Dan: Hey guys, this is Dan and Ellice from “Feel Good” for BSc. We've been inundated with all your responses, so we decided that in this podcast we’re going to go into a little bit more detail and then answer amazing questions about from all our viewers and listeners. So, first of all, we're going to delve into planning and exercise. It’s something that we're both very passionate about and I want to make sure that everyone out there understands the importance of preparing for exercise. Now we both have our little way of preparing, I know that you love to prepare the night before, what’s your routine?
Ellice: Well that's a big question.
Dan: Nutrition and also, I think for very busy people, there's also what you're going to wear, get changed into for your next meeting or social commitment, and all that sort of stuff.
Ellice: I think in the first three episodes we spoke about what exactly is balance, what it takes to be motivated to get your goals happening, and the planning aspect of that as well. And I think the questions that we’ve had come through is about what it takes to keep motivated, to be motivated and how to set achievable goals. The first thing is motivation. I think that's something that, from experience - whether it's consulting or clinically - I think motivation is so important and it needs to come from you. So, initially, you need to find out what is your motivation to be well? What does that mean to you? Take some time to sit back and understand in silence what that means to you and then that way you can define what your goals from that are.
Dan: It’s kind of like finding out what your wellness blueprint plan is. Like I’ve spoken about, with your wellness, there's no such thing as a wellness expert; you're your wellness expert. If you want to write a nutrition program for a thousand people and they're all the same, it's not going to work for a thousand people. So, each person has their wellness blueprint and that's what makes them feel happy, what gets them results, what motivates them and keeps them balanced, and I think balance is the word that's more key. Wellness gets used a lot but I think balance is the word that people need to understand. I’m my own worst enemy - if I get overwhelmed with work and I get stressed out that I haven’t been able to train much, my balance starts to go and that's when I sort of lose touch with everything else. So, balance is one of the most important things that we're starting to now realize and recognise in the health and fitness industry, and in every industry, how important it is to have balance - from the top of corporate levels down to the people that work general day jobs, the CEOs right down to the general public.
Ellice: So this is where we get to dive into the topic of motivation, goals and balance. What do you do to keep motivated to set your goals? What motivates you?
Dan: To become better. I want to be better at things I've been doing yesterday. There is the physical component but also, I’ll look after my body as well, so, I'm not going to push myself as I used to when I was a professional athlete. For me as a wellness director, I want to make sure that I’m being more constructive in teaching people about their wellness. That's a big thing; it means education. So, for me, educating people on becoming their wellness trainers.
Ellice: What about training? What gets you out? What gets you going?
Dan: What gets me going is the fact it is almost like your sort of therapy. The feeling you get after training, that reward system, for me you can't beat that. Some people say they can't find the time to train, but you can always make time. For me training, every day isn't about putting yourself through the absolute ringer where you’re about to pass out. Sometimes, for example, my running would be having half an hour on the beach while the sun comes up and you're just reflecting over things.
Ellice: So, one of your goals would be to find your balance in the morning.
Dan: Yeah, my me time is a part of my balance. There's the physical, there's nutritional, there is the ‘me time’, there’s getting enough sleep, there’s the social aspect, and there’s the relationship aspect.
Ellice: So, what would another goal be? You've got the balance in the morning, what else?
Dan: Nutrition.
Ellice: And what does that mean to you?
Dan: Nutrition to me…I know if I eat well I'm going to be well mentally.
Ellice: So, what your goal in nutrition?
Dan: Nutrition is to maintain a consistent state of mind.
Ellice: So, how do you do that?
Dan: I eat consistently.
Ellice: You plan your meals.
Dan: I do plan my meals, but I’ve done it enough so now I can eat consistently. And, I plan my meals enough to know that if I have a disruptive day I'm prepared for that disruptive day. If I’m not prepared, I’ll know that I probably won’t be able to do x, y, z for the rest of the day if I don't get the right nutrition in because I know the importance. Nutrition’s 80% or even higher than that in terms of actually getting that performance and getting those results. Also, for someone that suffers from depression and anxiety, there is such a big correlation with that and nutrition.
Ellice: So, you wake up in the morning, you find that your wellness and nutrition is everything to you because of the good effects it has on your day. What’s the third one, if you could pick one?
Dan: Third one? I don’t know, a third one is probably being on top of all my tasks. So, prioritising the importance of my tasks for the day.
Ellice: For mental clarity?
Dan: For mental clarity, yeah. So, if I’ve done my mental clarity checklist then I’m set for the day with my physical, my nutritional and my mental well-being. If that's a start to my day, then that day is good. If there's a disruptive day where I can't get any of those in at all, it's a tough day, but you have to accept that not every day is going to be good.
