Push Pull Health
With a temper as short as her legs, Fiona joins Ben every week to forcefully 'Push Your Health From The Pulls Of Life.'
Expect Foul-mouthed narcissistic ramblings on fitness, nutrition, film, and life coaching.
The weekly audio & video expansion on the world-famous 'The Daily Rot' email also includes:
Usefully Useless Fitness and Diet advice.
Half-arsed film reviews.
The exploitation of children.
True Crime recommendations.
Nutritious leprechaun-inspired recipes (short and to the point)
Narcissistic wisdom.
Howdy,
I'm Ben, the only 'health' coach who allows you to embrace your Rotten attitude towards exercise and nutrition!
I'm asking you to give the middle finger to your yo-yo diet and half-arsed exercise routine in JUST 30 Days!
Have you tried to improve Your health in the past...?
Are you sick of yo-yo-ing from one restrictive diet and hideous exercise plan to the next, begging for it to end so you can slip back into old habits - only to start the same rotten cycle again?
You can count your own reps...
Push Pull Health
Should You be Running Towards or Away from Exercise to Improve Your Mental Health?
What does your rotten health attitude struggle with most?
Ever wondered how fitness and mental health are intertwined? Our latest episode brings you firsthand experiences with our special guest, Shaun O'Shea, as he embarks on training for his very first 10k run.
With Danny returning to co-host, we offer a candid discussion on the ups and downs of fitness journeys, the power of perseverance, and how running can be a transformative tool for mental well-being.
We even revisit some listener favourites like our previous chat on “Hot Fuzz,” blending humour with heartfelt insights.
Key Topics Covered:
Personal Fitness Stories Highlighting the importance of routines, proper nutrition, and goal-setting for both physical and mental health.
Challenges and Strategies The challenges and strategies for weight tracking, the role of sleep, and understanding macronutrients.
Maintaining Motivation and Mental Clarity Genuine advice on maintaining motivation and mental clarity through personalised and sustainable habits.
Balance Between Disciplined Weeks and Weekend Indulgences Addressing a common struggle for many.
The Role of Support Networks The crucial role of support networks – from family and friends to colleagues – and how these connections can serve as lifelines during tough times.
Building Resilience and Overcoming Mental Health Challenges Techniques for building resilience, overcoming mental health challenges, and the significance of recognising progress.
Join us as we share personal stories that highlight the journey from initial struggles to the euphoria of newfound passions. Whether you're curious about running, seeking ways to manage stress, or interested in nutritional insights, this episode promises rich, actionable takeaways to bolster your physical and mental health journey.
With a temper as short as her legs, Fiona joins Ben each week to forcefully 'Push Your Health From The Pulls Of Life.'
Expect foul-mouthed narcissistic ramblings on fitness, nutrition, film, and life coaching.
The Weekly Audio & Video Expansion on The world famous 'The Daily Rot' email includes:
Usefully Useless Fitness and Diet advice.
Half-arsed film reviews.
The exploitation of children.
True Crime recommendations.
Nutritious leprechaun-inspired recipes
Narcissistic wisdom.
Howdy,
I'm Ben, the only 'health' coach who allows you to embrace your Rotten attitude toward exercise and nutrition.
I'm asking You to give the middle finger to Your Unrestrictive diet and Half-arsed exercise routine in JUST 30 Days...
Have you tried to improve Your health in the past...?
Are you sick of yo-yo-ing from one restrictive diet and hideous exercise plan to the next, begging for it to end so you can slip back into old habits - only to start the same rotten cycle again?
You can count your own reps...
Your Complimentary Rotten Health Guide
Youtube
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter
One, two, three. You did it all. I had to. I had to. That's close enough, I think. Right, okay, sean, what's mental health? Mental health, but none of us are experts in this topic. What else would you say, what other terminology would you use Just to clarify that none of us are medical experts in the field of mental health? So, as I always, as I always say during these episodes, narcissistic ramblings, that's, that's, that's what it's about, but in a good way, in a good way. So everything I say, my opinion, will be based on my own experience and then, depending on that, some people can go oh, do you know?
Speaker 3:yeah, I can relate to that I guess anything we do say isn't intending to upset or cause any things, but we might go into some honest chat about mental health, which might bring up some topics that are sensitive to some people. So just a heads up about that, I guess well, if anything, get help. That's, that's hopefully, that's the plan, just it's good to have a heads up, I think, with this subject. Um, it's just being honest, that's that's what, that's our goal today, isn't it?
Speaker 2:yeah, speaking from the heart, that is, that is the goal of today how's this setup looking?
Speaker 1:we're looking a bit cramped around this little table. You have to remember that normally I'm around it and then I've got a little leprechaun on the other side of it. She's so so it works. Most of the time I can see all three of us on there.
Speaker 3:Well, there we go. It's a good bit of editing, like, I'm on ben's lap right now, but he's edited it, so I'm opposite him somehow. Yeah, yeah, no, I'm not that advanced. That advanced, unfortunately I wish it's the world's smallest table.
Speaker 2:We've got three men on it.
Speaker 1:I feel like it's getting. It's quite. It's quite hot in here, isn't it?
Speaker 2:it's quite a hot day so this could be an issue I'm already feeling it.
Speaker 1:I'm already feeling a bit hot under the color, but then, yes, the the topic is is that's?
Speaker 2:why I'm running stressful.
Speaker 1:I suppose in some ways do I need to introduce you danny's back? Everyone remember Danny, remember the running and veganism, yeah same one, same guy, danny.
Speaker 3:They kept, they kept screaming for me to return so. I thought go on then isn't that the same top? No, no, it looks like the same top if you do any editing, I'm going to blend into the green.
Speaker 2:Well, that's been a few weeks O'Shea, so like he could, yeah, no, I suppose he's allowed to maybe recycle the same clothing that he had before, which would be funny if that was the same one sean o'shea.
Speaker 1:So I said I I call this gentleman o'shea, so these two are siblings, so I've got to now call them by their first name so there's no confusion same birthday as well yes, that's extraordinary, isn't?
Speaker 2:it. Yeah, you're apart. Yeah, what the chances crazy. Yeah, busy parents.
Speaker 1:Didn't hang about. But, Mr Sean O'Shea, you have been on. Well, not this, not Pushable Health, not Pushable Health. But you have been on the other podcast that I don't like to speak about too often, the film one. The film one that was, you know, in the end not too good.
Speaker 2:Not too good, not too good. So you're on there. We did hot fuzz. Yep, hot fuzz great film. I watched it the night before and did, uh, plenty of notes, didn't I from before?
Speaker 1:it was a long one. Yeah, it was. Yeah, it took me a while to edit that, I remember, and that was also without video.
Speaker 2:This was just audio very true, back of the day, you've done well and I had a little box that last time that's true, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Again, not on video.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, the setup wasn't the best.
Speaker 2:And that room was so hot.
Speaker 1:Worse than this, oh yeah, that was in the mezzanine, wasn't?
Speaker 2:it. Yeah, it was at the top, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we've come a long way. You've come a long way, so we've gone from talking about hot fuzz to talk about mental health yeah, yeah, massive change oh dear oh no, what's what's happened
Speaker 1:you've matured so, yeah, there's, there's no real. I don't think there's gonna be any real structure to this episode as such. I'm going to try and shut up as much as possible. I'm finding this interesting, just sort of looking. I'm yeah, I'm just going to try and be quiet Really, and then just jump in when necessary, keep it flowing. I suppose I suppose that's my job as the host just to keep it flowing, keep the fist fights to a minimal if it gets a bit heated. That's about it, really. But I guess we should start off with the fact that me and danny are in some capacity, coaching you with what you're doing at the moment, which is training for a 10k yeah, 10k week today, and also so, yeah, so danny's doing doing the running stuff and all the exercise stuff and I've been helping you out on the nutritional front. Yeah, so, yeah, so I guess, based on that, we've got a bit of skin in the game when it comes to having you on the show. But then also what we're doing behind the scenes, which yeah.
Speaker 1:I guess relates to mental health and what we're going to touch upon. But yeah, as I said, there's nothing, there's no major thing we're going to start off with as such, but I guess, without putting too much pressure on you, where would you like to kick things off? What do you want to touch upon first? What do you feel like is going to be maybe more of like an icebreaker? Maybe let's start just with something a little bit light, possibly, before it then gets into the heavy stuff.
Speaker 3:Do you want to touch base now, like the impact of the last couple of months has had? Yeah, I was going to start there, whether that be the running or Ben.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so obviously I've struggled now for around about eight years, but we'll start with the last sort of three months or so and I was probably touching towards up to my heaviest. Um, danny, obviously, as you know from the last podcast, done a marathon and as part of that he was doing a fundraiser to run. I think it's 25 miles is it?
Speaker 2:yeah, along along the coast and I said I would raise some money, which I did, which was brilliant. Um, and run five miles. Um, I didn't really run that. I ran it very slow, I walked a bit of it and I didn't train for it and I was really disappointed in myself because it was this was a big thing for danny and I'd gone out the night before as well, which was silly. Um, and I really disappointed in myself. And I weighed myself the very next day and I was touching up to 111, 112 kilos and I was like I need to do something about this because I enjoyed running before and I wanted to do it again.
Speaker 2:So I've been in touch with Ben um anyway for for quite a while and obviously I knew he was doing his push-pull health and I just thought this, this, this is a chance to do it. And he's he's helped me with with writing out sort of training plans for me to do to follow different guidances on nutrition and and more into that. He's, he's um, he's taught me how to to look into my calories, look into my protein intake. Something I never did before. I always did was follow a plan and that was it, um. And then Danny I watched Danny in the marathon and I turned to his wife and I was like I, I want to do this, I want to run a marathon within two years. And she just said do it then. So literally the next day I said to Danny, I said, well, we need to, we want to do this, and he's written me out a seven week, eight week, eight week plan and we're on. Well, we've just finished week seven today. By the time this comes out, I'd have done my 10K, which is amazing day. By the time this comes out, I'd have done my 10k, which is amazing, um, and I've got 10k next week and within those three months I've lost, coming up to a stone, 1.7 stone, and that's just helped me so much.
