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More Than the Scale: The 80% Rule & Progress Dashboard That Actually Deliver Results · FitMitTuro Fitness Podcast

• 1:14
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Quick truth, if you are putting in 60% effort and expecting 100% results, you will feel disappointed every week, and if you are measuring progress with just one number, the scale you are touching a movie by a single frame. Today, I will show you how to build an 80% plan that actually works on a progress dashboard that proves you are winning even when the scale is moody. So today, we are talking about something that frustrates almost everyone at some point seeing too little progress or even a tiny weight gain despite trying hard. So if you have ever stepped on the scale seeing it Jump up 0.7 kilos overnight and thought, what's the point this episode is for you? So here is the plan, what we are going to talk today.
• 2:11
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So why to scale alone is a moody and incomplete metric, what 80% consistency really looks like, and why it beats perfection always a simple progress dashboard you can use this week to prove you are winning and how to set expectations so slow progress doesn't trust your motivation and a quick troubleshooting checklist if you have genuinely stalled and not seeing progress or enough Progress, what you think you should be seeing, and in the end, I will provide you one big challenge to turn all of this conversation into action. So let's dive in. So first I wanted to talk a little bit why the scale lies and what it actually tells you. First, we need to reframe what is actually a scale? Because the scale is not a lie detector. It's a fluid metric that reflects water, glycogen, salt, inflammation, from training, digestion, your menstrual, menstrual phase, stress, traveling, and yes, of course, body fat too, but the fat is often the least visible day to day. So normal daily fluctuation can be from 0.5 to two kilos. Or if you are using pounds, it's from one to four pounds. And that is for perfectly healthy reasons. So it doesn't mean like that you have magically gained fat if you went to eat some pizza night before, and then next morning you step up on the scale that you have immediately gained some fat. So why? Why that scale first of all, fluctuates. Maybe you already know some of these, but I will repeat them here. So if you trained your legs yesterday or some other bigger muscles, I personally feel it always, if I have a leg day, or I do a lot of back exercises like basically training just my bigger muscles.
• 4:26
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So it means, always, for the scale and for your body, that your body you have caused muscle damage during the workout, so and your body to become like, obviously your goal is to get stronger during the workouts.
• 4:39
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And if you are doing the top Well, like you train hard, it don't doesn't need to be necessarily strength training, but that your body needs to repair those damaged muscle tissues. What you have caused by working out hard day before and to be able to repair that damaged muscle tissue, your body needs water, and that it's causing that your body holds temporally, more water. So it's that gain, gaining scale weight, day after your hard workout, your body is having water retention. So it holds more water temporarily. So this is nothing dangerous. It's just the normal. It says the way, how the scale works, how your body is working, and it has nothing to do that you have gained fat. So other thing, what is? What is, what causes scale going up if you were eating something saltier. So it means salt is, it's, you can talk about how, if it's a healthy or not, but it also does the same thing. It's holding more water in your body.
• 5:50
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So if you have had some salty dinner or lunch day before, most likely you will be holding more water. And that if you if you are in, if you are women, you are in your luteal phase.
• 6:05
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Protester on, can increase that flight, fluid, retention and appetite. So that is one of the very common reason for women who are gaining always in certain week of month weight, and then other weeks it's going down so and then if you if you were sleeping poorly, it means also your cortisol will be higher, and also your body holds, again, more water. So if you were traveling, or you were sit and you were sitting more and you haven't, or you haven't been in a bathroom yet. So those are all just the simple ways or simple things. What you maybe, you know, have heard at least some of them, maybe not all of them.
