The Unf*ck Your Fitness Podcast

163. Unf*ck Your Mindset: Focus on Fitness Gains, Not Losses

• Kristy Castillo

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I’ve got a simple + powerful mindset shift for you in today’s episode!


When it comes to your fitness journey, it’s sooo easy to think about all that you’re losing. Maybe you’re cutting out certain foods and drinks during a ‘cut’ phase (what I’m doing right now to prepare for summer), not going out for special occasions as much, etc. - you get the picture.


Instead of focusing on all that you’re losing or giving up right now, focus on all that you’re gaining! It doesn’t have to be a super negative, ‘woe is me’ situation, because there can be so much GOOD on the other side of what you’re doing!


You are in charge of how you want to look and feel, and it’s important that this is in alignment with your fitness goals. When you’re following a plan or program that is realistic & sustainable for YOU, then you’ll stay committed, trust the process, and actually enjoy the journey more.


It’s time to flip the script and unf*ck your mindset, because you’re gaining so MUCH on your fitness journey. You’ve got this!!



In this episode, we cover:

  • Shifting your mentality from what you’re losing on your fitness journey to instead, what you’re gaining
  • Choosing how you want to look & feel + aligning this with your goals
  • Realizing that your sacrifice(s) won’t be a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’
  • Why the physical aspect can be super motivating


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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. What's up?

Speaker 2:

Welcome to today's episode. We are going to be talking today about a simple little mindset shift that I think can make a huge difference in your journey, and I talk about, obviously, a lot the part of the mindset being so important and almost just as important as your actions, because wherever your mind goes, your body will follow, and so it's really important to have this piece in place of keeping yourself focused on the right things. And so today I want to talk about the concept of thinking about what you gain rather than what you're losing in this journey, because it's really easy to start a fitness program or even just like right now I'm going into a quote unquote cut phase, I guess, kind of easing my way in, and it's really easy to think about how, in the beginning I'm really excited. I'm excited to look better and feel better and lean out and see some progress physically and on the scale and mentally, just going through these changes of the cutting and finding different staple foods and all the things that are going to be annoying in a couple of days after I start. But in the beginning it's super fun and I'm excited to cut, and you were excited to start a new program, right, everything is exciting and we get ready and we plan, we have it all kind of visioned out like it's going to be perfect and for whatever reason, but we do, we look forward to it and then about three days in, it kind of sucks and we start to think about all the things that we're missing out on and all the things that we can't eat anymore, and all the time that I used to spend sitting down scrolling on my phone or watching a TV show, and now I have to get up and go for a walk or go for a little jog or do a workout. I have to make sure that these things are happening.

Speaker 2:

And it can feel a lot, like I said a few days in it can feel a lot like you're missing out and like you're losing out on things. And so, instead of that mentality of what am I missing out on and what am I losing, like the negatives, thinking about what you're gaining, and so for me, honestly, in this cut phase of things, it feels kind of frustrating because I'm now saying no to some Cadbury eggs and I'm like I just said, I'm saying no my work schedule and how I'm taking calls. I've had to revamp my work schedule so that I can fit in certain things that I want to get done, like I want to get my steps in, I have to get my workout in, I have to plan certain foods Life looks different this time of year anyways, with sports and things that are just different but I had to plan a couple things differently and that can be annoying. It's not always like what we're losing. It's also like that negative feeling that comes along with it, like oh, this is kind of annoying. I'm going to start having to get up early and get my workouts in again. That's annoying. I'm losing out on sleep. I'm going to have to start planning my macros a little bit better during the day because I need to cut out some carbs and some fats, because I'm cutting out some calories and I'm not taking away from my protein. So that's kind of annoying. It's not like I'm losing out on much except literal carbs and fats, but it's annoying.

Speaker 2:

So don't think of it as a literal what am I losing and what am I gaining? You can at times, but also it's the negative parts that I'm missing out on or that I feel like are frustrating or that I just don't want to do. Instead, think about what am I gaining? What am I getting? How good am I going to feel? What am I achieving Right?