Speaker 2:So when I first started running, I was running a mile and I was, I was out of breath, I would go home, I was miserable, and now I look forward to a run, like, even when I'm down, I finish a run and I feel so much better. Um, ben's been brilliant. He obviously messages me almost every day and I'm quite honest with him, if I'm feeling down, it's a run or it's a gym session, and just I can't stress enough what exercise really does to you is sort of I'm a man who likes to go out and likes my drink and stuff, but the feeling of going out for a run and like today, four miles, it was it was, yeah, the best feeling in the world. So that that's that's the last three months really, and I'm down to 101 kilos now and hopefully by race day I'll be below 100. That's the aim anyway.
Speaker 2:It's been a good three months. It's been really, really solid. It's. It's been consistent. That's the main thing. Um, consistency has always been key. I think everyone knows that, but it's hard to actually implement it. Um, I've always said consistency is key and you'll get the right results. And the amount of times I've done I've gone for a two mile run once every two weeks, maybe the odd 5k every six weeks, and you're not going to get anything out of that, you're just not. You're after six weeks and you run again. You're back to square one, whereas this I've ran three times a week, sometimes four for seven weeks, and now I can see a huge, huge difference, not only in my mental health, not only in my weight loss, but just the way I'm running. I'm running at a half decent pace and I finish the runs with like a massive smile on my face every single time.
Speaker 3:Do you think that, going back to the mental health thing having that focus on a goal on running on almost like an outlet, and also the mental health thing at having that focus on a goal on running on almost like an outlet, and also the nutrition as well, and you're basically looking after yourself, so you're putting the right fuel in, you're not drinking as much because you're focusing on prioritizing runs Do you think that's made a massive difference to how you feel Like, if you're being honest, eight weeks ago to now?
Speaker 2:Yeah, and routine Routine is huge, how you feel like if you're being honest. But eight weeks ago to now, yeah, I'm routine. Routine is is huge. I um, I really struggle in half terms sometimes from what I work. So work in a school and not. So I will on a sunday, as ben's got me to do actually is start meal prepping, which I never used to do, so I enjoy that on a Sunday Now, rather than waking up hungover and oh, I can't be arsed to do this, I'll leave it. Then I'll have a bad dinner on a Sunday and then Monday I've got no lunch, so I'll eat whatever's at school, which isn't always healthy, and then I've started the week off badly. Now I'm, I'm into a routine where I'm meal prepping. I I know what I'm eating at work. I finish work, I either go to the gym or I'm getting ready to go home for a run.
Speaker 2:Like all that structure in place now is that I've got it in my head. At the beginning of the eight weeks plan, I used to say to you I can't be asked to go out for this one. Now I'm like oh no, I've got it in my head. At the beginning of the eight weeks plan, I used to say to you I can't be asked to go out for this run. Now I'm like, oh no, I've got to run Tuesday, that's my run. Thursday, that's intervals. Sunday, I've got to run with Danny. So in my head now, obviously on a Friday I'll get home from work. I'm kn we're doing or not. On a Saturday it enables me to. I know it shouldn't, but it enables me to go. Right, I can't go out on Saturday, can't drink, I can't do this like today. We ran at half nine so it's helped me to go. No, I've got to prioritize that because that in the long run and in the short run, it's making me feel so much better it's good, it's about habit forming, isn't it with?
Speaker 3:I think it's like trying to link it to mental health as well, like if you, if you find yourself in a negative space, and like trying to add positive habits to your, to your routine, to your week. It's hard, it's difficult to start, but the more you do it, the more it becomes a lifestyle, doesn't it like? You're now almost like a lifestyle of running, like you were saying, it's not a case of, oh, tuesday, I've got to run, it's Tuesday I am running. There's no, there's not even a question. It's just what I'm doing and having that really positive habit as like we'll just have such a forward moving, positive stuff to your mental health and to your physical health and stuff like that. So it's good, it's been a good eight weeks that you're saying the consistency is what, what drives it as well, isn't it like?
Speaker 3:I think, as a quote I say to you, is like being occasion, occasion, um, consistently good is better than being occasionally great just turning up every day, whether that be the run or, you know, trying to get the right food, occasionally, consistently good, is better than being occasionally great, just turning up every day, whether that be the run or, you know, trying to get the right food in you or just focusing on yourself Even for some people it's getting in the shower and looking after themselves. Making a bed in the morning, yeah, so I think the last eight weeks has been a really good case study for that.
Speaker 2:And don't get me wrong, it hasn't been an easy eight weeks. I'm not going to turn around and go. Oh, I've absolutely smashed every single run. I've had some bad runs. I've messaged you, I've voice noted you and sent it over and gone. I was really laggy after 20 minutes and I stopped for for 30 seconds and then and then and then I ran and then I stopped a bit and it's not been smooth sailing.
Speaker 2:But I would say the last two to three weeks have been pretty spot on. Um, I think a lot of when I run with you. Obviously I feel a lot better. I mean, I know you've got to be able to run on your own, but there's been times when I've done that 35 minute run and I've done it in 3.6, I've done 3.6 miles, so it's under 10 minute per mile. That for me, on my own, was just a massive milestone because I was running at 12. For people that understand, obviously, the miles, because I know people going kilometres, I was going at 12.5 minute per mile and I was struggling with that, so nearly 40 minute, 5k basically yeah.
Speaker 2:And now, for the first time ever when was it Last week? Was it this week? No, last week without even realising, I've done 29, 30 5K. So my plan after this race was to try and run an under 30 minute 5K, and I've done it already without even realizing it, so that for me that was just a huge, huge milestone.
Speaker 1:I think there's always going to be that discrepancy when it comes to exercise and mental health.
Speaker 1:You're always going to have well, not always, but a lot of people are going to have that issue initially where, if their mental health isn't in a great spot, the motivation to want to start exercising isn't going to come, or it's going to be really, really difficult to get yourself exercising again. It's just trying to get over that hump, that initial one week, two week, four week, whatever it is getting over that hump of trying to find a form of exercise that you can stomach a couple times a week. Because you'll find, if you can get over that hump, your, your mental health will then not for everyone but for the vast majority doing some form of exercise will dramatically improve your mental health. But, as I said at the start, if your mental health is not in a good spot, the last thing you want to do is go to the gym. The last thing you want to do is go for a run, especially if you haven't found a form of exercise that you can stomach and, ideally, enjoy.
Speaker 2:I've always said this as well, and obviously Danny said this with the running. But it's the same in the gym, the hardest thing is just getting out the door. As soon as you get out that door and then you start running instantly. Find I don't know anyone who's gone to the gym or even, if you've had a bad run or a bad gym session, come away from that and felt worse like I've had bad gym sessions. Where I've gone, I could lift heavier than that, but I feel better. So I'd rather feel disappointed than not go because internal you're going to feel so much better for it that the runs the amount of times I've I've think I I think there was one run I think this was before the training plan and I got home I was tired and I just didn't go out and then danny said you're gonna feel tired, the hardest point is getting out.
Speaker 2:Then the next morning I'd done the run, I felt more tired and my legs felt more knackered than the night before. But I said to myself get out that door. And I got out the door, I ran and I felt so much better for it. And I've said this to my mates as well. I've got new mates not new mates. But my mates who are, who just started taking up running which is amazing to see, and that's what I say to them the hardest point is just getting out that door one foot in front of the other and just go. It doesn't matter what speed you go at. When I started, danny said to me if you want to walk, you can walk, it's fine, but it's just getting out that door and starting to run. Honestly, you feel so much better for it and my mental health has dramatically changed from exercise and routine and running, especially like knowing I've got a goal to go for. Yeah, it just changes everything it's important to address.
Speaker 3:Like we've tried to do 10k's two or three times before, haven't we as well? And it hasn't. Like you haven't found that motivation that ben was talking about. So, yeah, so that it is hard like it getting out the door. There is a process, it's just doing it and like what that means for you, um, and what mindset you need to find yourself in and what you need to work on. First, um, from, yeah, mostly from a mental health point of view, and from, uh, yeah, it's, and you found you found that, thankfully, this time around, and you've got on that treadmill and and you've, you've been sailing, which is amazing, but there's definite troughs, isn't there that? Um, I mean, I've had them in my past and oh, 100 percent um, it's just important to address that. That exists as well, like and it's not, it's not as it's not. It's different levels of ease and difficulty for everyone yeah, I, like I said it's not plain sailing.
Speaker 2:I'm not going to turn around and say, oh, do this and it help you dramatically, like it might not, but I just feel like, get, get out there and give it a go and I just feel like obviously I'm not going to turn around and say, just because I've done well, in eight weeks you can go and run a six miler like this. That's, you're gonna have to work hard and I've worked hard through your plan for that. I've worked really hard in the first four to five weeks to dig deep to be able to run. How I am I ran before during lockdown was when I properly turned, properly done running, because that's the only thing you could do and I was running too much. This was when I was down at 90 kilos as well, bearing in mind I'm about 101 now and I could only do two miles at a time the odd 5k and I was knackered. My short run at the moment is four miles and I'm at 101 kilos. So, like within myself, that is just for me that is just a really, really good achievement and I feel like anyone that gives running a go like it would really.
Speaker 2:Like I said, I'm not going to turn around and go. Oh, it's dramatically going to make you feel so much better. It might not. This is from my point of view that it has helped so much, even if you go for a walk, get out and go for a four or five mile walk like it. Just it's amazing what the headspace can do when you just get out there and do a little bit like you're going to feel better than just sitting on the couch.
Speaker 2:From my point of view, from when I've been really, really down and I mean really down I just I've had it with you Evan. You've tried to get me out. I've done this and I've just ignored every one of your messages. I just want to be on my own and all that, and it's not good to be like that. You've got to get out there and you've got to try something, and I'm glad I'm in this headspace now where I've got a goal like I've got a 10k next week. As soon as I've done that, I'm going to book another one. I want to constantly have that goal to to go for and that's that's made me feel better yeah, I think, like it's one of the notes I put down.
Speaker 3:I really wanted to say is like you know, you know how, like when, when you mention mental health as a subject, it you always lean towards like the negative of like someone's had depression, anxiety and stuff like that. But mental health is just like an overall thing that we all have, like some, some people have mental health and that they're you know, they haven't, they've been, they've been fortunate enough not to have to suffer from it.
