Podcast Transcription: Unstoppable in 2025: Part 6 – A Step-by-Step Roadmap to Build a Thriving 40+ Body and Achieve Your Health Goals Faster

Ted Ryce: Welcome back to the new year, new you series 2025. This is the episode where we're going to be talking about putting it all together. We're going to create a roadmap for your transformation. We're going to break it down step by step for you. So you have a blueprint to follow. Now, if you haven't listened to the first episode on mindset, you'll want to go listen to that. 

So you look at this whole process. And if you're the type of person who rolls your eyes whenever someone talks about mindset, go back and listen to that episode twice, then now the second episode is going to be on exercise. So if you're a little bit unclear about how to get started, or if you're a person who you start and stop, or you're a person. 

When you start exercising, you tend to overdo it and you're sore for five days after, and you just kind of do this aggressive approach where you end up quitting. You want to listen to that episode on exercise because I'll clear up a lot of why that's happening and what to do about it on episode three on nutrition. 

I give you a blueprint, a framework. to follow step by step so that you start losing fat right away. And I talk to you about why fat loss is where you want to start with nutrition in the first place, especially if you've got a belly. In other words, if you've got visceral fat, if you're a little bit rounder in the midsection, then everywhere else on your body, you probably has visceral fat. 

And I get into why. That's the most dangerous type of fat and why fat loss is where you want to go first with nutrition. And the best thing about it is you don't have to give up any foods to get lean. You just need to follow that process that I give it for you, that I delineate for you there. The Episode four is all about sleep and stress. 

So many of my clients get derailed by sleep, poor sleep and chronic stress. So if you're a person who you get overwhelmed, you're good at the beginning of the year for a month or maybe even two, and then you get overwhelmed because you're just like, I don't know how to handle all this, or I went out drinking and then I didn't sleep well, then I started. 

Skipping my workouts. And of course I went and ate something delicious because, Hey, I'm feeling like crap because I drank too much. You want to listen to that episode. And then episode five is about health metrics, advanced health metrics, how they can give you an honest assessment of your health. Now, how you can track it over time to make sure that whatever you're doing, whatever approach that you're taking. 

Is actually giving you measurable results. It's being data driven. And I can't emphasize enough how important it is just like, Oh, how are you doing with your personal finances? Oh, I'm doing pretty good. I feel pretty good about it. Great. Now show me some numbers. It's the same thing with your health. I mean, there's some nuance here, but it's a lot about what do the metrics say? 

And then today is, as I've already said, putting it all together, it's going to be your roadmap to transformation. So let me tell you about a client who thought they were doing everything right. Eating clean, exercising regularly, but their health metrics told a different story. High visceral fat, elevated blood sugar, poor cardiovascular fitness, i. 

e VO two max revealed that they needed to make changes. And once we addressed those, everything started to change, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally too. And so we're going to talk today about why most resolutions fail. So. We're going to talk about a system for transformation. We're going to be talking about how it all works together to create a feedback loop. 

So let's dive in. And the first thing that I want to tell you is why most resolutions fail. Most resolutions focus on superficial goals, lose 20 pounds, just want to be healthier. Uh, I want to start working out, start making better decisions with nutrition. However, without a clear starting point, most people set themselves up for failure. 

And there's a great quote. You can't change what you don't measure. Of course, that's paraphrased Peter Drucker. I think it's what you don't measure. You can't manage, but metrics give you the honesty and clarity to know where you are and where to focus. So we've also talked about temporal landmarks and there's no better time to commit to transformation than now because landmarks, temporal landmarks like New Year's give us a fresh slate. 

But here's the thing. That's nice. But real change comes from having a system, a system that you can follow sustainably. So let's talk about the core elements of transformation because the system starts with metrics. Metrics aren't about judgment. They're about, again, they're about being honest. And you will get motivation from this. 

They'll give you a real picture of your starting point and a roadmap for improvement. So again, key metrics here, body composition. So here's what I want you to do. Weigh yourself and start weighing yourself daily. Take photos, take them. If you're a man use, uh, fitness shorts. Take fitness photos. I'm sorry, before photos or progress photos, whatever you want to refer to them as. 

