Is It Really Helping—Or Is It Holding You Back?

Thought For The Week

It’s inevitable that we develop patterns, routines, and set ways of doing things, otherwise we’d never get everything done. But running on autopilot makes it easy to overlook where things are working for us—and where they’re not. If we’re hoping for change, we need to be able to step back and take an honest, objective look at what we’re doing. It might be a small but persistent behaviour, or it might require a mindset shift, but taking the time to reflect and identify these patterns is an essential first step in initiating change.

Exercise Tip

Sometimes, we push ourselves too hard because we think we should, or we stick with the same routine because it feels familiar, even if it’s not helping us achieve our goals. But the key to building and maintaining fitness comes from knowing when to challenge ourselves, and when to pull back.

Try this: If you feel stuck, or you think you might be overdoing things, a useful tip is to try measuring your perceived effort on a scale from 1 to 10 (1 being very easy, 10 being all-out effort). If most of your workouts are sitting below a 5 or 6, you might need to up the intensity; if you’re constantly hitting a 9 or 10 and feeling tired and low on energy, then it might be time to back off a bit.

Nutrition Tip

Perhaps you’re not really eating enough to fuel your workouts? Or maybe you’ve started using exercise as an excuse to eat more of the foods you usually try to limit? Perhaps you’re overly reliant on take-aways? Or perhaps you’re skipping meals to try and cut calories? It’s all too easy to believe that we’re eating healthier than we actually are – and to turn a blind eye to the habits that have crept in but hinder our progress. If you’re not seeing the results you want, it might be time for some honest self-reflection.

Try this: A useful starting point can be to take a look at portion sizes. Even if the meals we’re eating are healthy and well-balanced, we might simply be eating more than we need. The guide I’ve linked to below will help you judge the size of a typical portion. If you think you need to start cutting down, do so gradually. Aim to reduce your overall portion size by between no more than 5-10% to begin with.

Links & Resources

Book: In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman helps us to understand why we make decisions that don’t always align with our goals and explores how we can correct this with more mindful, reflective thinking.

Resource: Use the RPE scale to help assess your level of effort during cardiovascular and strength training.

Resource: The hand-size portion guide is a useful tool to help you gauge the amount of protein, fat and carbohydrate you should be getting. 

Inspirational Quote

"Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success."

Richard Carlson