Subtraction Is Still Progress (1967)

Progress often starts with a purge. In today’s episode, Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros challenge the belief that success only comes from doing more. They discuss how eliminating distractions, bad habits, and unproductive routines can accelerate your progress. They also share personal experiences of sacrifice—whether it’s giving up video games, changing diet habits, or reallocating time from leisure to meaningful goals.

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Show notes:
(3:31) The power of a "give up" list
(5:02) Small habits waste big time
(9:05) Different levels of commitment
(12:36) Clearing space for new growth
(17:44) At NLU, we want you to win! So, we're giving tools and resources to ensure your success. Join our Monthly Meet-up every first Thursday of the month at 5 PM. https://bit.ly/3Ec6ad9
(19:47) Sacrifice and long-term success
(28:46) Redefining subtraction in your life
(31:39) Outro

🎙️ Hosted by Kevin Palmieri and Alan Lazaros

Next Level University is a top-ranked daily podcast for dream chasers and self-improvement lovers. With over 2,100 episodes, we help you level up in life, love, health, and wealth one day at a time. Subscribe for real, honest, no-fluff growth every single day.

Transcript

Kevin Palmieri 0:00

Really look into what your relationship with food is. If you have any negative relationship with food or you feel like you could develop any, this is not for you. This is going to be detrimental to your relationship with food for sure, unless you're just cut from a different cloth. Maybe you are, but I had an eating disorder after my bodybuilding show and I had no negative relationship with food. Super comfortable with food.

Alan Lazaros 0:21

A lot of the people at the top of the industry that have been doing this for 10, 20, 30 years. I think they lose sight of how much of a sacrifice it actually is. In the beginning, like you've been weight training for 17 years, of course you don't think it's a sacrifice anymore. You would consider it a sacrifice not to go.

Kevin Palmieri 0:37

Welcome to Next Level University. I'm your host, kevin Palmieri, and I'm your co-host Alan Lazarus At. Nlu, we believe in a heart-driven but no BS approach to holistic self-improvement for dream chasers.

Alan Lazaros 0:51

Our goal with every episode is to help you level up your life love health and wealth.

Kevin Palmieri 0:57

We bring you a new episode every single day, on topics like confidence, self-belief, self-worth, self-awareness, relationships, boundaries, consistency, habits and defining your own unique version of success.

Alan Lazaros 1:13

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Kevin Palmieri 1:20

Welcome to Next Level University. Welcome to Next Level University, Next Level Nation. Welcome back to another episode of Next Level University where we help you level up your life, your love, your health and your wealth. Today, for episode number 1967, 1967. The year of the Camaro SS, that I would like 1967, Camaro SS, Nice. You are enthralled by my love of cars and it shows, subtraction is still progress.

Kevin Palmieri 1:59

I was on a podcast the other day and they said what is it? The host said what does it mean to get to the next level? Like, what are? What are some some of the common things that you see that people get confused about getting to the next level, and I said honestly, the the biggest one is probably that getting to the next level requires addition and it requires more and accumulation, when oftentimes the first step in getting to the next level is subtracting things that don't serve you anymore.

The power of a "give up" list

Kevin Palmieri 2:33

That if, okay, you want to take your house to the next level let's say that Alan always loves using the renovating a house thing. You want to take your house to the next level and you have a spare room that's just filled with junk. You can't do anything until you clean the room out. You got to donate it. Whatever you're going to do, I think donating is obviously ideal, but whatever you're going to do, maybe you're going to set it ablaze, I don't know. Maybe you're going to throw it out in the fire pit. I don't know. Maybe I'm going to throw it out in the fire pit, I don't know. Like you, I'm not going to tell you how to live your life. I think donating it is the way to go because it helps people, but that I think when you get to the end of a day and you let's just say you cleaned a bunch of stuff, you didn't, it doesn't seem like you made progress because you didn't accumulate anything more. But you made a ton of progress and it created a foundation for you to kind of build on, and I think that's something that it's so easy to fall into the trap of.