Ellice: So, importantly, what we were getting at is everybody's goals and motivations are going to be completely different but you need to know what your goals are to strive for them. It's just prioritising your time to put into place for the right things for you. So, if that’s working out for the feel-good factor, if it's nutrition for the feel-good and then it's the ‘me time’ for the feel-good, I know exactly what they are and set them as goals. Once you achieve them, tick them off and then return to the next. So, having consistency in knowing exactly what you want is setting yourself up for success.
Dan: What about for those people that don’t have an exercise goal?
Ellice: So, just say we wanted to have a goal of feeling better in the morning, avoiding sleep deprivation or being stressed. Have simple goals. Make three of them, or you can make more but three is a really good amount. So, make the goal simple and talk yourself through how you're going to achieve it. So, many studies suggest that by simply talking yourself through it, you're enabling yourself to succeed at it.
Dan: Visualize it.
Ellice: Visualize it, yeah. You tell me about that every day. So your perfect Tuesday, what does that look like and how are you going to get there? It's not rocket science, and it doesn't even need to be. Keep it simple and fun and enjoy the journey because one step is better than taking a step backwards.
Dan: That’s true. I come across a lot of people, ex-athletes, and when you're an athlete or you have some sort of team and you're working towards a specific goal in terms of performance not just your well-being, and some people get a bit lost. So, they go to the gym and they'll say "I want to lose 8 kilos", so that might be a goal. But some people get that lost when it comes to a routine where they just don't know what to do.
Ellice: What I find - and this is just probably a female view and you can tell me the male view - is I get a lot of women saying I want to lose 10 kilos and so I ask the question about why it is important to them? And then they think about it, and they think well I was 10 kilos lighter when I was 23 and free. Okay, so how old are you now? They could be a little bit older and at a different stage of their life, they could have had children just understanding what it is as to the reasons why you wanting that goal is important because sometimes you'll find that your goal shifts. So, it isn't necessarily important to be 10 kilograms lighter, it could be that you just want to be free but you weren't aware of it until you talked yourself through it. So, expectations of yourself are huge, don't put too much pressure on yourself because you're running your race.
Dan: Comparison is a big issue too.
Ellice: Don't compare because there's a lot of media attention on aesthetics; it's not about that anymore. Feeling good is how you feel from the inside. If you compare yourself to someone else you'll never achieve it. So, one of the biggest things that I find is always feel blessed at where you at because you are here this day for a reason, don't compare yourself to someone else because you're setting yourself up for a little bit of disappointment. Wherever you are right now is amazing, and stepping forward into your goals is even better and I think that's important.
Dan: I mean perfect example is social media and body image issues that have been not just with females but now males are becoming such a high rate.
Ellice: Why do you think that is?
Dan: I think it's that the perfect male images come out now with the perfect physique and they've gone away from the whole fact that feeling good is what it’s all about, or that being happy is what it's all about. So, we are just trying to get those guys to realize that, and the females to realize that, but there is a big shift in females understanding. Females are generally very social people so group training is good for that. Males tend to stick in pairs or train by themselves and all that, but there is a bit of a shift in dynamics happening. Some great studies are coming out now with guys becoming more social and that social aspect takes away that that "I’ve got to look good, I’ve got to look good, I’ve got to look good". Social media does help; it's a great tool for you know getting good messages out there but some people can catch up in that.
Ellice: Again, it's your motivation, your own goals.
Dan: Exactly, and I find it's about being authentic and practising what you preach. Because you’re going to get guys on there and girls on there that are beautiful, which is amazing but you don't know how happy they are. It's really interesting to meet some of these people who have millions of followers but they're not happy. You need to strip it all back and make sure you're happy, you're doing what makes you happy and you'll be getting the results you want from finding your happiness. I think that’s it.
Ellice: Yeah, it's huge and I think shifting your focus away from the calorie counting, the ratio of the hip, the size of the arm...I know it's important to be aesthetically pleasing to yourself but it doesn't matter if you've got a bit of a giggle or if you've got a bit more of a booty. Strong is the new fit and I think that's something to keep in mind, that the human body is amazing but it doesn't need to be you know clinically drawn onto a piece of paper. Getting that feel-good message across is something we’re striving on because you put that into play and I'll put everything on it that you'll get a lot better results.
Dan: That’s true. So, as I said, if you have a good mindset, the rest will follow and that is the perfect link between physical and mental health so that’s why it’s so important. So, guys hope you got something out of this, we must delve into these sorts of topics about exercise and how you balance it and making sure that you understand that you have to be happy first. Don’t worry about everything else around you or external factors, put yourself first - it’s not selfish, it's about creating happiness for you and the results will follow. So, guys thank you so much for reading. I hope you guys got something out of it. We can't wait to hear more questions we've got more podcasts coming up. So, Feel Good with Dan and Ellice for BSc signing out!
