If you aren’t feeling 100% or just aren’t quite performing as you would like, I would strongly suggest that it is likely one of the following 5 factors that could be affecting you right now.
- Over reliance on stimulants to get you going. A question I often get on my nutrition and health programmes; “why do we need to remove caffeine?”….. I am the first to acknowledge that caffeine can be really useful. It can have good performance enhancing effects…BUT not if you use it to roll out of bed in the morning and as some kind of subconscious act and holy shit before lunch you have had 3 and if you don’t you cant focus…… there is the problem!! Over stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system. It’s like a credit card, you cant keep dipping into it ….otherwise before long you are paying back with “interest”. In this case the interest is metaphorical. Your vitamin C levels will be depleted, your ability to switch on/off naturally is diminished and you will soon become a prisoner in your own body because you can’t function with out it!
- You are on the “GO” too much……now that’s relative I know, but believe me, the people you see thriving are not abusing their rest. The parasympathetic nervous system (the bit of us that allows for growth and repair) needs to be allowed to help switch us off….so avoiding too much white light later at night, avoiding the aggravating things like the news are a good idea to promote better sleep. Focus on your sleep, this is FUNDAMENTAL to having great energy and drive!
- Aim for excellence not perfection…… I am pretty good at this as I nowhere near perfect 😉 ……but no on a serious note…..be careful of the social media “perfect person” “perfect life” image that we can get suckered into….. just aim for improvements in areas that are important and don’t get caught up in some one elses game…..remember their goals are not yours, therefore their actions won’t be the same as yours….so why are you comparing yourself to them! Stop that! At this time, it is ok to ask for help….you are not the expert at everything….one of the most liberating things is just to allow someone who knows more than you about something take care of that for you….. great tip for reducing stress…..find people who know more than you and get them on your team.
- Stop skipping meals to bring down your calorie intake…..personally I feel that a lifestyle based around counting calories is the quickest way to develop an eating disorder or at best an issue with food…..word it how you like! This will drive up stress hormones and make you better at storing fat. Now, don’t get this twisted, I know too the benefits of intermittent fasting but, that is very different to skipping meals.
- Stop punishing yourself with your training…..high intensity intervals are a fantastic way of developing fitness levels across many of the components of fitness, but if you do them too often you will end up on your face! Not literally, but maybe! That is why I always include some low intensity movement within each week for all of my clients, whether that be mobility, LISS (low intensity steady state) exercise or simply another modality, like yoga. The message is…..stop using exercise as a way of burning calories and justifying donuts with olive oil because that made you feel better because the olive oil gave you good fats…..just enjoy your food, nourish your body, and look after your body as best you can…because that is your most important vehicle!
Matt
Owner of Matt Luxton Health and Fitness
Voted Cornwall’s Best Fitness Instructor 2016
Voted The UK’s Most Innovative Fitness Entrepreneur 2012
International Best Selling Author of The Fad Free Fitness Formula
Author of The Hot to Trot Cook Book and The Equestrian Athlete Plan
Email: Info@fa-fitness.co.uk / Phone: 07841 136302