• 6:54
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So it's, it's they are just the reasons why that scale is fluctuating and and if you are, if you are someone who measures your progress with a single morning waking maybe once in a week, or every second week, or once in a month, you are judging a whole movie by one frame, so you don't see the big picture and what is, what is actually behind because that is very, very common for especially for women like who I work that I they don't like to maybe you have a bad relationship with the scale. You know, you don't like that feeling of your days ruined and and I it says that it's it says that you don't see. You see one frame from the movie, and you are touching it. You are watching a movie, you see 15 seconds of two hour movie, and you are saying that this is piece of shit. I don't, I don't like it, or it's it doesn't, I don't, I don't enjoy what I see, or, or maybe it's a hilarious, hilarious scene. And you said, Oh, this is amazing, but when the rest of the movies, piece of shit. It's, it's, it's a it's hard to tell something about with so small portion of seeing what is actually happening. And this is this exactly the same thing with your weight. So what you could be doing instead? So we are looking at trends. So for me personally, I wake myself every single day, the first thing in the morning I have digital scale, what automatically applies all my weight ins to app, and there I see my weekly average weight. So this is, this is this has been, like, I don't, I don't have, currently, any weight loss goals or weight gain, like, I'm basically, basically, I'm happy where I'm at and, and like, of course, it's, it helps me to recognize trends like, or like, when, if I say that I'm I'm at the moment, happy where I am.
• 9:08
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Honestly, I'm not because I was, I was now, I was traveling, getting little bit loose with my own diet for a couple of weeks.
• 9:16
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And I'm I'm a person who immediately, if it's one week or even a weekend or short week, and I let let myself go and be little bit get out of my normal eating habits, I feel and see the difference right away. So probably, like, I don't know, for some people, it doesn't make any difference. For me personally, I don't know, is it I don't have probably the best genes from my from my side, but that's just an excuse, and it's just how it is. I can't change those things. But it's, it's what happens to me and how I what I realized that when my average weight, like, first, I gained a weight like, for possibly all these kind of reasons, what I what I said before, except, of course, working out. I didn't work out, but, but everything like eating saltier, eating more. Haven't been in toilet and and when I jump on the scale, I saw that, whoa. Now there is a an like surprising one and a half two kilos more weight. And I thought that Usually this happens, that I just keep going what I do, and weight is away, but that this time it didn't happen. And now, when I looked in my average weight per week, and I start to see those trends patterns, because this is the hardest part to recognize, because you don't you are not often. You are not gaining two kilos of weight per week on average. So, but when it start to go like that, okay, this week, it was half kilo weight gain. Next week, another half. Two weeks later, another another half. So within a within a month, you have a one, one and a half kilos more. And then this is, this was like again for me, a wake up call, and I said, No, wow. Now I gotta do something. I gotta be more strict to get back where I used to be and and this is, this is what I see. It's one of the biggest mistakes that you are not you measure it every once in a while, it's maybe higher number or even lower, because it could be that in the meantime, it's going down. Or Or, I know that if I if, for these reasons, I had a harder workout. Day I slept poorly, eating maybe some carbs or or a lot of salt. Day before I jump on the scale, I know that scale will be showing a lot higher number, but I still do it because it's, I don't have any emotions. It's just the, just some number, what I measure like, you know, if I look what, how many, how many steps I do, it's, it's just a number. I don't get pissed off that. You know what happened today, that I did only 6000 steps, steps, or 5000 steps and or, I'm not that jumping to the roof. If I make someday 15 or 20,000 steps, it says the number. And it's the same thing with the scale. So if you, if you are learning to look at these trends. So it could be, it could be like that. In your case, you don't need to measure yourself every single day, if you don't want, if you have a if you have, especially if you have a bad relationship with the scale. But I highly recommend to try it and see how it goes and but the only number is like that, either you measure it every single day or you take three to five weight gains per week with the same conditions like usually the best time is in the morning, after you get up, you have been in toilet, and then you look at the only number, what you are looking is weekly average. So those daily values, they fluctuate. They can be whatever they want. And if you are women, compare yourself.
• 13:05
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Don't look only about weekly average, but compare that number, what you see on weekly average on the same week of the last month. So when your men structural cycle is at the same phase. So there you can see that those trends. So for men, it's we don't have that thing. But for for our women, look your same face, which face you are every month. So so that's that's how you can compare yourself. So don't look your Tuesday versus last week, Tuesday or Monday versus Monday. Looked at weekly average. And of course, more data points, you have more accurate and better information you will have, and that's the that's the best way how to actually use the scale as a one way to measure your progress.
