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Celebrating Small Wins: Why Consistency Beats Perfection in Fitness and Life · FitMitTuro Fitness Podcast

• 1:07
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Hey Friends and welcome back to the fit me Turo fitness podcast. I want to start today with something personal. So I recently got two emails that this podcast was selected one of the top 25 nutrition podcasts in Italy by Feedspot, and the other email was coming from a million podcasts, and they have chosen with me, Turo fitness podcast, one of the top 100 diet podcasts, top 80 personal trainer podcast, and top 100 athlete nutrition and health podcasts on the web, on and in the world. And this, I don't tell you this to Prague. It's actually the perfect metaphor for today's topic, celebrating small wins and why progress matters more than perfection. So these awards, they didn't happen overnight. I didn't wake up one morning with hundreds of episodes, 1000s of downloads, and or police choose them. It this have happened, because week after week since 2020 May, so it's over five years now, I have sold up every single week. And honestly, some episodes got great traction. Some didn't, and some episodes, I was feeling like that after I pushed the stop button and I stopped recording, I was thinking that, Oh, this wasn't, now, probably not my best episode. And some of them, I was like, Holy shit, this was amazing, but that this is just, just how the life is.
• 2:47
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's not always perfect, you know that, you know you are earlier. I was thinking that, should I publish this? Is this going to be perfect? And then I thought that, you know, it's part of the journey. Because, you know, like, some weeks I felt inspired. And other weeks it was just that, you know, I gotta do the job, job, because that's something, what I promised for myself, and if you are thinking also in your fitness, like for me, doing this, recording, this podcast episodes. It's 7am Today is Wednesday. I have a podcast promised I like always, I publish it on Thursday, so it's the almost like the last possible moment. But I decided that I I committed for something I keep promises I make to myself. And I don't know if this episode is going to be perfect, but hopefully it's going to help you to change your ideology and both the ways how you are thinking and because if you think like that, it's all about these small, consistent actions, and those actions have caused this podcast to grow into something worth of noticing, and that's exactly how your health and fitness also works. So if I think like that now, what is, what is, there is a big myth of overnight success. So too often, it's way too often. We believe that change should happen fast, so you're going to lose weight in two weeks, transform in 30 days, get apps before summer.
• 4:36
  Turo Virta (Zoom): But honestly, that is not reality. It's only marketing like, and I'm guilty of that too, like, if I make like, some kind of 30 day, eight week challenges. And it's not that, of course, you will notice difference, but it's not that everything is changing within those times, because that is basically marketing and getting people buy into it to try something, and then the idea is to actually, that you keep going. And I, actually, I'm a sport teacher, also in a in a school, and just had a recently conversation with one of my colleague and who said that, you know, he is, he's doing every year diet, like a fasting diet.
• 5:23
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And said that, you know, it's, he is basically just drinking water and almost barely eating, not eating anything. And he said that this has been working. It works very well. And then, of course, then you have to keep doing, you know, you lose significant amount of weight, and it's only like, kind of kick start for everything. And then, you know, of course, then you keep doing, building those habits, what you are doing, and then you keep going. And then my question to him was, like that, how often you are doing this?
• 6:03
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And is that it's every year, like I used to do it like two weeks. Now one week is more than realistic, like it's not gonna I'm not able to do it anymore two weeks. And then I then he said that, you know that this is, this is something that it works like. And then I asked that, what is, what is for you, what, what it means that it works, that if you have to do it every single year, for me, it's, it's a sign that it didn't actually work. Even you get that such quick success in the beginning, but if you have to do and repeat something every single year, it's, it's a sign that something didn't work. And don't get me wrong, I didn't want to, like, try to change this opinion. We have all different opinions. And my approach is that if you are doing something like this for your health, it's it's a sign that it's not actually working and so that. But it's a lot easier to do like, for short period of time, going all in than trying to actually change something consistently. And I couldn't agree with that. I actually, I disagree completely with that process, that it's so much easier that when you change, like small habits, what you do on daily basis, but they don't feel that you are actually changing something. I give you just a couple examples. What I said that it's, it's like, if you, let's say that you have a breakfast, you eat regular yogurt with berries, maybe some bread. And if you change that like that, you don't you are looking, you become aware what you are actually doing, and then you notice that, okay, I have this amount of carbs, this amount of protein, and the only change what you are actually doing is to spat your protein from low protein to high protein yogurt, like a Greek yogurt or something. So basically you are not changing anything. You still eat your yogurt, but by swapping your broad yogurt for different brand, you might get three times more protein. So you get 10 grams of more, 10 grams more protein simply not adding something more, not taking something away, but just swapping the things you are already eating. And these, I this, I think that these are, these, are those small changes, what doesn't even feel but when you repeat them day by day, year after year, you start to notice some difference. And this is, this is these are those changes, or you are having already some habit, like, let's say that in the morning you are struggling, you don't eat, you don't drink enough water. You add something that before having your coffee in the morning, you actually have a glass of water. And this is already, you get glass of water every single day more. And it doesn't feel like that. You know you have to starve yourself for every single day. And that that, not to mention if you are doing like this kind of extreme diets, for every once in a while, that you see that, oh, now I have gained again, that my couple kilos, five kilos per year, and now I have to get rid of it. And if you you are, maybe you are able to do it, but it gets harder every single year, and now you are then looking something else that you know there is something more or less with these kind of challenges.
