Pod Insights Change Wired The Decade-Long Fitness Game: 7 principles for lifelong best shape of your life. Psychology, behavioral science, discipline. The Decade-Long Fitness Game: 7 principles for lifelong best shape of your life. Psychology, behavioral science, discipline. Change Wired
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About this episode What if the key to permanent fitness isn't found in extreme workouts or restrictive diets, but in understanding the psychology behind sustainable change? After a decade coaching executives, entrepreneurs, and high-performers on health transformation, I've discovered that most people approach fitness backward, focusing on short-term tactics rather than building systems that last a lifetime. This episode reveals the 7 evidence-based principles that determine whether you'll not only achieve your fitness goals but maintain them effortlessly for years to come. We explore why exercise should never feel like punishment, how making your meals strategically "boring" can be your secret weapon, and why sleep may be the single most underrated factor in your transformation journey. You'll discover how to use behavioral science techniques like "if-then" planning to navigate challenging situations and learn why having specific strategies for your worst days matters more than what you do when motivation is high. The truth is, in our current environment of endless choices and constant temptation, willpower alone is insufficient. By implementing these seven principles from environmental design to motivation clarity you'll build a comprehensive system that makes healthy choices automatic rather than exhausting. Whether you're just starting your fitness journey or have been struggling with the same 10 pounds for years, these insights will transform how you approach health by working with your psychology instead of against it. The most sustainable changes don't feel like constant sacrifice but become integrated parts of a life you genuinely enjoy living. Text Me Your Thoughts and IdeasSupport the showBrought to you by Angela Shurina Behavior-First Change Leadership & Culture Transformation ConsultantEXECUTIVE & OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE COACH
Transcript 0:00 Speaker 00 Hey guys and welcome back to another episode of Change Wired Podcast. My name is Angela Sharina, I'm your host, I'm your change agent, change management leadership consultant and executive coach 360. And on Change Wired Podcast, we are talking about personnel change, collective change, global and organizational change, and all the tools and systems and also experiences and stories. So you could change easier, faster, more effectively. Because at the end of the day, if you are not changing, what are you doing here really, guys? Life is amazing as an exploration.
0:44 Speaker 00 And part of that exploration is exploring yourself, what you can be. When you apply thinking, strategizing, dreaming of things, planning and conscious effort to create certain results and outcomes. You know, this month of July is my outcome, not outcome, reflection month. I'm turning another year of my life, so is my entire family, actually. But I'm also getting my new passport, my new traveling international passport that, at least in Russia, where I'm from, we get every 10 years. And it's a milestone of my life.
1:28 Speaker 00 I'm looking back into the last 10 years of my life, which I started with a moon landing gala in the US, in Orlando Kennedy Space Station. And I'm thinking forward, I'm looking forward and I'm thinking, what I want to create in the next 10 years of my life? What stamps do I want to put on this passport? Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Antarctica, and even space are some of the places where I definitely want to go. There is this phrase, I think it's attributed to Bill Gates. We underestimate...
2:10 Speaker 00 We overestimate what we can do in a year. I would say we overestimate what we can do in a day, in a month, in a year. And so underestimate what we can do in a decade. Because almost anything is possible. If you decide to put in effort day after day after day consistently for a decade. Like what can you achieve? Almost freaking anything, guys. And I think in decades makes me so inspired to live every day and contribute to this bigger vision. Put a brick into this cathedral of the vision for self and then see it manifest. So what do you want to do in the next 10 years of your life?
2:54 Speaker 00 I also invite you to reflect. But besides that, guys, today we are talking about change and specifically about health change and change of our body composition. That's why you clicked on today's title and on today's podcast episode, right? I'm going to share with you. So I spent more than a decade of my life coaching leaders of all shades and shapes, entrepreneurs, business owners, executives, professional athletes. I experimented so much on myself and consumed so much information on health and fitness and still getting myself updated.
3:36 Speaker 00 Like right now, I'm listening to a podcast episode on Huberman Lab. Podcast was one of the most, not influential, but the most knowledgeable voices in health and fitness industry, especially when it comes to body composition, but also health. So check out the latest episode of Andrew Huberman. But anyway, so I'm always keeping myself updated and I'm still helping a lot of executives and leaders and entrepreneurs to get into the best shape of their life and stay there. And most importantly, to build systems, awareness and habits. So. They don't just get the results, but they get to keep them for their lifetime.