Kevin Palmieri 3:31

Okay, I'm ready to get my shit together. Let me make a list of all the things I need to do. Love that. You should probably have a list as long, if not longer, of stuff that you need to stop doing too 100%. That's my thesis and I know you've done this with clients. You've done this and you've helped clients make give up lists where these are the things that I'm going to give up. We were talking about that yesterday on yesterday's episode, about one of the things for me was giving up video games. I still play very occasionally. I don't even know where my playstation is. Honestly, I've misplaced it. It's like in a bag because I bring it to matt's when I go to matt sometime and I don't know where it went somewhere hiding. But that's one of the things that I kind of gave up, quote, unquote. That's my thesis in today's episode.

Alan Lazaros 4:24

I had someone message me two months ago and they said I'm so proud of myself, I'm so excited I just deleted all the games on my phone. That person just bought back a ton of their time. 20 minutes a day. 20 minutes a day for 365 days, that's 121 hours a year. So that's divide that by eight, that's 15 full work days they just bought back Just from not having games on their phone.

Small habits waste big time

Alan Lazaros 5:00

I wonder and this again I'm trying to lean into when I was a kid I wanted to be a math teacher and I literally used to a kid I wanted to be a math teacher and I literally used to say I want to be a math teacher. I think that'd be great, but unfortunately I don't. They don't make enough money and I know that might come off wrong, but that was my what I actually said as a kid, because I would have had these big dreams as a kid and I knew they didn't make enough money and it was always my dream. I figured I'd be a professor when I was like 70 or 80. Go to, you know, be a professor and just give back okay, and now?

Alan Lazaros 5:30

I teach math constantly, which is, I think, really cool, and I was on with a client last night and we were doing the numbers of total volume. It's workouts, times, exercises times, times, reps within those sets, times, the weight on the bar. And when we were in this conversation, this is a person who's really into fitness, she's been doing fitness for a long time, she's in great shape top 1% for sure and I realized that she didn't really calculate any of that before. And I was on a walk with Emilia and I was talking to her and Emilia said there's this part of you, this math part, that believes everyone should think in numbers and people feel like you're judging them. Sometimes. That's hard for me to say, because I was like, oh no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. I want to help, I want to help, but there is a part of me that just doesn't understand what it's like to not know my numbers, and so I'm going to try to make this relevant. The things that everyone out there watching or listening are doing, they're adding up.

Alan Lazaros 6:49

I'm 36 years old, kevin's 35. If you took away video games just video games from kevin's life or my life, we would get, I mean, at least a year back? I would get a year back for sure. Definitely do you know what you can do with a year? And so, to the point of this episode, mathematically getting rid of something actually is adding. So when you get rid of a game on your phone that you spend 20 minutes a day doing, you buy back for lack of better phrasing 15 full work days. And then what can you do with 15 full work days? You not only can you make a lot of money with that, but you also can build a career with that.

Alan Lazaros 7:28

And so when I hit my 30s, I had an honest conversation with myself and I said Alan, you're not really allowed to do and again, you don't have to do this. I get that this will make your life potentially boring, but if you have huge goals and dreams, this would help you a lot. You're not allowed to do anything anymore. I had this conversation myself when I hit 30,. I was like, okay, alan, you're not allowed to do anything anymore that doesn't build towards something Like you're not allowed to just play a video game because you feel like playing a video game. You need to cut the shit, you need to grow up, and I'm very hard on myself.

Alan Lazaros 7:58

I know that I'm calling it strong with myself now, and the truth is, as much as this might suck to hear, we're all wasting a ton of time and effort on a bunch of shit that doesn't matter. We all know that. I mean, there's no one out there who's like not wasting fucking time, right? And I have another client who's on TikTok. She just deleted it. It's all the stuff she said.

