Social events yes, you can go, obviously, but they're gonna look different. If you're like, no, I'm hitting my macros, I'm in a cut. If you're serious about it, because there were times where I was like I'm in a cut, but then I would go and be like it's okay, I'll go over my calories today, like, not a big deal. If you keep going over your calories, you at anywhere, at home or social events, if you don't change the amount of time you're going out, if you don't change anything, nothing's gonna change for me. I actually got a message from a God, I can't even remember where. If it was on my app or on Instagram, I'm sure you're listening and I'm sure you'll reach out. Was it on Facebook? I don't remember, but she was like you know, I kind of was thinking about why things are changing and I thought, duh, if you want something to change, you have to change something.

Speaker 2:

And it's not funny, but it kind of is. It's so funny that that's the last thing we think, like, oh, if I want something to change physically, I have to do something different. Duh, but that's like our last resort. We would rather try all this other stupid shit before we kind of do the obvious right. So it was just interesting.

Speaker 2:

I think it was in my Facebook group, I think it was on Monday, when I asked like what's new this week? But anyway, it's like I love those eye-opening aha moments because that happened for her. I didn't tell her that, like yeah, I'm saying that in this episode, but it doesn't hit you until it hits you right in the face and you're like, oh my God, duh, when it happens for you and you get that reality check on your own, that's when it matters. I can say this shit until I'm blue in the face, but when it happens to you in that moment you're like, oh my God, she's right, I haven't actually changed anything. I'm just kind of saying that I'm changing things or trying or planning and procrastinating. I actually have to change something. Duh, right. So try that route.

Speaker 2:

But if you're just going to all these social events and giving in every single Friday, that's not going to work. Energy yes, you're just going to have a little bit less energy, which is why I don't want you doing it for more than 12 weeks, because then your metabolism tanks, your hormones tank. That's not good. So we only want to do that for 12 weeks max for a cut, and then you're back at maintenance and we're doing the cycle again. Right, goal is to get that out and to focus on that. So when and that's just kind of like scientific you see all this stuff about it, if you look into it, your body can't. Yeah, obviously, after that toxin is gone, your body will go ahead and start fat loss again and like all the things. But when there is a toxin in your body, your body's first focus is this is not good for us. We have to get this out of here. We have to focus on this. Your body is not focused on fat loss, muscle gain, anything except for getting that toxin out of your body.

Speaker 2:

So it's more than just calories. It is calories, yes, and when you are drinking alcohol, you're more likely to stay up later and have fun and be like oh fuck it, I'm going to have some chicken tender. That's what I always say. It's kind of a joke between my friend Jenna and I that when I was drunk I would be like I want chicken, I want chicken tenders. So, anyways, shout out, jenna, if you're listening. But when you're drinking right, you're like it's fine, no big deal, because you're not thinking straight, so then you're eating more and then your sleep sucks and then you have a toxin in your body. It's recipe for disaster. So start to give that up a little bit if you want change Again. I know that it sucks to hear this, but it's the reality of the situation.

Speaker 2:

And then, lastly, your current lifestyle. If your current lifestyle has gotten you overweight and tired and sad and hating your body, then we can't live like that anymore and we have to make changes. And the way that I've set this up for you, where you are intentional about making your choice and like I'm actually sick of living like this and I'm done, but I want to get out of it slowly, so that I love myself through the process, so that I can sustain these habits. So you're intentional about your choice and then you set up better habits right, Replace your bad habits with good ones. Replace your bad food choices with good ones. Replace sitting your ass on the couch all night scrolling Instagram with going for a walk. Maybe you walk on your walking pad and you're still scrolling Instagram, so you're doing it very slowly. Or go outside and not scroll Instagram and just go outside for a walk when it's warm, right, but you do not have to give up all of those things.

Speaker 2:

And you do not have to give up all of those things forever. They can come back in. You get to eat more, you get to go to more social events, you can drink alcohol again. You'll have more energy when your calories go back up, but for a cut. These are the things you're going to have to give up.

Speaker 2:

And if you're not willing to do that, then don't say you're going into a cut, because then you'll say I failed, I suck, I can't do this. This isn't for me. I'm stuck in this body forever, poor me. Right? Then you get stuck in this cycle and it's like no, you're fine, just make the choice. Right now, I'm not willing to give up Post Malone, oreos and Cadbury eggs, so I'm not going into a cut right now, but when I'm ready to do that, I will. Does that make sense? You have to be ready, and if you're not ready, don't hire the coach, don't start the program. It's fine. If you're not ready, own that. That's actually really good for you to say, no, I'm good right now, I'm going to start this in April. Own that and tell me like. I'm not doing that right now I'm not ready, that's fine.

Speaker 2:

But for those of you that are ready to at least be intentional and start going that direction Now let me go back one second. I don't care if you're ready to start new habits and start messy, I want you to do that regardless, because if you're listening to this, you do give a fuck about your health and I do want you to start your habits. But if you're not ready to cut, then don't. But everyone needs to be ready to make better choices and to do things that you can drink more water, you could go for a walk, let's be real, okay. So those things, no, I don't care. If you're ready for those things, we're going to do that regardless. But as far as like really really changing your body physically is start surplus and putting on muscle mass and cutting and cutting body fat, you do have to be ready. Those are lifestyle changes and if you're not ready for those things, totally fine.

Speaker 2:

Not everyone is. I have ladies that come to me and they're like I want to cut fat these next three to six months. I want to cut fat and I want to work with you and do it. I'll look at their calorie intake and say you're not ready to do that. You're not eating enough, you don't have enough muscle mass. We have got to do a couple things first, for three months, six months, and then you can cut.

Speaker 2:

So it's just being realistic. I'm not going to set someone up. I'm not going to have them chase a goal. That's unattainable, not with me, not while they're paying me. That's crazy, because that's not going to work. I can't get those results for them even in that time frame, let alone forever. So there's not really any point in kind of going for that full force. So I hope this episode was helpful. I know that was kind of a lot, but it's really, really important for me to get it all out there and to say all the things and to really set you up for success. So I hope you have a great week, start some new, better habits, even if they're messy, and I'll talk to you in the next episode.

Speaker 1:

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. Bye.