4:21 Speaker 00 I myself personally, I got in shape quite some time ago and I'm always staying in the exact shape that I wanna be. And if I wanna change it, I change it. And it's because I have a really good system and understanding of how our psychology works, how our biology works, how we are influenced by systems and environment around us. And I built all of this to help me achieve and maintain the goal without too much work or too much thinking. And today, I'm gonna share with you seven truths that are rooted in our psychology, in our biology,
5:01 Speaker 00 in the science, behavioral science, in the science of about how we build habits and how to shift and manage our emotions better. So we also change our thinking and make better decisions. Ultimately, again, the the outcome that I want to share with you, the outcome that I want you to get is to learn how to build a better system for health and fitness and getting and staying in the best shape of your life without, again, too much complexity, but understanding what are all of the influences that gonna influence your outcome in your
5:41 Speaker 00 health and fitness and how you can use this knowledge to give yourself best chance at success. You know, in the world of limitless choices and opportunities where you are bombarded with so many things, you need to have a system to maintain great health and fitness. Otherwise, if you just allow the environment to shape you and shape your choices and shape your health and shape your fitness, what we are seeing in the world already, it's not gonna end up good. Maybe at some point in the future, I'm really hoping to contribute to that. We'll build better systems where when you follow what the environment prompts you to do, you're gonna do really, really well. But as
6:24 Speaker 00 Right now, if you don't have a system, the world gonna change it, turn you into unfit, unhealthy, probably depressed and low energy kind of individual, who doesn't strive for much in their life. So have to think better choices. What are the systems you're gonna build? So let's dive into that. Seven systems, seven questions, seven principles, that you absolutely need to put into practice if you wanna get into the best shape of your life and stay there. Again, based on research in psychology, in motivational psychology, behavioral science, health and fitness science, all of the stuff that, again, I've put together from
7:09 Speaker 00 much smarter people than myself, only PhDs who studies fitness and nutrition and healthy lifestyle and how we form habits. And also looking through the lens of experience, working for more than ten years with actual people and helping them to achieve results and keep them. So, number one, exercise. You need to exercise to keep yourself fit. Uh, this is sort of a rent that you pay for living a great life on earth. You have this body and as far as we know right now, you need to maintain it in great shape in order to enjoy life to the fullest. You know, there is this saying that I love.
7:50 Speaker 00 Fitness is not everything in life, but there is so much more to life with fitness. So, uh, something along these lines, that fitness is not everything, but there is so much more in your life with great fitness. But when it comes to getting into the best shape and staying there, number one principle that you wanna understand, you wanna exercise as much and in such a way that A, it doesn't make you hurt yourself, it doesn't get you injured, it doesn't get you super hungry, it doesn't make you hate every day of your life. Like, you shouldn't be waking up and thinking, oh my god, today I have to exercise.
8:31 Speaker 00 No, it should be, movement should be joyful. So what kind of movement practice can you start creating so it's joyful? For me, for example, when I go and I exercise to the gym, I try to keep it short because if I Make it super hard. If I tire myself out, uh, first of all, then the rest of the day, uh, because I exercise usually in the first part of the day, uh, is gonna be so much less productive just because I would spend so much energy and effort in the gym. And by the way, your brain and your nervous system, they compete with the same resources, uh, in the exercise or in the work that you do. So I, I kinda don't wanna give it all to my exercise. I'm not a professional
9:13 Speaker 00 athlete to do so. Doesn't make any sense to me. And I also don't wanna hate my workouts. I wanna get in, move, enjoy, uh, working on certain goals and get out and looking forward to the next day of exercise and movement. If, and also, I don't wanna get injured. I'm not again, a competitor. If you are, that's a different story, but I'm not, and most people are not. And so that's why you wanna move and exercise and work out in a way that is enjoyable, that is joyful, that makes you more energized, not less energized, that make you less injury
9:52 Speaker 00 prone or you're less hurt than more. And also that will, uh, create the longevity of your practice. Because if you always hurt yourself because you over exercise and push yourself too hard, there are many people like that. Then guess what? You're gonna be out of exercise practice for some time and you're gonna hate it. And your brain will remember like, oh, you hurt yourself, right? So number one, exercise shouldn't be, shouldn't feel like too much. You should challenge yourself, but not over challenge yourself. And, uh, there is a balance that you need to find. So that is a, uh, an exercise truism. If you wanna stay fit for life, that a lot of people don't get. They go either full intensity and get
10:36 Speaker 00 somewhere and then they hate it so much, or it feels like so much effort that they quit and they never get back for like years, sometimes years, a decade. And that's how you get out of shape. If you just do something every single day, you're gonna get results, you're gonna make progress and you're gonna stay in it for life. So number one, don't exercise in a way that makes you super hungry, super tired and hurt yourself. Find something that you enjoy and you can do forever. Number two, food needs to be, for majority of your meals, food needs to be sort of boring routine and mundane. It shouldn't be taken 200, as they say, decisions a day to decide what you're gonna eat. It should be a routine, just like sleep.