Speaker 3:But they do have mental health and it doesn't mean that it can't be worked on or like there's certain things that you can do that keep top up that, like, for example, the running, for you and for others it might be walking or, yeah, drawing, I don't know whatever.
Speaker 2:Whatever makes you even reading a book, just just, there's something and I believe, I believe that everyone, like like you said, has got mental health, but it's what triggers it. That comes out like for me up to 25, 24, 25, my life was easy for me, like going out, having fun, enjoying myself, like I had no, no, no cares in the world, no, no worries. Then I got into a relationship and it wasn't the best relationship, um, and it ended quite badly and from there it's just switched something in me and from then on I've struggled, I've really struggled, and I always said everyone's got a bit of mental health, but it depends what triggers it, and that for me was a trigger. It could be other past traumas of your parents getting divorced or a loss, but I do believe that everyone has mental health, but it's what triggers it. And then from there it's like how, how can you help? What can help you? Because it's different for everyone, but for me personally, the running and gym is just it's.
Speaker 2:I get so frustrated in myself because I know exactly what will help me, but I didn't never help myself. So when I've been at 115, 118 kilos, feeling sorry for myself, I know if I get in that gym and I know if I go out for a run I will feel so much better and I don't. I beat myself up when I don't. So that's that's where it can get hard for some people, because I kind of motivate myself to get out the the door when I was, when I was like that. So I'm not going to turn around and say, oh, just get out the door because it is hard.
Speaker 2:It took me ages to get into a headspace. I am now. It does take a while, but once you're there it's the best feeling. And literally talking to people as well, I can't stress it enough the stigma behind not talking about your problems. I kept things in for so long and as soon as like, I let it out to friends, family, it's, it's just, it's just a weight off your shoulders. You're not gonna have a good day every day. I don't. Even now, during the training block I have, I have bad days. The job I'm in is quite stressful, um, so I still have my bad days. But I feel like I know my tools now to to help myself and I and I believe other people can find their tools and I think I hope a lot of people start to take running because I feel like that's.
Speaker 3:That's an amazing tool to take I always say, like a good part, an important part of it is regulating your emotions. So, um, you're saying about like triggers and stuff like that, like, or you just wake up and it's just one of them days, you know, you're just feeling really down, like you're just feeling like you don't want to do anything and it's like they're saying tools or habits or behaviors that you do that help you regulate those emotions. Some people it's anger, you know. For some people it's like you know, proper sadness and stuff like that. And there are like methods of like cognitive behavioral therapy that work for some breathing stuff like that that help you sort of regulate those emotions.
Speaker 3:And running is my, that's mine, like I, I get really sometimes I get really tough. Sometimes I get a really tough, stressful day. We all get them at work and stuff. Just get out the door and run and it just is like a science, isn't it All that serotonin and stuff. But yeah, it's not accessible for everyone. So, finding your tools, wherever they may be, at the beginning of your journey you don't have any and it feels like I'm on my own, I got, I'm stuck in this rut and there's nothing I can do to make it worse. But um, just, yeah, find those tools, we'll talk, talk, talk to people about it. They might be able to give you some advice. You know they might be able to. Even if they're has a toolkit, can just be there for you and you know that's something that's really important.
Speaker 2:From someone who knows someone who suffers, just being there is so important, um, yeah, so what tools do you have, would you say, other than the running? Uh, gym. Gym is huge for me. Um, I'd say at well, on par it's with running, but gym has always been my go-to every single time. I think I've done so many rants on social media about when I'm in the gym I'm feeling my best, and that's why I get so angry at myself when I stop going to the gym and then I start eating really bad and then I get myself into bad habits. So gym's a massive one for me. Going out for a walk I love a long walk, and when I mean long, I mean seven, eight miles. That's been a useful tool for me. And literally chatting to you, chatting to dad, talking to my friends which is something I could never do before because I always felt like I was weak if I'd done that, which is horrible, because I know a lot of people do feel like that if they talk out.
Speaker 3:I would argue there's a strength in being vulnerable. Oh, massively.
Speaker 2:Massively. It takes a lot to admit that you're struggling. It takes a huge amount. It took me a long time to admit that, not that there was something wrong with me, but like I wasn't right and I needed to seek help. And going to friends and family was really important for me to be able to be honest. I mean, I um I don't want to touch upon this too much because it wasn't the greatest time, but I was really struggling at one point and, uh, I was Danny's groomsman at his wedding and Danny's going through a lot. He's going for a wedding, but he's also trying to. He's trying to be there for me and I was struggling. But I was also being very selfish and I remember he picked me up and this was a light switch in my head.
Speaker 3:Was this on?
Speaker 2:top of the King's Hall. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, yeah, so he picked me up from the King's Hall and I was it's quite deep, but I was. I was, yeah, I was thinking about doing something really stupid. And um, my brother come and picked me up and, um, we had a talk for ages and he said he was like I'm getting married in a week and he was like I want you to be there with my groomsman. You need to be there, um, and I think he was just a bit of tough love here towards the end, but he was like I need someone needs to step in. So it depends how you want to do this. You, you know you can do this. And as soon as he said that, I was like no, I'm groomsman. And then he was like there you go, then you're coming, drop me home. And I remember thinking what am I doing? Like it's my brother's wedding next week. It's our birthday next week as well, because his wedding was the day after our birthday.
Speaker 2:And that was one of the incidents I had when I was really bad. That flicked a switch in me to go. I can do this. It's my brother's day, I, I'm going. I had the best night ever. The only problem I was a bit disappointed in was I looked huge, I wanted to, but I was going for a bad time and I had the best night and from then I never, ever thought about doing anything that stupid again. Um, but it was the best time. I still struggle now, but I I've never been at that point since danny picked me up and had that conversation. That really helped and I feel like if I didn't, if I didn't text him or ring him, then god knows what, what might have happened. To be honest, it's worrying to think it really is. I look back and think, oh my God, like what was I doing?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it goes to show, doesn't it like, how important it is to have that support network in general.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and my friends have been amazing as well. I've got a good friendship group and a good family and I've got a really good support network at work. Obviously I haven't touched upon that too much, but I work um as a teaching assistant for kids with autism, adhd um, which in my eyes, is the best job in the world. I absolutely adore that job. Um, it's made me understand adhd more, autism more and and the traits and and and the signs and stuff.
Speaker 2:And when I was seeing people I think, okay, yeah, you've got a bit of adhd um and that that's helped me as a person because I'm helping them and that, just that, that helps me. So I know I've got to turn up at work every single day because there's kids there that rely on me. There's kids that know my name. They don't know many people's names there, but they know my name, they ask for me. So I know I'm in an important role and and that's helped me, that's helped my, my mental health, knowing I'm helping them.
Speaker 2:And the support work at work has been unbelievable. Um, obviously, if you're struggling at my work, you you do get help there, which is amazing great support network there, and not only that, through the bennington and the counselling there you get um. You get you're like a family at my job and you kind of have to be um because of the work you do and everyone just sticks by each other and everyone struggles in their own way at my job and we've got that network. So if I can't lean on, say you or dad or whoever, or I can't get out for a run or whatever, there's that support network there. So I've got networks around, which has been brilliant.
Speaker 3:I guess the good thing about that and I've seen it where I work and I used to work for a homeless charity and a mental health project there's a lot more of an emphasis and an awareness of people's mental health and like, yeah, it's great to have tools and things that you do with yourself and have friends and people that you can talk to. That's incredible. But sometimes you do need that like clinical support, you do need a therapist or you do need a doctor or something like that. So I guess you know, I guess the moral is like that holistic approach, making sure that if you're really bad and you need you need that therapist, use it. You know you got your work's allowing it, use it. Or you know, yeah, if you need to talk and there's someone there, you know you can talk to do that as that as well. Go for a run or drink some water, whatever makes you feel better.
Speaker 2:Well, I have. I mean, I have used them, which is amazing. Obviously, from my job, you get Benenden Care, which is private health care, and in that you do get free counselling sessions, which when I started, not long after I started, I was really struggling. This was about three years ago and I did use them and they were fantastic. And if you need to talk to someone, then going to a counsellor, going to therapy, is really good to do. I mean, I was a bit sceptical at first. I was a bit I wasn't sure. I thought, once again, is it going to make me weak? Can I try and deal with this myself?
Speaker 2:But sometimes going to them, is amazing the support they give you, the talk you have with them. They really, really do help you and they give you sort of a broader understanding of what's going on, um, and they sometimes can give you. Obviously, they can't exactly tell you what you, what you can and can't do, but they can give you the tools, they can give you the little nudge of what might be able to help. Um, and I spoke about gym, I spoke about running a lot, and they simply just went more well, go for a run.
Speaker 3:Go for a run tonight.
Speaker 2:Go for a run tonight, see how you feel. And that's what I did that night went out for a run. Well, not a big one, a couple of miles. Yeah, I just did two miles tonight and it helped. That's the main tool for me, and the good thing about my job sorry, segueing away from that is when the kids are struggling, we've got to find tools to help them. So I'm I'm constantly in that. I'm finding tools for me, I'm finding tools for them. So that's helped me, because obviously, knowing what tools help for certain people has helped me as well.
Speaker 3:Yeah, and like I mean like when I was a kid or even when I was a teenager, even when I was in my early 20s there was like such a lack of emphasis or understanding on mental health or even aware.
Speaker 3:You know there wasn't. I don't remember even talking about it at school. I don't know if you guys remember that. Was there any chats from our teachers or anything. So you know, hard cut to now, where there is a good awareness and people are, like you know, opening and talking about it. It's so important just to like if we didn't know someone was going through something like that and you just wouldn't know what to do. You're just going on, especially if you don't go for anything yourself, but if you're, if there is that awareness and everyone knows and you know you're saying you've developed your own tools or you know you support other people and I've worked and done some coaching stuff with with my, my project. Like you, you almost can. It's almost like a bit like first aid, isn't it? You can step in and go right, I'm going to try and support this person that I care about. Um, 20 years ago that just didn't exist. Uh, so that's, you know, a really good thing, um, I think. Thank you.
Speaker 2:Well, I say, going up to, like you said, people didn't really know. Um, like I said, going up to 25, I didn't even know people. I know people used to have. You'd say I've got anxiety and all this and I just think I don't know what that is. And it was only until I went for that breakup.