Speaker 2:

So it's a lot of that kind of stuff, and so it's really important because on the days when I don't want to get up early and work out, or I don't want to get up and go for a walk or it's kind of you know, it's kind of chilly, or I literally just tired, or I'm making excuses, or I don't want to get my workout in, or I don't want to plan my foods, or I do want to eat Cadbury eggs and Oreos and I can't because it's not my macros and I'm, you know, said I was going to stick to things, what I have to think about, instead of, like, bartering with myself or instead of talking myself out of it, or instead of kind of sulking in that, oh poor me, poor me, what I can do is quickly flip that around and say, okay, well, you're not having the Oreos, so shut the cupboard and walk away, period, and then kind of follow it up with, because I want to look so good, I want to feel so good, I want to feel so lean, I want to do what I said I was going to do, right, I want to keep promises to myself and I really honestly just want to look better and feel better the summer, like my current body, is not going to fit into the shorts. I want to fit into this summer and that would be okay if that was the goal. But my goal every year is to obviously have a build phase, have a cut phase, reveal some muscle in the summer and then build some more muscle and fat, you know, in the fall and the winter. So it's, I've kind of set that up for myself on purpose. So I want to follow through with that. I could say no, I'm actually perfectly happy with my body how it is, and that would be fine and that would be my choice, and I could buy clothes to fit this current body, but that's not what I want to do. So, first of all, it's kind of making that choice of like what do you want to do, how do you want to look, how do you want to feel, how do you want to eat? Right, I always talk about making this line up with your goals and so it's. That's another interesting piece I guess we can touch on really quick.

Speaker 2:

Is no one's making me do this as far as my own journey? And, honestly, no one's making you do this in your journey either. You have chosen to lose weight, you have chosen to body recomp, you have chosen to work out. You have chosen to do these things. No one has done that for you. And if they have that kind of sucks because it's easier to follow through with something that you've chosen and you've decided to do and you've committed to and you've said I can stick to this it's a little harder when, okay, let's say you went to the doctor, right, and they're like you have got to get off 20 pounds, it's critical for your health, like you have got to do this. I understand that's kind of a different situation. Or maybe someone saying to you listen, you've got to do something with yourself. That should be kind of shitty. But let's say it's an actual valid reason that someone's pushing you into doing this.

Speaker 2:

Or if you're like, hey, I really need to lose weight, can you help me? And someone's like, yeah, here's your plan, let's go follow it. I'm now holding you accountable. You came to me and asked no-transcript, get up and do the workout or stick to my macros if I couldn't sneak in little treats and things like that. So there's a huge difference between, hopefully, you committing to this and deciding for yourself that, yes, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to increase my steps. Workouts can stay the same. I'm going to see how that works for a while on the scale and physically, how I look and feel, and then, if I don't love the progress that I'm making there, I can cut back on some calories and just kind of take, take it slow, like I talk about all the time. Hopefully, that is what's happening and that is what you've committed to for this spring and, honestly, for your entire journey.

Speaker 2:

That's a really important piece, because when I have to say no to some foods, or if I have to get up off the couch and go for a walk, or I need to get up and do a workout, it's because I wanted to do that, it's because I want to do that, so it makes it easier to do it. But that's another thing that kind of comes into play instead of thinking about what you're losing, focusing on what you're gaining, also think about you chose to do this, you want this, you ultimately signed up for the coach, you signed up for the program, you decided, yes, I will do this. And maybe you did decide to do something that you couldn't stick to, and maybe you do need to kind of look at your programming and think about how you can figure out a way to make it something you will actually stick to. That's a really important thing. That I work on with my own one-on-one clients is like okay, this is what it's going to take for you to get the body that you want, but you don't have to do that all at once. How is that going to fit into your life and kind of make that work, because it makes it a lot easier when it's achievable. But also, instead of just thinking all the things you're missing out on and all the food you quote unquote can't have, and all the times that you don't want to go for a walk and you have to, it's really easy to sit there and just go down this cycle of suck. I call it right. You just have my Oreos. What's one more day of just eating like shit? Is it really going to make that big of a deal, right? Instead, think of okay, even last night I did this.