Alan Lazaros 8:18

Oh my god, I tracked my time on TikTok. It's insane. I can't even believe how much it's like. Oh, did you not know that I and again, I no wonder why I sound so judgy it's in my head. I'm calculating every minute, every moment. Every, everything's calculated. I can tell you what I spent all my time on. There's a book called 168 hours is 168 hours, and I got six hours and 35 minutes of sleep last night. I was in bed for nine hours and 34 minutes, so I did not get good sleep last night.

Different levels of commitment

Alan Lazaros 8:47

But and I'm not making this about me but every minute, every hour, everything is invested in building something of meaning, and I know that not everyone wants to dial it up to that level, because I think that there's sort of hey, I want to enjoy my life, and then there's the next stage of okay, I want to enjoy my life and I want to build a family.

Alan Lazaros 9:05

And then there's sort of hey, I want to enjoy my life. And then there's the next stage of okay, I want to enjoy my life and I want to build a family. And then there's the next stage of I want to enjoy my life and build a family, but I also want to build my career. And then there's the next stage of okay, now I have a calling and I want to build a business. And then that means you need a team. And if you need a team, that means you need to allocate your time, effort and money a certain way. And then eventually you get to this point where it's okay, well, my goals and dreams are sort of equivalent of an Olympic gold medal, as scary as that is to share. So I'm going to have to be like Michael Phelps level, dialed in with every calorie, with every minute of time, with every dollar, and that's okay, and not everyone has to be at that level. But in my 30s, I, most people don't.

Kevin Palmieri 9:44

Not everyone has to be at that level, but in my 30s I, most people don't. Most people don't need to be at that level, right.

Alan Lazaros 9:47

But the bigger your goals are, the more you have to be at that level. And you've had to too, even though you don't like it. And I think that's really cool because you can give a different perspective, because I actually think I like it. But when I got to 30, I said Alan, Alan, you're not allowed to do anything superfluous anymore, and the reason why is because I think that the beginning of all progress is purge. You have to purge the person's places, things and ideas that are not serving your goals, and I really do believe that a lot of the self-improvement content that I listen to some of it's very motivating, very affirming Some of it. I do respect and admire these people that are trying to help people, but one of the things that they're definitely missing is how much it sucks to like eliminate most of the things that you like so that you can and this is what it is If you really want to go for great, you pretty much have to give up a bunch of good.

Kevin Palmieri 10:39

I'm now thinking of it as a percentage Because we did an episode where we were talking about because we did an episode where we were talking about if 100% of your excitement lies on Saturday and Sunday probably Saturday I think the best progress for you is to make it 90-10. So let's say you hate your weeks. There's nothing exciting about your week, but Saturday's amazing because you get to go out and party Probably not going to be the most sustainable, fulfilling, happy, productive, growth-inspired life. What can we do to break it from 100% zero to 90% and 10, and then 80%, 20? I think that's the way to do it. I think that's the way to do it Because it's not.

Kevin Palmieri 11:21

Nothing that you and I are doing today started in the same exact way we're doing it still. Nothing that you and I are doing today started in the same exact way we're doing it still. It started at a much smaller, slower, incremental, sustainable scale, and then we did it for a long enough period of time and now it's common practice for us, or it's a habit, or it's a behavior, or whatever it is. So I think that's the way to sorry. I think that's for me. That helps me. I'm not saying you go from zero fitness to 100 fitness. I'm not saying you go from zero fitness to 100 fitness. I'm not saying you go from zero productivity to 100 productivity. I think you go from zero to 10, and then 10 to 20, and then rinse and repeat.

Alan Lazaros 11:58

Kevin and I have this, really this framework that I'm reluctant to share because I think, again, it sounds very negative, but it's not the five S's of success. It starts with sacrifice, then struggle, then suffer, then success, and then the fifth one kev came up with, which is sustain, and the success is only one-fifth of the equation. Yeah, and everything starts, all new success journeys, kevin and I, behind the scenes every quarter. It'll be like, I think, at the end of 2024. I needed to just redesign, I need to get rid of some things I needed to get rid of, I needed to pur rid of, I needed to purge my environment, I needed to purge my social group, I needed to purge my social media, I needed to unfollow people. I needed to do all this stuff.

