Last week, and in several newsletters over the past couple of years, I’ve had a go at the fitness industry for having a problem or two. And being honest, trying to be as healthy as possible these days can feel like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube… blindfolded… while people shout contradictory advice at you.

We’re bombarded with catchy but confusing phrases:
🗯 “You can’t out-train a bad diet!”
🗯 “Abs are made in the kitchen!”
🗯 “It’s 80% nutrition, 20% gym!”

No wonder so many people feel overwhelmed before they’ve even laced up a pair of trainers.

Here’s the thing: statements like these may sound motivating to some, but to many others, they’re downright intimidating. They create this all-or-nothing mindset where, unless you’re eating kale in your sleep and deadlifting at dawn, you might as well not bother. And that’s a real shame.

Because if you scratch beneath the surface, you quickly find that even the most hyped-up health advice usually isn’t as new – or as solid – as it seems.

Take red wine, for instance. One minute it’s good for your heart, the next it’s poison in a glass. The truth? One of its compounds, resveratrol, might offer some benefits. There’s nuance involved, and like so many things in my world, any sign of nuance is often removed when it comes to health and fitness.

And this confusion spills over into everything from diets to workouts. Keto? That was around in the 1800s (a certain Mr. Banting hit on the idea way back then). HIIT? Runners were doing interval training in the 19th century. Cleanses? The ancient Egyptians were ahead of us by a few millennia – though back then, it involved enemas and bloodletting rather than pricey green juices.

So it’s no wonder people feel stuck. They want to be healthier, but every time they dip a toe into the wellness world, they’re hit with conflicting info, Insta-perfect bodies, and overwhelming ‘shoulds’.

And that’s where the elephant enters the room. (Please excuse the pun and bear with me…)

Picture this: your logical brain is a rider, sitting on top of a giant elephant which is your emotional brain. The rider is full of good intentions: “We should eat better! Exercise more! Sleep properly!” But if the elephant’s not feeling safe or comfortable, it’s not budging. Logic won’t win. Emotion always wins.

So when we approach change, we have to take care of the elephant first. Make it feel heard, respected, calm. This is why just telling someone what they should do rarely works – it feels like being bossed around. And when we feel backed into a corner? We dig our heels in.

Instead, I try to make it a two-way conversation with my clients. We work together to figure out what changes feel right for them. When someone feels ownership over their choices, they’re far more likely to follow through – and keep going when it gets tough.

And remember – most of the “latest” trends are just old tricks in new trainers. Low carb? Been around for centuries. Fasting? Practised for thousands of years. High volume or high intensity workouts? Arnie was doing it in the ‘70s, and Jane Fonda had the whole country stepping in sync by the ‘80s.

Even today’s sleep obsession isn’t new. Hippocrates was banging on about sleep thousands of years ago, and Jack LaLanne – the godfather of modern fitness – was preaching about its power back in the 1950s.

The moral of the story? Be sceptical of the shiny new thing. What matters is finding something that works for you. Something you enjoy. Something you can actually stick to – not for six weeks, but for the long haul.

So please don’t be scared off by intimidating slogans or dizzying new fads. Health doesn’t have to be complicated, and you don’t have to do it perfectly. You just need to do it in a way that fits you. And that’s where I come in, as I would love to hear from you as to how I can help you be fitter, leaner, stronger and healthier.