Speaker 3:I understood how bad anxiety was. It shouldn't be. You have to go through it. No, no, no, no, no, no, that happened. That happened to me as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, and I, I, I was trying to understand. I remember, um, when people were saying anxiety and stuff, I was trying to sort of understand it and stuff and I just I couldn't really understand it and unfortunately I had to go through it to understand it, which which wasn't nice it's like being thrown in the deep end to learn how to swim.
Speaker 2:Yeah, basically and that's why it's so. It's like it's nice now that you you've got all that support network and you've got um all more understanding of mental health, like I feel like that's, from a personal point of view, like something that should be brought up in school as well.
Speaker 3:I think it is now, is it? I think so.
Speaker 2:I think that'd be an amazing tool to have, just so people have an understanding growing up of the struggles and what's going on. But yeah, it's nice to know now you've got more support network, you've got more understanding, you've got more tools, you've got more everything, especially sort of online as well and or anywhere else you you can try and access.
Speaker 3:That it does help, lovely, thank you. What do you think, ben?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, I was just looking at the uh, the screen there, because that battery's about to go dead, I think. So that's me. That's what I've been freaking out about the last 20 minutes. So, uh, actually I may as well just change it now. I need to get a nice chair. I'm just so uncomfortable. It's like being at school Bloody tiny little table so uncomfortable.
Speaker 2:Look at these chairs, look at this, look at that.
Speaker 1:Back kills Look at this. You're talking about a serious subject.
Speaker 2:You're talking about to be fair, I've been looking at Dan the whole time, so I didn't even notice again, it's probably not that bad.
Speaker 3:But like for me, I'm just you can, you can you can get why, like when you see some of these podcasts, they're on their sofas like that would be a dream, right?
Speaker 2:about it. That's sort of all you need to do is get some sofas in it well, I've got that red chair, but a bit on my list, isn't it?
Speaker 1:find that curve. That's all right then yeah, uh, okay, go on then, right. So where I can't remember where we were, we've had to stop recording because I had to change the batteries on this, on this wacky little thing is that a metaphor for people recharging? I don't know, probably yeah, okay, all right, yeah, yeah, yeah, recharge the old batteries to to resume our conversation sleep, maybe that's. Oh, yes, I don't want to get back into that again, unless you got something to say about sleep oh, that's sorry.
Speaker 2:yeah, that's. That's helped me so much from um. Well, to be fair, from from the the plans you've sent me, you have said that getting enough sleep is so important. I never thought sleep was important. To be fair, I always slept. I would say if I had work I'd get up at seven, I'd go to sleep about one half one For me that'd be fine and I used to wake up. I used to feel so tired, lethargic and obviously I had a bad diet as well. And since being with you, pushable Health and Runny Madani he's kind of a name what Runny Madani, pushable Health.
Speaker 1:That's what most people are called.
Speaker 2:Pushable Health's, just like I'd have been way better off just saying Ben Davis Fitness or Ben Davis Health.
Speaker 1:The only person who cares about Pushable Health is me. The name, oh bloody Push. Pushable health, what a great name. No one cares. No one cares you'll catch it.
Speaker 2:Well, it's funny because I do. I do a push set and a pool set at the gym, don't I?
Speaker 1:would you? Would you say that I, I have pushed your health from the pools of life? Uh, you certainly pushed my health, yeah, from the pools of life are you trying to get him to do a soundbite?
Speaker 3:suit ben has pushed my I'm just no, but like.
Speaker 1:So the pools of life. What are your pools, o'shea sean, what? What are your? Well, mine are. What are your pools? What's the main pools in your life that we? You would say that ben from pushable health has potentially pushed you away from them oh, you've pulled me away from from bad habits, for sure.
Speaker 2:Bad sleep, uh, yeah, sleep, literally I'm I'm sleeping eight to eight and a half hours of sleep, eight and a half sleep, eight and a half hours sleep a night, whereas before I was doing five and I'm waking up and feeling more energized the food, like you've. You've helped me with with that. And and another thing I touch on with with Ben um is when I was I've been with PTs before and they obviously they write out a training plan for you and they write out um, a nutrition plan, and basically I just followed, I followed the meals and the diet and stuff I was given um and I never questioned it, I never. Well, I've done well with it. I'm not going to say I didn't, I've done well. But the one thing with ben is that he asked me about about calorie counting, about your protein, how many carbs you're getting in, and I've said what are you on about? I followed, I followed a training plan and that's what I did. He was obviously you don't know anything about what I've just said and I said no, and he was just gobsmacked and and to him this is what was.
Speaker 2:What's brilliant with him is is he gets you. He doesn't just write out a training plan and just go right, follow that he. He teaches you, like along the way, how much protein you gotta get in, how much fats you gotta get in, how much carbs, how many calories, roughly, you need to work with. Count your calories. Don't just assume with the calories I've just given you sort of count them yourself and then you you kind of it's more of a in your head. I'm like, oh well, I'm doing this myself now, rather than obviously I've got ben there, but obviously I'm doing it myself. He's not doing it for me, he's just giving me the tools to be able to do it so I can do it. That's one thing that I've helped. That's helped me is knowing about protein, knowing about carbs and knowing about that, whereas before I never knew. You kind of laughed it off, didn't you? You were like, how do you not know?
Speaker 1:No well, so I've pushed you off from the pause of life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what it sounds like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's pretty good and it's not been long. What three months? Yeah, but that's one of the issues with a generic meal plan. Yeah, you'll lose weight because you just stick to the meal plan. Yeah, whatever the calories are, you stick to the calories for X amount of time, until then. You maybe have to then adapt because you've lost weight, increase your expenditure or whatever you need to do to keep losing weight, but yeah, you don't learn anything. So if you were with a previous personal trainer, for what A year?
Speaker 2:Google take. I think you said no, it wasn't even that long, About eight months.
Speaker 1:Yeah, okay. So yes, eight months is a good amount of time, nine months maybe, yeah, and the whole point of what I'm trying to do and which I think hopefully most personal trainers or anyone who's doing anything, counselling and whatever you're doing, trying to help someone with their health in some capacity is that you're trying to get them to the point where they can go off and do it by themselves or they feel confident enough to be able to track their nutrition, track their training. Some people just like the accountability. So some people stay long-term because they know that if they leave that the chances are they're going to fall off the wagon. So they need to have that accountability with the gym. They need to have that twice a week which they've got. It's an appointment. They don't want to miss it because if they take themselves away from that and they're left to their own devices and they've got to motivate themselves to go to the gym and be mindful of how many calories they're eating and what they're eating, they know that there's a big, there's a high probability that even though they've learned all these tools, they still might not have the motivation to do it consistently. But if you're not doing that, that then I'm not really doing my job, but it's quite easy, isn't it? It's quite easy for me just to just to dip you enough information, because that means that if I just give you just breadcrumbs, you know a little bit, but you don't know enough, so you never feel confident enough to go. Do you know what? Thanks very much. It's been really, really beneficial.
Speaker 1:But I'm right now I've sort of got a decent routine. I can go off by myself. If I haven't, if I ever fall off the wagon a little bit, or I need a bit of a, if you know whatever, go on holiday, I have an injury where I can't train and my nutrition goes off off the deep end for any reason, I can maybe come back for a couple of months or or we can do some stuff online. So that's a big thing now, online coaching, which a lot of people. Yeah, it's cost effective, maybe for some people, but also they don't need to see people face to face because they're confident enough to go to the gym. They've got a decent idea about how to track their nutrition if they're doing any form of tracking anyway. So, yeah, I think it's. I think it's very easy just to provide the bare minimum for people so they never feel confident enough to go. Do you know what? I'm all right, I'm in a good spot, which is, I guess, from a business perspective, it makes sense, doesn't it?
Speaker 2:I mean, that's the problem with some PTs that's what they will do. I'm not saying all, because there are some amazing PTs out there, but there are some that will just dangle you enough information just to bring in that paycheck every month. It's quite upsetting to see sometimes, especially when you know other PTs are out there that will help, like you have with me, with knowing exactly what I'm putting in my body and taking a bit of accountability as well of what I'm doing. I've always been comfortable enough to go into the gym that I've obviously training and stuff. I kind of know what I'm doing in that sense. But nutrition and and all that I've always struggled with and in past I've, like I said, I've had meal plans, um. So that's why it's nice and refreshing with you that I'm I'm learning as I go, that each day I'm learning. And it's nice that I'm learning as I go, that each day I'm learning. And it's nice now I'm at work and I have my lunch and I go oh, I've got to log that. So I know I've got to log it. So it's good for me, it's helped me massively.
Speaker 2:I'm logging it, looking at the end of the day and when I click complete day, I go, right, that's the calories I've had, that's the calories I've had, that's the protein I've had. And when you spoke to me a couple of weeks ago about upping the protein, I've been now going about a mindful of going into the vault that you've given me and seeing extra protein things. Okay, right, that's my next shop at Aldi Lynn, let's get these protein yogurts or let's get that protein thing and maybe an extra protein shake at the end of the day, and that's an extra 30 extra protein shake at the end of the day and that's an extra 30, 40 grams of protein. And now and I go, okay, now I'm quite consistent around 200 grams now. Whereas I'm kind of understanding now what I need to do, like I sometimes I don't even look and I go, I'm probably on about 140, 150 then then I log in and it's exactly that. So I kind of knowing within myself, um, of what I'm putting in my body, rather than before I had no clue.
Speaker 1:Yeah and the thing with tracking is that it works. The same. It's the same premise when it comes to picking a form of exercise that you enjoy and that you can stick to. Some people can't stand tracking. They just can't do it. They don't want to track the calories, they don't want to. They don't want to weigh themselves, they don't want to measure themselves. They don't, they don't want't do it. They don't want to track their calories, they don't want to weigh themselves, they don't want to measure themselves, they don't want to do it, they don't care about it, which isn't a problem.