• 13:56
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's not the only way, and it shouldn't be the only way, because that's the that's the that's the best way to feel frustrated if you are measuring yourself every month or every two weeks, once in a while, and it's the best way to feel frustrated. So you don't, if you, if you and if you have that, if you have a problem seeing the tire number or you can't you know you're if you are someone whose day, day is ruined and you don't you want to be kind for yourself, so do yourself a favor, and don't wake in the morning after traveling after alcohol or the toughest leg day of your life. So just be reading. You will be just reading how much water you have in your body, and not the truth.
• 14:48
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And also, okay, alcohol, it affects, at least for me, it's it's a funny thing, like usually, because alcohol is something that it actually removes water from your body. So for me, if I drink alcohol day before, right next day, I might see lower number on the scale, but it spikes up then, like two days after so. But these are very individual and what what I have seen trends, what happens to me? So those are my personal experiences. It's not that they are the valid or truth for everyone. So then the next part, I want to talk a little bit about 80% rule and what it actually looked like. So because here is the harsh truth that, because I have to be honest with you and you, you have to be honest with yourself, because and this truth will save you. So if you are giving 60% effort, you will get about 60% results.
• 15:47
  Turo Virta (Zoom): That's not a failure, that's just a math. So the only problem with this 60% effort is that if you are expecting 100% outcomes from 60% inputs.
• 16:03
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So what is the real goal. It's 80% consistency. So 80% doesn't mean trying pretty hard. It means actually hitting your lead habits 80% of the time. And THINK, THINK it like this. So it's five to six solid days out of seven, eight wins out of 10 on your personal checklist, and the basics then most days not a perfect day once in a while. So here are two examples. So if your goal is to get seven to 9000 steps, 80% might be five days at 7002 days at 4000 that's still a weekly win. And if your protein target is 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilo of body weight, 80% might be hitting it, seven days out of seven, five days out of seven, and getting close on the other two. And that's how real people make progress without living like a monks. So it's not, it's not about perfection. But if you are really understanding like that, you know, because for the most people I have worked with in the past years, it, it's the progress. Is it really like? It feels like that. You know you are. They are pushing so hard being perfect on. Usually it's on from Monday to Thursday, maybe Friday around lunchtime.
• 17:36
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And then you let go for a weekend. You go way over. You forget all your good things. You think that you deserve something good. And that is, that is four, four and a half days out of seven. So we are there 60% of consistency. It's not, it's not that 80% what we are actually aiming for and how you can actually then change this, because it's, it's, for me personally, it's not that, if you are not, if your goal is not to be like a competitor, fitness competitor at the stage, you don't need to be 100% consistent seeing real results, because for most of us, at least for me, I like to enjoy also things, enjoy foods, enjoy freedom, But it's those core habits would have to be there. And if you don't have those core habits, it's, it's going to be very, very hard, or you can't, at least, you can't expect seeing results. And of course, if you if your goal is, if you are some fitness competitor who needs to be on the stage the best shape of your life, and you have a deadline for that, you better be there.
• 18:49
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Like close to 100% you might have a one seat day, like those fitness influencers, you might see that they are having a cheat meal they have maybe once in a month. But for normal people, it might, it's it's totally different, and this 80% rule, it's the game changer. It's not only in fitness, but everything in life. It's, it applies to everything. It's it applies to your work, your business, your like, okay, family, it's kind of different story. But even there, if you aim for 80% because perfect, perfection is a bad goal, because how it leads? If you can't be perfect, you have a strict rules. You can't follow them perfectly. What, what is?
• 19:37
  Turo Virta (Zoom): How is your how you are going to respond? For most of us, the response is that I'm not going to do anything or or I let it be because I'm I don't have willpower, I don't have discipline. I'm just letting it go because and then I start again when situation is better.
• 19:52
  Turo Virta (Zoom): You know, if you are any human, you have had the self talks and and you have found all possible excuses for yourself, but how you can actually then get out of this kind of mindset and how you can build your progress dashboard so that scale isn't the boss. So starting today, I want you to build progress dashboard. So the goal is to measure leading indicators, the things you can control, and a few outcome indicators to keep you honest. So I want to pick that you are picking four to six of these. And if you, if it feels overwhelming because four to six it's it might be a lot.