Alan Lazaros 12:36

And the reason why is I'm making room. It's like if you have 100% capacity and you're overflowing, now youflowing, now you're overwhelmed, you have to like bring it down to 80 so that you have that 20% to bring in the new stuff. Like, if I want to coach 20% more time, which I do I have to eliminate the other 20% of shit I'm doing, and so it's been very hard. I mean, I've had to tell the team hey, I'm not gonna be able to coach you as frequently. This, this, this, but you're. It's almost like you're giving up something of value for something of more value. But it feels terrible, it doesn't feel good.

Alan Lazaros 13:11

Giving things up feels really negative, it doesn't feel good and I think that no, I want to ask you this I think there's this idea on the internet lately and not on this podcast, but on the internet where you should be able to achieve things without sacrifice, and it makes no mathematical sense to me. Even some of the people that I used to look up to say this a lot Like well, it's not really a sacrifice. I mean it's. What do you mean? Of course it is.

Kevin Palmieri 13:41

Well, I think people are trying to adjust the frame of mind. I remember we had a mentor one time who would say that he's like it's not a sacrifice, it's like well, maybe I'm not as philosophically evolved to the point where I'm there, I think it is. But then again, here's the thing. You and I have talked about this before. I don't think the gym is suffering Like I love the gym. I don't think the gym is suffering Like I love the gym. I don't. I don't think of it as like pain.

Alan Lazaros 14:09

But you do when you're doing a fitness show.

Kevin Palmieri 14:13

Well, that's why I won't do it. Yeah, but I mean that's detrimental to me physically. Like I went to the gym today, I lifted heavy. It was awesome, it's good for me.

Alan Lazaros 14:24

I don't feel like, okay, you don't think it was suffering, but you do think it was awesome, it's good for me. I don't feel like, okay, you don't think it was suffering, but you do think it was struggle.

Kevin Palmieri 14:29

Yes, but I think I've reformatted what struggle at the gym is. I think that's what and that's I think what other people are saying too. You don't consider it painful, no, no, no, that's not how I. I don't look at it that way.

Alan Lazaros 14:45

I like it, okay. What if you're on the Stairmaster, you and me, and we're cranking that thing up? I mean, that's just pure suffering. It's brutal, it's fucking terrible.

Kevin Palmieri 14:53

Yeah, but I don't, I don't really do the Stairmaster but what if you should to hit the next level? So you believe that you? Can achieve your goals without suffering I believe that in that specific case, maybe I'm so, maybe I've suffered so much in the past that now making meaningful progress doesn't require the same amount of suffer yeah, so meaningful progress is based on a standard you mean, when I go squat heavy and stuff, it's like I don't, I like it, I don't know how to?

Alan Lazaros 15:32

it's not, but wouldn't you go past a point where it's just pure pain, like there's got to be a point where it's just pure pain, it's not? Your central nervous system must associate like, hey, we're gonna die if you don't stop. I like that. I like that. Maybe it going to die if you don't stop.

Kevin Palmieri 15:48

I like that. I like that. Maybe it's weird in fitness, I don't know. It is weird, I like it. I like that. Like I really hope I get this weight up or things will be disastrous.

Alan Lazaros 15:58

I like that. It makes me feel alive. I'm coming from the guy who's doing jujitsu and screw it, break my nose if you have to doing jujitsu and screw it, break my nose if you have to.

Kevin Palmieri 16:07

That's weird. I like that stuff. It makes me feel alive, it makes me feel hearted, it makes me feel I don't want to lose that. I think that's important for me to have. It's important for me to have. You know, I'm moving furniture and my arm gets caught in the corner and it rips a piece of skin off and then I just keep moving the furniture. I like that, that's what I aspire to have. Just a weird example.