11:22 Speaker 00 You don't wanna be thinking about your sleep. You just, you know, time comes and you sleep and you wake up and you get going. So the same with food. It also has to be kind of boring, because if it's not boring, your brain will make you overeat. That's just the power of the brain design. So a lot of my clients who say, "Well, I'm a foodie." But even if you are a foodie, you shouldn't be a foodie for every single meal. Otherwise, you're gonna overeat and you're gonna make it so much more difficult for yourself to stay in shape. And again, when food is available and if you are in this world and you can eat pretty much as much food as you want, having your food to be too exciting and having to think about it several times
12:04 Speaker 00 per day, as much as 200 times per day, not in your favor. So that's why, if you wanna stay for life, you kinda wanna figure out a few to-go meals that you can go pretty much do everywhere, anywhere, and that you kinda like, but also not like so much that you tend to overeat it and have to then fight your willpower to stop eating every single meal. Just not a good idea. And again, I'm also speaking from experience of 10 years helping people to get in shape and stay in shape. You wanna, for majority of your meals, be kind of a little bit bored. Just eat and get out and have fun in the rest of your life. Again, sometimes, yeah, but not every time,
12:48 Speaker 00 unless you're some sort of chef and you really wanna experiment every meal. But again, that's not majority of people. Number three, sleep is a silent amplifier or killer of your health and fitness dreams. And it works on your metabolism, it works on your hormones. It also works on your decision-making part of your brain, your
13:14 Speaker 00 Frontal cortex where willpower sits and where you have the potential to make the best possible choices. So when you don't sleep enough, that part gets compromised based on research, based on science, and you don't make great decisions and you end up not eating well, not sticking with your good habits, especially if you are just beginning. So sleep, guys, it will make weight loss, exercise, not getting sick, so many things. Well, and if you are struggling with sleep, like many of my clients at the beginning of our work together do struggle just getting to sleep and getting enough hours and down-regulating and getting into this,
13:59 Speaker 00 creating the ability of your body and brain to chill and sleep for like seven to nine hours straight. It is also a skill, especially for a lot of my male clients. It's actually a struggle. They just go, go, go, go, go and have a lot more adrenaline, cortisol and testosterone, which actually doesn't allow them to have great sleep. And then that manifests into getting sick, into getting injured, not having your willpower powered up. And so not making great food choices and then your metabolism and your hormones also play against you and you end up into this, in this vicious cycle of eating too much, not exercising,
14:41 Speaker 00 your brain not making the best choices. And then you're still wired and you wanna, when you work and you, and you end up in a position where you don't have time.
14:51 Speaker 00 So there is a whole cycle that happens when you just don't get enough sleep. So if you are struggling, then work on your sleep, just like you wo- work on any other goal. It's, if you didn't know that, but
15:05 Speaker 00 To sleep insomnia, for example, what works best is not medication, is not any, some sort of prescription or some magic method, but actually cognitive behavioral therapy. And in base terms, it's how you think and your habits, everything that you do before sleep, including your own mindset around sleep, that what makes a great sleep experience. So just like, again, any other goal, you can work on getting better sleep. And it depends on so many more things that you do during the day, including viewing sunlight in the first hour or a couple of hours of your waking time.