• 20:40
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Maybe you are already, if you are already doing kind of well some of these, it can be four to six. But even if you start one to three of these and track them like really track them for the next two weeks. So outcomes that you should be tracking weekly is number one is your weight average. So it's that's kind of optional, but it's how you can do it. It's three to five ratings, and you take only average or if you want to go for the next level, you make yourself every single day, take average weight per week. So these are outcomes. What is even better is to take measurements, tape measurements you can take waist at novel, your hips, your tights, and making sure that you take them always at the same point, and you do it every two weeks. So that is not you don't need to do it every single week, but that do it into every two weeks. And same thing, pictures, take a photos with the same lightning, same post every two weeks. So those are those outcomes. They are keeping you honest and and you are seeing if there's actually progress.
• 21:59
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Because if you use only scale, scale, and you measure yourself every two weeks once, and you see how there is no progress or there is progress, but when there's not really progress, you think that there is progress or opposite, but that when you have more ways to measure your progress, pictures, tape measurements, you have more data to be to have actually honest outcome, if the thing what you are doing is it's actually working, or if it's not, so, then these are the core habits.
• 22:33
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Now we are talking this is the most important thing, what you have to track daily and aim for 80% consistency, and that is how I do it. Like, if you take a calendar month, like, let's say month has a 30 days. Your goal is to get if you want to be 80% consistent, that's 24 days. So if you are there, 2223 24 days, you are closed there. So it means that every every month or every week, it's that five to six days. It's when you should be consistent. You have still some freedom. But it doesn't mean that you have freedom three days every single week so but when you are honest with yourself, and I'm sharing you exactly how to do it, this is how you actually start to get that, what it actually means in real life to become 80% consistency. So number one is your strength performance. So if you, first of all, if you are, if you are doing your strength workout, what you are aiming for, if it's a two times, three times a week. That doesn't matter. It's up to your personal goal, where you are, what you think that it's realistically possible for you at this point.
• 23:53
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So and then what you want to track in your strength workouts is your strength performance. So weights and reps on two to three key lifts, or, for example, push up count. So how is are you making progress? I personally, more you are tracking this kind of data, more you pay attention, more you are seeing those most of the especially women I work, they are, they have never they never measure. They maybe use same dumbbells for the whole workout, and thinking like, then over time, like, you know, you start with your two kilo dumbbells, then you move to three kilo dumbbells. You move four kilo dampers. The problem with this approach is that for some muscles, like, for example, smaller muscles, like shoulders, it's going to be very, you are going to give very, very challenging workout. But then for your bigger, bigger muscles, like your back muscles, your glutes, if you are doing deadlifts and your shoulder lateral raises, for your shoulders, with the same amount of weight your shoulders, they are getting a very good workout, but your glutes or your back muscles, if you are doing some rowing exercise, they have nothing. They it's way too little. So wake measure and track your strength performance. Use different weights, and that could rule of thumb is that you should be not able to you you have to make some kind of ugly face in your last rep, and that you shouldn't be able to imagine if you would get punched in your private areas. If you are able to do more than two repetitions with the same weight, when you are you finish your last it means that you are using two light weights. You should be using more or doing more repetitions, but the last rep should be very, very challenging. But that the key is here is to just track your strength performance. So then number two, and these are only options. Like I said, Pick few of these, 123, if you want to, if you are already kind of doing something like and then you it can be more. Next step is your steps, so either it's going to be daily average or weekly total. So for me, for my clients, we usually set daily calls. So this is a daily call for it could be 7000 steps a day. And so it would mean seven times seven, it's 49 so it's 49,000 per week. So this is you see here, also trans if one day doesn't mean if you get 3000 steps, you can catch it up for the next day. So you are aiming, you have your weekly total and you get your daily average.
• 26:51
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Number three is your protein grams per day or or if you feel like it's a little bit overwhelming to start tracking all my protein sources per day.
• 27:08
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Option could be that, did I get, for example, 2530 grams at breakfast? So if you know that, what is your biggest struggle to get your protein in one meal? Is it? If it's a breakfast, if it's a lunch, if it's a dinner, pick one meal. What you are struggling the most to get protein in, beat that meal and aim for 35 or 30 grams, 25 grams protein at that meal. So that could be option for protein, then fiber. So are you getting hitting your fiber call. So what is fiber call? It's, it's pretty common for for women, like, let's say, 27 grams, but it's, it's kind of hard to know if you are getting, but it's very, very simple thing to do is like that, for example, are you getting?