Alan Lazaros 16:30

So I don't think that's the best example For the listeners out there. That's a very uncommon unique trait that is really necessary, I think, to reach high levels of success that I don't think people talk about. And even Kevin talking about it right now reach high levels of success that I don't think people talk about and even Kevin talking about it right now.

Kevin Palmieri 16:49

He's like I like that, you do know. That's insane, that's pure insanity. You're out of your goddamn mind, maybe because I've been doing it for so long, but that's why these people lose sight, brother. But I wouldn't tell anybody else that they have to enjoy exercise, though. That's the difference. It's like I enjoy it, but you would if they. I mean, either you have to learn to enjoy it or you just have to deal with the fact that you're not going to enjoy it but you will appreciate the results.

Alan Lazaros 17:14

That's what I'm trying to figure out too, because I can't tell if it's more empowering to just own that it sucks and embrace it, or to try to reframe it as oh, I like this, I love kale. No one likes kale I don't, I don't even like my salads. Likes kale? I don't, I don't even like my salads. I'm not a big fan of salads. But you'll reframe it and you'll be like well, I like my salads. It's like. I don't know if you really do I do?

Kevin Palmieri 17:35

I like salad. It's like there's days where I crave salad. What's something that you don't like?

At NLU, we want you to win! So, we're giving tools and resources to ensure your success. Join our Monthly Meet-up every first Thursday of the month at 5 PM.

Alan Lazaros 17:41

that you should eat, that you don't nlu. Listener what is happening. I just wanted to jump in here and let you know if you want to get to the next level faster. We have a free virtual monthly meetup at the first Thursday of every month. You can connect with like-minded people and become a bigger part of this amazing global community. The link to register will be in the show notes.

Kevin Palmieri 18:06

What's something I don't like Water? I mean, I do, but I drink it, but I don't enjoy drinking water.

Alan Lazaros 18:12

Okay, so that's something you embrace, the suck with. It's just like I have to do this. I don't want to do this.

Kevin Palmieri 18:16

Yeah, I mean, it's there's, yeah. Yeah, there's worse things. It's like I have access to cold water at all times.

Alan Lazaros 18:30

Like, what are we bitching about here? You know, fucking drinking. I think that this is important because goal achievement requires you to suffer and struggle. I don't.

Alan Lazaros 18:34

I don't think it's empowering to believe otherwise but the problem is the people who have results like you in fitness because you've been doing this for 16 years. It's almost like you giving advice and I know you're not doing this, but I know other people are are like, well, I love it it. No, you don't love weight training all the time. You went three months without weight training. You know, Like of course you don't love it. You love it right now and you love it more than most. But that doesn't mean that it's not purely awful. Sometimes, Like sometimes you just don't want to go, no matter what right Like you skip workouts sometimes yeah, yeah, sometimes, yeah, yeah, very rarely though, because it's terrible, right?

Kevin Palmieri 19:13

no, no, no, no. I don't skip because it's terrible. What do you skip for? Because I need an off day, because there's something else going on. Very rarely do I just wake up and decide not to go to the gym if it's scheduled it's interesting.

Sacrifice and long-term success

Alan Lazaros 19:23

I again I've been going through phases with all this stuff. The first phase is I don't want to go to the gym. I'm insecure, I'm new and it's just really painful. But I get a lot of progress early because I'm a newbie. Then the next stage is okay, this is mostly just pain because this isn't new and fun anymore. And then eventually you reach a point where it's your body's so used to it you don't even associate it with pain anymore. It's like oh okay, I love this and I'm a bodybuilder now. Then I think there's a level that you're not playing at on purpose, which is if you were going to win a bodybuilding show, you'd have to go back and do shit.

