Embrace Your Inner Athlete

'I'm trying this new diet!'

'I'm using this workout routine for the next 4 weeks.'

'How can I lose fat quick?'

The fitness and nutrition arena are full of programs that are there to promote "fast results". In our world, we love immediacy. We're all prone to it. The other day I even caught myself being frustrated an Uber was 7 minutes away. What?! Like two years ago I didn't even have this amazing service and I'm already annoyed with it? Insane.

When we see programming or diets that are promising quick weight loss it usually means it's not sustainable. Typically, if you can lose it quick you can gain it back quick. I think a lot of the popularity surrounding programs like this has to do with how we frame and discuss our bodies, fitness and food. That's where adopting an athlete mindset can help create some level of stability and longevity.

Let's start with our words. Words are important.

Athletes don't just workout, they train. They train their bodies and their minds to keep getting better. Better isn't an end goal like weight loss. Better is a fun carrot that can always be chased.

Athletes don't follow strict diets that are incredibly restrictive. They follow nutrition plans that help fuel their body to perform their best in their training sessions and their competitions. With the right fuel, their training is more efficient. With better fuel and better training, they get better faster.

As much as athletes have to grind to get better, they also have to recover even harder. So many people in the fitness arena, even just our regular work environment, have this 'no days off' mentality. Alright, I get it that hard work is important. But trying to attain this 'constant work' attitude is a recipe for burnout or worse, injury. Make sure you're working hard and recovering harder.

What's important about these words and this mindset is they allow for flexibility. Athletes are constantly traveling and living lives outside the sport. They have off seasons. They have families. So even the top athletes aren't perfect 100% of the time. They let themselves live some and then get back to the routine the next day.

With a 'diet', it's easy to toss in the towel and saying f*ck it after deviating from what was prescribed. With a 'workout program', if you miss a day it can throw you out of synch. You feel guilty and then you realize you don't feel like going any more. If you miss a training session, so what? You have another session around the corner. Doing what you can, when you can is what matters. Remember your goal is to get better and that doesn't have an end date, or a weight attached to it.

Now, does this mean you have to completely throw out your weight loss goals? Not at all! I recently picked up a great tip from one of my favorite podcasts "Trained" done by Ryan Flaherty who works for Nike. In it he talks Dr. Megan Jones Bell about how you should include 'process' and 'performance goals'. Weight loss can still be a part of your fitness journey, but it's good to supplement those goals. Add in some performance/process goals that are in no way related to how you look.

Whether you want to increase the weight of your kettlebell swing or lower your mile time, there are little goals you can chase that will help your physical performance get better. In order to reach those performance goals, you have to fuel better, train a little harder and no doubt that will help you manage your weight.

Making this mental shift did wonders in how I felt about my body. By focusing on what my body could do vs. what it looked like made me 150% happier. For years I would crush a workout and then immediately go "Ugh, I still have extra pounds on my midsection." I didn't even recognize all the good my body was doing for me. None of that mattered because I was only focusing on my looks.

I'll leave you with this final thought my mom told me once when I was feeling down.

"Thin-ness does not equal fitness."

It's simple. It's to the point. It's important as sh*t to remember.

You're on this earth to live a life, not to look a certain way. Let your training sessions and food help you to live a healthy, pain-free, long life full of fun experiences. Being fit doesn't have a single look to it. So when you start to feel bad about your body or notice you dread the gym, ask yourself "Am I chasing fitness or am I chasing looks?"

At the end of the day we're looking to have a body and mind that help us move well through the world. Who we are lies between the ears, not below the neck. If what's between the ears is still toxic to yourself and others, then how much does anything else matter?