And I want to tell you something, if you're a person and you're like, I know I'm not doing that. You need to do this. This is why you won't change. You won't be honest with yourself about where you are and more importantly, how you feel about it. This is super important. I just had a client do this the other day. 

He was disgusted at the results. Now, here's the thing. I'm not here to judge you about your narrative, about what you see in the mirror. That's not why I'm here. I'm here to get you honest about where you are. And then you also be honest about what you think. And then we, we can make progress from there. 

Then. We can make change. And if you really want to go that next level, go get a DEXA scan. You can also get an in body. I don't like those as much, but DEXA scans, they'll run you a hundred, 150 bucks, something like that. Get a DEXA scan. You'll know exactly within a much smaller margin of error, how much muscle you have, how much body fat you have. 

The other, uh, uh, so that's with body composition. Now. Track your fitness levels. There's a few things you can do here, but do a VO2 max test. You don't want to go to a lab and do one. Do a Cooper test. Can't run because your knees are bad or you're too overweight. There's a walking test that you can do to do a VO2 max walking test. 

Google it and follow it and get blood work. Go to the doctor, especially if you're a while behind, uh, you know, a few years behind. Now, some people are telling me, they're like, well, I just had my blood work done, uh, at the end of last year. Well, guess what? You need to do it at least once a year. I mean, at least once a year. 

And ideally, if you're trying to make big change, doing it every quarter or every six months, that would be the frequency that I would prefer. I do my blood work, not every, I do it Not quite every quarter, maybe three, two to four times a year is, uh, depending on what's going on and what I'm doing. But if you're in the process of change or if you're in poor health, because, so you're not in the process of change. 

I'm, I'm in a maintenance mode, if you will. Actually, I'm not, I'm actually getting leaner, but that I'm not here to talk about myself, right here to talk about you. If you're in a position where your health has been put on the back burner, get fresh data. Things can change in months, let alone in 12 months. 

Now, here's why this is important. When you see the numbers you have, and when you see the numbers improve, your health metrics improve, it's no longer going to be about guessing if you're doing the right thing first, you're going to see, wow, I'm not doing as well as I thought. And then. You're going to see it work and you'll start to build confidence and momentum. 

So now let's talk about mindset. And again, I've talked about mindset, whole episode on mindset, but metrics are the starting point. But mindset is what keeps you going because without the right perspective, you will give up. You will continue to chase perfection and give up when you cannot be perfect. 

Which you'll never be perfect. So you'll constantly give up and then remember the 10 year test. Keep asking yourself, is this something I can see myself doing for 10 years? And if the answer is no, then it doesn't mean you have to quit right away, but you have to ask yourself, okay, well, how does this need to change? 

So that I can maintain it longterm. So metrics and mindset work together. Metrics give you the truth. Mindset helps you act on it sustainably. Now let's talk about exercise because movement, again, it's key to health. And like I talked about in the second episode on exercise, that's where I want you to start first, if you're having trouble choosing one thing to start with. 

So the role of exercise. Is this resistance training, build strength and muscle. This is going to improve your body composition and your metabolism because muscle, it's not that it burns more calories than fat, although that's, there's some truth to that, but muscle helps you shift your body composition. 

It helps you to, I'm not going to open up this can of worms, but. It helps to keep your body bigger so that you can eat. It just helps you eat more calories. Okay. I don't want to get into it. Cardio helps improve heart health, recovery, and stress management, and mobility keeps you pain free and functional. 

So how to tie this all in or why, how it gets all tied in your fitness metrics, VO two max body composition, or even step count helps you track the effectiveness of your exercise plan. Right. If you're lifting in the gym and you go do a DEXA as an example, you should see that even if your body weight stayed the same, you should see an improvement. 

You should see muscle being built, fat being burned. more muscle, less fat is what you should see. If you're, uh, getting in better shape in terms of your VO two max, that should go up. So again, that's super important. Let's talk about nutrition, the importance of nutrition. So again, I use the example 30 seconds ago that when you start lifting weights, You'll build muscle and you'll lose fat, even if your weight stays the same. 

