Podcast Transcription: The Pause Principle: How To Achieve Long-Lasting Weight Loss Success By Stepping Back To Achieve More

Ted Ryce: What’s up, my friend, and welcome back to another episode of the Legendary Life podcast. I’m your host, celebrity trainer, and high-performance health coach, Ted Ryce. This is a podcast for men and women who are looking to boost their energy and upgrade their health. So, get ready to learn proven health, fitness and mindset strategies to unlock your full potential.  

And I’ve got a great episode for you today. It’s all on “Why Quitting is a Good Idea.” And you’re probably saying to yourself, what are you talking about quitting? quitters never win, and winners never quit, or whatever cliche BS that may have come to your mind. And I’m going to tell you exactly why quitting may be the most important thing that you can ever do. And if that’s not clear, which it probably isn’t, I’m going to dive into all that and more.  

Before I do, I want to tell you if this is your first time listening to this podcast, make sure you go ahead and click subscribe to wherever you listen to this podcast.  

So back to the art of quitting. So, what I want to tell you is quitting 90% of what you’re doing right now will lead to getting better results than what you’re currently experiencing. If you’re like most people, and most of the people who sign up to work with me, you’re wasting a ton of time on busy work and unproductive stuff that isn’t going to get you where you want to go. It’s not going to get you the results you want.  

And what I want to tell you is he can be super tough on you to be in the gym, working hard, getting that sweat on, feeling the burn, getting out of breath, then going home and downing your protein shake and trying to eat clean, but you’re not seeing results, it can be super tough, in fact, is one of the least motivating things to do. It sucks. And I’ve been there personally, more than once, when I went down a rabbit hole, I thought I knew what I was doing. But I wasn’t focusing on the principles that give you the results.  

And what I did was I kept working out and I wasn’t seeing a difference in my body and it sucks, and you start blaming yourself. You start saying hey, there’s something wrong with me. It’s my genes. It’s my age. It’s my slow metabolism. Maybe I’ve maxed out my genetic potential. Maybe I just can’t get any further than this. Because I’ve already accomplished so much for my genetic potential.  

Look, all of that is BS. The truth is, you’re not doing the right things. That’s all it is. And you think you’re doing the right things. “What are you talking about, Ted? I’ve been working out for years. I’m working hard in the gym.” It doesn’t matter if you’re working hard. To take an analogy from the business world, “You can be the best ditch digger around but you’re never going to become a millionaire by doing that.”  

And those people work hard, okay, those people work hard, but you’re never going to get the results that you want, the financial results you want, you’re never going to make six figures digging ditches, and definitely not seven figures. It’s not going to happen, because you’re working hard, but you’re not working smart. You think that you’re getting a great workout because you feel sweat, and you’re breathing heavy, but you’re not focused on the right things.  

And what I want to tell you is, you’re doing what everyone else is doing. You’re doing the HIIT, you’re doing the burpees, and bootcamp classes, and pilates and yoga, and all those other things. And you’re doing exactly what everyone else does. But the problem is, most people don’t ever get success. Most people don’t ever get success in whatever they’re looking to do.  

And the reason is, they’re going in the direction that everyone else is going in. They’re trying what everyone else is trying. They’re trying keto, they’re trying intermittent fasting, they’re trying High Intensity Interval Training, they’re trying lifting heavy on squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. Look, those aren’t the principles, those are methods. And if you don’t have the principles in place, then the methods are not going to work for you. It’s really that simple.  

And what I want to tell you is success almost by definition is the minority of people. most people don’t make dramatic physique transformations. Now all you got to do is look around in the gym, how many people have gone year after year and either look the same. And some even look worse. There’s always only a handful of people who are able to really figure this out. There’s only a small handful of people who are able to reclaim their health and transform their body.  

And if you’re doing what everyone else is doing, and what everyone else is telling you to do, you’re setting yourself up for failure. So just go keto, intermittent fasting, put butter in your coffee in the morning, cut out the carbs, do fasted cardio, do the big lifts, and go heavy. And that’s all the stuff that I used to do and it didn’t work. Now, when I say it didn’t work, what I’m saying specifically, is it worked for a little while, but it didn’t work consistently. For example, when I hit that plateau, I wasn’t sure where to go next, what do I do next? I’m already lifting heavy.  