Alan Lazaros 19:58

That is actually suffering like the Stairmaster or whatever, and I think that it all depends on the level you want to get to. I think I'm fearful to say I love, I love coaching. I do, but there are a lot of times where it's I mean, I coached from seven to eight o'clock at night last night after working, whatever a 70 hour week. It's Saturday, I have a day all day. I think I'm it's dangerous for me to say I will, I'm, this isn't a sacrifice. I think that's dangerous. I know that's not what you're saying, but I think it's dangerous, brother, because a lot of the people at the top of the industry that have been doing this for 10, 20, 30 years, I think they lose sight of how much of a sacrifice it actually is in the beginning. Like you've been weight training for 17 years, of course you don't think it's a sacrifice anymore.

Alan Lazaros 20:46

You would consider it a sacrifice not to go.

Kevin Palmieri 20:48

I think in the beginning it was easier. So it was like even back. I mean it wasn't a sacrifice. Back then it was easy. My body responded well, I wasn't hurt all the time it's like.

Alan Lazaros 20:58

But if taryn came to you, your wife, and said I want to be in better shape, you would never say like it's not a sacrifice. You'd say, hey, this is gonna suck, it's gonna be brutal, you're not gonna want to Like what would you tell someone at the beginning Like you're going to have to give up a bunch of stuff in order to succeed at this right? I mean, that's the point of this episode.

Kevin Palmieri 21:17

I think it depends on what their goal is, because, honestly, it might not take that much in the beginning for somebody to make meaningful progress. If you don't go to the gym, and now you go to the gym three times a week for 45 minutes, even if you don't crush your workouts, you're gonna make progress for sure, for sure. So I don't know, I don't think I would say that if somebody came to me and said, hey, I've never gone to the gym before and I would, I want to do a like a fitness show in eight months, I'd be like saddle, saddle up, this is gonna blow, this is gonna blow. And what do they have to give up? I mean, I wouldn't even start there.

Kevin Palmieri 21:56

I would literally say one really look into what your relationship with food is, because if you have any negative relationship with food or you feel like you could develop any, this is not for you. This is gonna be detrimental to your relationship with food for sure, unless you're just cut from a different cloth. Maybe you are, but I had an eating disorder after my bodybuilding show and I had no negative relationship with food, super comfortable with food.

Alan Lazaros 22:23

I'm so sorry. No, no, it's good. I remember Kev getting fucking ice cream on his pancakes. Yeah, yeah, you guys, I remember Kev getting fucking ice cream on his pancakes.

Kevin Palmieri 22:30

Yeah, you guys, the ice cream sundaes. I see, can you do those at 8 o'clock in the morning also? Or is that purely a nighttime thing? But I think so I'm not disagreeing. I think if anybody came to the gym with me and watched me work out, they would say, oh wow, he's really suffering.

Alan Lazaros 22:45

I'm not saying that, yeah, I've seen it. Yeah, I'm not saying that I've seen it.

Kevin Palmieri 22:48

I've seen, I'm not saying I like that you're like on the ground, man, I think I've learned to like that, because for me, it's pushing myself. Now, this is what I will say, though I have days where I'm working, where I am suffering, and I don't want to do it and it sucks. So you.

Alan Lazaros 23:02

You associate some of the work you're doing with suffering more than weight training I would say so okay yeah, it all depends on what.

Kevin Palmieri 23:11

I don't think I'm a good example. On the fitness thing. Yeah, I don't think I'm a good example because if somebody said I want to come work out with you and I want to do the same workout you do in the same weight you do, and they're not as strong as me, you're going to suffer, it's going to suck. Pretty bad, pretty bad. But I enjoy that because it's something I've done for a long, a long period of time.

Alan Lazaros 23:31

Well, the lesson in this side lesson is the people that are that have the results that you might want for anyone out there watching or listening it's. You have to be very careful with the way they talk, because they're talking from a frame that's so different and they might be setting you up for failure unconsciously, like when you hear Kev say well, no, I mean I, I like pain in the gym, like I don't consider it painful, I don't consider weight training painful. Dude, that's the. In my opinion, that's terrible advice for someone who actually wants to succeed in fitness. I mean, it's, it's pure, it's very painful, it's, it's extremely painful. I'm in the gym just dying and there's times when I'm at my 17th rep and I don't want to do two more but I do and it's just pure pain and real quick.