• 28:06
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Are you eating? What I love to use two pieces of fruit every single day. So you have you have your vitamins, you have your fiber, so and it basically, don't make it too complicated.
• 28:19
  Turo Virta (Zoom): If you get your your goal is to eat two pieces of fruit every day. That's amazing things. And by the way, you might think that artists, these are these, like for most people, we focus on restriction, restrictions, getting cutting sugars, carbs or something, to eat less, to lose weight. But that, if you trust me, if you start to think it otherwise, and you aim for bare minimum, like a protein fiber, it leads to exactly same results. But the it's just so much easier when you are aiming to add something, making sure that you are eating enough of these things, and you automatically, your cravings will go down. You will eat something else less so outcome is the same. It's just mentally at least for me, it's so much easier to focus on adding things which lead to the same thing than just trying to focus on your willpower, how much you can restrict or how long you can restrict, because usually it's only a matter of time before you say that Fuck it. So the next thing is your sleep, so seven to nine hours. So count nights that you sleep at least seven hours, seven hours or more. So if you had a night that you slept less than seven hours, that's that's not being 80, that's not in that list. So if you get at least seven hours, that's good. That's one of the action based goals you can impact, of course, if you have a problems for failing sleep or other sleep issues, but at least that you you have been in bed in a calming environment for seven and a half hours. And if, if, if your watch is telling that you slept six and a half hours, but you were in a bit eight hours, I would still probably give myself credit that I was doing at least everything I could in my power. So then, if your goal, if you are overwhelmed, if you feel like that, you are very stressed at the moment, very good work. Very good thing is to do some breathing work or relaxation. So for example, breathing exercises, like doing them three to five minutes every day. And those could be, for example, focusing on on four six breathing and do it do that for three minutes. So it means that taking four seconds breathing through your nose and six seconds out through your mouth, and doing this for three minutes, and this is going to help you more than you believe, to calm you down, reduce your stress cortisol, which is stress hormones. So this is, this is one actionable thing. Alcohol is the next point, and this is where you set your individual goal. So how many portions or units you are having, allowing yourself per week? So it what is the right? I had an episode about alcohol. So how much studies have changed? It's It was published a couple of weeks ago. So if you if you want to listen it, make sure go back.
• 31:50
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It's a two, three weeks before this episode. So studies have changed a lot with the alcohol recently, and now there is no safe amount of alcohol because studies were when I started 10 years ago, there was a lot of studies came out that a glass of red wine, it's good for your heart health, and blah, blah, blah. And now, what latest studies are telling there is no there is huge risk.
• 32:22
  Turo Virta (Zoom): You are risking all kind of cancers. There's a lot of health risks with the alcohol, and even small amounts. There is no amount of alcohol which is safe or which is good, or something.
• 32:37
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So it's it's something. But of course, this is depending on your individual situation. If you are someone who is drinking on average 20 plus units per week. It's the goal is probably not in the beginning, like a goal for zero, or even if you go it's most likely not going to be sustainable. But for example, with some of my clients, we did, they had a habit that it was, they were, they would be, they were happy to get reduced their alcohol intake for 15 portions per week. So that's cheaper day.
• 33:16
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It might sound for someone, whoa, that that is a it always depends where you are starting from, what you are aiming for.
• 33:24
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And then, of course, if you, if you are drinking at the moment, let's say you are drinking two glasses of wine on average per day. So you are 1415, portions.