Speaker 1:But if you want to get long-term results, you need to try and find and that's my job, I suppose, is trying to find a form of tracking initially that's going to work for you. Trying to find a form of tracking initially that's going to work for you. Trying to form, trying to find a form of exercise that you can stomach, that you can do consistently. There's no point coming to the gym twice a week if you're miserable and you're just trying to get it done. I'm working with just the general populace. Where it's, people are busy, stressed, family they're not. They don't give a shit about protein. So I've always got to rein myself back in because I've been doing it for a number of years. I'm really interested in it.
Speaker 1:So if I say to someone, what do you normally have for breakfast, or how much protein do you get, and they go I don't know what you're talking about. Oh, okay, protein, no, what's that? Oh, yeah, fine, protein, no, what's that Fine. But then I say, what do you normally have for breakfast? Oh, I have like a croissant, like four croissants. Oh, do you? Okay, what's that? Like 200 calories? Not quite A bit more than that, is it? Yeah, for me, this is now just the norm, so I have to always bring myself back in and go hang on a minute. I was there at some point. I didn't have a clue about this, and people have got other things to worry about. They don't necessarily want to be being OTT when it comes to tracking their protein intake, and that's all right. So it's just trying to find the balance for who you're working with and what's going to work for them, as opposed to here's this, here's that. Do this for six weeks, yeah, you'll get results, but you might be completely miserable the whole time.
Speaker 2:Ever since I've started tracking, it's made me gobsmacked about the calories in certain things Like a Bourbon's biscuit. It's like 87 calories a biscuit. Yeah, they add up. Obviously at work they have biscuits and stuff and when we go out on trips and we get biscuits and it was only when I went, I'm just curious to track it. So I tracked it and it was 87 calories a biscuit. I think we do sausage rolls at school and bacon twists and stuff and I logged, I think, a sausage roll just because I was curious just to see how many calories were in it and it was like 500 and something calories and I'm thinking people are having that. Some people at work have two or three.
Speaker 1:That's 1,500 calories, yeah, and like a whole having that.
Speaker 2:Some people at work have two or three, that's 1500 calories, yeah, and like a whole pot of Pringles, the big ones, which I used to do daily, if not every other day.
Speaker 1:At least 1500 calories in just one tub of them yeah, unfortunately, we are living in an obesogenic environment where there's just lots of, lots of quick, high calorie options, which is a pain in the ass, but then also a lot of us are moving ahead of a lot less than we were 50 years ago, 100 years ago. So calories are everywhere and we're moving less. Yeah, yeah, we've even got electronic bin lids. We can't be asked to put our foot on the bin to open the lid. Hover your hand over it opens. That saves a few calories. Oh, I'm hungry, I'll, let me just overeat. I'm just gonna. You might have to get off the sofa working from home?
Speaker 3:no, no one cycles to work or walks to work yeah, you work from home, don't you? Yeah, but I do rather.
Speaker 1:20 miles, that's a good point, yeah, but I suppose when it comes to tracking and linking it back into mental health, as I touched one you've got to find a form of tracking, ideally for someone who's starting off, just to get the ball rolling, if they want to see some form of results.
Speaker 1:But, for example, weighing, doing like weighing yourself. Now, a lot of people don't mind weighing themselves, especially when they get used to and this is probably catered to towards more women but they get used to the daily fluctuations in weight and that just they get used to the fact that they can stick to their diet. Everything could be great and then, for a whole host of reasons, it gets into the week and they're 2kg up. Some people, once they get over that barrier and they get used to weighing themselves every day, so then you can work at your weekly average great. Some people just don't get on with it at all. They just can't get over that hump. And I think I think you had that to a degree where you knew that you were tracking your calories, you were doing your exercise and you were getting to the end of the week and you were heavier than you expected.
Speaker 2:And then that was quite draining. Yeah, when I started I was weighing myself every day and I got to the end of the week and sometimes I was heavier and I did understand it because I was sticking to my diet. I was sticking to that, but then obviously you taught me about weight fluctuations. A perfect example of that was this morning. I weighed myself and I was a bit heavier than last week and I thought that makes sense. I've done really well this week.
Speaker 2:I got out for a run and I'm not saying a run should make a huge difference, because I do that. I do this every week. Obviously I didn't tell you this. I'll go for, I weigh myself and do your check-ins with you, and then I'll go home after. Obviously, I didn't tell you this. I'll go for it, I'll weigh myself and do your check-ins with you, and then I'll go home after my run and I'll weigh myself, because I'm always curious just to see the difference. And normally there's not much difference it's the same or a tiny bit less, whereas today it was like 0.5, like lighter. That's why I'm trying to think well, was it because I woke up and just weighed myself straight?
Speaker 1:away because I'd eaten a little bit late.
Speaker 2:The night before, just little things. And then I've gone out for a run and that's just released. Well, obviously I don't know a lot about that sort of stuff, that'd be more your department. But after that run I sort of back down to 101 points. I mean, thank god for that. That's where I wanted to be with 101 something. So when I saw 102.4 I was so annoyed because I was like I want, I want to be in that 101s now to then be hopefully under 100 next week.
Speaker 1:So it's just really weird how, going for that run and then I just shot right down, yeah, and that's probably the issue with only weighing yourself once a week on your check-ins, because you don't get in that weekly average. So Friday you might have been 101, whatever, but today, for whatever reason, you're in the 102s.
Speaker 2:It's weird how it works.
Speaker 1:Yeah well, you can manipulate your weight tenfold over the course of just a day. Weight tenfold over the course of just a day. So if you step on the scales now and you're 101 and then I get you to down half of that, you'll be probably 0.5 kg heavier within two minutes. So the only way to really get and get a realistic number for your current weight is to do those daily weigh-ins. But again, for many it's too much and it's just it's not worth it and from a psychological perspective it's just, it's crippling.
Speaker 2:I think maybe for me I was weighing myself at the beginning and at the beginning of my journey with you I wasn't exactly I stuck to my diet, but I was going out a lot, wasn't I? The first couple of weeks. So obviously my weight was fluctuating through the week because of that and then towards the end of the week it would only start to come back to normal and then I'd go out again and it would kind of like reset. So maybe now is a good time to start sort of doing that again, introducing that just just to see potentially.
Speaker 1:But but you know, you know, you know more than me. If.
Speaker 2:If that number's not where you want it to be during the week, it's just more frustrating it's just frustrating because I know I know I'm sticking to it, I know I'm not eating anything bad, I know the calories I'm having is a lot less than I've had before and I know I'm. I'm working out five times a week. That's run and gym, so I'm doing all the right things. So obviously when you see things like that, it can get a bit disheartening, so especially during the week.
Speaker 3:The thing about tracking. Obviously you're tracking your weight, but there's so many factors you can track along the journey. Let's say you give yourself a how do you feel out of 10 at the beginning of it, and now it's probably going to be, and you'd argue you could argue that how you feel is more important than how much you work.
Speaker 3:But when I started the journey, yeah like, yeah, along the way throughout the week, you know, after exercise and stuff like that, and even the weight gives you a picture of stuff that you should, you can measure, you can drill down into your body fat percentage and you can drill down. You probably gain muscle through going to the gym and stuff like that. So gaining weight, what weight? And stuff like that obviously is an effect.
Speaker 2:So yeah, I've noticed a difference, um. Think about it. Yeah, yeah, I've noticed difference in my muscle mass, um, when I'm from from taking photos and stuff and looking at myself, um, in the mirror and stuff, it's only now I'm starting to notice some, some definition changes, um, which have been good. And also, when I do my weigh-ins, or when I do my weight, um, it tells me my muscle mass and stuff and that's increased by 2.4 percent or something so that's your body fat as well yeah, yeah, it does
Speaker 2:yeah no, it does monitoring that wait.
Speaker 3:What's this?
Speaker 1:on, on scales, yeah are they how accurate?
Speaker 3:I'd be a bit careful alive.
Speaker 1:Well, the. The only thing with those type of things is that you've got. You've got, like the, the bod pod type things. Have you seen the things that you hold on to the? Yeah, so that implies that there's a what an electric electric current going through your body to be able to, just by holding those, to be able to measure your fucking bone density and your body fat and viscerals and subcutaneous fat.
Speaker 2:I don't know it's the visceral that I've kept an eye on. But, like you said to um about my, my scales, this is really frustrating. So when I weighed myself this morning, I was, I was heavier. I said, didn't I? And so obviously I have to, I have to log it and stuff. But it says, oh yeah, my body fat has gone up slightly on it, just because the weight's up, yeah, yeah, and it's really annoying because I'm, my body fat's definitely not gone up.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know the only like well, the gold standard for measuring body fat is doing a DEXA scan which, like athletes will get, and even that is not 100%. You've got calipers, you've got, you can get the measuring tape out, but it depends how, again, again, it goes. Going back to mental health, how does it make you feel and realistically, using those type of, those type of scales, and you get more like advanced ones when you go to the gym? It's just, it helps people from a psychological perspective, because if you go into the gym and you have your console and then you go into the pod and you start holding all these fucking you knowos and all this shit, you're like, hold on to that, that's something from South Park, isn't it?
Speaker 1:Oh, Mr Garrison.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, if you start doing all that stuff, it will go oh look at this and I've seen it and it's pretty putrid.
Speaker 3:It's disgusting Because it's easy, for yeah, you have to keep your socks for as well which isn't yeah.
Speaker 1:So it's more about people coming in. They get these numbers. They're like this this is where you are with your body fat la la la.
Speaker 1:And then four weeks later, six weeks later, do the same test and you'd hope, if they've stuck to their routine and their nutrition's been half decent, body fat will go down. All these or whatever, whatever measurements that the scales are taking, all the machines machine's taking, will go down. So from a psychological perspective, the client has gone. Oh, yes, excellent, yeah, okay, so do you want to stay on for another six weeks? Fucking, absolutely I do.
Speaker 1:But at the same time, at the start, when someone comes in and they go, yeah, I've sort of let myself go a little bit and I need to just wait a little bit. Oh, jump on the scales. Oh dear, oh, that's not looking too good, without saying it. So they go, oh, you know what's the damage? Oh, 28.8 body fat, visceral fat's not looking good. You know You're probably going to die. So maybe sign up. Oh, okay, yeah, shit, oh, I will do. Yeah, I've seen it. It's gross. I think there's the go-to for a lot of gyms where they get like a more of a, like a more you know, say, advanced scanner. So it's a bit more advanced than stepping on your scales, but it's sort of doing the same thing. The accuracy is going to be off shall we say?