Alan Lazaros 24:19

I just got the email today about the 5k that we've been doing, emil and I, in Western Mass and the 5k. For me, the whole thing is just pure suffering. I think I came in 43rd. I think my average mile I don't know I'd have to look it up, but I think it was 720 or something like that. I don't know it was my average mile, but it was just pain, like the whole, from the moment the gun goes off to the moment I get to the end, was just pure pain. There was this one guy who I thought there was like another sick, another big round, and I was so upset. I told that story a while back, but at the end of the day I could have pushed it more, but I thought there was too much more Cause I thought there was another mile and he, he didn't know. The course I trusted him. I shouldn't have. I was, should have sprinted at the end and I hammered at the end.

Alan Lazaros 25:19

But the point is there, all of us have to do things in life that are just really, really, really painful, and I think that it's really scary to hear people say, no, it's not a sacrifice and no, it doesn't, it isn't painful, like I love it because it took a lot of years to get to the place where you actually love it, and or you were just a weirdo in that in general, because if I say just I love working, I do, but not really. I'd rather be like watching Netflix, of course, like, of course you know what I mean. So, and again, I know we're getting off topic, but that's one thing that I've noticed a lot.

Alan Lazaros 25:46

I've been going back into the self-improvement space. I've been listening to a bunch of different podcasts and trying to take in all this and like what's going on in the world and what are people preaching versus what's true and how are we different and where do we fit in this whole thing. And thank you listeners, for being with us on this journey, because I think a couple of things that make Kevin and I unique, at least is number one we're here to help you become the best version of yourself you yourself, not not us. Number two we're striving. Still we're not arriving. We're not talking to you as if we've arrived. And number three is we are kind of. I think we're a lot more honest with how much this blows and and I don't think that that's a bad thing, I think that's actually really good and I think if I had to choose, that's what I would do. Obviously it's important, but this giving up sacrifice, that's a thing.

Alan Lazaros 26:33

It's a thing If you want to hit a new level, you want to get to the next level. Start with what am I going to give up, and that will work. It will work for sure.

Kevin Palmieri 26:41

Yeah, yeah, it's I, and again, I'm not giving. I just I don't want it to seem like I'm giving that advice. When it comes to fitness, I I'm probably just different when it comes to that. I don't. I've always enjoyed the grind of fitness. What I don't enjoy is the grind of dieting. That sucks, that's suffering, that's sacrifice. Yeah, a hundred percent, like I'm sacrificing meals last night.

Kevin Palmieri 27:04

So there's a place close to us and they have this. It's an egg quesadilla. I know it sounds terrible, but it's amazing. It's like the best just scrambled eggs, cheese in a quesadilla. That's all it is. And last night I was like I want, I want burger king. So bad. It's been a long ass week, like any burger king and I was. You know what? I'm gonna make a homemade egg quesadilla and I made it last night. It was amazing. It was amazing. I ran out of ground beef.

Kevin Palmieri 27:37

The dieting part is harder than the fitness part for me. So I like moving my body. I have a ton of pride in my body. So much of my identity has been built over fitness and being in good shape and being strong and all that stuff. The diet part is a sacrifice and it sucks. That is way harder than the fitness thing. So if I was to give somebody advice out there, I might say one of these two might come easier than the other. But that does not mean the journey will be easy, because it takes both coexisting in order for you to make some level of progress.

Alan Lazaros 28:09

And the truth is for kevin and I, I agree with you. I like exercise a lot more than I like dieting I can't stand physically, but easier in every other sense.