• 9:33
  Turo Virta (Zoom): The only thing what you actually learn is discipline. And that was, it was, it's a funny true story. I have been doing this now 10 years, and I've worked with with literally over 1000 people, individually, and with the group courses, it's, I don't know, I haven't counting, but couple 1000s. And the one, one thing, what I what I realized in those patterns, like, it's how I changed my approach to I was in the beginning, you know, I thought that, you know, I kind of know what you should be doing, and that it's, it's very simple and and you just give people for some like, you know, you eat this and that, and then, you know, obviously you get results. And that is not the rocket science, you know. You you if you have a plan, you know, you give a meal plan or foods to eat, and when you are able to do it perfectly, most likely for 90% of people, you are losing if there is nothing underlying issues like Turo issues or hormonal changes or stuff like that, behind it works, you are getting results.
• 10:43
  Turo Virta (Zoom): But then when something happens, how you are reacting to them, and that is what I found out, that for the most people, that's the most challenging part. And when you when you think that this is, this is, and that's how I changed my approach, also because I saw that, you know, they might get results in the in the short term, but in the long term, very few cut results. And then I was like that, okay, I have to change something to get people actually buy into it. And that, that it comes like that.
• 11:16
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Those ideas are kind of like that. I give you maybe, let's say, three, four different strategies, because, you know I don't know anyone. Nobody knows yourself better than you know yourself. And that when, when my job is not to tell you that you do this, this, this, this is how you do it. And if you can't do it, you just can't it's it's your problem. I gave you all the tools, but that when I changed my approach that I offer you, I'm not telling you what is right, what is wrong. It's that have to come from you. But when I started to show people that there is, let's say, three different strategies for eating, for your emotions, if it's going to be stress eating, or eating for porn. So in front of TV, if you notice that pattern from yourself, then there is a three strategies. And you decide, we pick only one. And these are three different options. And when you start to implement, okay, this didn't work. This felt okay. But this third one, wow, this was unable to actually do it. And it's not the progress in here. It's not that you are, if you are implementing something new, that you will do it from day one till the rest of your life. The real progress, how it actually goes in a real life, is that you are maybe remembering or able to do it two times out of 10, and that is actually success. And that is the hardest part for most people to understand, that this is success. This is not success.
• 12:55
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's not that if you have a rules like that, you let's say that you go for intermittent fasting or keto, you have a clear food rules that either you can't eat before 12pm or am, or whatever time you decide, or if you can't eat carbs. And if you are some of those people like you enjoy eating carbs, but you are thinking that this is actually, I see results. I feel good. Of course, you feel good.
• 13:25
  Turo Virta (Zoom): If you don't, you are able to resist something and but if you can't imagine doing it for five years from now, let's say that in five years, if you are a person who likes to enjoy eat breakfast, but you decided this intermittent fasting, I feel so much better. It does good for me, but you can't imagine doing it five years from now. This is not going to be solution.
• 13:52
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Honestly. What is going to help you to overcome your issues you will never, ever have success in long term following this approach. So it all those changes have to be that kind of changes that you are actually able to think that this is something I can imagine to do five years from now and then, if you are actually doing them, not perfectly, but consistently, it's it's only matter of time before you are going to see success. And one of the biggest problems, what I what I see nowadays that there is so much information available, so it's knowledge versus application. So goes. The truth is that the problem is very rarely is knowledge. So you have heard it all before, drink water, walk, more sleep seven to nine hours.
