Practice makes permanent.
The old saying, “practice makes perfect” misses the mark, in my opinion.
Because what if you’re practicing the wrong shit?
I think “practice makes permanent” is a bit more accurate.
Consider this …
Most people practice dieting pretty frequently.
Do they become perfect with their nutrition?
Or, do they become perpetual dieters who have a hard time when they’re not dieting?
Usually it’s the latter.
You’ve probably practiced restriction already.
You’ve probably practiced depriving yourself already.
You’ve probably practiced a reliance on discipline and willpower already.
So why are you surprised that you always default back to the same things?
Practice makes permanent.
Interestingly enough, the problem for most is not attaining their goal of fat loss.
It’s maintaining it.
Imagine if those very same people practiced maintenance more than they practiced dieting.
If you want to reverse the trend …
It stands to reason that you have to practice something different than what you’ve been doing all along.
The question becomes … what should I be practicing that will make maintaining my results easier and permanent?
I’m glad you asked.
Let’s invert the problem.
What if we approached this from the perspective of …
How can we make maintaining our results increasingly more difficult?
Then do the opposite.
Practice these things and maintaining results will be more difficult
Time to dive in …
1. Extreme changes
You want to make it damn near impossible to maintain your results?
Do extreme shit.
Slash calories really low. Cut out entire food groups. Swear to yourself that you’ll never eat ____ food again.
Try to fix everything all at once.
Who needs 1-2 small changes at a time? It’s all or nothing!
2. Rely on cardio
Being dependent on cardio is a great way to make maintenance more difficult.
Your body gets more and more efficient with calories the more cardio you do.
Which means that you burn less calories for the same amount of cardio!
How fun is that?
Strength training makes your body inefficient with calories but remember … we’re trying to make things more challenging, so …
Cardio FTW.
3. Avoid accountability and/or a coach
There’s a whole body of evidence that highlights the positive impact that accountability and quality coaching can have on your ability to show up for yourself.
But, since we’re trying to AVOID showing up for ourselves … it’s helpful to fly solo.
There will be days when you don’t feel like working out.
There will be days where you make several poor choices and you find yourself spiraling out of control.
Those are the moments when you can count on your own emotional instability to pull you through.
Who needs an objective perspective, empathy, tough love, or expert guidance?
That shit is for the birds.
4. Major in the minors
Rather than mastering the basics over a long period of time …
Get really caught up in all the advanced strategies and minutiae.
Obsess over how many meals per day you should eat.
Hyper focus on the timing of those meals.
If you can’t eat your post workout shake exactly 37 minutes after your last rep …
It’s acceptable to flip the fuck out and go on a tirade.
Are you even fit, bruh?
5. Crave instant gratification
You want to make maintenance insanely difficult and frustrating?
Demand your results right now!
There is no delaying gratification in the game of life.
You need your results like yesterday.
Come up with a definitive start date and end date.
Put all of your energy and attention on the finish line.
Screw the process. Screw compound interest. Screw a lifestyle.
This shit is about being entitled to results in a moment’s notice.
If you follow these steps above, you’ll succeed at forever struggling to maintain your results.
Of course, you can always do the opposite.
But be careful …
Practice makes permanent.
Unless you want to permanently be fit, confident, and fulfilled …
Don’t do it.
Sometimes it’s more fun to keep doing the same shit you’ve always done and then complaining that you’re not where you want to be 😉
