Not Just Health & Fitness
Covering all things health and fitness, but not just health and fitness.
Expanding from the basics to encompass everything under the umbrella of living your best life, while sharing insights into my personal journey along the way.
Not Just Health & Fitness
#2 Navigating the Festive Season, Gym Anxiety and Burnout
Ever feel like you're stuck in a rut with your health and fitness journey? Getting sidetracked during the festive season? Well, I've been there too. But guess what? I've discovered some handy tricks and insights that could make all the difference for you! From managing my recent diagnosis of bipolar 2 and ADHD, to making adjustments in my medication, to combating gym anxiety, I've walked a mile in your shoes.
As we wade through the journey together, you'll also get a peek into my personal life, my home improvement plans, and how I've learned to incorporate movement into my daily routine, no matter how small. We'll discuss how to conquer gym anxiety head-on, reminding you that everyone on the gym floor is on their journey. We shift gears and explore the importance of self-care, setting boundaries, and the power in sharing our stories. I'll also touch on the value of seeking support and guidance through coaching. So, buckle up and prepare to be part of an empowering and insightful conversation!
See my website for information on my coaching services https://helenaslyfitness.com/coaching-packages/
Connect with me on instagram https://www.instagram.com/helena__sly/
Welcome to the Not Just Health and Fitness podcast with Helena. I'll be talking all things health and fitness, but not just health and fitness. I'm expanding from the basics to encompass everything under the umbrella of living your best life, while sharing insights into my personal journey along the way. Let's get into today's topic. Hi friends, welcome to episode number two. This one is just going to be a little bit more off the cuff, so I'll give you a little bit of a life update what's going on in my world and then we're going to focus on getting through the festive season and the challenges that come with that when we're talking about your health and fitness goals. I did a Q&A and my story is the other day, and there were some great questions asked and great points brought up, so I'm going to share those and some other insights here today.
Speaker 1:But first up, life update what's going on in my world? I'm in a calorie deficit at the moment. I started that, I think, a week and a half ago, or maybe two weeks ago now, and so far it's not been successful. But that's absolutely okay and I fully trust the process. What I'm working around is the reason I even need to do a cut is because I had a medication change which saw me add nearly five kilos in a month and I am not super comfortable there, just because I know that it's not useful weight. If I'd put on this same weight while in an active build phase, I wouldn't be looking to cut it. But I want to have myself in a position. First of all, I want to feel real good through summer and feel like my body represents my lifestyle. But also when I do decide to do a build again, which I probably will sometime in the first half of next year, I don't want to have extra body fat already sitting on my body because that sort of limits me with how far I can push the build, knowing that when I'm adding muscle I'm also going to be adding some body fat at the same time through that build phase, and I just don't want to make the cut after that harder than necessary. So my cut. So far not a whole lot has happened. So I'm going to adjust my calories and macros again and make sure that I'm getting all my training sessions in, and I'm going to give myself a little bit higher of a set count as well. So just a couple of little changes should start seeing things steer in the right direction, and when it comes to fat loss, sometimes that's what it needs. Sometimes you need a little bit of patience, some trust in the process and then just make some small changes and things will get moving. When people stop the process because they can't see results, what they've got to realise is stopping is the only way to ensure that you're not going to get the result, and so you're better off to just sort of adjust the process or make sure you're being properly compliant to the process and that's something I definitely have to pull myself up on as well Making sure that you're fully compliant to that process before you decide that it doesn't work, or make a couple of small changes to adjust it before you decide that it's just not going to happen for you.
Speaker 1:On meds, I guess I've got a bit of a psych update. So I started with a new psychiatrist. Last week I had my first session with him and that was a diagnostic session, so I had a full hour with him and it was so good. Honestly, we went right back to the very beginning. We went through childhood routines, through all my job history, all my relationship history and different sort of things that had gone on in my life, my relationships with my family, how my friendships are, all of that kind of stuff. And that was for the purpose of confirming my bipolar diagnosis. And so we did that and he confirmed that I'm definitely bipolar 2, ruled out borderline personality disorder, which is what my previous psychiatrist had tried to pin it down to, but that honestly just never really fit for me. So I never really on boarded that diagnosis and the new psychiatrist agrees that's not a fit. So definitely bipolar 2, definitely ADHD, and I had an adjustment in my medication. And then today I went for a follow up appointment where we just tweaked that medication again.
