Fitness Red Flags Keeping You Stuck (And What to Do Instead)

If skipping lunch, walking a lot, and “figuring it out on your own” actually worked… you wouldn’t still be stuck.

The fitness industry has been feeding you lies for years, ones that sound logical, but are secretly sabotaging your progress. In this episode, I’m breaking down six of the biggest red flags I see keeping corporate guys frustrated, tired, and out of shape.

Red Flags We’re Calling Out:
🚩 Skipping meals to “save calories” (spoiler: you just overeat later).
🚩 Waiting until things “slow down” (life isn’t slowing down, man).
🚩 Winging your nutrition at work events (no plan = no results).
🚩 Thinking walking is enough to build muscle (it’s not).
🚩 Believing you don’t need a coach (if you could fix this alone, you would have).
🚩 Coaches who force their lifestyle on your life (your plan should fit YOU).

If any of these hit home, it’s time to stop repeating the same cycle and start using a system that actually works with your career, schedule, and life.

💥 Want to skip the trial-and-error and get this handled for good?

📲 DM me "DESIGN" on Instagram (@spencerhgallo) and I’ll send you my Corporate Nutrition Blueprintthe exact system my clients use to drop fat, build muscle, and take control of their fitness without the BS.

💻 Or if you’re done wasting time and want a real plan? Book a call now

Because your health doesn’t have to compete with your success—it can fuel it.

If this episode hit home, make sure you’re subscribed. This is Fitness by Design, the podcast for high-performing men ready to stop winging it and start leading with their body.

For more stories, strategies, and hard truths:

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Or shoot me a text, I read every single one.

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Transcript

USB Condenser Microphone: 1:25

Today, we are going to cut through all of the bullshit. that is the fitness industry. And this one might ruffle a lot of feathers, so buckle in, because if you're listening to this, I'm willing to bet that you have tried at least one of the following: things. Maybe it is some strict diet where you had to eat like a rabbit, cut your carbs to zero for weeks on end, and eventually just Fucking crashed out because you had zero energy and you were miserable. You've done some“hardcore” workout plan that had you in the gym six days a week doing cardio twice a day. You were sore as hell. and you had no energy when you got to the office or got home. You've tried to track Every. Single. Gram. Of. Food. Calories. Ounces. Of. Water. You've cut out every single drop of alcohol and enjoyment, and literally it just feels like fitness and tracking has become a full time job. On top of still having to go to the office, do all of your projects, do all of your meetings, and live your life. And then the worst one is probably just telling yourself, like, Oh man,“I just need to try harder. Like, I fell off, I fell off track. every single time. Like, I just need to try harder. I need to be more disciplined. Like, no dude, you fucking don't. And if you've ever felt And thought, like,“why the hell can't I just stick with it? Let me tell you something you need to hear, right here, right now. You are not the problem. The plan that you're following is. The lies that you have been sold. I have worked with tons of guys who came to me thinking the exact same thing. They suck at discipline. They don't want it bad enough. that something must be wrong with them because no matter what they try, they always end up back at square one. And it pisses me off. to no end because this is exactly how the fitness industry keeps you stuck. in this vicious cycle of thinking that you are the problem. doesn't work if you don't try hard enough.