Speaker 2:I have questioned that. When I weigh myself now, I always go like how accurate are they? I've had them scales a long time. Let's be honest. I've had them four years, three, four years it's more of a psychological thing that that's that and and but why do you need to?
Speaker 1:like you said, it links in if you've put on weight or you're carrying a bit more water weight, or whatever the reason is as to why you've. Maybe you're not hit the number that you you want to hit on that day. It will then say oh yeah, and your body fat's gone yeah, and then your bmi's gone, everything else goes up how?
Speaker 3:yeah, it's like uh, joe brought up strava last time around that that when you do the premium version, there's loads of monitoring and tracking that it does and you can get really obsessed with it like you could like, to the point where so my, my garmin watch is quite an expensive watch but I invested in it so I that I could help my marathon and stuff. Because of my tattoo on my left arm, it doesn't scan my heart rate that accurately when I go above 150. So I was doing about three or four weeks trying to do really high intensity workouts and my heart rate wasn't going above 150. So my Strava was basically saying you're not working hard enough. I'm like, yes, I am, I'm dying out there. But just because strava's like no, mate, you're not trying, you almost you must look at it and go, maybe that is right. And it's like no, like you know how you feel, just checking with yourself.
Speaker 1:You don't need technology to tell you that you're knackered yeah or you feel good, or you're feeling fitter it's the same with whoop, isn't it as well? Yeah?
Speaker 3:it's just applying numbers to it.
Speaker 1:That it's a slippery slope, isn't it? When it starts, when it starts to almost become a game when it's gamified. It's a bit of a slippery slope because, then you can. You can then wake up in the morning and you look at your whoop score and it's in the bin. But you might have slept all right, or you just feel all right, you go. Yeah, I feel all right but judging by your whoop score, you're dead yeah, there was a study, so it's like oh, I better not go to the gym, then I better just go back to bed because I'm dead, because that's what whoop says.
Speaker 1:Oh, maybe just carry on your day. No, fucking, look at this, I'm in the red. How do you feel? I feel all right, actually. That's why I can't believe it. Okay, right, just maybe use some common sense. Then they're useful. They can can be in a sense, but it's like everything else Mental health how does it make you feel If you wake up in the morning or you're trying to actively improve your WHOOP score by doing all this wacky stuff and trying all these wacky supplements and getting to bed at like 6 pm to try and get a 12-hour night's sleep, just so you're in the green and you're whoop score or Strava, if you're looking at, like your mate's got a new PB and you're like, oh, I wasn't ready for a run tonight. I'm having a recovery day. Oh, that fucking arsehole, he's got a PB. Shit, I might go out there.
Speaker 1:The big one is Are you going to twist your ankle? Yeah, shit. Okay, that wasn't worth it.
Speaker 2:I at the moment, because because my when it links into mine it's normally a little bit less than him, so say I'm on 3.33, he's on 3.41 I'm like how even down to the gps, isn't it? It's really annoying. I'm running like how much am I running every run?
Speaker 3:good, 0.05 miles.
Speaker 2:Half a mile further, basically 100 metres, 100,. Not that far I thought you said half a mile, 0.05.
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, so far. But yeah, one of the big things in Strava right, they have these segments. Have you seen this?
Speaker 1:Not particularly no.
Speaker 3:Okay, so someone creates a segment on their run and they name it something and it becomes an official segment. So whenever you run that bit you log a time on that, on that segment, and then you basically want to be the quickest in that segment, or the local legend, and the local legend is the person who just does it the most. So you could be really slow, but as long as you do it more than someone else, you're the local legend, so that around your local route if you're doing lots of runs, you end up becoming a local legend of these segments. But if someone else pips you, you get like an email and a notification going greg, greg wilkinson's just become a local legend. You're gonna let him get, you're gonna let him get away with that. And it's just like this weird like mentality thing of like fuck, I've got to go out and do this segment.
Speaker 2:Is that how they actually say it? On?
Speaker 3:email it's not far away. It's a lot of employing, um, but yeah, no, it's. It's interesting, isn't it, how it does that, how it, like, forces your brain to turn into a game, but it's still your physical health that you're mucking about with, isn't it with that stuff?
Speaker 1:yeah, I think, yeah, I think that just goes to show, doesn't it? Every form of tracking even tracking that that is good for your health or that you that you want to do because you you like to track it can be a slippery slope. You're always on that line where it's useful, but maybe it's not useful all the time, or in the long term, maybe it's not the best. So the irony is that you do all this tracking and you do all this stuff to try and improve your health physical and mental but it can lead to degrading your physical health and then certainly your mental health. You don't want to be obsessed over it, do?
Speaker 2:you. That's the thing.
Speaker 2:Yeah so you don't want to like. I share all my runs on my social media Instagram and all that only because I look back. It's an achievement for me. I can look back at the end of the day and go, oh no, I've done that. And then same with Strava. Always go on Strava and have a little look and see what everyone else does. But the one thing I don't do is obsess over who's done what. I see people in there do a 19-minute 5K. That's probably 10 minutes quicker than I can do it, but I'm not going to right.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna get that. Oh yeah, you've got to be realistic, but you yeah, you've also got. Uh, you know, the only person you compare yourself to is yourself, which is hard, isn't it? Especially in the world we live in now. It's almost impossible, because if you've had a good run, just go on Strava. No, you didn't Look what Steve got. Get yourself back out. It's not easy is it?
Speaker 2:Well, what's that stat when people go, oh, you think you're a bad runner and it's like only a certain amount of percent will run a 5k, certain amount of percent will run a 10k and that 1% will run a marathon, so, marathon, so just just feel like, and that thing I shared to you on instagram was when, oh, that run was a little bit slow today, but you remember when you couldn't even think you could even run a 10k, and that's how I feel now. I mean, I used to run two miles and and and, sometimes run them quick and I'd be really happy I'd send it to dan and and go, look, I've done a 17.5 minute, two miler, but that's all I did. Now I'm going to run 6.2 miles next Sunday. I'm running consistently six miles, four miles hedonic treadmill, have you heard of that?
Speaker 1:you achieve something you think about. Normally it relates to like money and status. You get to a certain point, you, you get the big house, you get the six figures, whatever you're trying to retain and then you think, once I get there, I'll be happy, once I get the six figures, once I get the ferrari, I'll be good. I'm miserable now, life sucks, but once I get that, I'm all right. And then you get there, and then maybe maybe a week, maybe two, that you're like, oh yes, I've reached the top of the mountain, I'm really happy. And then you become unhappy again.
Speaker 2:Not necessarily unhappy again. But you just that happiness spike that you had is gone, and now it's like, oh shit, shit. Now what do I need to do? People always striving for more. What's the problem? You get to a good point, they go. Well, what more?
Speaker 3:it's also the arrival fallacy, isn't it like? If you, if you've been working towards something for years and you put loads of effort into it and when you actually do it, there's a lot of like what now, like a little olympic medalists get that, don't they? Where they've, like, worked their whole life just trying to get a medal, they get it and they've gone, like you know, I've done the ultimate achievement here like what's the next step? And it can really affect your, you know your mental health and stuff like that. If you, if you, yeah, if you get to that point and you and you struggle like not knowing what, what your purpose is, sort of thing. So professional footballers retiring and stuff like that.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, it's huge. It's coming out more now professional footballers. It didn't over the last sort of 20 years, but definitely now, especially likes of sort of Championship, league 1, league 2, they haven't got the financial gain from a Premier League footballer. I've got you know. Do you remember Geoff Staunton? He retired from football this year. He was captain at Yeovil, the IEO year.
Speaker 2:He's 29. Really 29. He's always had problems with his knee but he's always been around League Two sort of National League level. He's always been around league two sort of national league level. He's always been quite a good player. But obviously he's out to retire and luckily for him he's come across his own business. So he cuts grass and stuff for cricket clubs and everywhere. He's grown quite well in the last sort of six months to a year. But but when you come away from that, from football, what do you do now? You need to find a job. You're not on 200 grand a week so that that must be really really hard for them sort of footballers yeah, like the lower ones definitely yeah, it's a living wage and then yeah it's not a lot.
Speaker 3:Whilst you're playing football, you're not gaining experience that you can take away. That's why a lot of them try and go to coaching just about the same like there's only enough space for coaches and stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, well, there's been. What was this? There's been numerous studies, I think. Do you know? Do you know daniel kahneman thinking fast and slow? So I think he and someone else did a study about how much money you need to earn to be happy on average, going any higher than, say, six figures, anything higher than that, if you go from, say, 40 to 60 thousand pounds a year or whatever that's, that's a big bloody deal. That's like that's gonna significantly improve your life. Potentially. If you go from 80 to 100, maybe not as much, and then anything over, say, 100k, depending on what type of lifestyle you have. It's like more money doesn't necessarily mean more happiness.
Speaker 2:I think most of what I've noticed as well, especially with me from changing jobs. I'm on a lot more money now than I was before, but I'm still spending the same. Sometimes it's almost like once you get more money, you seem to just spend more money. I don't know if it's just a me thing. Other people are quite good with money, but I notice it a lot with people If they get more money, they seem to just spend more money.
Speaker 1:I think the biggest thing when it comes to money is that the more money you earn if you, the more. The more money you earn, the chances are the more work you have to put into obtain the money in the first place. If, if you, if that's what you want to do, great. If you love your job and you love working, no problem. But earn more money. But if you're, I think, on average, the closer you get to say, six figures or whatever, the more work you have to put in to earn it. As long as you're enjoying it outside of working and it's bringing you happiness.
Speaker 1:But unfortunately, again, probably going back to the Adonis treadmill, you buy the Porsche and you're like oh yes, this is what I wanted, this is why I did the extra. This is why I'm working 100 hours a week for the last five years, for my family potentially. But we've got a nice holiday. We can go on like a hotel that's, like you know, a thousand pounds a night or whatever, and also the porsche. But get the porsche still working 100 hours a week. Then what you get to do your little five minute commute to and from the office maybe probably stressed out your eyeballs.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sleeping well.