Speaker 1:The new med that I'm on needs to be increased, sort of in small, small increments across a couple of months. So we just did our first jump on that because I'm tolerating it well so far. So it's definitely something I'm still managing through and I'm looking forward to getting up to therapeutic dose on this current med. But essentially I'm taking five different meds now, which is a little bit overwhelming and it feels like it may be a lot for my system. But I'm also of the mindset that if that's going to keep me well, if that's going to give my brain the capacity for the work that I do on my mindset and the work that I do about learning about psychology and learning about how my brain works. If that gives me the capacity for that work that I do to work, then it's going to lead me to the life that I want to have, and I do just need to accept that. I need this medication to be well and that's okay.
Speaker 1:What else is going on in my world? Project lounge room. So for a bit of context, I've lived in my current apartment for a year and a half and I've never had a lounge room. I mean the room's there, but it's never been a lounge room. I haven't put any furniture in it, it's just been a big open space for activities, which is totally fine. When I'm home by myself, I don't really sit down a whole lot, or if I am sitting, it's at my desk, and I often stand at the bench and eat, even though I have like bar stools and stuff, and so it doesn't bother me by myself. However, I do notice when other people come over. They're standing around awkwardly and there's nowhere to put them, there's nowhere to sit them, so they also end up standing at my bench and having a cup of coffee or have you, and I want to be able to make a more comforting place for people to want to visit. Also, I really like the idea of just having a good girls night and being able to invite my girlfriends over for like a wine and cheese platter and be able to let them sleep over.
Speaker 1:So I decided, when all the BlackSat Friday sales were going on, that I was like, okay, I'm going to build a lounge room. So I bought myself a lounge, a rug, a coffee table, a lamp, some cushions. I went all in on creating a beautiful lounge space so that I can be a little bit more social in my apartment. And I have had a little bit of a frustrating experience. My lounge, I knew was going to take like five weeks to arrive and that arrives tomorrow and I'm so excited for it. But my rug and my coffee table both got refunded because they were out of stock, and that was super annoying because, although I got the refund, the sales are over now, so to try and replace them it's going to cost more, so I was thinking about waiting until the Boxing Day sales. However, I've had a little bit of a hunt online and I've actually found some things that I'm quite happy with that are similar prices, and I'm just ready to have a nice lounge room, have a girls night and feel like I've completed my apartment. I guess that's all that's really going on in my world right now. Oh, I almost forgot. I'm actually I'm getting a new kid in.
Speaker 1:In January I put my name down for another Sphinx. For anybody who doesn't know, I own a Sphinx cat the naked ones and I've just put my name down last month for another one and he is so cute and I can't wait for him to join the family. I think my current cat, albie, is just going to be so much happier once he's here. I've actually wanted a second one for a really long time, so this one is by color. My current one is is all white, so pink, and my new one is by color, so he's got dark patches on him and he's so cute, so I'm going to call him Arlo. So I'll have Albie and Arlo, and I've already added him to the Instagram and I just can't wait to just mother him the same way I do my current one, because he's my world On to the festive season and being more social.
Speaker 1:I did a Q&A in my stories the other day, which I got some really good questions for, and I asked you know, what are some things you struggle with this time of year in regards to your health and fitness goals? So I thought I'd go through some of those and some of the answers that I had and hopefully that's going to be helpful for somebody else. So the first response that I got they were talking about mental health and burnout this time of year and just struggling with motivation to be consistent at the gym, and what I can say is from my own experience sometimes when my mental health is poor, that's like my biggest driver to want to go to the gym. It feels like my only relief from my brain, or I really rely on that high after the workout to give me a bit of a boost in my day. At other times with my mental health is low. It's the last thing that I want to do. My motivation is so low. It feels like a task and it can be a lot harder. So I just want to validate that it definitely can feel really heavy sometimes and it can feel like a lot.