• 14:48
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Prioritize protein, stay consistent. So you know all these things. And if you see in social media tips like this, or somebody is talking, you are like that, yeah, I you know you go for you swipe for the next video, because you know you have heard it. You know it already.
• 15:03
  Turo Virta (Zoom): There is nothing new. And then you know, maybe somebody else is in a grocery store posting a video that this is a gift. This is a poison. And of course, it makes you very overwhelmed. You don't know who to believe. What is the truth?
• 15:21
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And it's not that you don't know there is. And if you don't know something there is nowadays, you can use AI, chat, CPD, all this stuff, and get actually very accurate information. Or Google, you know, it's knowledge. Is not the problem. You can have all the knowledge you want, and it is a lot simpler than most people think. But the real problem is that the application, how you are actually doing it, what it actually means. And this is the point where most of the people don't stop. So, so, and the real question, what I want you to ask from yourself is that, are you treating these reminders, like a good student, like, if I'm teacher in a school, like, if you it's it's a totally different if you did something for someone who is then 11 years old. They don't have all that knowledge. They are listening. They are not all of them, obviously, but most of them, they are listening. They are if they trust you as a teacher, that you know, you know the things, what you are talking they are listening, then maybe they are trying and because good student data, it doesn't good student doesn't roll their eyes and say that, yeah, I've heard this before. A good student is asking a question, okay, how do I apply this today? And because if I tell you, for the 20th time to drink more water, don't turn it out, ask yourself, am I actually doing it? How am I actually doing it? How much I'm actually drinking water, and if you don't know the answer, why not? So knowledge doesn't change you, action does. And of course, this is these are all like the because there is so many like I said that overwhelm with information. It's there is so many different approaches. And I'm not saying some approach is working for some people better than other, but for me, what is the most important thing is to pick one person, who you trust, who you think that this what that guy or women is talking it kind of makes sense so it and I feel like that there is that connection that he knows what he's talking or or his his approach I like. But if you take one advice from him, next advice from somebody else, and third advice, you know you have your friend who is telling that this is working, and this kind of approach that you take little pieces from everywhere, it's more often than not, it's the worst strategy you can ever choose, because, you know, you take different kind of approaches. It's saying, If I think that, how, when I work with my Olympians, and they have a maybe they have their own fitness coach. Then there is a meet and there is a their teammates or something. Instead take follow one workout program or something, what takes into consideration everything what you're doing. But if you take workout, one workout you do from this coach, next workout you do from someone else. And third, one you know you are copying what your teammates are doing.
• 18:51
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's not that doesn't take into account what there, because there is always that bigger picture where you want to get into and take, pick one person, trust what that person is saying, and follow and be like a good student and act like that you don't know anything, and that is the hardest thing, what you can do. So next, what I wanted to talk is little bit the power of small wins. So this is why small wins are so powerful.
• 19:24
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So it's not about being perfect, it's about stacking that progress. So I have a few examples. So a client of mine, I just started now this week, two days ago, new group courses, and it's always, for me, it's, it's, it's the best time of the year, when you get a chance to work with the new people they are joining for group classes first time. And, you know, you get to know them. And I have to say, I just love it. It's, it's just a amazing feeling, of course, to see old faces who have been with me maybe almost a decade, some of them, but of course, to seeing them again, trusting it feels, you know, I never take it granted, because it's something that it's just, it's not just happening, you know, it's, it's, it's so exciting. But especially with this new course, you never know what is going to happen.
• 20:28
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And one of the best examples is Ingrid. She joined my group courses eight years ago, and also three years ago and and when she joined, like she could, she was, she told me afterwards, not in the very first session, but she said that she was thinking it many times that subsidar Start, like she was kind of a little bit ashamed she had a lot of overweight and and couldn't barely do anything. And then, you know, there was that thing, like she was kind of comparing, like, Can I keep it up with the group. Am I fit enough? You know, because you are kind of feeling ashamed a little bit of your situation.
• 21:12
  Turo Virta (Zoom): But she joined, and of course, I found some variations for her level, what she could actually be doing. And you know, there was not many things like, like she couldn't follow or do what everybody else was. But one thing, what I always say in the beginning that the Do not I know that most people are doing it, at least at some level. You are comparing yourself with the others, like, if it's in social media, or if it's if you join for some group workouts, you are looking what the others are doing, and then, you know, you are thinking, Ah, this is it's not for me, but if you learn to compare yourself where you are and now three, that's a short, long story short, Ingrid now, three years after, when she joined, she wasn't able to do like, a lot of stuff, like things like going for lunches or walks, Like there was no chance that she could do them, like properly and like not, not to even think about running or something. And now, three years after she have, she has lost over 20 kilos, able to run, not like for marathons, but over five minutes without stopping.