But the, the truth about that is it won't last long. Eventually you'll kind of max out the, what we call newbie gains. So the bad news, if you're behind on your workouts is that you're out of shape. The good news is that you will get results fast in terms of muscle growth. So the most out of shape people have the most to gain and will experience the fastest transformation in terms of building muscle. 

However, though, once you get past that point, you're going to have to dial in your calories to drive fat loss. And in the process of that, you're going to want to eat enough protein to preserve muscle, and you want to make sure you're eating foods that help with satiety and energy, and of course, the nutrients matter as well. 

However, you can, you can fit in the foods that you love. For example, I had a pistachio croissant today. And I'm still getting leaner. Okay. How does that work? How do you do that? Well, I did a whole entire episode on it. Episode three, nutrition, check it out, listen to it. So again, I want to tie in the metrics here because tracking your progress with metrics like weight, body fat, progress, photos, blood sugar levels, because you went and got your Your blood panel done. 

It's going to reveal how well your nutrition plan is supporting your, your goals. Let's talk about sleep and stress really quick. So sleep and stress impact, hunger, hormones, and performance, better recovery equals better results in every area. That's what you need to know. So recovery from workouts, recovery from the stress of working long hours, whatever it is, Better recovery equals better results in every area. 

Better sleep equals better results in every area. I personally use an aura ring. And again, go back and listen to episode four if you want a deeper dive, because what we're talking about here is not about, Oh, how much time did I spend a deep sleep versus REM? What you're really looking at is what time am I going to bed and waking up every day? 

Is it consistent? How many hours am I sleeping in total? Is it at least seven? When I get in bed, how much of the time that I spend in bed, am I spending asleep? In other words, your sleep efficiency, very important. And of course, if you're into measuring stress, then resting heart rate, heart rate, variability, and blood pressure are all great metrics. 

To test there. So let's talk about how it all works together. So when you start with metrics, you get clarity about where to focus if you're super fat, right? If you've got a lot of fat. Then it's really hard to say, well, I'm going to boost my VO two max. Cause the biggest gain that you'll get is from fat loss. 

Now, of course I said, start with exercise important, but you want to start with exercise. You should get some results. If you're pretty sedentary and start doing some exercise, you should get some results. In terms of fat loss from starting initially, but then you're going to have to dive into nutrition. 

So, then you layer in the minds, the, the, the nutrition, the recovery, of course, keeping your mindset straight. It all starts to work together and metrics reveal progress. Progress reinforces your mindset. Your perspective mindset drives consistent action. A lot of people say, well, I'm not motivated enough to get started. 

It's like, well, go get your metrics that that's usually what does it shirtless photos. Have a good look at them. It's what usually does it. And again, we're at that time of year where we're taking advantage of the temporal landmark. That's going to give you the motivation, but the progress is what keeps you going. 

And it, what it's, what helps drive the mindset in terms of like, okay, okay. I can't quit this time. I can't quit this time. Quitting is not an option. There is no perfection. How can I make this work? Right? So, and I'll tell you seeing your visceral fat drop or your body fat change or your metrics on how much lean mass you have, it doesn't just feel good. 

It motivates you to keep going, right? Knowing that your efforts are paying off and what I tell my clients, if you're not getting results, it's like going to work and not getting paid. It's only a matter before, only a matter of time before you just give up completely. And again, think about this. Imagine waking up full of energy, confident that your plan is working, your clothes fit better, your workouts, you're feeling a bit stronger. 

Your health markers show that you're not just surviving anymore or going in the wrong direction. You're starting to thrive. Keep in mind what this is really about. This is really about. This isn't just a, you know, so you can look good with your shirt off at the pool for next summer, that sure. That's cool. 

And there's nothing wrong with that. And so many people, I think we don't give enough importance to looks. And not just looks how other people look, but when we see ourselves in the mirror, how we feel about what we see and the story about it. And I'll tell you as someone who's 47 and I got chubby in my thirties, I look in the mirror now and like, wow, I feel good about the way I look. 