15:49 Speaker 00 Right, so sleep, your superpower. It's where your muscles are built and maintained, is where your fat loss is optimized, as well as your metabolism, is where your stress hormones are downregulated, so many things. So sleep, your superpower. Many people really underestimate the power, the effect of sleep on all the health and fitness goals. But once you know it, once you feel it, it's like my clients say, you know, Angela, I didn't believe in sleep and now I recommend sleep to everyone. That's what happens when you feel how your life is amplified in all areas, not just health and fitness, when you learn how to get great sleep. So three, sleep is your superpower, work on it.
16:35 Speaker 00 Number four, making choices in advance, creating this if-then scenarios, which have been studied in behavioral science, in psychology. What it means is when you make decisions about food, about fitness, about your routine, about your sleep in advance and for as many situations where you tend to trip up as possible. Like, for example, when I go to the airport this weekend, I'm gonna have this meal or I'm gonna find this food. And maybe there's a couple of bananas, maybe you have your shake with you, maybe you're gonna order omelette.
17:19 Speaker 00 Whatever those choices are that you decide to make, making choices in advance or, for example, deciding...
17:26 Speaker 00 When I'm tired and hungry and stressed and I get back home from work, I'm gonna have, let's say, you're gonna have your protein shake, which is ready in advance, ready to go, super easy. Ideally, pre-made shake in your fridge. So you just need to grab it and drinking and then sit on the couch or in the bus, relax, take a shower. Create those plans for as many situations as possible. And that is again proven by behavioral science, by psychology research. If then plans work really well, because you create these neural pathways of action in advance in your brain. And your brain loves easy. So when you make decisions in advance,
18:09 Speaker 00 which is the work that your brain is trying to avoid by automating most of the stuff. When you do that in advance, you'd be surprised how often you actually follow through.
18:23 Speaker 00 Well, we were talking with a client of mine and he said, you know, Angela, I'm a little bit like falling back into my habits. And at work, I noticed that before I used to go and ask for salad. Like they have separate places where at work they get salads and get sandwiches. But these days, I'm like talking to people and most of them do go and get sandwiches. Because also there is like, there are other choices. And I tend to not go for salad. So I just need to remind myself before that I'm gonna go for salad. And we practice together, okay? When I'm about to go for lunch, I'm gonna think about grabbing my salad first and then doing the rest of the stuff.
19:06 Speaker 00 And if I'm talking to my colleagues, then I'm gonna say, ah, no, give me a minute. I'm gonna grab my salad. And so you practice, you practice, you practice that. Just like elite athletes do visualization as a part of their of actual athletic practice. The same thing is effective for just average humans like you and me. When you practice, when you visualize this if then plans, you then allot a lot. A lot more likely to follow through, especially when you're tired, when you're stressed, when you don't wanna think about all the options that are out there or about making good decisions which are aligned with your aspirations for your health and fitness.
19:51 Speaker 00 So make choice in advance. If this happens, I'm gonna do that. Especially for these situations when you tend to not make your best choices, whether that's after work, before work, or maybe at lunch you grab, I don't know, K and D or some other snack that eliminates all the calorie deficit that you wanted to create, to get into the best shape, get lean and ripped and whatever it is you wanna do, right? So create as many event scenarios and, and, and. And that goes into the next one. Make, create, build systems. So this is number five. Build systems to make the choices you wanna make the easiest choices. What I mean by that? Okay, now you practice this event scenario.
20:34 Speaker 00 So make that protein shake there in the fridge. With many of my clients, they would report to me this awareness that they got. They would say, you know, Angela, I didn't realize how I was susceptible to grabbing the easiest thing. Like when I have oranges or mandarins in my fridge, ready to eat, like peeled and just ready to grab and eat and put in my mouth. I eat so much more of them instead of some cookie or candy or whatever, you know, other snack is there. I make better choices when I open my fridge and it looks at me and it's peeled and ready to be eaten.
21:17 Speaker 00 So from step number four, making event plans, to step number five, building systems that the choice that you wanna make, not just the one that you thought about in advance, but also the one that you made the easiest. Like for me, I boil a ton of eggs for my breakfast. And so they're always easy to eat or ready to go. I don't need to do anything on top. I just need to open up my fridge and have a couple of boiled eggs. And also that's why I love canned seafood for my breakfast. Uh, I eat usually salmon on tuna or with uh yeah with some fruit. So I'm very weird for breakfast, but I eat easy foods for breakfast and lunch. And the only meal I cook is dinner and I also make it as easy as possible.