Speaker 1:What can be useful is adjusting the expectations of yourself, and maybe it's not the full hour session, maybe you just need to get there for 20 minutes, do two exercises and get out of there and just to be able to get a little bit of those positive chemicals going, feel like you can tick a box for something that you've done for yourself for the day and feel like you're making progress or at least that you're not regressing. But you are doing something for yourself and understanding that those are things that you can do, aside from, obviously, medication and therapy and everything else. Exercise is incredibly good for your mental health and it can be a really strong support when you're feeling that way when it comes to burnout. I definitely think that that piece of adjusting your expectations of yourself is really important, and so maybe it's the 20 minute session, maybe it's that you just get out for a walk, maybe it's that, instead of trying to train five times in a week, you're trying to train twice in a week. Maybe you do something entirely different, like you just do some follow a YouTube video for yoga at home. But if you can do anything to move your body that's going to feel not as heavy as what you would normally set for yourself, then that can be a great option.
Speaker 1:Another point that got brought up was just the daunting task of getting into the gym and feeling embarrassed. So that sort of gym intimidation or gym anxiety it's real, it's totally real. I still experience gym anxiety when I go to a new gym. I look around feeling like a meerkat, with my head up all high, trying to find the equipment that I want to use, not knowing what weights to use, because the machine is sort of set up a little bit differently and the cables are different and so the lever arms are different and so you're using entirely different weights and you just feel like you're fluffing around a lot.
Speaker 1:And then, especially because I set up a tripod and things I definitely do sometimes find myself thinking you know, it's somebody judging me for this, but what a shame it would be for me to not be able to create the content that I do that helps people because of the thought that somebody else was judging me. And so I just use that as a little bit of a guiding thought for myself and for you. Maybe it's not the tripod, but still what a shame it would be if, 80 year old, you is sitting there more uncomfortable, having more trouble getting out of her chair, because you in your 30s didn't go and train because you were worried about what somebody else thought of you. What if you in 10 years, is sitting uncomfortable and aging faster than you should just because you're worried that somebody else was judging you? It just shouldn't matter.
Speaker 1:But what you can do that's going to make that a little bit easier is have a program to follow. That's probably like the number one thing to help bring that gym anxiety down is to know what you're going to do when you get in there. If you're walking in there and you have no idea what exercises you're going to do and you're just looking at the equipment trying to find something that you can sit on, that's free, it can be really hard. But if you've got a program, particularly that program has videos or photos that show you what the exercise looks like, what the machine looks like, tells you how many reps and sets to do, tells you what speed to do it at, and you can just go in and know that you're going to have an effective session and that also, like you're not having to make it up on the go, can make it a whole lot easier to get through that session. Another thing personally I do is I wear a hat and I swear that helps me so much with getting in the training zone. It also really just blocks out my view of anybody else, so I'm not looking at the side eye to see, you know, somebody looking at me. I can't see everybody else. My head's down, my hat's on, my headphones are on and that helps me just be in my own little world and personally I find that really helpful. So it might just be headphones for you, but me personally I love a hat for just helping me block out the noise.
Speaker 1:On the point of our other people looking at me, what you really need to understand is everyone in that gym feels exactly the same way. They're there for themselves. They're there thinking only about themselves. And I know personally if I'm looking at anybody else in the gym, if I actually stop to look at somebody, like not just having a passing glance and realizing that there's a human there. But if I'm looking at somebody, it's usually one of two things. One, genuine curiosity they're doing something differently to what I've seen before. They've got a different movement, or they're paired two different exercises together and I'm curious about what they're doing. Or I'm thinking like what a boss bitch. Or like look how hard that girl's working or look how hard that guy's working, and I'm drawing inspiration and I'm looking at them with admiration, and so I wouldn't ever just assume that if you do see somebody's look in your direction, that they're thinking something negative and if they are, first of all, it's none of your business. Second of all, that thought again, what a shame it would be if you were then sitting uncomfortable in your body in six months time in the same position you are, or worse off, because you were just too concerned about somebody who you don't even know and what they were thinking about you in the gym. You don't deserve to not get your results just because of somebody else's thoughts and once again, they're probably not thinking about you at all, and if they are, there's a good chance that you know.
