In this week’s episode, of Real Talk I have the great pleasure of speaking with Will Khor who is a coach who helps helps people figure out why they hit the wall with their fitness and health goals. It really got me thinking, it’s a topic that is yet to be discussed on this podcast and yet a very relatable topic to cover - why people hit plateaus and stay stuck in a vicious yo-yo cycle.

Whilst the answers are unlikely to surprise you, often people need to hear about how unaware they are of their own life choices in order to create long lasting change. It was Einstein who said that the definition of insanity it repeating the past and expecting a different outcome.

The same applies to plateaus in health and fitness - often repeating a cycle of fluctuating from one extreme e.g. remove all carbs, exercise 5 times a week at a high intensity and give up all the foods you enjoy to another extreme e.g. being a couch potato, giving up the moment you step on the scales and see very little to no change, going to the gym once a month when the conditions to do so are absolutely perfect. As I’ve said before, extremes kill dreams and rarely are the conditions ever perfect to get absolutely everything ‘right’.

Progress is made when we relinquish control on the need to be perfect and instead, look for ‘small’ ways to win at life e.g. 2000 more steps today than yesterday, 1L more water today than yesterday, having nicer and encouraging thoughts about and towards yourself vs defaulting to tearing yourself apart. Let’s face it, unless you are an athlete or bodybuilder, you should not be trying to live like one and yet this is often the image people with regards to what ‘health looks like. The danger is, we often fail to realise that the photos are photoshopped AND these people are paid to live this way and receive support in terms of sponsorship from meal prep companies, supplement companies, activewear brands, gyms etc.

Chances are, you know 1-2 areas of your health and fitness that you can work on today. Regardless of how substantial these items seem, I encourage you to start by doing them and look to repeat taking those actions as often as you can and as consistently as possible. There’s less rocket science involved than people realise though we can be amazing at complicating stupidly simple stuff. Get out of your own way; give yourself a chance. Gradually shift the needle - main take away being that the more gradual your approach, the more sustainable it is.

Please connect with Will directly on Instagram: Will Khor @idgafitness_

In this week’s episode of Real Talk, I speak with clinical nutritionist Ahmed Eideh who came to my radar via Coach Christian Woodford and co.  It’s a rare occasion to encounter a well researched and reasonable health professional so when you find one, you record a podcast with them.  ⁣

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Given Singapore’s ridiculously hot and humid climate and how much sweat we lose through exercise (especially when performed outdoors), hydration has never been more important.  I wanted to capture just how much of a difference sufficient hydration is and to highlight that hydration does not necessarily mean drinking more water, it also requires factors in our electrolyte intake.  More often than not, it’s electrolytes that need to be addressed and consumed so that our body can do more with the water we take in.  ⁣

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Every single cell in your body functions better when hydrated.  We know that cognition, digestion and athletic performance improves - sounds good doesn’t it?!  Why wouldn’t you want to make an effort to be hydrated??  ⁣

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In this episode, Ahmed shares really practical and actionable steps to increase our hydration outside of drinking more which, let’s fact it, we already know we should be doing AND no one wants to be going to the bathroom every 2 seconds.  ⁣

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Please enjoy and be sure to connect with Ahmed direction using the links below: ⁣

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w: www.amenutrition.com.au ⁣

IG: ame_nutrition

In this week’s episode of Real Talk, I have the pleasure and privilege of speaking with wholistic coach (and mentor and my former colleague) Jane Taylor.

It could just be life’s greatest challenge - how to create self acceptance in every experience and moment in life.  Self acceptance first crossed my radar circa 2017/2018 and what a journey or adventure as Jane like’s to put it.  As challenging as building self acceptance has been, it’s been equally rewarding to uncover and unpack the parts of myself which bring up feelings of discomfort.  You see, it’s challenging to have positively powerful relationships with others if you are in a constant state of rejecting yourself - something I learned the hard way and as heavy as 10kg of excess body fat can feel, truly, nothing weighs more than your own self criticism and judgement.

Too often, I encounter amazing people who want to lose weight and body fat in hopes that this reduction will lend itself to an increase  in happiness and acceptance from others.  It’s as though they expect the day they step on the scales and see their magical number that people will pop bottles of champagne, streamers will fall from the sky and it will be declared a national holiday.  Connecting with your reasons WHY you have set the goals that you have set is especially important in ensuring you’re setting healthy goals i.e. goals that will move you in a positive direction.  Goals are hardly helpful if they add to your stress levels and form a role in a self sabotaging cycle which I see a lot of in this industry.

Likes most areas of life, self acceptance can be improved when you make a consistent and concerted effort to.  Jane shares the ways in which we can build self acceptance and what you may encounter in doing so - spoiler alert, it’s not always a comfortable ride but overall, an adventure worth having.

Habits for Wellbeing Journals: https://www.habitsforwellbeing.com/products/

In this week’s episode of Real Talk, I speak with head of performance at Woodford Strength and Conditioning, Coach Chris Dikranis.  It was owner of Woodford SC Coach Christian himself who put me in touch with Coach Chris and I really wanted to dive deep on youth athletic development and performance following some questions my own Superstars had regarding their athlete children.

Please be sure to connect with both Coach Dikranis and Woodford SSC using the links below.

