I’ve had six-pack abs for over a decade.
Before that, I struggled with my weight for a decade.
One of the biggest shifts that made the difference wasn’t my willpower.
It was a simple principle I learned early in nutrition coaching: displacement principle.
Right stuff in - Bad stuff out.
“I like this displacement theory, I’m going to give it a try,” a client said, attempting to eat less chocolate.
It’s one of those meta principles.
It doesn’t just get you abs.
It gets you a meaningful, fulfilling work-life integration too.
In nutrition, displacement principle means this:
focus on what you need to eat.
The more good stuff goes in, the less space there is for the rest.
What helped me get, and keep, abs that get compliments every day, wasn’t obsessing over what I can’t eat.
It was planning what I must eat every day:
-
~150g of protein (about 500g of food)
-
at least 1kg of fruit and vegetables
-
fish with omega-3s
-
2–3 eggs
-
nuts and seeds
By the time you’ve eaten all that, you’re full.
No hunger.
No chewing capacity.
No mental energy left for much else.
What you focus on grows🌱
So when I focus on seeking out all these healthy foods - I have no time thinking about much else. And the same goes to my fridge - it’s all filled with healthy groceries for the week ahead.
More good stuff in.
More bad stuff out.
Your stomach has a limit.
So does your calendar.
That’s also why I never watch Netflix or TV.
Not because I banned it.
Because it had nowhere to fit it in.
One day I asked myself, “Who do I want to be by the end of this decade?”
My answer: one of the best in the world at what I do.
That decision had consequences.
It meant regular studying.
Reading.
Thinking.
Creating.
Those things went into my calendar first.
Netflix didn’t survive the squeeze.
Good stuff in.
The rest gets displaced.
Want to feel more fulfilled in your daily work?
What activities actually matter to you?
Put those on your calendar first.
Let everything else fight for the leftovers.
Want more fitness?
Schedule it like a meeting.
Life adjusts.
This is why I run a time-budgeting exercise with clients as part of work-life integration design process.
I give them a budget update.
You have 168 hours each week to spend.
What are your priorities?
What parts of yourself, your work, your life do you want to fund with that budget?
We allocate the hours.
Whatever doesn’t make the cut… doesn’t get funded.
The right stuff in.
The wrong stuff out.
Tony Robbins has a saying:
“Where focus goes, energy flows.”
I’d add:
and results follow.
Displacement principle.
Good for abs.
Good for impact.
Good for designing the life worth living.
Over to you dear reader,
What do you need to add more of, so the wrong stuff no longer has room to fit in?
