Your next level self

Do you every think about losing weight?
Getting lean?
Seeing your abs?
Getting healthy?

What does it take to get that?
It takes a whole lot more than you are doing now.

Sorry if that sounds harsh.   You probably want to stop reading now!
Hear me out.

I’m a comfort zone person. I actually dislike change. I’m not thin, I’m not athletic, I struggle with binges, I would sell my soul for cupcake icing. I’m never ever freaking satisfied with my physique. I never have been. I just never could find it within my self to master the stuff that held me back.

I have never once minded working hard. I will kick azz at any time or place.  I just never worked hard enough on the things I needed to change to reach my goals. That would have meant leaving my comfort zone!

Mastering the stuff you are no good at
I’m going to get to the point.  There is something you don’t have the skills to accomplish the goals you want.  There is something that you haven’t put the time /effort in. You have made excuses as to why you can’t do it.
In your heart, you know what it is. This is the time to stop making generic resolutions and focus on that issue.

For most of my clients and myself, it’s the food.  Studies have shown that more people would rather learn to do their taxes than ‘learn’ how to eat for their physique goals.

What is it about the food? Do you suffer from FOMO? Fear of missing out?   Sometimes clients tell me,
I want to see my abs, I need to do more ab work.
Once again, trying to throw the same old solution that hasn’t worked thus far at the problem.

My answer:  You need to get your food right.
You know in your heart that abs are not going to show up while you are posting giant margaritas on Facebook. You have to decide that mastering your food means that you will get what you want and you will give up giant margaritas to do that.
Fear of missing out on all the good food?  Sure, but is what you are doing making you happy.  Are you riding the same hamster wheel year after year because you can’t quite commit?  If your commitment is to over eating
and complaining about being overweight then you have accomplished that goal. That’s not even funny. Move forward past that. That stuff is always there.

My blog is filled with strategies to help you have the things you love while you are getting your physique on point. The hard part is the actual  commitment to the project.

Arbitrary goals: meh
The most wishy washy of goals is the “I want to lose weight”. Whatever.

Ooo. my mom bought some keto stuff and lost 10 pounds without even exercising.

She gained it back right away plus 8 more.
Try to understand that no changes were made. No next level was present in this. It was a restriction, with a fast track back to old habits which we all know keep us in the place we are unhappy. Same level, same results. Year after year. Decade after decade.

POSITIVITY
Listen.. I have been the worst at beating myself up when I ‘fail’.  I will throw myself under a bus.. over an extra cookie.  Here’s some truth bombs for you. Nothing grows in shitty soil.  I said it.  If you are trying to harvest a bounty in a junkyard, it ain’t going to happen. We have to start being kind to ourselves as we take this journey.  We must be willing to know that change will come when we understand where we need to change and try new things to problem solve.  Do you see what I’m saying? When it doesn’t go the way we like, we can use that information and learn from it.  We can use it as data.
We can wake up tomorrow with a new plan.

Life sometimes happens and we aren’t perfect. It’s fine. We can look forward, not backward. Beating myself up never made me better. What makes me better is understanding.

Hack:  in the last 37 years of clients I have discovered (myself included) that negative self talk is swirling the drain as we head toward self abuse. WHAT?   Have you ever thought “I’m my own worst enemy?”  I have.  I’ll find the sneakiest ways to self abuse.  I ate a pickle off my show prep and beat myself up like I was the worst on the planet.

I am human and I have added those macros to my tracker. I will plan my snacks out so I have some good options and not let myself get so hungry.

That was 100 x better than “You are a piece of garbage who will never look good on stage and everyone will know you suck.”.

Wow.. that was heavy.. right?

Perseverance/ consistency wins.
As you being to learn to master the skills that will take you to your next level, you will
flounder
be sore
mess up
be frustrated
begin to see change
feel proud
mess up
want to give up (trust me)
keep going
because next level YOU is never a straight shot to success. 

Striving for consistency over perfection is key in your next level journey.
Create a plan and manage that for the 18 hours you are awake.
If you falter, so freaking what! Move on and start the next day with the next level mind set.
I’m telling you that you can have what you want if you get out of your comfort zone!

I have done more in my last 6 years than I ever thought I could. I have mastered so many aspects of food. Those things drug me down in my life so many times. You have no idea.  When I find myself back in those places where I’m not my next level self, I have to remember that now,  set backs are temporary. That is a huge part of being your next level self.  You can rely on the fact that you  have it within you to move forward.  When you uncover your next level YOU.. the possibilities are endless!