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Summary
On episode 46 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan closes out his 10 part foundation series with a look at what happens after you hit a fitness goal, and why so many people rebound once the target is gone.
Allan uses his own yearly pattern, gaining weight through college football tailgating season and working it back off every spring, to make the case for building a lifestyle instead of chasing a single number.
He walks through how to change habits one at a time, and why surrounding yourself with the right people makes a new lifestyle stick.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- A goal without a sustainable follow up plan tends to rebound. Allan says people who hit a weight loss target by cutting calories hard, then return to their old eating habits, often end up heavier than when they started.
- Reaching a goal is worth celebrating, but it isn’t the finish line. Allan compares it to running a race: you don’t win life, you just keep running, so you need to know what comes next after the accomplishment.
- Allan’s own yearly cycle shows how easy it is to drift. He describes gaining weight every college football season from tailgating food and beer, then noticing brain fog and lower energy once the extra pounds show up.
- Change one habit at a time instead of overhauling everything at once. Allan recommends picking a single new habit, letting it stick, and only then adding the next one.
- Balance means deciding what you’re actually willing to sacrifice. Allan says clients who want to go out and enjoy themselves sometimes have to be honest about what they’re not willing to give up, and build their plan around that reality.
- The people around you either support your lifestyle or work against it. Allan noticed his vendors stopped sending him cookies and started sending him a workout bag and protein shaker once they understood his lifestyle.
- A real lifestyle change eventually gets noticed and respected by others. Allan says people close to you may not understand your choices at first, but over time they adjust, and some even start participating.
- Not everyone in your life will support the new you, and that’s worth paying attention to. Allan is careful to say this isn’t about cutting people off, but about noticing who helps you stay the course and who doesn’t.
“This is your life. Make it your lifestyle.”
Coach Allan