Speaker 1:You know, there's a lot of it's becoming harder now, though, isn't it because, with the living crisis, it's becoming that number's going up and up, because it has to be, because now people that were earning maybe a salary that was good enough and that covered the basics for them and their family is now not, chances are, it's now not gonna be enough, and they're gonna have to earn more money and work more to potentially earn more money, so it's becoming more and more of a problem, as it's really competitive to get those like higher roles.
Speaker 3:So it's like more and more of a problem, as it's really competitive to get those like higher roles. So it's like harder, like in industries where there are roles that are high if you can develop yourself, but there's not enough roles to go around. That senior level is there. So yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, it's the whole. It's the old. Uh, yeah, you need to have x amount of experience in this. It's like yeah, I know, but how do I get experience in it if I don't get a job in it? Oh, you must have two years experience in this. Yeah, I know, but I need to be given the job first to get experience in it. So where do I get the experience? I don't know. It's not my problem. If you haven't got the experience, fuck off Anything else you want to touch before I go through my pliffy list of shit.
Speaker 2:I think we've touched pretty much everything. It's just of what? The tools that have helped me, the tools that have helped Danny, I think for anyone listening, just try, try them tools. It might not help you. Like Danny said, you can draw in, read in sort of anything If you can just try, and this is what I try and do as well. I mean, I haven't spoke about this yet, but I used to write the do's and don'ts the do's that help me and the don'ts that don't help me. Going through my journey. I've tried other things before what might help, whether that be reading a book and stuff, and I'd always write like my do's and don'ts and that that's helped me and I still got that to this day. I started writing that eight years ago and I've got like a sort of mini little journal at home so I try and touch base to that when I'm really struggling. So that might be an idea to do sort of sort of writing down what will help and what won't yeah, I think.
Speaker 1:I think too many people have got to-do lists. Maybe they should have like a done list instead, because you're always, there's always stuff to do where I'm waking up and then I've just got so much to do. And that's not me saying I've just got so much to do compared to everyone else. I mean I'm already in debt. I wake up and I'm already in the hole. Oh no, I'm so behind. I've just got so much to do compared to everyone else. I mean I'm already in debt. I wake up and I'm already in the hole. Oh no, I'm so behind. I've just woken up, oh shit.
Speaker 1:I was like look at my to-do list, oh no, how am I going to get all this done today? Not good. As opposed to wake up and go right, okay, I've got lots of stuff to do, like everyone else says, what can I do? Let's make a list of stuff that I've done today. Let's try and just just tick that off. I did that today, I'll take right, rather than look at the to-do list at the start of the day and the end of the day and go oh, my god what so much to do, or, at the end of the day, oh god, I haven't done anything.
Speaker 1:You know what? Well, hang on, like if you list all the stuff you did do today. Oh, I did this, I did that that's not too bad is it. Oh shit, okay, yeah, that's yeah maybe, maybe that might be something for some people, depending on what type of job. Well, I don't think it depends on what type of job you've got or what your living arrangements are. Whatever you're doing, I think that that could apply to most people I think try and do what works for you.
Speaker 2:Everyone's everyone is different. Some it's gonna be harder, some is going to be not, but just try and do what works for you and that's what I've learnt. So many times I've tried copying friends or other people and I've seen them. Oh okay, that works for them and it hasn't worked for me. Gym and running has been my main thing. That's helped me. So just do try and do what works for you. And it's not easy, it's not.
Speaker 3:But I think, in the process as well, it's so important to give yourself a break because, like and like you're saying, acknowledge, acknowledge those successes, acknowledge those victories, that sometimes they're tiny, they're still a positive movement in the right direction, and sometimes you do take one step back, but you'll take two steps forward throughout the rest of the week. So you have to take it as a whole the new, the week or the month or however you want to read it. But, yeah, give yourself a break and try and be your best friend as well. Like, try and help, encourage yourself. Like I know it sounds a bit strange like talking to yourself, but yeah that. I think some people are so harsh to themselves in their own head that we were all our own worst enemy. We will judge ourselves worse than anyone ever, ever would. Um, but we are the only person that we ever get to be, so just try and be your best friend in the process that's huge.
Speaker 2:Praising yourself is massive because there's some people. So you're waking up. Today you're struggling, but you've woken up today. There's other people that can't wake up today, so just use that like you're getting up, you're doing something, you're still here. Start another day, gratitude as well yeah always, always, give yourself gratitude.
Speaker 2:That's what I've started to do. I've started to be proud of myself now, but I never used to be. I used to go. I've done this, I've done that, like you said, ticking the stuff off. So if you're getting up every single day, you've got something in you to do this, because other people can't even down to like running, grateful for your health, the fact that you can run.
Speaker 3:Grateful for our youth that's still dwindling. That was another thing.
Speaker 2:I'm watching my brother and I'm thinking I'm 33 this year. I want to run a marathon by the time I'm 35, because I'm not getting any younger. Like, my knees are starting to hurt a little bit. My back, my groin knees are starting to hurt a little bit. My back, my groin's been going for like a year and a half.
Speaker 2:I'm thinking I want to be able to do stuff while I can, because there's other people that don't. I can't do that. There's people that can't run, there's people that can't walk. And then I'm thinking to myself well, I want to do that. I can run, I want to be able to do stuff while I can, and so that was the aim Marathon by 35, half marathon by 34. And with the mental health stuff, it's crazy what it's done For me, especially in the last three months it's been huge, because three years before that it hasn't been great. But using the tools that danny's helped, what you've helped, it's crazy. It's crazy what it can do to you, especially the mindset as well. It's it's it's changed my mindset into no, I can do this.
Speaker 3:not, I can't I think it's a combination of building resilience and muscle memory in your mind. So if you've been through a lot of difficult times, a lot of trauma and stuff like that, you can deal with it better each time because you go, here's that beast again coming around the corner. But then the more you've done those tools, sometimes you don't even have to think about it and you just change your breathing or you just nip out the door and go for a walk and you're probably subconsciously reacting to how you're feeling that day and you're regulating your emotions. You're going outside, you're trying to do something about it, but over time that gets better.
Speaker 2:Like you, you get better yeah, that's another thing I've learned to do. I've learned to regulate myself and I'll get upset or get angry, or I used to sort of act out in anger sometimes and say things I regret and and little things like that. But now I can learn to go for a walk or take myself upstairs or count to 10 in my head, which I do quite a lot um, and then think before I speak or don't speak at all. So it's, it's nice once you can get to that space of I know I need to do this to regulate myself and then I can move forward, whereas before it used to spiral out of control and it wouldn't be nice. So, yeah, you're right, it's nice to know what I can do to regulate myself. And obviously I know you have you as well sometimes, and I'm sure a lot of other people have as well. So once you get to that space, it is nice.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I had a bit of a. People have as well. So once you get to that space, it is nice. Yeah, I had a bit of a moment, um, during my marathon. So I was like part of my route I run past my old uni digs. I literally can see the room I used to make my tuna pasta mayo in our shitty little kitchen that no one did the washing up in. Um, and I remember that the year I was there and it was right near the end of the year and the marathon was coming past and we all was like watching it and I just remember thinking I could never do that. Now, that's, that's, that's an.
Speaker 3:Everest sort of thing. That's impossible. And that was actually back when I was in probably my worst space, mentally as well. It was moving away, uh, relationship stuff, um just yeah, it just spiraled a bit and I was like look, I looked up to the window and I I know how far I've come since being that person and I think sometimes it's really important to check in on that and just see the journey you've been on and then congratulate yourself of, like you know did you?
Speaker 2:did you smile when you looked up?
Speaker 3:yeah, yeah, I was like nearly crying. I was like fucking hell, this was like a big moment. Uh, yeah, I just I didn't even. I, yeah, I didn't expect it.
Speaker 2:I was just like, well, like, because that happens to me if I finish a run or something and or I'm even walking home, and then, like a memory just flashes of of how I was a few years ago to how I am now and I look back and think, oh my god, how far I've come and I just start smiling. I remember once I was walking listening to a podcast, and then just a flash of imaging went in my head of of of how bad I was and I've just finished a really good gym session. This wasn't even that long ago. A couple of imaging went in my head of how bad I was and I've just finished a really good gym session. This wasn't even that long ago, a couple of weeks ago. And I remember just started laughing and smiling and this man was walking past me. He was like you're right.
Speaker 2:Just not even thinking, because he's literally just like right there, oh no sorry, it's like on my face. Because I had my headphones in, I could luckily just say, oh no, just something funny on the podcast.
Speaker 2:Um but yeah, it's just no, no, no, I was listening to that, to be fair. Um, I do listen to that on the way home sometimes, so it could have been that actually. Um, but yeah, it's crazy how it just suddenly just pops into your head. Um, and that's what's helped me in my runs as well. I dig deep in my runs because I look back and just think the pain cave yeah yeah, that pain that I went through and I use that as motivation for my runs.
Speaker 2:I know sometimes it's not the best thing to do, but it gets me through and that's so you can say like mentally, like I used to stop but I wasn't tired, so why have I stopped? Why am I stopping? That's a lot of it is in your head. You can mentally break through that You're you're, you're going to do really well. I bet in. Actually, to be fair, I'm not saying the marathon, actually to be fair. I'm not saying the marathon because you absolutely smashed that. But when you started that sort of training before brian, I bet like a few times you're like I want to stop I don't want to stop doing the marathon oh, did you, yeah, yeah last couple of miles when you're doing.
Speaker 3:You've been running for three, eight, three and a half hours it's quite a long time yeah your, your body wants to stop, um, but you have to dial in and you have to.
Speaker 2:Well, luckily you saw us at what? 20? 20 miles, no you were there.
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, 24 miles 26. Was it 26? Because I turned the corner and there's the yeah.
Speaker 2:So, ben, we obviously went to watch the marathon with me and his wife, casey, and the point was to meet him at a few points. So we barely met him. We missed him start because we didn't see him go past. Then we had to sprint to mile six, and I mean sprint. We saw him just, and then we tried catching him up so he was just too quick. He was going too quick to catch him up. So we were meant to catch him at mile 10. We thought, right, we'll skip that and get him at mile 14 or 16, where um canary wolf was. We were there in time, but somehow he got past us without, without seeing him. So the next time we could see him was at mile 12, just before around the corner from the finish at mile 26. So he's on his own for 20 miles, didn't see any of us.