In fact, I remember when I was at my strongest, I was actually losing muscle. And you can totally get that happening. And if you don’t understand—now I understand why that happened—if you don’t understand the principles, you’re like, “Well, how can you be super strong, and not be super muscular because strength and muscle are two different things.”  

Strength is about how much weight you can lift; how much muscle is about the volume. So one is about the intensity, the other is about the volume. And that’s why bodybuilders aren’t as strong as power lifters; it’s one of the reasons, because bodybuilders are doing a lot more volume. And the other reason why power lifters are usually fatter than bodybuilders. So, without going down—if you’re doing all that stuff and you’re not getting results, doing more of it isn’t going to help you.  

So, at this point, you might be wondering, okay, well, what’s the 90% that I should quit? And what can I and should I stop doing? And what are the 10% of things that I should do after quitting the 90%? Great questions. So, let’s get into it. Quit your negative beliefs. Let me tell you something, nothing will sabotage your efforts more than negative beliefs. I see this happen all the time.  

People blame their, like I said earlier, their age, their genetics, their slow metabolism, their hormones, and more as to why they can’t get into the type of shape they want. Or if they do get results, they inevitably hit a plateau and think that they’ve, like I said earlier, hit their genetic potential, right? They’ve really peaked genetically, “I just can’t make progress and I’ve tried everything.” Right, except you have it because if you had, you’d have the results to show for it.  

And look, we’re not talking about getting you in shape to bring home the gold at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. And we’re not even talking about getting you shredded to sub 10% body fat to pose on the cover of your favorite fitness magazine. We’re talking about you losing unwanted pounds of fat, and bringing out more definition in your body and improving your overall health.  

And while it may not be easy, it’s not that complicated either. Or at least it doesn’t have to be. But it’s your beliefs about this that are really affecting you. Maybe you believe that you can’t really get in shape, maybe you believe that it’s just not in your capabilities to get in shape. And what I want to tell you is it’s not your fault if you have these negative beliefs. You’re exposed to so many negative beliefs all the time on a daily basis, especially with your negative friends on Facebook, or if you watch the news, you’re just full of negativity.  

And what I want to tell you is, if you’re like most people, it probably started with your parents, then your friends, then society and the marketing made you feel bad, because you didn’t have the things that you’re supposed to have to be a successful person. And all those things picked up where your parents left off. Like I said, it’s not 100% your fault that you’re full of these negative beliefs. But it is your responsibility to quit letting those negative beliefs run the show, you need to replace them with thoughts that are more useful and more powerful, and certainly more positive.  

So how do you quit beliefs that don’t serve you? And the answer to this is quite easy. You find evidence of the opposite belief, for example, if you’re working hard in the gym, and you’re not seeing results, and you think that it’s because you’re 40 years old, or you’re in your 50s, or you’re even 60 or even 70, look around for people who are in excellent shape at that age—and who are in excellent shape and the same age as you, is what I’m saying.  

And in this particular situation, it’s as easy as googling 50 and fit and clicking on images or 60, and fit or 40 and fit. And once you see the proof, you could choose to think that you don’t have what they have, the negative belief, you can choose to have that negative belief, or you could choose to see what you want is actually possible, what you want is actually possible. And the key is not being a different person or having different genetics or anything like that. It’s actually having a different approach. That is the key.  

So, the next thing I want to talk about is you’ve got to quit procrastinating, okay, you’ve got to quit procrastinating. You’re telling yourself you’re not going to get in shape until…You just don’t have the time” You’re going to be a resolutioner. What I want to tell you is, that is the recipe for failure is well, you can’t procrastinate, quit procrastinating, start taking action, start to learn how to do something now.  

Because that all or nothing mentality is not serving you. It’s only holding you back. And here’s how it’s really going to sabotage you. Listen to this. This is how this, “Oh, it’s not the right time to get in shape.” This is how it’s really going to sabotage you if it ever, which it probably won’t be, but if it ever becomes the right time for you to focus on your health and fitness, you will never learn, okay, listen to me, you’re never going to learn how to adjust it when things change, when circumstances change from that ideal situation.  

