Personal Trainer Sonia Garner navigates the divide between healthy and unhealthy choices
Unhealthy Habits You May Not Realise You Have
The term ‘Healthy’ is a word thrown around and can mean different things to different people. Maybe you have an idea in your head about what this looks like for you. But how about the habits that appear healthy on the surface but in reality are destroying your progress?
As a Personal Trainer who has worked with hundreds of clients over the years, I have seen common traits and habits which derail progress and sabotage success.
So what does ‘unhealthy’ really look like?
1. Dieting
We all know someone who yo-yo diets, going from one diet to the next without much consistent success in keeping the weight off. There are numerous diets out there promising results and yielding short term success whilst failing to offer any long term favourable outcome.
The problem with diets is they are unsustainable. You may gain results in the short term, but when returning to your normal pattern of eating after the diet stops, the weight goes back on and the cycle starts again.
Diets become an addiction. Seeing before and after photos of people losing an extraordinary amount of weight is what hooks you and it’s inhibiting long term progress.
The problem goes deeper than this; the psychological impact of weekly weigh ins, when discovering you haven’t lost as much as you hoped, destroys self esteem and confidence. The reality is that it really doesn’t matter what the number reads on the scales.
If you’re exercising, in particular strength training, you’ll be gaining muscle. Muscle weighs more than fat. So instead of feeling deflated when your weight has increased, think instead about how your clothes fit, how you feel when you look in the mirror. The number on the scales doesn’t tell you what’s muscle, doesn’t take into consideration fluctuations in water retention or changes to hormones, particularly for women around their period, in which weight can increase due to an increase of progesterone.
Allowing yourself to eat your favourite foods
When we allow ourselves food freedom, the idea of being able to eat the foods we desire that feed our soul, we are giving ourselves permission to enjoy life, eat out and socialise with friends. This is an important and crucial element to health. We are social creatures and I’ve known clients who would actively avoid the opportunity of eating out and going out to social occasions due to the fear of putting on weight after the weekend. But to what detriment? What kind of life is this if you cannot enjoy yourself with the people you love?
You can still reach your body goals and be healthy whilst enjoying life. You can still lose weight whilst eating your favourite foods.
At the end of your life, will you look back and regret not losing those extra few pounds or the chances you had to spend quality time to connect with loved ones? No one will remember you for the size or weight of your body. They will remember your character; how kind, caring and loving you were. These are the things that truly matter.
3. Exercising excessively
Some people will question what’s excessive. The point at which you are overdoing it is different for everyone. If you are experiencing a negative impact on your health or body due to over exercise, this is a problem. Maybe you run into injuries, aren’t able to sleep, start putting on weight or not able to lose weight, feel exhausted and begin to experience other health issues. Perhaps performance drops or you begin feeling depressed and have mood swings. Muscles can feel sore or limbs heavy.
You may also find you need longer rest periods. These are signs you could be overdoing it. Exercise also increases cortisol levels, the stress hormone in the body. Too much cortisol can cause weight gain and muscle breakdown. This is why rest days from the gym are crucial, especially if you are doing high intensity training programmes.
Taking rest days
Rest days are essential for recovery, to prevent injury and overuse of muscles but also to allow the body to de-stress, unwind and bring yourself back to equilibrium and balance. As a yoga teacher I constantly educate my clients on the importance of rest and recuperation, stress relief techniques such as breathing and stretching. If you’re someone who enjoys movement, why not use your rest days for more active recovery such as yoga or swimming? It’s gentle and relaxing and will keep your mobile and flexible, both important pillars of health.
4. Limiting food groups
Unless you need to for health reasons cutting out food groups limits your ability to get vital vitamins and minerals from food. It’s best to get nutrients from food where possible. Limiting food groups could lead to deficiencies which could lead to fatigue and other health issues.
Diversity is key
When we fuel our body with the right amount of macronutrients as well as eating foods with essential vitamins and minerals, we have the energy and vitality to get us through our training plan and feed our body in a way that contributes to proper recovery and muscle repair and development.
5. Low calorie diet
Unless you have been advised by a GP or registered dietician to lower your calories to an extend which is lower than normal, it can be detrimental to your progress. Not only would you lack energy to train, you would also likely suffer from concentration issues and lack focus. If you’re too tired to train because you haven’t fuelled your body properly, this will inhibit your success.
Eating according to your goal
It’s important to work out how many calories you need in order to achieve the desired result. For example if looking to lose weight, reducing calories in a controlled and safe way will get the results you want. On the other side of the coin, eating in a surplus if you’re looking to increase muscle and size. It’s very important to seek out help from an expert if you’re unsure of where to start.
6. Following the latest exercises trends even if you hate it
Some people believe that in order to get the results they want, they have to follow the latest exercise trend they see on social media, even if they hate doing it. Not only will this slow down your journey but it’s not good for your mentality to force yourself to do something you don’t enjoy. If you hate exercise, it’s going to be difficult to maintain and therefore the likelihood of you continuing will be slim.
Finding movement you enjoy
Finding exercise that brings you joy, wether that’s dancing, running, playing a sport or even walking, will not only contribute to better mental health and overall general wellbeing but it will propel your fitness journey too.
7. Punishing yourself when you skip a day
It’s so easy to be overly critical of yourself if you skip a workout. But punishing yourself by restricting food, overexercising or other extreme methods is not healthy or productive. The detrimental effects of this type of treatment towards yourself is bad for your mental health and can also wreck havoc on your body and stress levels, which will set you back further on your journey.
Forgiving yourself if you have a setback
We all have days where we feel we’ve failed just because we have a setback. Perhaps we skipped a workout due to feeling tired, not having the motivation or maybe we didn’t eat as many vegetables as we hoped. Negative self talk sets in which leads to poor self esteem and a lack of confidence in our ability and this can lead to giving up altogether and feeling as if we are no good.
Remember, we’ve all been there. But it’s important to practise compassion and forgiveness for ourselves and practise positive self talk. Know you are not alone and we are all human, fallible, beautiful and complex.
One setback does not make you a failure. What’s the healthiest way you can look at a setback?
For me, a setback is a chance to reset. Every day is a new beginning where we get to choose and make decisions our future self will thank us for.
What choice can you make today that will set you up for a happy, healthy life?
I hope you enjoyed reading this article and found it helpful. If you would like to connect or work with me you can find me on Instagram @fit.with.sonia