Speaker 3:He kept looking out for us so we had a game plan before. We were like right, you know, here's some bits, you can get the tube, you can cut through there. Mile six you know, we'll do mile 10, we'll do mile 15, mile 18 and then 26. So I'm looking like this, like as I'm running. Hopefully they just weren't there and it was a little bit like I got home like, yeah it was, it was gonna be a boost, but they just weren't there no respite, it was just like oh god, just continue running carry on.
Speaker 3:Yeah, there's no other option um me and casey were knackered.
Speaker 2:I know he's run a marathon, but we were shattered. We were sprinting to london trying to get there.
Speaker 1:Well, I suppose, yeah, how are you meant to navigate that? Really, because the amount of people out there, how?
Speaker 3:many people. We were so optimistic as hell.
Speaker 1:How many people do the marathon.
Speaker 2:It's like 50 000 people 50 000 how many are watching the hundreds of hundreds, of hundreds?
Speaker 1:of thousands.
Speaker 2:It's busy jumping on the tube, couldn't even move it was ridiculous, the days and uh got obviously got to the end and casey still couldn't even see him and I remember going danny, danny and then dan was oh my god, that must happen to a lot of people though that must happen to a lot they must have, they have similar things or they just.
Speaker 3:They have no game plan and they're just like yeah, I'm well sure we'll catch them somehow, do it yeah, and they're just sort of like I saw a guy on the phone. I'm just about to cut and I'm like you know, marathon mate. What are you doing? Yeah, that that person's doing his tesco shop that girl we met she.
Speaker 2:She was ringing her. She rung her husband and said oh, whereabouts are you? And he was like oh yeah, I'm just coming around and I just casually after 15 miles just having a little chat. I wouldn't even be able to breathe at 15 miles, but yeah, some of them would. But at least with me, if I've run the london marathon, even next year or the year after, you'd be able to find find me a bit quicker.
Speaker 2:I reckon I'll run it next year well, that'd be nice if you've done that. Yeah, good, pace me, get me under four hours now. Joking under five one day. Ben, you'll run it, you could pace me. Get me under four hours now. I'm joking Under five One day.
Speaker 1:Ben, you'll run it. Not for me, unfortunately. What's the furthest you've run Down the road?
Speaker 2:That's not too bad. No, I've tried running.
Speaker 1:I've tried the whole running stuff. It just doesn't interest me. I'd rather just go for a nice walk.
Speaker 2:Well, that's what you say. It goes into what works for you. Running won't ever work for you, but you go for a nice walk.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, I think me and Danny touched upon it in the episode about running that it can be a good start for many people because you haven't got to worry about trying to get a pair of trainers and you're sort of good to go if that gets you started, if that gets you out, gets you moving great, even if you go and do it in the gym.
Speaker 3:Okay that's when you get into it and you go I gotta get some good trainers yeah, but it's like when um, I think it was one of the rules that you posted actually was like there is a, there is a process where it's hard because your body needs to get good at it and in that process it can be really easy to hate running because it doesn't feel fun, it feels unnatural, and a month you're probably having a lot of that. But you're basically just churning through that Not everyone, but I think a lot of people Shitting hell.
Speaker 1:Why is that turned off? Oh fucking hell Shit. Why is that turned off? Oh, fucking hell God.
Speaker 2:Why? How long has that?
Speaker 1:been on for? No, I just heard it go off just then. Oh, you heard it. Yeah, maybe it was overheating.
Speaker 3:That's because some hot stuff coming out, because the memory should be fine.
Speaker 1:Oh God, fuck's sake, I've lost this piece of shit. What were you saying? For what?
Speaker 3:I had a fucking panic attack.
Speaker 3:The whole process of getting into running is is a hard one. Um, that even was for me, like, I think, any, even anyone that loves running. When they started they wouldn't go for that first run, loved it, it's great. It was tough and they only did it in a mile and they felt inadequate. But there's definitely a process of like getting into it. It's probably like with most stuff, isn't it? Like when you learn the guitar, you don't pick it up and do you know? Yeah, guns and roses solo. Like you have to be shit to get good and mindset wise. It's hard. You're allowed to swear on here, sorry yeah, yeah, you're allowed to.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I don't know if you've ever seen fiona, but yeah mindset wise.
Speaker 3:It's like, yeah, you really have to churn through that, but it's sort of worth it in most cases, I think, if you can do it, if you like it yeah, when I started, um, after what a mile 1.4 I was like I'm done, I can't do anymore.
Speaker 2:And now it's when you look back at achievements and stuff and you think I've just done a nice four mile run today. It's quite hot. But looking back to how you, how I was before, it's like that's actually amazing. Four miles it's quite a long way compared to like 1.2, 1.3, that you're struggling and that was quite steady today. That was a race pace for two miles and it felt okay, it felt comfortable.
Speaker 3:It's enjoyable because you've trained your body to get good at it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Whereas when we were doing the tempo run, like you said, in the run today, we were doing around that pace and you were struggling to do it for half a mile and for me that was quick. I was sprinting near enough, but today it felt fine. So it's crazy what you can train your body to do. It's good coaching, isn't it? It's not bad, yeah.
Speaker 1:B-star Nutrition, the 80-20 stuff, you know, 80% nutritious healthy foods. If you then flip that, chances are that you're going to probably feel like shit. How true is that? The 80-20? What do you mean? What do you mean if you have 80% nutritious, half-decent, high-protein foods and then 20% like junk food?
Speaker 2:Oh no, I was talking about. They always say it's 80% diet nutrition, 20% exercise.
Speaker 1:Well, yeah, it's pretty tough to out train. A bad diet yeah. Or a consistently bad diet Okay. Bad diet Okay. And if you're, if you're flipping it and you have, you are going the other way and you're doing 80% ultra processed, junky food, yeah, you can. You can probably manage it, but the results are going to be nowhere near as good as they could be. And also, how are you going to feel? How much motivation are you going to have to train? What's your mental're going to feel, how much motivation you're going to have to train?
Speaker 1:What's your mental health going to be like if you're eating ultra processed, highly caloric foods 80% of the time? Chances are that 20%. Even if you're getting that 20%, it's just purely say protein, for example. You're sort of running out of calories by that point. Fruit, veg, fiber, micronutrients are probably going in the bin. For example, you put sort of running out of calories by that point. Fruit, veg, fiber micronutrients are probably going in the bin. This is linkedin because I've been doing more reading around how mental health is affected by your diet, which is still a bit vague from a surface level. I'd look at it with the 80 20 stuff and go well, yeah, if you, if your diet consists of mostly ultra processed foods, you're probably not going to feel too good.
Speaker 2:Well, that's when I was before I started my diet and started everything else. My food was pretty poor. From tracking again, thinking about it, I was probably consuming 5,000 to 6,000 calories a day and I used to feel utter shit afterwards. I'd have an awful dinner or get a takeaway or something, and I would feel like crap afterwards, mentally, physically, just all around. So, getting just a good nutrition and and and a good exercise, and it just automatically makes you feel a bit better. Like you said, it just links in with everything more sleep, you get more sleep, you don't feel as tired when you wake up, got more energy, just sort of kind of kind of links into what it's like a domino effect the hard thing is sometimes is that most people know what they need to do, which makes it harder.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's what I said you know what they need to do, which makes it harder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's what I said, you know what you need to do.
Speaker 1:If you are someone who is not exercising, the mental health might not be in a great spot. What do you feel like you need to do? Probably why I've been able to get myself out of holes or periods in my life where I've felt not great because I've always known what to do. So which, for me personally, that was useful. For some people, that might make them even worse. That might make them feel worse because they know exactly what they need to do, but they can't do it for a whole host of reasons. Because I always knew what to do. I was able to just start doing it, not all the time, not consistently, but I knew every morning. Every time I needed to do something, I was like well, what do you need to do to make yourself feel a bit better? Or what have you done in the past that's worked? Oh, okay, well, I've exercised a bit more. Yeah, my, my nutrition's a bit better.
Speaker 2:Okay, right, so start trying to do that, then just go back to basics. Sometimes, isn't it?
Speaker 1:which seems which might sound silly, especially for people who know what they need to do but they're not there yet. They can't, they can't do it, or they can do it for a week and then it falls off a cliff again. But maybe that's again my personal. From my own experience, I've always, I've always been fortunate. Maybe in some ways I've never drifted past that. I've always known what I need to do to keep me ticking over and based on the environment I was in, based on the lifestyle I had. That wasn't always the easiest.
Speaker 2:Well, obviously I've known you a long time, 15, 14 years, yeah, it was a long time, and obviously when we used to go out constantly I was talking Friday, saturday night, every single week you still remained quite good with your food. So I'd come round and you'd be having quite a good dinner or you'd have a good lunch, and you'd always be quite consistent with that. You've always had that mindset, I think. Obviously, the drinking and stuff I can't really count that, but the actual food side of of things you've always been pretty good, I think.
Speaker 1:Anyway well, it helped me tick over. But because I was reasonably strict in that sense and if I was still drinking excessively over the weekend, there was a pretty vicious cycle, because I just did that every week. Where then, because I was reasonably restrictive with my diet and I exercised as much as I could, I'd get to the weekend, have a few drinks, the inhibitions would go four chicken nuggets, 20 quid's worth of mcdonald's or extra large doner kebab chicken cottage. Whatever you name it, you name it I was name it, I was in there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's it. Munchies, Munchies, Subways. It's all been consumed. So Sunday, Monday morning it was like, oh, here we go again. So for me no progress was being made, because it was just that cycle.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think a lot of people do that, though they live for the weekend a bit too much, not for themselves.
Speaker 2:Does that a bit too much, not for themselves? If that makes sense, it's me, isn't it? That's why I was like just live for the weekend, it's like that for a long time you can do it.
Speaker 3:I just think there's just like there's a level, there's a balance.
Speaker 1:Yeah yeah, well, that goes into. If you ask people, what do you need to do, if you, if you?
Speaker 2:want, it's gone off again what does that say?
Speaker 3:fuck's sake.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's the temperature, fucking hell why is that overheating, then do you think, oh, I don't know, probably the heat. Well, it has been on for a couple of hours, I suppose, has it fuck's sake.