USB Condenser Microphone-1: 3:08

Well, today, I am going to be your best friend for the rest of this episode, because we are going to break down six of the biggest red flags that I have in the fitness industry and things that may seem completely harmless on the surface. When you hear them out loud, you hear them on social media, but these things are Absolutely destroying your ability to lose weight, build muscle and feel good in the office every single day. So let's just get into it. Number one, skipping lunch is going to save you calories. Look, man, I get it. You're busy. You go from one meeting to the next. You've got 30 deadlines, on Friday and the thought of sitting down to have lunch or a real meal in the middle of the workday seems absolutely frigging impossible. So, what do you do? You just tell yourself that skipping lunch is gonna“save you calories” and help you lose weight. and on paper, Yeah, sure. I get it a hundred percent. It makes sense. fewer calories in equals fat loss, right? It's how everybody talks about it's a calorie deficit, But that's not how that actually plays out in real life because here's what happens: you start the day with coffee. Maybe grab a protein bar, maybe a Starbucks sandwich, or a granola bar, or a bagel or something if you even remember. to, or you grab it on your way and you pick it up in the mobile drive thru order, and then by noon you're just too busy to eat, you've had meetings from 8 o'clock until noon, you have 10 minutes to make it to your next meeting, and then by that point you just gotta keep working. because you're trying to get everything done, you've got all these deadlines, you've got all this work, you gotta hand off markups, you gotta do all this stuff. So you know what you just do? You're just gonna grab another coffee. You gotta make it through. And then 3pm hits, and you're friggin starving. And that vending machine, looks awfully sexy. You're just gonna grab something out of that, whatever's easy. And you start white knuckling your way through the rest of the afternoon until you can get home. and then by the time you get home, your wife's cooking dinner, you're sitting there and you go, man, I'm kind of hungry. And you grab yourself, you know, handful of peanuts out of the pantry. Oh, maybe there's Doritos. Oh, maybe, maybe your kid's got some snacks in there. You grab a fruit pack or, you know, a Swiss cake roll or something, you know, anything like that. Just whatever is in sight. becomes edible because you're like, holy shit, I've had three, three or four cups of coffee today and a Snickers bar. And maybe that protein bar that I ate at breakfast, you know, 9 10 hours ago. But your body's not stupid. It's been running on fumes. It's been running on that coffee for the entire day. And now it's making up for lost time. You start to overeat. You overeat at dinner. You snack late at night. And by the time you go to bed, you are so far over anything that you could possibly consider a calorie target for the day. And you've done it just because you skipped your meals all day. You'd be in such better shape if you just stopped skipping meals. Because let's be real, if it worked, you would look how you want to look right now. But instead, it's keeping you in the cycle of just starving, yourself and then binge eating when you get home. And feeling like crap. when you go to bed. and then red flag number two, and you've probably said this this week is“I'll just wait until things slow down. Look, man, I get it. It's the beginning of February. Everybody's projects are picking back up. Everything's going off. People want to get projects started. They want to start things before the beginning of the summer. But man, this is one of the biggest lives that we tell ourselves.“I'll start when things calm down at work.“I'll get serious about my health when this big project is over. Let me ask you man, realistically, when was the last time your life ever slowed down? Because your career isn't suddenly going to get less demanding. You didn't get into a senior management position because you stopped doing the work or work got less demanding. There's always another deadline. There's always another fire to put out. There's always some intern who has no idea what he's doing twiddling his thumbs. And there's always another reason to just“wait.” until things slow down. But here's the thing. The longer you wait, the harder it's gonna get. Every month, every year that passes, by, you're making it harder and harder to come back from. because as you increase in age, you're going to have higher susceptibility to lose muscle. Your metabolism? legitimately slows down over time. This is not marketing. This is actual science. Your metabolism slows down as you age and your energy levels? are just going to keep tanking. because every pound that you put on is 1 percent off of that energy level every single day. And one day, you're just going to wake up and you're going to realize you're just not. A little out of shape anymore. You have completely and utterly lost. control. The best time to start was years ago. But the next best time? is right now. It's the age old adage, the best time to plant a tree was 10 years ago, but the next best time is today. So what are you going to do about it? Red flag number three,“I'll just eat whatever's at the work event. Look, I'm not knocking you here, because I've done this in the past, and I love it, because some of these work events have some killer food. Insert every golf outing you've ever been to. But look, I am not here to say that you need to meal prep and bring your own Tupperware dinner to freaking client meetings, client dinners, golf outings, happy hours, whatever. But if your entire nutrition strategy is,“I'll just eat whatever's there? You literally are setting yourself up to go in and just play a game of fuck it up and figure it out. Because here's what's gonna happen. You tell yourself it's“just one meal, it's“just one happy hour, it's“just one weekend, and before you know it, you're eating like shit all the time. You feel like crap, you're wondering why you're not losing weight, but you don't have to be perfect. You just need to have a plan. going into it. Because if you know you're going out, look at the menu ahead of time. Plan for a higher protein meal. Plan to only have a couple of drinks. This is one of the best tricks that I've ever taught my clients If you know you are going out to eat plan your food and put it in your tracker the day before Track two to three drinks, whatever you think you're gonna have put it in your tracker account for those calories Then eat for the rest of the day knowing that you already have that alcohol accounted for. Because that is going to be the difference of overeating and undereating. And let's be real, you're never going to undereat when you're not paying the tab. And if you're at a networking event, grab a very heavy protein meal. Instead of just snacking on whatever's there, Grab the eggs at