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Recently I heard the advice: “Have passionate beliefs, loosely held.”

Now a few years ago that would have sounded ridiculous to me.

I was proudly dichotomous. Black or white. Love or Hate. I held passionately yet tightly to my beliefs… to a debilitating fault!

Perhaps it was youthful idealism. Arrogance. Ego. Or maybe it was that I hadn’t learnt the value in being flexible. I was yet to really appreciate:

The More You Know The Less You Know.

In today’s show I’m discussing, The More You Know The Less You Know as it relates to 2 of my favourite things:

FUEL (everything Food)

MOVE (everything Exercise)

Before we dig in I want to qualify the loosely held component. It allows you to be open to better information when you’re presented with it.

I’m not sure why it took me so long however for a while it was more important to be right rather than effective.

The perfect example here is SOY. I held passionately to soy as an integral part of my diet for months after I heard it was not a high quality fuel. I shied away from the information that claimed soy can mimic the effect of estrogen in your body and lead to extra fat storage in estrogen sensitive areas… like your hips and thighs!

My soy guzzling days are now long gone and for that my hips and thighs are certainly grateful!

Let’s power on with The More You Know The Less You Know as it relates to:

One: FUEL.

I’m absolutely discovering this right now. I appreciate why it can be hard – Frustrating – OVERWHELMING to know what to eat to create a strong, healthy body you love. Dependent on what article I read a Plant Based Diet is either the healthiest way to eat or completely deficient and unsustainable long term.

When you don’t know much it appears as simple as “Just eat less calories.”

When you know a little more it might morph into some version of “Eat better not less.” Perhaps with a focus on macronutrients so, Carbs | Proteins | Fats.

Further down the track there are considerations such as: Micronutrients | Gut Health | A Nutrients Bioavailability | Understanding your interdependant relationship with your microbiome. 

If you’re interested in extra reading I’ll link to a great (starter – that’s my level!) article by mindbodygreen on 10 Things You Need To Know About Your Microbiome:

As a teaser… your body depends on trillions of bacteria for just about every aspect of health. Friendly bacteria digest your food, control your appetite and metabolism, manage your immune system, influence your mood, promote mental sharpness, determine heart health, support bone development, produce crucial vitamins and other nutrients and manufacture natural antibiotics.

The thing is, scientists spend their entire lives studying this stuff.

How could you or I possibly stay on top of the latest research? And is it even worth trying??

The thing I console myself with as I battle off need for more knowledge overwhelm is also my advice to YOU:

A). The Basics Ring True.

B). Consistency Counts.

C). Focus Is Key.

So those basics – so far as Fuel – that are applicable to any approach to eating that works?

• Eat Primarily One Ingredient Foods.
• Prioritize A Variety Of Fibrous Veg.
• Plan Your Meals.

So far as Consistency? The good meals you eat each day are always going to provide a better result than the perfect meal – followed by a skipped meal – followed by a massive-outta-control-demolish-fest-slurge-meal!

Which brings us to Focus. Keeping your focus on the quality fuel you give your body and the end result you’re working towards together (Yes together – that’s you and your body) is always going to be more effective and FUN (!) than focusing on restriction and everything you hate about your body right now.

And Now The More You Know The Less You Know as it relates to:

Two: MOVE.

As a youngster it was easy to get away with the bare minimum and only the parts I liked about exercise. Dancing for 6 hours on a Saturday night? Sure that’s got to beat ‘4’ 60 minute gym sessions! Next, I became a cardio queen. I’d often rack up 60 minutes split between the stepper, the treadmill and the bike. I had zero idea that the type of exercise I did affected the type of food I needed to refuel – think Crazy-CARB-Overload – and I was clutching to a volatile energy in versus energy out cycle that left me paranoid I’d stack on the weight the second I stepped away from cardio land.

When you don’t know much it appears as simple as “Just move more.”

When you know a little more it might morph into some version of “Combine lifting weights and some sort of cardio.”

Further down the track there are considerations such as: Split Weights Programs | High Intensity Interval Training | Foam Rolling | Understanding how the habits you’ve been unconsciously cultivating for years effect your current posture, strength, mobility and injuries or susceptibility for injury in the future.

Again, exercise physiologists, osteo’s, performance coaches and yogi’s spend their careers learning and developing this stuff.

The thing I remember in my quest for more knowledge is again my advice to YOU:

A). The Basics Ring True.

B). Consistency Counts.

C). Focus Is Key.

So those basics – so far as Move – that are applicable to any approach to exercising that works?

• You Were Built To Move! Incorporate Incidental Exercise Into Every Day.
• Prioritize Big Compound Movements In Your Weights Routines.
• Plan Your Workouts and Adequate Recovery.

So far as Consistency? The exercise you enjoy (or could learn to enjoy as you get better at it!) that can be a part of your lifestyle long term will always give you a better result than the Stop:Start approach you might have previously applied to the form of exercise you despise.

Which brings us to Focus. Both within your exercise session focusing on the Mind:Muscle connection and also a gratitude infused focus on how lucky you are to have the time, energy, money and physical ability to exercise is always going to be more fun than wasting energy thinking “How tedious and hateful cardio is.”

The thing I find encouraging and freeing about The More You Know The Less You Know is that acknowledging it makes it necessary for me to be open to change. I’m no longer striving for perfection. I know it’s not attainable.

I accept that all I (and you) can do right now is step forward and take action with the best information we have right now and equally be open to receiving and implementing better, more effective information when it shows up.

If you liked The More You Know The Less You Know, you’ll also like: Manipulate Your Addictions And Accelerate Weight Loss.

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.