22:03 Speaker 00 Uh, getting precut veggies, getting meat and fish that I don't need to do much with. Just, you know, steaks and and stuff that I really need to, I really don't need to work hard. So build systems and that is also very undervalued, underestimated. Uh, way to get into the best shape of your life and stay there. If you travel, make sure that you have your either protein shakes or protein bars. So maybe some nuts and seeds or some fruit like apple and bananas or some dried meats. Maybe built on beef jerky. So all of these things that you wanna be eating instead of whatever crap they have at the airport. Make it easy and available.
22:44 Speaker 00 Put some some good for you snacks in your purse or in your gym bag everywhere. So whenever you wanna eat and take care of yourself, that choice is available and the easiest to make. And now uh to step number six. It's also related to systems and even plans, but it's more about. Um, I made a a talk on how to make your dreams your reality. And one of the three key points I made is you need to plan not just for the good days,
23:25 Speaker 00 but actually you need to plan more what I like to call guardrails for the times when you are at your worst. When you are hungry, when you are stressed, when you are annoyed, when you are anxious, when you are demotivated, when you are out of energy. What is the plan for that? Like if you come back home and you are super hungry, but you know you already ate of your calories and this is too late and you should be just going to sleep. What are you gonna do that? How are you gonna calm yourself down and distract yourself? Literally distract yourself. How are you gonna make the best choice when you are at your worst? And for me, it's going for walks, it's doing some listening to music or dancing, it's taking a shower,
24:10 Speaker 00 it's going and napping, it's talking to someone. You'd be surprised how many things on your mind will go away once you learn how to distract yourself productively and proactively. And you won't even remember about that. And the next morning you wake up, you're like, um, I'm glad I didn't do that. And I stayed aligned with my goals and my aspirations and I did the thing that I told myself to do. And once you do it a few times, when you are in the difficult moment, you are demotivated, you don't wanna do anything, forget about doing your best. You are hungry, angry, and the sad, frustrated, demotivated, don't believe in yourself.
24:53 Speaker 00 When you learn how to make your best choices, when you create plans and figure out what works for you, when you make those choices in those moments, you're gonna be so empowered, you all of a sudden realize that anything you want, anything that requires hard work, you'll be able to do that. Because the moments that gonna stop you are not any hardships in your life. And definitely not the moments when you feel at your best, setting your goals. But what's gonna stop you are those moments when you at your lowest and there's gonna be a choice and you're not gonna make the best one. That's where you need systems and you need a plan.
25:37 Speaker 00 Everyone can do everything and be super strong when we are feeling motivated and energized and self-confident. But when it's the opposite, and you're gonna have a lot, a lot of those moments of the opposite when you're building something that you've never built before, whether that's health, fitness or your business. So what do you, what plan do you have when you're at your worst or shit, or shit hits the fan? What is the plan then? Right, so this is number six. You need to build systems and plan of action for those moments and they will define whether you succeed or not.
26:15 Speaker 00 And number seven, last but not least, why do you want to win in the first place? And how will you know that you arrived? Getting healthy and fit. We all have different reasons for that. Some people wanna increase the quality of their life and be the most energized and wanna wake up every day and feel amazing. Some people wanna do it for their kids, for their grandkids, for their spouses, for their company, their employees. They just wanna be their best for other people. And you can't be your best for other people if you can't be your best for yourself. Your body is your vehicle, for your brain and for all the best things you can do.
26:59 Speaker 00 You need to top up your energy and you need to have great vehicle to drive through life, no matter what, no matter how the road gets. And so what is your motivation? And also, what is your standard? There is no right or wrong standard, except for the standard that you need to maintain to feel like you're at your best. For me, I wanna be in a certain shape. I wanna feel strong. I wanna look amazing when I see my videos or classes or workshops. I do any pictures or recordings. I wanna feel like I love what I'm seeing. I wanna inspire as I walk into the room. That's what I wanna produce. And that's why I'm working on my health and fitness
27:42 Speaker 00 in the way I work on my health and fitness. And I also know when I'm there and I'm not there. Metrics from like my body composition to how much pain I have. You know, I'm getting to my thirty year year of my life. And at some point in the past, I actually started having pains. And I'm like, this is not what I wanna be feeling. So how do I work on my fitness and health? So I'm not feeling that. And I found a solution and I worked through that and I'm working through it. And now I'm pain free. And the reason why you wanna understand this is because you're gonna hit a lot of hard moments. It's because there're gonna be a lot of choice where you Dedicate your effort, your energy.
