So as you know, #FastPhysique is launching this week and it’s designed to be a physique-change program. It’s pretty hardcore, at 6 days a week, 40 minutes a day.

#FastPhysique is what I would consider an “attain” program, not a maintenance program. You don’t do it forever. You do it for a short amount of time, engage in something challenging, watch what happens and then move back to something more doable long-term.

I had this discussion on the webinars yesterday and I think it’s such an important insight that I wanted to share it here: your maintenance approach will be what you can do easily, that works with your schedule and allows you to—ahem, maintain—your current physique, energy level, ease and your clothes stay fitting.

In fact, for many of us, maintenance can be a success! I prefer it. The reason we need to spend time in maintenance mode is to give ourselves a foundation on which we can build, so when we do engage with something like #FastPhysique (an “attain” approach), that our bodies actually respond.

Jade calls this maintaining “metabolic flexibility”—we can’t just be in “attain” mode constantly and hope that our physiques will continue to respond ad infinitum. They don’t. And won’t.

So, should you ever engage in an “attain” approach, and more importantly, what are the potential psychological implications of working to change the way you look? It is okay?

I do love this discussion, because it’s so juicy and nuanced, so let’s have it here:

Seems like there’s been a backlash against exercising for aesthetic purposes, like it somehow makes you shallow, or if you are training for a specific “look” then it must mean you are insecure or don’t like yourself as is.

And I get that. As someone who spent years rehabbing from the self-disgust/self-beratement train, and worked hard to separate my self-worth from how my body looks, it can feel like talking about changing your body using fitness might send you down a negative self-esteem spiral. And again, I get that.

But I want to point out a few things. Number one: we need to give ourselves some credit for just how far we have come.

I don’t know about you, but now in my mid-30s (I started JillFit in my 20s), I’m not that scared, control-freak young gal needing affirmation for my body all the time. Or feeling not good enough if I don’t look a specific way. And I doubt you are, either.

We know we have more to contribute to the world than a bangin’ body. We know our intellect and kindness and service and expertise are valuable, too. We know that we are loved, accepted and respected regardless of being a size 6 or a size 16.

We’ve got this.

So to me, the automatic conclusion that if you want to work to change your physique, it means you somehow don’t like yourself is just a little short-sighted. And like most things, there’s a ton of nuance if you are willing to a little extra introspection work.

So while I understand the argument—I’ve literally worked with thousands of women to help them release their attachment to needing “the perfect body” in order to feel worthy—I also think that … training for a specific look is normal and fine.

And also, for me anyway, a big part of WHY I train is that I want to see the fruits of my labor (I also want to experience them too, through improved strength, functionality, health outcomes, stress management, etc.). I am spending time and mental energy engaging in fitness and I like experiencing tangible outcomes.

I’ve been consistently doing #treadLIFT and #FastPhysique for the last 4 months, 4-6x/week and I want to see the results for that effort (I did take some before pics and did my circumference measurements).

Yes, I want to feel strong and I want to feel healthy, but I also want to see how my body responds, as a practice in getting clinical and removing the attachment to what it means about me as a person.

I eat #moderation365 so no nutrition changes as the days of yo-yo dieting are long gone, so the way in which I am moving (and what weight/intensity/mode I am moving) makes the biggest impact on my physique. And I like that.

Instead, know that you are perfect as you are right now, you are amazing right now. You are worthy and valuable right now. And you don’t have to do anything if you don’t want to.

But if you choose to train for aesthetics, then just own it. Stay mindful as you do. Separate your self-worth from how your body looks.

Bottom line: embrace the process, cycle in period of “attain,” alternated with longer periods of maintain, and use the entire experience as an opportunity to get clinical, remove emotion from what you need your body to look like, build your resiliency and hone your mindfulness. And love the heck out of the whole process, because this journey is what it’s all about!

Okay? Okay.

So … whoa! The DMs and social media tags are rolling in like crazy with over 1000 gals already signed up and starting (!!!) #FastPhysique this week! If you have tagged me, thank you, I am loving getting all your updates!

#FastPhysique is going away this Friday April 7^th, so be sure to register sooner rather than later!

As always, happy to answer any questions.

Xo,

Jill

P.S. And to answer the question posed in this email subject line, the answer is … do. Or don’t. Whatever you want. It’s all fine. You are good, perfect, valuable and worthy right this second. But if you wanna, then do that too. Just love yoself right through it all❤️