So even if the ideal situation happens, which it probably is never going to happen. You’re probably going to have to have a heart attack, or take off your clothes and look at the mirror and be so disgusted with what you see that you have to take action. But what isn’t going to happen is the perfect time is going to appear. And even if it did, it would still sabotage you because the perfect time won’t be all the time. 

What I’m trying to say is, if the perfect time ever presents itself, it won’t be there for more than a very short period of time. And then you’ll be back in an unperfect time and you won’t know how to handle it, you’ll just stop. And that, my friends, is the key to failure, right, consistency. If you can’t be consistent, then you can’t get results in whatever you’re going to do.  

So, forget about the procrastination. Stop telling yourself you’ve got to wait for a better time. Instead, make sure you figure out what you can do now. Because you’re eating every day, you can definitely learn how to adjust your nutrition to make it support your body transformation in health goals you’re eating every day. You do have opportunity. You may not have a gym membership right now, you may not have an hour or an hour and a half to spend in the gym right now, but you have time throughout the day.  

So, stop the procrastination, stop thinking that the perfect time is going to happen because again, it will never happen. And if it does, you’re going to sabotage yourself as soon as that perfect time passes and you’re back into that unperfect time, so quit the procrastination and get this handled.  

And the third thing I want to talk about that you should quit is quit the quick fixes. Stop with the nonsense. Someone asked me, because I wrote this long article about intermittent fasting, and it’s gotten shared over a thousand times. And people reach out to me about it. And they say, “Oh, yeah, I read about intermittent fasting, I read your article, it was really great. I’m going to give it a try. Because I really hope intermittent fasting is the thing that’s going to take me to the next level.” 

And what I want to tell you is, hope isn’t a strategy. Stop the quick fix mentality, if you’re telling yourself, “Oh, if your perfect plan is, oh, I’m going to do intermittent fasting, I’m going to do High Intensity Interval Training, and then I’m going to do…” you know, you start naming off all these things, I guarantee you, if you do get results, you’re going to get a plateau, because you’re talking about methods. You’re not talking about principles, okay? You’re talking about methods, you’re not talking about principles. 

And the principles are everything, okay? The principles are everything. If you don’t have the principles down, you’re just shooting in the dark with the methods, okay, you’re shooting in the dark. Now I use High Intensity Interval Training, I use intermittent fasting, but I use them when the situation requires it, or when my clients require it, but it’s all based on the principles, okay, it’s all based on the principles.  

And so what are the principles? So, I’ve told you what not to do. And that’s what most everybody does; they let negative beliefs stop them from achieving what they really want. they procrastinate about taking action on it, they think they need to learn more before they take action, or it isn’t the right time so they procrastinate.  

And the third thing is they jump from quick fix to quick fix. They look for things like, oh, I’m going to add High Intensity Interval Training into my program, instead of saying, okay, what needs to happen here? What are the foundational principles of body transformation? And if you can’t answer that question, then you’re never going to consistently be able to get results in the gym and transform your body.  

I mean, hey, anybody can go into the gym and work hard, and you can see results from doing that. And you can try to, I don’t know, cut your carbs, or try to eat less, or whatever it is intermittent fasting, and perhaps you get some results, but you’re never going to be great. And I’m specifically talking to the people who are right now doing this, and not getting the results they want.  

Now, some people will figure it out. Well, some people might figure it out. Some people, actually, what they’ll figure out is the principles and some people figure out, okay, well, I can do this and this and the way I do it, it works for me. But those people aren’t able to teach anyone else. And if they’re just a sample size of one, if they’re just a study of one, then it really doesn’t have anything—and those are people who you should be modelling for success. There’s a reason that I get consistent results with all the people who sign up to my coaching program. And some people do intermittent fasting and some people don’t. Some people do High Intensity Interval Training; some people don’t. Some people lift heavy weights on squats, deadlifts and bench presses and some people use bodyweight exercises.  

The principles are the same. In fact, I transformed my body using bodyweight exercises, and people were like, “Whoa, that’s pretty good for bodyweight exercises.” And I’m saying thank you, but I’m thinking, you have no idea what you’re talking about. because your body doesn’t know the difference between barbells and kettlebells and bodyweight, it’s all just resistance to your muscles.  