Speaker 1:The type of people who are in a gym are people who are working on themselves and they like to see other people working on themselves and everybody's drawing inspiration from each other. And I would say that a lot of the negative comments that you are assuming they're thinking about you is things from your own inner dialogue that you need to do some work on. I had somebody also share that they've already gained six kilos and they're concerned about the Christmas weight gain, and it is common over December, a lot of adults experience that sort of two to five kilo weight gain, and that's mostly going to come down to nutrition. If you're trying not to gain any more over this period, or if you're trying to manage this period a little bit better, we really need to look at nutrition, and so the main thing that we're going to be looking at is simplifying it and using mindful eating, and mindful eating is where you slow down and you really take notice of what you're eating, how it tastes, what are the textures. You chew that food right down before you swallow it. If you're standing near a buffet or a grazing table, fill a small plate and move away from it, rather than standing next to it and popping things in your mouth while having a conversation and not even taking time to enjoy it. So if you can practice mindful eating, really stop and enjoy the food, you're going to get those fullness cues sooner and also tune into those fullness cues and stop it when you're satisfied, rather than stopping at the point when you're so full that your stomach hurts and then you're constipated for the three days, and I would not say that that's enjoying the Christmas spirit.
Speaker 1:If you're uncomfortable, if your digestion is impacted, if you are feeling guilt and resentment the next day, that's not enjoying yourself, and so applying a small amount of restriction is actually the self-care in this case, and it doesn't need to feel like restriction. There's nothing you can't have. You have unconditional permission to eat anything that you want, and you may or may not choose to have it, but you don't have to have all of it. You don't have to say yes to everything, and you also don't have to say no to anything either, but you may choose to in order of looking after your comfort or knowing that that food's going to be available again at another time and it's okay to not have it today. And so that abundance mindset around food can be really helpful. Practicing mindful eating can be really helpful. And then just tuning back into like normal nutrition principles Am I eating a good amount of protein with each meal? Am I eating fruits and vegetables and am I staying hydrated? If you're drinking, maybe you want to set a limit before you go, decide how many drinks you're going to have and create another option for yourself when you have reached that limit or in between drinks. Maybe you're going to have like a sugar-free soda or something like that, and that can make a big difference. That can hugely impact how many calories you're eating at any of these events.
Speaker 1:The other part of it is that even if you do over indulge on Christmas, on Boxing Day, on New Year's Day and maybe your Christmas work party and a social event with your friends, they're you know we're talking four or five days of the month. The problem is not those four or five days of the month. The problem is when people treat all of December like it's Christmas Day or New Year's Day and are eating the novelty foods every day, drinking most days and letting all of their other positive habits or their normal eating habits slide through that period. You're not going to gain five kilos from a couple of days of overeating. Go and enjoy them the days in between. Stick to your normal foods. There doesn't have to be novelty every day of Christmas or every day of the month of December.
Speaker 1:Have a little bit more control and making sure that when you are indulging you're not overindulging, because that's actually not enjoyable either. Keep that abundance mindset that you can eat anything that you'd like to, but it's also okay to say no to help avoid any discomfort or guilt associated with these sorts of events. You want to be able to absolutely focus on them with a memories over macros approach, but we don't want it to get to the point where you then feel guilty or resentful for having a nice time. I'll leave that there and wrap this one up. Thank you so much for tuning in again.
Speaker 1:Let me know what you thought of this episode obviously a lot more off the cuff and whether or not you enjoy the life updates being part of the podcast. And if you enjoyed the episode enough that you want to recommend it to a friend, I would absolutely love that. Leave a rating and review or sharing your stories. If you are sharing online, tag me in at Helena, underscore, underscore, sly. That's also the best instagram account to find me on to request anything from a podcast or to give me any feedback or, of course, to inquire about coaching. Until next time, much love.