the breakfast meetings. grab two sandwiches and just make it into a single double sandwich for lunch. Grab that chicken, grab two chicken breasts, whatever it is when you grab the dinners. Makes you have more protein on your plate than anything else when you go to these events. Because those small adjustments are going to make a huge difference. in the long term. Red flag number four, and I hear this one not often, but when I do, man, it. It fricking grinds my gears. Well,“I walk a lot, doesn't that count? Listen man, I get it. Walking is great for your health. It is great for your cardiovascular health. It is great for your heart. It is great for your body. But let's be real. Walking from meeting to meeting, pacing around your office, isn't building muscle. And let's be honest, your conference rooms aren't that far apart. If you're trying to truly change your body composition, and building muscle, get out. Losing fat, getting lean, feeling freaking good in your body. Building muscle is going to be the name of that game. Because more muscle is a higher metabolism. More muscle is better energy levels. More muscle is easier fat loss. So if your plan right now is just“getting more steps in, you're going to be more frustrated with the lack of results. than anything else. So start focusing on strength training. That should be your priority right now. Red flag number five, and this one I'm a little bit biased on, but“I don't need a coach. Listen, I am probably the most biased on this one, I'll be honest. But you have spent years trying to figure this out on your own. Where's it gotten you? You're still tired. You're still uncomfortable buttoning your shirt every single day. And you're still stuck in the same cycle. of trying keto again. Listen, if you could have fixed this on your own, you already would have. You would not be this far into this podcast, or for that matter, this far into this many episodes of this podcast, if you could have figured this out on your own. The best guys in any single field, whether it is business, sports, leadership, they don't“figure it out” alone. They hire coaches. They get guidance. They have a proven system and a proven process. Do you think the frickin Philadelphia Eagles just won Super Bowl 59 because the Kansas City Chiefs suck dick during the entire game? Okay. Well, that one's actually true. They did it because they had great coaching. They hired great coaches. Their offensive coordinator just got hired to be a new head coach. Their defensive coordinator came in after working for a million other coaches. He was probably one of the best defensive coordinators in the frigging league. They have one of the best offensive line coaches that. The dude got his own documentary because of Stoutland U, like it's a whole thing. Tom Brady didn't win seven Super Bowl rings because Tom Brady was good. Tom Brady won seven Super Bowl rings because Tom Brady had decades of coaches leading him, treating him with respect, but also guiding him, helping him build the systems, helping build the processes. Tom Brady as an individual did not win the Super Bowls. Jalen Hurts did not win the Superbowl. The Philadelphia Eagles won the Superbowl. I'm gonna repeat that at least ten more times. The Eagles beat the shit out of the Chiefs because they are a great team. They had great coaches and they had a great process. Your body is just another system that needs to be optimized. So stop guessing. And again, I'm biased, you should hire a coach. It doesn't have to be me, but you should hire a coach. And honestly, red flag number six, this one, again, grinds my gears too, but, man, fitness coaches that try and force everything into your lifestyle. I see this so much, and it just pisses me off every time. I have this conversation, is these coaches that come in and they're like, oh, you have to eat this way, you have to train this way. Their lifestyle becomes their client's lifestyle, and they don't even consider, like, what actually is going to work for the client. being a guy that coaches corporate clients, like, This one is such a like grinder for me because I've had this happen with my own coaches. I've had this happen around me with coaches that I consider friends and like there's guys online on Instagram that went to YouTube University and put I help busy professionals in their friggin Instagram bio and you guys pay them. thousands of dollars. And then they turn around and they do exactly what happened to Ari. Ari literally had this happen to him firsthand. Before working to me, he went to two different coaches. One of them told him that he had to eat five meals a day. and he had been fasting for 20 years And the other told him he needed to train six days a week stop intermittent fasting. Like guys, neither of these fit his life. That wasn't how Ari had lived. He had literally told them both. Listen. I have been intermittent fasting for 20 years. It works with my body. It works with my lifestyle. I don't want to change that unless I absolutely have to. But instead of adjusting the plan to work for Ari, they just said, well, you just need to“trust the process. This is your meal plan. This is your training plan. Go do it. And he quit both. And he called me because when he found the system that fit his career, his family, and his schedule, everything changed. Dude got shredded in 10 weeks, he lost 14. 9 pounds with me in 10 weeks. And since that time, in the last, I don't know, 12, 13 months, he's packed on so much muscle that he's the exact same weight as when he started with me, but he has the same body fat percentage when he was at, you know, 137. And the difference between a coach who understands you, understands your world, understands your life. And the one who just wants to f their system into your life? That, I mean, come on. Like, that tells itself. So the fix: here at the end of the day, guys, if you're still here with me, is to just stop following plans that are built for somebody else's life. If any of these red flags have hit home, if you feel the passion that I have and the hatred for all of these things, it is time for you to start doing something different. So just DM me the word design on Instagram at Spencer H Gallo and I'll literally send you my corporate nutrition blueprint. This is the exact system that me and my clients use every single day to lose weight, build muscle while still working our corporate jobs and absolutely just crushing our lives. This avoids a lot of those big fitness mistakes that I just talked about that keep these guys stuck. This system works. So if you want it, just DM me the word design on Instagram. And honestly, if you're ready to just say screw this and get this all handled, I will literally drop a link in the show notes. You can just book a call, straight into me and we can just make a plan that fits into your life. because your health doesn't have to compete with your success. It can fuel it. This is fitness by design and I'll catch you in the next episode.