Redefining subtraction in your life

Alan Lazaros 28:20

Essentially, and here's the fascinating part if you and I want to get to the next level, guess which one needs work dieting, yeah, so that's I think that's kind of my point is the advice that you know is true, is the advice you least want to hear. I think I really do, and I know that if I want to get to the next level, I have to give up a lot of the food I'm eating. I've been eating mochi. Oh my ice cream. Oh yeah, man Ugh Ice cream.

Kevin Palmieri 28:46

Oh yeah, man, Awesome, none for the kid.

Alan Lazaros 28:52

No, I had an ice cream sandwich, ice cream sandwich last night. Love them, you ever have a Yasso.

Kevin Palmieri 28:58

Yes, yeah, yogurt on a stick, frozen yogurt on a stick.

Alan Lazaros 29:02

Best 40 grams of protein per Hammer. Six of those things, okay that is the hardest part.

Kevin Palmieri 29:11

I would say that is the Just like people might say. For me, waking up early is not sacrifice. I enjoy it. I would rather get up early than sleep in, but it hasn't always been that way, so maybe I'm just at this point conditioned. I don't like sleeping in. It feels weird. It screws up my next night of sleep. I'd rather just get up at six and then hang out.

Alan Lazaros 29:35

I would just prefer that. Yeah, it's almost like these people are talking about the things that you're. So if Kev was only to talk about waking up early and going to the gym, it would sound like it's so easy and it doesn't require any sacrifice, and I just totally love it.

Alan Lazaros 29:49

Oh, by the way, I hate dieting, I hate working late, I hate right. It's really dangerous to listen to some of this self-improvement content where people are 15, 16, 20, 25 years into the journey going oh, it's not a sacrifice, I am grateful to be here. It's like well, this is the one part that isn't a sacrifice. What about all the stuff around it?

Kevin Palmieri 30:12

Well, so UFC is on right now. Ufc it's on. Where are they? I don't know. They're somewhere in the Middle East, so they're on right now. At 11 o'clock am, Eastern Standard Time. I would rather be watching that than this that 100% 100%.

Alan Lazaros 30:27

Okay, then why are you doing this?

Kevin Palmieri 30:29

Because this matters more. Just because I'd rather be doing it, doesn't mean it matters more. It's just because it's Saturday. I'd love to be on the couch In my jammies Watching UFC. Snowed last night. The snow is beautiful right now. It's like it would be the best, but that's not.

Alan Lazaros 30:45

But that's not going to get you To the next level?

Kevin Palmieri 30:46

Yeah, that's not going to get you to the next level. Yeah, that's not what's going to happen. I'll watch it later. I'll watch it tonight, I'll watch it tomorrow. Whatever, I'll watch it at some point. Yeah, so yeah.

Alan Lazaros 30:52

The point was how do you get to the next level? And you said give up something. And I think that that doesn't feel like progress. No, it feels bad at first, and then you get. I'm so glad I gave that up.

Outro

Kevin Palmieri 31:06

Well, that's the thesis in today's episode. It wasn't exactly where I thought we were going to go, but you never know when you're going to where you're going to go in a live episode like this. Check in with what your relationship with sacrifice is and check in with what your relationship with subtraction is. Maybe you want to use subtraction. Maybe subtraction feels better than sacrifice. I don't know. Use whatever label you want it. I don't know. Use whatever label you want. It essentially means the same thing. So figure out what your relationship with that is and then take it from there is what I would say. You dig, I do. Yeah, all right. Next Level Nation. As always, we love you, we appreciate you, grateful for each and every one of you, and at NLU we don't have fans, we have family. We will talk to you all tomorrow.

Alan Lazaros 31:47

We will talk to you all tomorrow. Stay Next Level. Next Level.

Kevin Palmieri 31:50

Nation. Thanks for joining us for another episode of Next Level University. We love connecting with the Next Level family.

Alan Lazaros 31:58

We mean it when we say family. If you ever need anything, please reach out to us directly. Everything you need to get a hold of us is in the show notes.

Kevin Palmieri 32:07

Thank you again and we will talk to you tomorrow.