So imagine that. And you know, imagine that. And again, this is about showing up for the people that you care about in your life. This isn't just about having six pack abs. It's about the transformation of what you're doing. You know, it's good for your health. You know, it's important. You know, it's going to save you money. 

It's going to save you time. It's going to prevent problems. More importantly, or has importantly, maybe not necessarily more importantly, but as important is that you are showing up as the hero in the people's lives. Who you care about the most, your children, your spouse, your employees. Keep that in mind. 

So let me give you a couple of steps here. Step one, take immediate action. Not sure what to do? Just choose something. Start with metrics, book a DEXA scan, get your blood work done, take progress photos, buy a scale. That's what I would tell you. Metrics really move the needle when it comes to motivation. 

It's a lot of Ms, right? Metrics move the needle when it comes to motivation, but it's true. I've seen it again and again and again. When's the last time you took photos of yourself without a shirt on and took a good look at them from the front, from the side, from the back, it sucks. Cause sometimes we have a vision of ourselves. 

I mean, maybe women are different, but from the guys that I've worked with, we have a vision of ourselves that we're doing pretty good. And then you see the photos. You're like, man, really? That's what I look like. I look terrible. Yeah. It's okay. Because it's something that you can change. So take immediate action and, you know, whatever you can, you can take progress photos right now. 

Don't have a scale, go buy one. It'll come, you know, ask for one for Christmas, whatever. No, go buy one. Don't wait. And then start gathering some data. And then step two is to commit to a proven system. You can, you know, Work through what I've given you here. I've done my best to give you a blueprint. It's really hard to do in this format, but if you're ready to go beyond the guesswork, finally get results and not try to do it on your own because you're too busy. 

And when you get busy, you're just going to give up on what I've shared in this series. Anyway, what we'll do is we'll work together to create a personalized plan based on your metrics, your goals, and your lifestyles. And you'll stop wasting time on the things that don't work. Focus on the actions that deliver results. 

You can unfollow all those fitness influencers who are like, don't eat carbs, carbs, make you fat. And then, Oh, don't eat fat. Fat causes heart disease. And you can, you can tune out of all that. Just follow the system that I provide for you that I've run with. Hundreds of clients at this point, just like you and with my system, you'll have the clarity, accountability and support to transfer your health for good because it's not just about losing the weight or getting into great shape. 

It's about how long can you maintain that without it taking over your life? That's what's possible. My health and fitness. I don't want to say it's not my main priority because it always kind of is the foundation, but it's not my main goal in life. It, my main goal right now, grow my business. And it's, it's really relationships and career for me, right? 

Cause I have my health pretty dialed in. I make some tweaks here and there. But I have my health pretty dialed in again. Some, sometimes I'm closer to 15 percent body fat. Sometimes I'm closer to 10 percent body fat. Sometimes I have more muscle when I'm training more. Sometimes I have a bit less, but it never stops, right? 

It never stops. I'm always consistent and that's not who I am as a person. It's, it's what I've built into myself because I've, right. I wasn't always a person who is this consistent. And I had a lot of the same struggles that you do. So if that's something that you're interested in and you want to stop wasting time And you know that you keep giving up and quitting and you try these unsustainable Goals, or maybe you just know that you would benefit from more accountability Go to legendarylifeprogram. 

com Slash apply and book a call and let's make this year The year you take control of your health and unlock the best version of yourself You So listen to wrap this all up. Metrics are your map. Mindset is your fuel. When you bring it all together, you'll have a system that doesn't just work. It's going to transform your health, your confidence, and ultimately your life. 

Don't wait for another year to pass. What, you know, wondering what could have been too many people. You'll hear this. Right now, people are listening to this. Guess what? Maybe they're fired up. Maybe they're angry at me. Maybe they're excited. I don't know, but they're going to end up in the same place next year and it's okay. 

No judgment, no hate. It's just the truth. So if you want to get off that cycle, you got to take action today. You are 100 percent worth it. That's all I've got. Hope you enjoyed this series. And again, you want to have a call with me to see if I can't help make this a permanent thing in your life and get you to a level of health and fitness that you never even dream was possible in your forties and fifties legendary life program. com slash apply. Love you lots. Talk to you on the next episode.