And it does affect your muscles differently. And we don’t need to go down that rabbit hole. And you really talk about all the details and how it’s different, but it’s not different in a meaningful way when it comes to building a better body building a healthier body. The tools don’t matter as much as you think they do. The tools don’t matter as much as you think they do.  

You can get into great shape with bodyweight exercises, you can use machines to get into great shape. I learned from one guy, he only use machines, he only use machines. In fact, a lot of bodybuilders only use machines back in the day. And we can argue about whether it’s functional or not or anything like that. But we’re not talking about that right now. We’re just talking about getting results with your body, making your body look better.  

In fact, I’ll tell you one thing I’ve done, and this goes against most people’s recommendations is, I don’t have people do heavy squats and deadlifts as much anymore, unless they really want to do it, especially with the stronger guys who are in their 40s and 50s. They’re too strong, they’re bench pressing 200, nearly 300 pounds, they’re squatting nearly 300 to 400 pounds. It’s too much stress for someone, too much stress, too much bullshit for someone who’s trying to stay in shape, too much risk. You don’t need it.  

So, I stopped using those exercises. And if you tell most personal trainers, most people will say, “Oh, if you’re not squatting, you’re not working out.” And that’s just someone who doesn’t know what they’re talking about. I used to say that, by the way, if you’re not squatting and dead lifting, you’re not working out. But that’s not a person who knows what they’re talking about. Again, it’s about the principles. What’s a principle?  

So, what should you do? Now, I’ve talked so much about what you shouldn’t do. Well, when it comes to nutrition, it’s about energy balance, pure and simple, okay, it’s about energy balance, pure and simple. When it comes to exercise, it’s about progressive resistance, about progressive overload. The principle of progressive overload.  

And what that simply means is, if you’re not doing more than what you did last month, you’re not going to make progress, right, you’re not going to make progress. And when we’re talking about changing your body, we’re not talking about how much weight you can lift. Because I told you, when I was my strongest, I started losing muscle because I was only focused on building strength and I would do a bunch of sets, but I wouldn’t do that many reps, and my body started shrinking. So, it’s about the volume, okay, it’s about the volume.  

And then lastly, it’s about putting it into a format that works for you. So, 80%, of what most people do, is the same, they’re the same principles. But it’s that 20% that you customized specifically to you, that makes the program sustainable. Some people aren’t going to do intermittent fasting. You might be one of them. And you’re like, “Uh, I can’t do intermittent fasting, I’m like, crazy hungry in the morning. And if I don’t get my breakfast, I just don’t function well throughout the day, I get lightheaded, I get dizzy.” 

Well, you don’t need to do intermittent fasting. It’s not a requirement for results. It’s a method that you can use for some people. Does that make sense? I hope so. And just like the heavy deadlifts and squats, it’s not appropriate for everybody and you don’t need it. But what do you need to do? You need to make sure that person is getting stronger, and they’re able to do more reps, more sets, more volume. That’s what creates the change in the body.  

And then again, you’ve got to personalize it in a way that that person can be consistent, because if they hate their workout program, if they are not motivated to do it, or if they get injured doing it—and I’m speaking to you right now, if you’re injured, and it’s easy for you to go into the gym, and you’re working out hard, and you’re seeing the results come, and then you get injured and then you go backwards, and you start eating the junk food because you’re depressed because your identity was taken away from you, you were feeling like such as Superman or Superwoman in the gym when you were working out. But now you feel like just half the person you used to be. 

Well, that’s not a good program for you. It’s not a good program for you. If you can’t do it consistently without getting injured or without getting bored, then it’s not going to work for you long term. And it’s just a quick fix. So that’s where I’m going to end today. I hope this has given you some clarity on where you’re at with your results. Because you should be getting results every month.  

Especially if you’re out of shape right now, if you’re not in good shape, you’re just getting back into exercising. If you’re having that trouble, where if you’re not in good shape, if you’re not really consistent, if you’re not lean, if you’re not seeing those types of results every month, especially if you’ve been out of shape for a while. Your program isn’t right for you. It’s not based on principles and/or it’s not customized to you in a way that is getting you to act on it consistently.  

That’s all I’ve got. I hope you enjoyed today’s episode, and I’ll speak to you soon!