Speaker 2:

I brushed my teeth pretty early so that I would stop eating. By pretty early, I mean like 9 pm, which is pretty early for me. But I had already had all my food for the day and I wasn't hungry, so I didn't need to eat. But that's the time of night when I want to just snack. So last night I chose to just brush my teeth and call it good.

Speaker 2:

I was going to have to go to bed a little hungry, because I don't go to sleep till like 1030 on a good night. But I knew I was going to have, I knew I'd be hungry or by that point in the night and I would usually grab something to eat. So I just brush my teeth and I thought, okay, I'm done. But for me I had to say, okay, when I get up in the morning, the scale might not be down, but it definitely won't be up either. So I had to use the scale as kind of a little, as kind of a gain as like, what am I going to gain? Well, I'm not going to eat again tonight, even though I really want to, because what I would have eaten would have been either some Cadbury eggs or probably some chocolate rice cakes, which either one of those are fine, but that I didn't need them. I didn't need either one of them in the day because I'd already hit my macros. I certainly didn't need them at 1030 at night, just for no reason. So I'm going to have to go to bed hungry.

Speaker 2:

I'm not really used to that, because I've been building and kind of just eating whatever I wanted, within reason of course, but kind of whatever I wanted. I didn't really have to keep an eye on it because I'm I was in a build phase. Now I'm kind of cutting out of that and so I thought, okay, you're going to have to give up this. But in the morning, when you get on the scale because I am actually getting on the scale every morning now, which is new for me, but I do that in a cut phase just to kind of keep myself mentally on track, make sure I'm not losing too much muscle, make sure I'm only losing fat. Honestly, the scale hasn't moved at all in the last week, but that's fine. But I did literally, I think, out loud, even said to myself while I was brushing my teeth in the morning the scale won't be up, and that was like that was a win, like that was a gain.

Speaker 2:

So telling myself out loud sometimes certain things you're not gonna have these Oreos. Walk away from the cupboard, you're gonna go for a walk instead, because that's what you said you're gonna do. You're going to do this workout because you want muscles, like you're gonna get off the couch. Do this workout because you want muscles Like. It has to be kind of a give and take, so it doesn't have to be like a cheesy. Don't focus on what you lose, focus on what you gain. I like the cheesy part of it too. That's fine.

Speaker 2:

But ultimately, whatever you have to think about, whatever you kind of have to commit to and if this is an actual list of things like okay, I want to look good in these shorts this summer. I want to look good in a bathing suit. I want to feel confident in a bathing suit. If I cut now for six weeks during summer, I'll be able to maintain eat a little bit more, look and feel good and have some leeway at family barbecues and parties and stuff, right. But if I don't do that now, I'm going to have to sacrifice later. Either way, it's going to be a sacrifice at some point in time. It's kind of a when. So for me, the when is now. I'm going to have to sacrifice now and I'm going to have to take these little wins and take these little gains and think about those types of things.

Speaker 2:

And a lot of it right now for me is physical, because I'm not talking about the food freedom piece. I'm not talking about what you're going to gain from hitting your macros. I'm not really talking about the long-term pieces and kind of those extra and those are the really really good. Those are the most important parts of your journey right. But right now for me and this is for me, like I said, if you need to make a list of things you're going to gain from and being in your fitness journey, that can be on those. You can gain food freedom. You can gain getting carbs back into your diet. You can gain confidence. You can look and feel better right, you can understand your macros. You can never have to diet again Like there's so many things that come along with this that you can gain.

