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Summary
On episode 390 of 40+ Fitness, Coach Allan goes solo to admit that even after three and a half years of coaching health and fitness on this show, he has spent the last couple of months sliding away from his own habits.
Between putting his house on the market, traveling back to the United States to pack and organize the move, losing his dog Jojo to kidney failure, getting his other dog Angel through an international move to Panama, and buying and renovating a local gym, Allan let his eating and structured exercise slip even while his overall joy stayed high.
Rather than dwell on the setback, he lays out the simple three-step process he is using to reset: forgive, build an action plan, and execute, and argues that the real lesson is letting go of perfectionism, because slides happen to everyone, coaches included.
Links
- https://40plusfitness.com
Key Takeaways
- Even the coach slides off track. Allan is direct that despite years of preaching consistency, a stretch of major life changes, moving countries, losing a pet, buying a gym, quietly eroded his own eating and exercise habits.
- The reset process is forgive, action plan, execute. He compares it to missing a turn while driving: first forgive yourself for taking the wrong road, then figure out where to turn around, then actually make the turn.
- Forgive yourself first, because self-punishment does not fix anything. Allan's point is that continuing to beat yourself up over a slide keeps you stuck on the wrong road longer, not shorter.
- Perfectionism is the real obstacle to progress. He titled the episode “I Am Human” specifically to push back on the idea that a coach, or anyone serious about their health, should never slip. Slides and setbacks are part of the journey, not evidence of failure.
- Build your action plan from what has already worked for you. Allan's own plan was specific and familiar to him: get back into ketosis, move his body, get back to lifting heavy, the same tools that had worked for him before.
- Execution can start smaller than where you left off. He notes that showing up again might mean lifting less weight or running a shorter, slower distance at first, and that is fine, since the progression picks back up from there.
- Thoughts shape words, words shape actions, actions shape habits, and habits shape character. Allan closes on a Talmud quote he is using to reset his own mindset, treating his morning journal and stated intentions as the starting point for turning the slide around.
- Wellness is a journey, not a destination you eventually arrive at and stay. Allan's closing point is that setbacks, injuries, and slides will keep happening throughout anyone's health journey, and being human means expecting and recovering from them rather than expecting to avoid them.
“Pay attention to your thoughts, for they will become words. Pay attention to your words, for they will become actions. Pay attention to your actions, for they will become habits. Pay attention to your habits, for they will become your character. Pay attention to your character, for it will become your fate.”
The Talmud, quoted by Coach Allan