• 33:31
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Maybe sustainable way would be trying to reduce it for 10, seven, something like that. So it's still, it's still that it's not about cutting everything out, but trying to reduce it, because you know that you will feel benefits then. Then for women, it's a main structural face note, so mark, literal men, structural days for the context, so that you know that okay, when these things are happening, what is actually going on with my weight, and that this is just just a simple, simple way to see what is actually going on. And so you don't need to wonder why, exactly in these days, is your weight is spiking up, or you have a higher appetite, or whatever. So this is just one way to do it, and then your energy or mood, so quick, one to 10 rating for your energy or mood, and those are just the ways how you could be tracking them for the next two weeks. So if the scale is jumping up but your waist is smaller. Your lifts are up, your sleep and protein are steady. You are not stuck. You are early. And the body, because the body is changing in in steps, not in a straight lines. You know you would like to, of course, we all would like to see immediate results when you start to do things, things. You are doing them for two weeks, and you are expecting that there is a results, but you are actually making progress. And this is all what matters. And it says that it's only matter of time before you start to see when you track these things you are hitting those that 80% consistency of these things you you are getting there. So then I want to talk about expectations and how you to set realistic pace, realistic expectations. So for fat loss, like for most people, I don't know where it is honest numbers or these expectations are coming. Maybe you have a friend who have lost huge amount of weight in the last couple months or or using social media.
• 35:53
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Unfortunately, influencers are posting like, I see somebody's posting just the number on the scale, how much weight they have lost in which time frame. And you are like that, holy shit. I want to have to sing and but what is the problem with this?
• 36:09
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Like, if you see just how much weight they have lost, even if that is your only goal at this point to change your body, but they are not telling how you lost the weight and what you lost, because you could be losing let's say that I would get someone to lose weight, 10 kilos within two months, which is doable depending, of course, on your starting weight. But how you get it? How you if you lose from 10 kilos, if there is you lose four kilos of muscles, four kilos of water weight and two kilos of fat. And despite losing that 10 kilos, your situation is lot worse, because you have lost more muscle mass. You have lost a lot of fluids, and, okay, there was a little piece of fat, but that muscle loss, what you lost with those extreme diets, it's causing you that you are not able to maintain your lost weight. It's going to get harder. Your metabolism is going to be slower. You don't have energy. Your mood is most likely not the best one. You see the lower number on the scale, yes, but you are not in a place that you think that, wow, this is now what I wanted. Your situation is worse than you were. It was when you were 10 kilo heavier in a long term. So in a short term, you might feel good, you might feel happy, proud of yourself, but often these cases, when you look, you wait, let time go. You have a good indentation, or you think that this is the right way now I just have to keep going. I need that quick diet in the beginning to get just a boost for my diet, and then I will just keep those habits. Of course, I need to eat healthier and do exercise, but that's not the case. You are not learning anything else than discipline willpower with these diets and and what is, what is, then, realistically, what is good? A very good progress. So for fat loss, only a solid, sustainable rate is about zero point 25 to 0.5% of your body weight per week on average. So it means that, in a month, if it's a, if it's a one, one to 2% of your body weight. So in a simple, simple ways, if your weight is 100 kilos, and you are getting, you are losing one to two kilos of your body weight in a month, that is a solid, sustainable rate. Of course, it can be in the especially in the beginning.
• 39:04
  Turo Virta (Zoom): It can be faster, but in a long term, in a long term, having that kind of rate, that is a solid progress. So if your rate is 70 kilos, that's zero point 18, 0.35 if my calculation is correct, per week and over a month, it's 0.7 to 1.4 kilos.
• 39:26
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And that is excellent progress, not a dramatic but that is a real and that is what actually is a very good progress. And was, I know what you might be thinking if you you wait now 70 kilos, you want to get up to 60, down to 60. And you think that if I lose 0.7 kilos, I don't even see the difference. I don't see like, what is the what is the point? But you are looking here on average weight, not on daily measurements. And that is a good progress. You will get there. Like, if you you, you are, you have an option. You lose the 10 kilos from 60 to 70, or from 70 to 60, and you you can get there. Let's say that you would get there in a three months if you try to beat the world record of losing weight the fastest. But then, if you look, if you go 0.7 maybe one kilo per month for the next then 12 months you get there, you have your 60 kilos after one year, and the person who gets there faster, most likely, if you look back, you compare yourself in one year, 12 months from today. If you start both today, it's, I bet the person like who got their slower pace is in a better place and lost usually more weight after one year than the person who gets there. The problem is only our mindset and because usually there is very few people who who is willing to actually get the work done and and trust the process, trust the progress and keep going, even the scale is not moving. So sometimes that progress, it hides for two to three weeks, and then you are getting like that, who? What is going on?
