Hey everyone, this is Coach Aaron. Most people think fat loss or muscle gain comes down to one thing: motivation. It feels powerful in the moment, but motivation is also wildly unreliable. It disappears the moment life gets busy, stressful, or inconvenient. The people who make the most progress in fitness usually aren’t the most motivated. They’re the ones who built simple systems that work even on average days. A few examples I see work really well: Keep 4-5 “default meals” in rotation for the week that you already know the calories and macros for. Pick a protein-heavy meal you eat almost every day so you’re not reinventing breakfast or lunch constantly. The protein will keep you full throughout the day. Have a minimum movement rule for busy days. Maybe it’s a 20-minute walk after eating, 5k steps, or one quick lift. Something that keeps the habit alive even when the day gets chaotic. What behaviors have you implemented when life gets busy?

Let’s have a little real talk today. Sometimes when you start a health journey, you become the engine in your household. You’re the one: • learning macros • tracking in MFP • experimenting with recipes • planning meals • building the system Meanwhile your partner or family just happily enjoys the benefits of the environment you’re creating. And honestly… most days I love it. I enjoy being creative in the kitchen and figuring out ways to make things better. But last night reminded me that even the engine has emotions. I made a raspberry blueberry loaf and worked on a new frosting recipe. I spent time whipping it, getting the texture right, and was honestly excited about how it turned out. My partner took a bite and said he didn’t like the frosting. He didn’t mean to hurt my feelings. He prefers frosting more loose while I like mine thick and creamy. But in that moment… I melted down and started crying 😭 Not because of frosting. But because when you’re the one constantly creating, experimenting, and putting in the effort… hearing “I don’t like it” can hit harder than expected. After I calmed down I realized something. Being the engine means we’re the ones trying new things, learning, and improving. Not every version will land perfectly — and that’s okay. But sometimes the engine needs a little emotional fuel too. ❤️ P.S. I tried to make it look pretty with the landscape and this is the best I can do 😂. It’s yummy and going into my belly anyway 🫶😜. Curious… anyone else here feel like they’re the engine in their household health journey?

I started Pilates classes 4 weeks ago with my best friend so I feel happy to have started to move once a week consistently, next up I will incorporate weight training again after 3 years of being lazy 🫠

Hey guys my highest priority goals are fat loss around 4kg and increased neat To get to these goals I am going to try and be better at tracking my food. Usually I am good until there is work or social event. So I will be more mindful of what I consume at these events and at the least make estimates! To increase neat I plan to take a 20 minute walk after my last meal of the day before I spend time playing my on my phone. I would like to reach my long term fat loss goal within 12 weeks and my short term neat goal within the next two (after my crazy work schedule dies down!) I am worthy and I will achieve my goals as long as it takes 😎🫡💅

Well skool family, days like today are when we are reminded that we are human and life sometimes has other plans for us than we have for ourselves. Got a message this morning from my dad saying my mom needed to go to the ER. She'll be having surgery tomorrow to put in a pacemaker. The registered nurse and the daughter in me battled with each other for a little while as my brain tried to figure out what I needed to do. Once I was able to get my kids on the bus and take a moment to process, I landed on dropping everything and making the drive (less than two hours, not a big deal) to go be with my parents. Before finding Darren on Instagram and everything that followed, this would be a day when stress would win, the all-or-nothing mindset would kick in in full force, and I would eat my feelings. I have a lot of feelings all the time, so when I eat them I generally feel both physically and mentally bloated as a result. But because of the way my mindset has changed over these last several months, instead, I packed a bag with some of my favorite protein and fiber rich foods. I felt like one thing I could control while worrying about my mom, was the way I treated myself. That alone is so powerful. Such a reminder that this is about so much more than weight loss. I am forever grateful to @Darren Liu , all the coaches, and everyone here. Keep doing what you're doing, because it has more of an impact than you could know. 🖤