Speaker 2:

I just feel like right now, a lot of us, and especially my one-on-one clients and myself, we're in a cut phase and so I've been talking about this a lot with clients and they're like, oh my God, I'm going to have to give up my afternoon snack whatever it is, my afternoon candy bar or whatever. We're kind of working on their macros and you're going to have to give up your morning sleep in. You're going to have to get up 20 minutes earlier to jump on the treadmill for 15 minutes and get a walk in, get a thousand 2000 steps in before work. You're going to have to give up some sleep so you can get some steps in, so that you can lean out, so you can lose, lose some weight, so you feel good in your shorts. You see what I'm saying. It's kind of like these. Each step is like okay, but I have to give up some sleep, or I'm going to have to give up some Oreos, or I'm going to have to give up this TV show, or I'm going to have to give up this. I don't, I almost want to quit, like, I don't want to do this anymore, I don't want to give up this thing, or I don't want to give up this feeling.

Speaker 2:

Instead of thinking about that, what feeling are you gaining? What physical attribute are you gaining? And right now, for me, I'll be honest, it's almost purely physical, and that's not. Most of my journey isn't like that. A lot of what I talk about for myself has been gaining confidence and keeping promises to myself, gaining confidence in my body and just figuring out this journey, and that's so great, but I would be lying to you if I didn't say a lot of this is physical for me now, because I have physical goals, and a lot of that includes cutting some fat off of my body right now, and that's the literal goal. That's how I set it up. So if I'm going to be mad at anyone for that goal, it's me, because I set up my year so that I build muscle and put on a little bit of fat in the fall and winter, so that I can cut that fat in the spring and reveal more muscle, more muscular, tone-strong body. It's a smaller body, though, so I set it up this way.

Speaker 2:

I can't be pissed at a coach. I can't be pissed at anyone because I set it up this way. Same for my clients. They can't be pissed at me because we got on a call and said, hey, are you okay with this plan? And they said yes, so they understand too. It's not like my fault and of course I'm only trying to help them, but when I say, like you can't be pissed at your coach, like you can't because you committed to it, you said, yep, this will work, I can do this and you can do it. It's just easier to do it when you're thinking about the fun things that come along with it, how you're going to look, how you're going to feel, you're going to be proud of yourself and you're going to fit into your clothes better, which is a win-win, if you ask me. So this is just kind of a short, sweet spicy not a whole lot of depth to this episode, but that's okay, because sometimes it really is all about the physical piece, or that quick piece to just say, okay, I do not want to go for a walk right now, but God damn it, I said I was going to and I really am literally not going to fit into these shorts this summer if I don't get my ass up and go for a walk.

Speaker 2:

It can be as simple as that Not focusing on ugh, how do I feel, what's that feeling I'm losing out on? Or what's that feeling I'm missing out on, what am I losing? Right, it can be about what am I gaining, what do I want, how do I want to feel, and not getting stuck in those little cycles and those little rabbit holes of that negativity and focusing on what you're losing. It can be a quick shift of nope, these are the things I'm gaining. These are the things I want, and it's okay if they're physical. It's okay to be like no, I do want to lose weight. I do want to fit in my clothes. I do want to look like a badass. I do want to feel sexy. It's okay to be like no, I do want to lose weight. I do want to fit in my clothes. I do want to look like a badass. I do want to feel sexy. It's okay.

Speaker 2:

That's okay to feel that way, and a lot of times, that physical stuff is what fuels me to get off my ass. Right. Those physical things can be very, very motivating when you're like if I sit here and I don't work out, I'm not going to grow any muscle, I'm not going to look like a badass unless I get up and go build some muscle. Right. No one can do that for you. That's all on you, unfortunately, and that's all on me. But it's the best feeling when you do it, because physically you look better, you feel better and mentally you're like I did the damn thing. No one did it for me, I did it myself. So focus on what you're gaining in this journey, way more than what you're losing in this journey, and you'll go a lot further, trust me. All right, I hope you enjoyed this episode and I will 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.