• 41:28
  Turo Virta (Zoom): That's normal. Meanwhile, if you are tracking your pictures, your measurements or strengths, if they are already improving, you you or they, if they are improving, but the scale is not moving, you are improving. And so that's why it's so important to measure all kind of progress and see that if there is nothing happening, okay, two to three weeks, that is still not, not a time frame that you should say that now I have to change something. But if, let's say that despite being 80% consistent with your measurements or with with all metrics you are tracking, you are not seeing this kind of progress, or you don't see any progress in your tape measurements, pictures, your strength, your average rate per week, then the might the thing what you are doing might not be working, but before changing anything, make sure you are 80% consistent with the things you are doing. Make sure you have more ways to measure your progress than just the scale, and because if your goal is recomposition, which means losing fat while building muscle, the scale, the scale can stay flat while your waist drops and your genes fit better. And that is also a win. That is a progress. So don't let one number steal that from you. So how often what I want to talk is to how to troubleshoot your slow progress. And here is a quick checklist. So if you have been like a few weeks and you are genuinely stuck, so run this seven point audit. So number one is intake drift, so track three to five honest days, including the weekend. So at track everything you are eating, so little extras, like oils, sauces, those licks and bites, what you are finishing from your kids lunch. Track everything, and just look where you are at with your calorie intake. How is your portion size? Is number two? Is your protein? So aim for that 1.6 to 2.2 and you can see that number also if you are able to track and start hitting 25 to 30 grams at your protein at breakfast every day. So then number three is your training goes. Are you doing two to three full body strength sessions per week using progressive overload and finishing set with one to three reps in reserve? So it's challenging. You are not crushing it. You don't go until failure, but you are close going close to there. If your answer is no, okay, we have something to fix. So how is your need? And this is non exercise activity, so keep your step stable on non training day. So don't let them fall by 3000 so take how many steps you have been doing, and if there is any changes so sleep are you able to? How is your average sleep? How many hours?
• 44:58
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Maybe trying to add 15 to 30 minutes. So if you try to have, if you try to protect those kind of two, like anchor nights per week where you get at least seven and a half hours alcohol, so set to sailing, for example, three to four per week, Because alcohol it, it disturbs your sleep and appetite control. So as you know, if you have ever drink alcohol in your life, you might think I used to think that I was sleeping better. Yes, it's true, you fell asleep easier, but your quality is sucks every single time. Even one portion of alcohol, it ruins my sleep quality. You might I might sleep feel okay, but quality, trust me, it's not. It's never the same. And your appetite control, especially when you drink alcohol. You know your appetite increases. You might see it, at least here in Italy, we like to eat, always something like chips or whatever when you are drinking alcohol, and then for women cycle context, so except water pumps pre period, so compare weight averages, follicular, follicular, face to follicular, face Not to not, week to week. So do these checks before you change the whole plan. So there, because these are some things, what you can quickly check, are you okay with this? And if there is something that, oh, this was the part, what I was actually before you change everything, make sure you are doing these things. So this is now the part what I promised that. This is what an 80% week actually looks like. And this is just an example. Your situation might be different, but here is a 80% week plan for Busy Women.
• 47:01
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So strength training, it's, for example, two times per week.
• 47:09
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Could be Monday, Thursday, full body, 45 minute strength workout. Steps, 8000 on average.
• 47:20
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Some you might have some 6,006k days. Some days are 9k but on average, 8000 protein. So that's that, like I said, eater, you track your daily total. What could be 100 grams, 120 whatever number you get and or you could be checking that you get 25 to 30 grams at breakfast. So fiber, four to six servings produce most days. So it means opting whole grain products, pieces or fruits, those all count so sleep, so you have two kind of what I call anchor nights. So they are at seven and a half to eight hours. Other nights, six and a half to seven ideally, if your average sleep, it should be there like at least at seven hours. So alcohol, maximum three to four portions per week and breathing so three minutes after workouts or before bed. So five out of five, days out of seven.
