Philip Pape 0:00

Have you ever wondered why, despite all your efforts, you're not seeing the results you want in your fitness? Today, we're exposing a sneaky little habit that's sabotaging your progress, whether you are aiming for fat loss, muscle gain or any other health goal. What is this progress-killing behavior and, more importantly, how can you overcome it to finally achieve the results you're after? Tune in to today's Quick Wits to find out the game-changing answer. Welcome to the Wits and Weights podcast. I'm your host, philip Pape, and this twice-a-week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self-mastery by getting stronger, optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition. We'll uncover science-backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle and mindset, with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry, so you can look and feel your absolute best. Let's dive right in. Let's talk about a behavior that's probably derailing your progress more than anything else Constantly jumping from one thing to another, one program to another, one diet to another, always chasing the next shiny object in the big yes, I understand confusing world of health and fitness and nutrition.

Philip Pape 1:17

Now you know how this works. You've been there, I've been there. You start a new diet, you start a new workout plan, you have all this enthusiasm and motivation and energy, but after a few weeks you're not seeing the dramatic results you hope for. So you start looking around maybe keto's the answer, or maybe that new HIIT program, or maybe that YouTube strength training program, and you jump right Because you're not getting the results when you want them. Now there's a 3-3-3 philosophy that I learned from a previous guest of mine. I've probably mentioned it a few times that it takes three weeks to feel the change, three months to see the change and three years to be the change. But getting past that first three weeks is usually the hard part for a lot of people. And speaking of hard, here's the hard truth. The constant hopping around is the exact thing killing your progress, because real, lasting changes in body composition do take time. We're talking months, right, not days or weeks, although you can start to feel it pretty soon. And every time you switch you are basically starting over. You're not giving the approach. You were trying enough time to work, so you know. Think about it like this as far as analogies go If you planted a seed, if you dug it up every week to check on its progress, it would never grow into a strong, healthy plant. That is what you're doing. That same principle is applying to what you're doing. You are just digging up the seeds, right.

Philip Pape 2:39

The key here isn't finding the perfect thing. There is no perfect thing. It's sticking with the basics, the solid, evidence-based approach that we talk about on this show long enough to see the results. This means committing to a plan for at least I'm going to say eight to 12 weeks I'm going to say two to three months before you even think about making any big change. Now, this doesn't mean that you can't adjust or optimize. In fact, I highly encourage that. I want you to make small strategic tweaks based on how your body is responding, based on the data and the feedback you're measuring and collecting. Right, but the core of it all the targets, the training, the exercise selection, the program, your nutritional strategy they should remain consistent during that period.

Philip Pape 3:24

Right, because, again, the most effective anything when it comes to growth is something that you stick with. That you stick with over time. It's the power of compounding. If you guys know James Clear's Atomic Habits, we talk about how it's like a flat line that takes a while before it starts to increase and compound over time. So you've got to get through that flat line, right. Stop looking for the next big thing and just focus on mastering the basics. Nail down whatever it is you're focused on. Maybe it's just hitting calorie and protein intake. Maybe it's making sure that you progress each training session, use progressive overload. Maybe it's getting that seven hours of sleep every night, right? Maybe it's going for that walk after lunch.

Philip Pape 4:04

The process oriented action, oriented goals, not the end result that you're trying to get. And these aren't exciting. They're not sexy, right, they're not. They don't stand out like the big secret, the big formula, the thing you never knew. You know that gets advertised on the sponsored posts on Instagram, right, but it will be what gets you to your goals.

Philip Pape 4:25

And once you stop hopping around and you just commit to a plan, you're going to find that you start making progress faster than ever before. So ask yourself if that's what you've been doing. Maybe it's something else that's holding you back. But this is a big one, right? The next time you're tempted to shift, to jump ship to something else because, oh, this just isn't working, right, this just isn't working. You know, after two days, oh, this is too frustrating. Oh, no, you know I'm going to give up because this doesn't work. Have I really given this approach a fair shot? Am I being consistent? Am I tracking objectively, tracking my progress right? More often, much more often than not, the answer to getting the results is not a new plan. It's just sticking to the one you've got. So stay the course, trust the process, but collect the data and get the feedback, and then you're going to be truly amazed at what you can achieve just by being consistent.

Philip Pape 5:16

All right, thanks for tuning in to another episode of Quick Wits. Share this with a friend if you enjoyed it and I'll see you next time. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits and Weights. If you found value in today's episode and know someone else who's looking to level up their wits or weights, please take a moment to share this episode with them and make sure to hit the follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode. Until then, stay strong.