GOOD GOALS & TERRIBLE TRENDS
It doesn’t matter if you are a 45-year-old, 65-year-old twice a week golfer, former athlete or a teenage kid who’s built up some insecurity issues thanks to social media BS…
Most people I work with want to lose some fat, gain some muscle and not feel so old, limited and worn out – They’re good goals to have.
Most people also seek out coaches like me looking for definitive DO’s & DON’TS. Be that foods that are ‘perfect’, exercises that are ‘optimal’ or mindset principles that are ‘indestructible’.
They envision this holy grail of advice and follow-along coaching that has ZERO downsides and steers them away from ‘bad’ stuff by default. That’s the terrible trends of the crazy guarantees and sensational claims that swamp social media.
TRUTH IS, IF SOMEONE TALKS IN ‘ABSOLUTES’ OR WITH GOD-LIKE CONVICTION WHEN DEFINING WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR YOU - YOU NEED TO RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
What do I mean by ‘absolutes’? Let’s take exercise selection as an example. If a coach makes a blank statement upfront that ‘X’ exercise is bad for you, will get you hurt, or lifting over a certain age or with a certain technique, is a sure-fire way to get injured. ← (that would be an ‘absolute’ statement with no room for you to debate with your coach)
Now, unless they have crystal balls, they can’t know this for sure – especially when they have not assessed you or even worked with you 1-to-1 remotely or in-person. They are chancers, not coaches.
In-fact in my experience, if a client steadily builds up to something they want to achieve that may be frowned upon by a fitness expert – they’ll probably be fine… but that’s not definitive or sensational enough to shout about – especially online.
The very best coaches, nutritionists, rehab specialists work off of a principle of being right MORE than they are wrong.
Now the further a coach goes in his or her career, the more they should skew that balance to being right a lot more than they are wrong – but it does take time, and you don’t learn that stuff in a text-book.
Let’s go back to food for a minute.
This is THE most polarising topic in my profession. Clients will come to me with individual food beliefs, good or bad absolutes that just simply have no grounding when you take a step back and look at nutrition as a whole.
For example: White rice, or brown rice? Brown right? It doesn’t matter. What one do you like more? Eat some of that.
The truth is, unless you going to down 10 litres of mouthwash or trans-fat rich cooking oil, there’s no food being sold in your supermarket that’s poisonous. You may be allergic to certain things, but that doesn’t mean they are poisonous for most people.
Now, one scroll across social media will tell you otherwise as scaremongering or sensationalising is now the norm. Meat eaters say the veggies will have you pushing up daisies, and the vegans will say that meat is going to turn your insides into chopped liver.
LET ME TELL YOU - THE POISON IS IN THE DOSE WITH ANYTHING, BE IT ORGANIC OR 100% PROCESSED.
Now logic says: You certainly want to eat more nutritious foods than you eat ‘empty calories’, but really that is a no brainer.
But believe me when I say that you can eat a meal from MacDonalds every day and STILL have lower body fat levels, more muscle and good overall health, IF you don’t eat excess calories overall, and you still continue to exercise.
Again, no-one wants to hear that kind of talk – Having a villain makes it easier to be less accountable for what you’re doing and the lifestyle your living, because “It’s the ‘bad food giants’ that are making you do it, right?” No, it isn’t. They just make it REAL easy to eat a tonne of calories that taste good with very little nutrients.
Dose and duration – balancing those is where success is found.
That applies to nutrition, exercise, rehabilitation, relaxation, socialisation and mental health.
Health is full of nuances and individualisation. You can have ‘treats’ or miss a training session or two and STILL achieve your goals.
The Bottom line:
As long as you’re eating mostly nutritious foods, and within a daily/weekly calorie limit, and you continue to have physical activity in your life… you’ve got the foundations of your most awesome goals covered.
To fully achieve them, you’ll have to be consistent with the above, and occasionally put one step outside of your comfort zone to build on that foundation to reach your goals.
As well as the nuances that go with health & fitness, it’s important to understand that current popular nutrition and exercise trends are cyclical. Fasting, low-carb, high-fat, core-workouts, strength-training, high-intensity training ALL do the rounds every 5 years or so.
Keto seems to be digging its heels in a little deeper, and hanging around for a lot longer than most trends, and for some that’s good news.
Why? Because keto is the best thing since sliced bacon? No, because most people just eat an insane amount of carbs, so anything that lowers something that’s obscenely high WILL have a positive effect – for a short period of time at least.
As I said, it ALL comes down to dose and duration.
Everything I’ve mentioned works, but it depends on what you currently need, or are lacking in terms of what’s likely to be the best thing for you right here, right now.
So, I guess what I’m saying is, that when it comes to achieving your goals – don’t look for the most sensationalised, or most popular person in the world.
Look for those who aren’t going to talk in absolutes, and they may even use the word ‘depends’ (a lot). If they do, then you maybe on the right path there.
Check out a few resources, see if they agree, from trusted resources. Then reach out to an expert or two, and see how you can get towards your goals in the sanest way – the way that works best for you, without falling for fads, and tripping over yourself… or making life harder than what it is.