Information overload!

Welcome to 2017. If you didn’t already know, you’re living in a world where everyone’s an expert when it comes to YOUR health.

That fitness model you follow on Instagram. Your personal trainer. That guy at the corner shop. Everyone has an opinion, and you better believe they’re going to try and ram it down your throat.

“Thanks Paul, I know that quinoa has more protein and less carbs than rice but can I just have my newspaper?”

From the moment your feet touch the floor in the morning, you’re going to be buffeted by an endless torrent of health information. You can choose to take it in, if you like. But if you want to make any progress, you need to be very selective of who you listen to. In 2017, everyone has an opinion. But that doesn’t mean that everyone is an expert.

 

Information Overload

The truth is, everyone wants to be healthy. But with so much conflicting information out there, no one knows where to start and who to trust.

I firmly believe that the current state of information overload is the biggest stumbling block that is stopping people getting healthy in 2017. You can’t eat, move, or even sleep a certain way without someone somewhere telling you you’re doing it wrong.

There are people who will tell you that whole grains are unhealthy, that almonds are unhealthy, that coconut oil is unhealthy. There are even people that will try and tell you that fruit is unhealthy.

The truth is, if you believed everything you read on the internet, you’d never eat anything ever again. So you’ve got to put your barriers up and FOCUS. Focus on the small changes that make the biggest difference to your health. The simpler, the better.

 

Sensationalism sells

Eating more fruits and vegetables, drinking more water and getting more sleep is old news. This is the stuff that works. But it doesn’t make newspaper headlines or sell diet books.

So, the overpaid corporate marketing departments and headline writers are constantly looking for new ways to invent the wheel. Which is fine, as long as you know that the old ones worked perfectly well in the first place.

Remember that the woman who lost 14 pounds in 2 weeks drinking a magic tea from the Kinabalu rainforest will always sell more magazines than the guy who lost 6 pounds in 6 months by eating more whole foods and moving more often.
 
Whether it’s true, whether it’s safe, and whether you should try it is ultimately for you to decide.But as the old saying goes. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

Trust your gut

Just because someone has a few thousand followers on Instagram does not make them a health expert. Just because your PT has a set of cover model abs does not mean he knows which diet is right for you.

Listening to everyone’s opinion and constantly switching from one way of eating and exercising to the next, is only going to burn you out and leave you more frustrated than ever. So trust your gut. Listen to your body. It knows more about what’s good for you than any diet book or health guru.

Stop floundering around in a state of information overload. Stop overthinking EVERYTHING. Peel back the layers, use common sense, and start with the very basics.

What are the small changes that will make the biggest difference to your health? Start there. Build on them slowly. Set positive habits, one at a time, instead of trying to throw everything together all at once.

Ultimately, the biggest indicator to whether something is working (or not) is how you look, feel, and perform whilst you’re doing it. Are you getting results doing what you’re doing? Awesome. You have your answer.

 

How simple can you make it?

If you could get 80% of the benefits for 20% of the effort, worry, and cost – you’d do it, right? Simplicity is key.

The easier we can make this game, the more chance we have of winning it. So focus on the things that you know you can implement without any hassle. If it seems too complicated or it’s stressing you out, throw it out of the window.

It’s easy to get caught up in the minor details. And you can, if you want. But I personally think there’s a lot to be said about living a life that doesn’t revolve around counting macros, taking 20 different supplements, and stepping on the scales every morning.

Speaking from experience, the less you try to force things and the more you enjoy the process, the easier the results will come.

The most important thing to remember about ‘health’ is that it goes far beyond the food you eat and the exercise you do. Yes, it’s about being active and vibrant, but it’s also about living without limits and restrictions. So follow your own rules. Be accountable to YOU. Keep it simple. And don’t believe everything you read on the internet.

 

That’s me done, for today. Keep being awesome,

Josh