Doing everything right may be preventing you from reaching your goals.
Sounds strange, I know, but hear me out …
We work with some incredibly impressive and badass individuals at POP.
Successful careers, holding down the family, managing the household, and busting their asses inside and out of the gym to be healthy and fit.
Often times, they come to us frustrated as all hell because their determination and goal-driven attitude has worked in every other area of life but it doesn’t seem to be working with their fitness.
They check all the boxes. They do exactly what they’re supposed to do … and then do even more.
And the results just aren’t there.
What they see is …
I’m eating in a calorie deficit, I’m training 6 days per week, I’m doing cardio 3-4 days per week … I should be crushing my goals.
It doesn’t make sense to them.
What we see is …
Too much stress can interfere with progress.
Stress + stress + stress = not making progress.
Which makes perfect sense to us.
Oh, and let’s just add on the fact that they typically have a stressful job and are dealing with the regular stressors of life. Ya know, like a needy husband and kids ;).
So in reality it’s stress + stress + stress + stress + stress = not making progress.
The amateur equation to use for results is calories in vs. calories out.
If you are only interested in a very short term outcome, sure, go for it.
Only focus on calories, eat less, move more, and you’ll absolutely see short term movement.
In fact, you’ve probably already done that about 100 times before.
Interestingly enough, it didn’t get you the long term results you were looking for.
That’s because it’s not designed that way.
The formula that matters for health and long term results is …
Stress in vs. stress out.
At its core, your metabolism is a stress barometer. Not a calorie calculator.
Calories simply contribute to the equation. They aren’t the whole equation.
We can use calories as one tool to tilt the stress equation in our favor.
If you’re under a lot of stress and not seeing the results you desire, we can use calories as a way to reduce stress vs. adding to it.
For example, eating in a deficit = stress.
Eating at maintenance = stress reduction.
We can also use food quality the same way.
Eating poor quality food = stress.
Eating nutrient dense food = stress reduction.
Then there’s the training side of things which is always a stressor.
So when you’re constantly adding more days to your workout schedule … you’re effectively adding more stress.
Which isn’t good or bad (without context), it simply is.
The awareness key is understanding that additional stress comes with additional requirements for recovery.
It’s easier to recover from 3 days per week of training than it is 4 or more.
Same thing with added cardio. More stress with more recovery requirements.
Now, if we look at all the various sources of recovery in your life, you may be able to get away with more training and more cardio.
Sources of recovery might look like … walking, breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, journaling, stretching, sleeping like a champ, sauna, massage, cold therapy, grounding, sunlight … just to name a few.
What we often see with our busy professionals is the scale is heavily tilted towards the stress side of things vs. the recovery side of things.
Which is why doing everything “right” is preventing them from making progress.
Not only that, but they are such motivated and driven individuals that the sheer fact they are trying so hard and not making progress increases their frustration which contributes to even more stress.
You see how this cycle perpetuates itself?
The other challenge is that these types of people are often pretty stubborn.
I don’t mean that in a bad way.
I simply mean they don’t like asking for help. They’re independent and feel like they can figure everything out on their own.
So once they reach the point of asking for help, you know shit has gotten really bad.
Personalized nutrition coaching can turn things in the right direction.
The first thing we do with them, they typically don’t like to hear it.
Cut back on cardio, eat more, insert more recovery habits.
Basically … do less.
And they love to negotiate this process. Wait, what if I just cut my cardio back by 1 day? And I’ll only workout for 70 minutes instead of 80. Deal?
Ummm, no.
You tired of being frustrated that nothing is working? You tired of banging your head against the wall? You tired of feeling like your physical results are out of your control?
Thought so. How about we do this for a week and see how you feel. Fair?
Fair.
That’s literally all it takes.
Because once they see and feel the difference, they’re completely bought in.
Holy shit, you won’t believe what happened!
Let me guess, you actually felt real energy for the first time in a while and you got leaner by doing less and eating more.
Yes! How’d you know?
I dunno, it’s almost like we’ve done this thousands of times lol.
Our coaching program teaches people how to balance the stress equation in their favor.
Now, it’s not all smooth sailing from there.
Goal-driven individuals are wired differently so once they start to see progress, their instincts tell them to push the gas pedal again.
As the results begin to happen, they have to resist the urge to keep adding and doing more.
That’s where coaching is imperative.
There’s a time to push the gas pedal and there’s a time to simply take your foot off the brake.
We phase things appropriately based on how we can tilt the stress equation in their favor to continue to achieve sustainable results.
It’s incredibly effective.
There’s a reason why our success rate is as high as it is. There’s a reason why our 1 on 1 clients lose an average of 20-30 lbs. of fat in 6 months and have total confidence in maintaining those results forever (or continuing to make progress).
There’s a reason why we’ve helped so many individuals go from lean to leaner. Lose the last 10 lbs. that were frustrating as hell. Or simply learn to maintain without obsessing or removing all fun in life.
The stress equation is another way of explaining Metabolic Priming.
Again, if you know that your metabolism is a stress barometer and it’ll adjust to inputs and outputs accordingly, then we also know your body has to feel safe if you want it to consistently and predictably let go of body fat.
That’s why this phase is so important to your overall success.
We pair that with our Neurotyping principles so we have a plan that matches your personality and your nature. And we integrate the process into your lifestyle so you can do this forever while still enjoying yourself.
And the results speak for themselves.
Day in and day out … the results keep pouring in.
Just last night I overhead Mel doing a check in with a new client who is already down over 10 lbs. She came to us feeling like nothing worked for her. Well, clearly something works, she just needed a little guidance on the right direction for HER.
Simple and effective. That’s how we roll.