• 48:31
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So this is it helps you to calm down after a workout, after a hard day of work, doing it before, before bed, or, for example, after workouts. That is something, what, what is what? I was never actually believing we started, I started to implement with the women's national team, because there it's a different it's a different topic, different you are not an most likely you are not an Olympian who is training for Olympics, but for us in a game situations where you have very little time to recover. For example, you pay you play a game today, and next game is in 20 hours, so you have to maximize recovery. And the thing is, with the breathing, like your body, okay, you are done with the workout. But and you you are done. You know that now it's done. You go to shower, you go to eat, but your body, your nervous system, is still in a state. It doesn't know that it's done. Okay. You need to fuel your body, but relatively quickly after workout, so you start to recover from workout, but also the sending signals to your nervous system to your body that we are done. We are done with the workout. We can start actually recovering. And when you do the breathing exercises three minutes after workouts, it tells to your nervous system that we are done here. Workout is done. I'm I'm ready to start recovering. And that is after workouts. That's why. What is the reason behind why those breathing exercises are working after workout or or other option, like I said, before bed calms you down, helps you most likely to feel asleep, sleep with the better quality. So try to aim for five days out of seven. So, is that perfect? No, does it work? Yes, because you repeat it. It's not only for one week, but this is just an example of 8020 rule, what it looks in a real life.
• 50:43
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So, so this is I want to share two quick scripts to save your week. So if you have a higher calorie day, what you could tell to yourself today, the sentence, what, what I want you to repeat.
• 51:04
  Turo Virta (Zoom): You can write this down if you are somewhere or or right if you are driving a car, don't write when you are driving, but write it down once you stop and you are in a in a quiet place and you what you are going to say to yourself after a higher calorie day, is that today I go back to my routine, protein at breakfast, lots lots of water. A walk. I don't punish I continue when the scale is jumping up, what you are going to tell yourself is that this is water, not failure. What did I do yesterday? Legs, more south.
• 51:41
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Sleep, cool. I'll average the week when motivation is low, you what you are going to tell is that I don't need motivation. I need the next 10 minutes, 10 minutes of movement now, and I will see how I feel after. And this is when motivation is low, or you never try never to Promise yourself that I must do the whole workout. Tell yourself, don't let yourself talk out of it. Say that I promised for myself to start my workout, I will get started, and if, after I started, I did one exercise, one set of my first exercise. If I feel that I don't have time, I don't have power, whatever I'm give myself permission to quit, but I have to promise I make to myself. So if it's two strength workouts, goal is not to to finish two strength workouts. It's only to get started two times, and ideally in those days, what you have put into your calendar. So this is then, let's move to your weekly progress scorecard, so you can use this in your notes.
• 53:07
  Turo Virta (Zoom): I will read this out, and you can copy it from the show notes.
• 53:11
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So pick your eight lead habits, score each day, one or zero, or you can put done, sign or x, and aim for 80 protein for the week.
• 53:24
  Turo Virta (Zoom): So protein at each meal, steps, strength training, sleep, fiber, alcohol, three to five minute pre work, water and track, outcomes, weekly, wake up, weight, average, waist, hip, one to two gym per personal records, energy, one to 10 score it on Sunday. If you are 80% or above, you are on track, even if the scale is grumpy this week. So here is your challenge for the next seven days. Choose one habit, one lead habit to nail it at 80% it could be protein at breakfast or 8000 steps or seven hours of sleep. Track your weekly weight average and your weight, your waist once. DM me your scoreboard on Instagram, and I will cheer you on and help you tweak it. If you are stuck, remember, you are not stuck. You are early. Your body needs consistent inputs, not perfect ones. And so let's do a little quick recap what we talked today. So the scale is one data point, not the whole story. Use weekly averages and context. 80% consistency beats, 100% for for two days and quitting on day three. Build your progress dashboard so you can see wins you control, except small, steady changes zero point 25 to 0.5% per week is excellent.
• 55:11
  Turo Virta (Zoom): Troubleshoot with protein, steps, sleep, strength and honest intake. If today helped, please share this episode with a friend who is feeling stuck and leave a quick preview. It really helps more women find the show.
• 55:33
  Turo Virta (Zoom): And if you want coaching support to build 80% plan that works with your life, you can explore options at personal trainer turo.com you are doing better than you think. Keep going, because I'm proud of you. You.