28:27 Speaker 00 And so you, you, you, there is also choice how you build your lifestyle. And so you need to have the answer to this question. Why are you doing this? And what being healthy and fit? What does it look like for you? So you know when you arrive there and it's your reason. And you can answer this question, why it's important to you? Because if you can't, then it makes no sense whatsoever to build any systems or make certain choices. Again, all of the choices and decisions you make, they make no sense unless you understand what the purpose of all of this. Just being healthy and fit. Well, it also feels good at some point, you know, you realize I just love waking up feeling good.
29:11 Speaker 00 But then you also need to know what contributes to that feeling. Otherwise, with all the choices available and all the easy things you can go for. You might end up in a place where you stop doing those things that made you feel good in, in the first place. And that's where you start sliding in a place where you don't want to be sliding. So what is it all for? And what is a winning state when it comes to health and fitness for you? You need to have hard definitions, some metrics that are measurable, not metrics that you can just feel. Well, you know, asking yourself, how am I feeling energy wise on a scale of one to 10?
29:53 Speaker 00 It's also somewhat objective, but I highly recommend you to actually measure it then. Let's say every Sunday you wake up and like, how am I feeling? How have I been feeling energy wise on a scale of one to 10? And then create some sort of metric where, whether that's Excel sheet or whether you put it in some AI agent or app. So you register and you see how it changes. Because if it start trending downwards, then might be the time to intervene.
30:23 Speaker 00 So before we recap, guys, please rate, review this podcast episode. Help us. Let's together reach more ears. So we help people, we help each other to stay accountable, to build better systems, to live our best life, to grow, to improve, to change, to evolve. So please do share, review, what else? Share this with other people, with your spouse, with your kid, with whoever it is you wanna work on your health and fitness. Social accountability is the strongest kind of accountability and nothing like common content or reading or articles or knowledge that you can share with other people.
31:05 Speaker 00 Also, when you teach something, you actually keep yourself more accountable because then you kind of have to be consistent with what you say and what you share. So do it for your own accountability as well. Share this podcast episode, talk about that and you're gonna do better just by doing so. To recap, number one, exercise, but not in a way that makes you hungry, hurting or makes you hate the whole thing. Number two, food needs to be boring, it needs to be a routine somewhat. Yeah, you wanna experiment with your food, but not too much. Number three, sleep is your superpower on so many levels, better decisions, better body composition, better life at the end of the day.
31:47 Speaker 00 Number four, making choices in advance with if, then, plans is research-based, one of the best ways to do better choices when you are in all these different situations that you can be in. So if this happens, I'm gonna do then. Repeat it, visualize, just like an elite athlete would. Number five, build a systems of easy choices for you to do your best. Even if you don't think about that, put those oranges peeled in your fridge, put that shake ready to drink, put all the good stuff in your gym bag, in your purse, in your office.
32:30 Speaker 00 Make things you wanna do easy by building systems. Six, so you've got to have a plan for when it's hard. You've got to plan for when you're demotivated, when you're low on energy, when you are cranky, anxious, any of that, like what are you gonna do that? You're gonna define your success more than any plan for when you feel your best. And number seven, why are you doing this in the first place? And how will you know when you arrive? So you've got to have some metrics and some deeper personal reason for doing these things. Otherwise, in the world of limitless choices, you just don't have a chance to survive. And that's about it, guys. Thank you for listening.
33:14 Speaker 00 Thank you for tuning in. I wishing you much health and fitness. Information and knowledge is more available than ever as systems to make it happen. So get out there, build your systems, get the fittest, the healthiest, get all of the plans for the best decade of your life. You can achieve anything if you put your effort in a decade. So thank you for your attention. Let's keep growing and till next time, yeah, just keep growing.
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