We are doing it all wrong.
Myself included.
We keep looking for the right plan.
I just need a better plan to follow.
I need a plan I can stay consistent with.
What’s the plan? Tell me the plan!
Even I’ve been known to say … you need to follow a plan that fits your lifestyle.
It’s. All. Wrong.
Actually, maybe wrong isn’t the best word choice here.
How about … ineffective.
One of the most popular lines that coaches love to say is …
The plan works if you work the plan!
Which is only partially true.
I witnessed this phenomenon on multiple occasions.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever lost weight before.
All hands should be up right now.
I’ve followed dozens of plans in my life and yeah, the plan worked when I worked the plan.
But this is the fundamental mistake that we’ve all been making.
It’s not the plan that needs to change. It’s not the plan that needs to be executed.
My mentor said something the other day that just slapped me right in the face.
“Things do not change when the plan changes. They change when the behavior changes.
If your behavior does not match the plan you are not gauging the efficacy of the plan. Outcomes / consequences are behavior-based, not plan-based.”
Mic-fuckin-drop.
Side note: Mentors and coaches (who actually know wtf they’re doing) are seriously the greatest life hack.
You’ll only get better results when you have a behavior change.
Anyway, did that just slap you in the face the same way it did to me?
All of those plans didn’t mean shit until my behavior changed.
I can follow any plan and make it work. And yeah, the plan “works” if you work the plan but then what??
That was always my issue in the past. I’d follow the plan but my fundamental behaviors never changed so it was fleeting. The results were temporary.
It’s not just a matter of being handed a plan. It’s not even about following a plan that fits your lifestyle.
It’s about your behaviors. It’s about changing your behaviors that support the outcomes you desire.
This is exactly why you hear me talk shit about programs like Optavia or 75 hard (plus many others) …
Because they are plans. They aren’t behavior-based.
It’s effectively … “Here, follow these rules.”
Cool … boxes checked, boxes checked, boxes checked.
What did you learn?
Well, I learned I can check boxes.
Great, and your behaviors?
They’re still the same so I’m going to default back to them once the plan is over.
Eating 800 calories per day of processed, soy-based crap isn’t a behavior change.
Doing an extreme challenge for 75 days isn’t a behavior change.
Here’s what behavior change actually looks like …
Becoming someone who chooses quality food most of the time because of how it makes you feel is a behavior change.
Learning how to eat mindfully is a behavior change.
Moving your body for the mental, emotional, and physical health benefits is a behavior change.
Incorporating outlets and ways of processing and managing emotions outside of food, drugs, and/or alcohol is a behavior change.
Being told what to eat is a plan.
Being told how frequently to move is a plan.
Being told what to do is a plan.
It becomes a behavior change when you connect the dots between the behaviors and your identity. Your behaviors and the future version of yourself. Your behaviors and how it makes you feel. Your behaviors and why they matter.
Let me drop this quote from my mentor one more time so it really sinks in …
“Things do not change when the plan changes. They change when the behavior changes.
If your behavior does not match the plan you are not gauging the efficacy of the plan. Outcomes / consequences are behavior-based, not plan-based.”
Did the lightbulb turn on?
