1. To lose fat…
Tracking calories works.
So does tracking macros.
And tracking portions.
Wow. It’s almost like simply tracking what you eat (mindfully, accurately, and consistently) is what really matters.
Nah. Impossible. Still gotta add magic fat burners and slim tea.
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2. Patience
Sometimes you maintain an accurate weekly calorie deficit and don’t lose a pound.
Sometimes you eat 4000 a day and LOSE weight. (I’m “enjoying” that right now.)
Scale weight alone tells you very little. There’s always “a lot going on under the hood.”
The key is to relax and trust that things are happening.
Stress only extends plateaus and even makes you look worse.
So when “food & training has stopped working”:
- Relax
- Assess your compliancy/accuracy in hitting the basic targets
- Assess your sleep
- Repeat the previous week (which will seem a bit easier, further reducing stress).
- Relax
Still in a rut next week? Now start tinkering.
It’s interesting how fixing lifestyle (sleep, stress, fresh air) often solves plateaus in either direction.
So perhaps if you addressed & fixed those things first, before you started dieting, you’d avoid some plateaus altogether?
Worth experimenting.
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3. Wants, Needs, and What Not
Program design is about wants & needs.
Wants is easy — if bigger arms is #1, program accordingly.
Needs is tougher.
People will avoid what they need most, and hate when told their #1 need is far more important than their #1 want.
But addressing the #1 need first always gives the best “big picture” return.
It’s also a non-starter when you’re over 40. Blood pressure first, bitchin’ forearms second. Or at least 1B.
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4. Stuff Worth Controlling
“Training effect” isn’t just limited to the gym.
If you’re a surgeon and high intensity exercise makes your hands shake for hours after training, maybe go lower intensity on days you’re in the OR.
Everything is connected but we control many of the variables. Use that to your advantage.
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5. Stop Watching
In the 10 minutes you spent finding the perfect lighting (usually in a locker room in front of some poor bastard who just stepped out of a cold shower), taking 15 post workout selfies, and then filtering the reality out of the best one…
You could’ve done two of:
- High rep or rest-pause calf work
- Upper back work
- Forearm work – extension, flexion, pronation, supination, carries, crushing
- Race to 1000 meters on a rower
- Ab giant sets
- 200 push ups, come hell or high water. (Have fun)
- Filled out your training log.
Plus:
“Watched pot don’t boil. Watched body don’t change.”
I say a version of that a lot to younger people.
So focus on the daily process.
Keep a checklist of to-dos and NOT to-dos, a training log, and a diet log.
Thats how you win.