• 22:25
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And her life have changed. She's going to hike several times in a week when she have or or at least once in a week. What was earlier wasn't even possible for her. And now how that life quality is changing? Of course, if you think, if I ask her, she is almost always telling that that progress, it should be faster. It should be. You know that there is the frustration.
• 22:50
  Turo Virta (Zoom): You gain little bit weight after you are losing it, but the difference is now that she's actually doing it consistently.
• 22:57
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So it's it's starting with one decision and one habit for her.
• 23:03
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It at the time, it was just showing up, not trying to be perfect, but showing up one or two workout sessions then over time. So it's now coming two to three times per week, working out and then changing those nutritional things, trying to drink more water. And it's all about this small wins, thinking like making a little bit better decisions, and that's how you are building that confidence.
• 23:34
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Another client, Seda, was struggling with yo yo dieting for years or even for decades, and she didn't break that cycle by finding the perfect diet, she broke it by consistently practicing balance, choosing to enjoy food without guilt, and focusing on what she could do on most days. And actually that one of the biggest lessons is that how quickly she was when those things happened, that you are you go overboard, you do something what you know that you shouldn't be doing. And the only difference is that how quickly you are getting back into it. So was for some people, it's still like that, you know, you miss one workout, or one week of workouts, or two weeks, you know, you have holiday, you are sick, and the only difference is that how quickly you are bouncing back, and that that is, that is for me, if I think about my own workouts, I was that person. I was that person who was like, doing the perfect workout plan, having three times a week strength session, and then following it for a couple of weeks. Then something happened. There was a busy week of work, and that my inner voice like self talk, what we call with ourselves, several times per day. Then it said that now I can't I don't have time, and now, when I think that I still have situation haven't got better. It's actually a lot worse than it was before, but now my self talk is tested. I only simply keep my promises I make to myself. I go to I show up in the gym, I show up in my weight room three times per week, if I do one exercise, or if I do my full 45 minute workout, it doesn't matter, but I have to show up. And it's it's not about being perfect. And this approach, I have been doing it now for four years, and that have changed everything. It's not. It's not. I'm not. There is not that very few days, actually, that I still enjoy getting into workout, especially with the weights. If somebody is asking me to play some games like I'm more like a game guy who hates losing but, but I go to play tennis or hockey and all those things. I'm I'm always there, if I just have a time, but to have a strength workout, I'm very good at trying to talk myself out of it. But when I don't, when I actually just show up, that is when everything changes. And if, for some reason, there is a week or two weeks that I'm I'm not doing it, and that now I it's, it has been already weak that I didn't show up. Now it's time to show up, even I don't feel 100% but then I do mobility or whatever I can.
• 26:39
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's just the power of actually showing up, because those small wins, they add up over they become your new normal. And when you zoom out, they are those, what are those habits that and wins that they create that transformation? So how you can then apply this right now. So here is my challenge for you this week. So what one? What's one small win you can commit to do? Maybe it's adding 1000 steps a day. Maybe it's having protein at breakfast. Maybe it's going to bed 15 minutes earlier. Don't try to do everything perfectly.
• 27:28
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Be a good student. Pick one thing, apply it and see what happens, because progress always beats perfection. So these are just the quick reminders, and to wrap this up, you have to remember you don't get awards results or transformations by being perfect. You get them by being consistent with small wins, and that's what makes progress sustainable. I'm genuinely thankful to all of you listening right now. Without you, there wouldn't be fit me Turo fitness podcast, and these all awards feed spot, millionaire podcasts awards, they aren't just mine, they are ours. And if this episode resonates with you, I would love it, if it from you and share it with a friend or tag me in Instagram at personal trainer, underline Turo with your own small win this week. And I, I'm, I'm so grateful for you listening here. I don't know if this was the perfect episode or not, but honestly, I don't even care. I'm proud of myself that I hit the record button and did this episode because that's the promise what I make, publish at least one episode per week next week, we have amazing guest, Dr Heather, and I'm already excited to share that episode with you next week, but until then, thank you so much for listening, and especially big thank you for those who have lived five star reviews, they are helping so much with more people finding this podcast. So thank you for listening and talk to you soon.