Coach Dikranis on Instagram: @coachdikranis

https://linktr.ee/Coachdikranis

Woodford Sports Science Consulting

https://woodfordssc.com

Instagram: @woodfordssc

In this week’s episode of Real Talk, I speak with head of performance at Woodford Strength and Conditioning, Coach Chris Dikranis.  It was owner of Woodford SC Coach Christian himself who put me in touch with Coach Chris and I really wanted to dive deep on youth athletic development and performance following some questions my own Superstars had regarding their athlete children.

Using some of the questions provided by my own amazing clients, we discuss the benefits to a child’s chosen sport/s when combined with strength and conditioning (S&C), the balance of incorporating S&C into an existing physical activity regimen e.g. how many times a week should you train for gymnastics (if that is the chosen sport) vs S&C; what the approach to S&C for children/youth should be vs adults; what is the role of a parent in supporting their child/children in sport and S&C and SO much more.

https://linktr.ee/Coachdikranis

Woodford Sports Science Consulting

https://woodfordssc.com

Instagram: @woodfordssc

This podcast is called ‘Real Talk’ for a reason.  All too often those who seem to have their health and fitness together in fact do not and they are put on a pedestal by society.  One of my goals in creating this podcast was to broaden and deepen the conversations we have with regard to health and well-being.  ⁣

It can seem like a mountain to climb when making any effort in becoming a healthier version of yourself; the more relatable this podcast and my content can be, the more achievable our health and fitness goals become.  Whilst it does require ongoing effort, it need not be strenuous ALL the time and what I hope is that people listen and understand that the only way any of us who operate at an ‘elite’ level within this industry have got to where we are is by repeating small steps until they become a habit before then working on the next area of priority - repeat, repeat, repeat.  ⁣

This episode is really about the fundamentals and whilst that can seem boring, it is often the most overlooked area where progress can be made.  I see far too many people trying to create drastic change thinking that they are a lightbulb that can just switch on and off when in fact they are not.  We are better able to sustain change when the change is small as it is then easily repeatable.  When we feel that we can succeed, we feel motivated to continue and thus breaking larger goals down into smaller day-to-day and week-to-week actions are the most effective way to integrate change into an already busy life.  ⁣

Many thanks to Hym for joining me on this episode and for all his amazing and very true-to-life insights and shares.  It can be rare to meet a fitness professional who really understands the reality of those who work long hours in the corporate world which often entail travel too.  I feel that if we are to help others, we first must understand their mindset and lifestyle.  His tips and perspectives are super practical and recognize the day-to-day challenges faced by those in the corporate world.  Please be sure to connect with him using the links below and share your biggest takeaways too.  ⁣

Enjoy :-)

Links:

https://www.youtube.com/@gymwithhym

@gymwithhym

In this week’s episode of Real Talk, I speak with recomposition coach Amy Thompson who is the guest on my second highest rating episode where we talked about what it REALLY takes to create physical transformations.  It is rare to come across a coach who really gets it and what I mean by that is that she really understands the lifestyle of who she trains and what challenges come with that.  

Let’s face it, in our own eyes, we are all short on time, low in energy and motivation and want the greatest return on as minimal efforts as possible.  I get it, who isn’t a fan of efficiency?!  

Knowing that by Jan 31, most people have given up on their health, fitness and nutrition-related goals inspired me to dive a little deeper when it comes to hearing Amy’s thoughts on what is really worth our time.  What are we most going to benefit from doing to improve our health and wellbeing with our limited time?  Forming healthy habits and routines would have to fall into that category and thus, this is what we covered. 

Please be sure to connect with Amy using the following links below and as always, leave us some insight into your greatest takeaways. 

Many thanks to Amy for our second recording together; enjoy!

In this week’s episode of Real Talk, we get to work in breaking down procrastination with the amazing subconscious transformational coach Helena Day.  Turns out, there are several aspects and elements to procrastination and it might interest you to know that they are not mutually exclusive!

Links:

https://helenaday.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenaday/

https://www.facebook.com/helenaroseday/

http://instagram.com/helenaroseday/

This week’s episode for me has been the most eye opening and revealing of them all to date having been very personally affected by what we discuss in this episode - iron!

Listen to find out what the tell tale signs of iron deficiency are and what to look for on your blood test - chances are, your routine blood test is in fact not testing what it ought to and the safe parameters are not being indicated as suggested by those well versed with iron.

Instagram: @theintegrativemedicalcentre

Whatsapp/phone: +65 8399 9768

Do you find yourself cockblocking yourself or ovary obstructing yourself Monday after Monday that your magical diet doesn’t quite stick?  I so appreciate and feel the need to share Ruby’s insights and thoughts on consistency and the importance on being consistently consistent as opposed to being perfect.

and we prevent ourselves from recognising the progress we have made.  It lends itself to an ever downwards spiral because with such a perspective and mindset, we have never achieved enough, we have never achieved enough.

Only once you feel you’re consistently consistent with these two habits should you have the bandwidth or mental space to entertain addressing another 1-2 habits.

Habits take time and often a really long time.  Behavioural change takes far longer than we realise and there most likely will be bumps along the way.  Aim for progress over perfection and please be sure to check out Ruby on her links provided

Links:

https://www.facebook.com/teamrubycherie/

@transformxruby