The Power of Less

Do you struggle to stick to an exercise plan? So do I.

Do you struggle to stick to a diet? So do I.

Since the arrival of little William (my nearly two year old son) I’ve been struggling with my fitness. Being fit has always come naturally to me and I was unaware of how much time and effort it took to stay fit.

With sleepless nights, the necessary time and attention it took to be a dad, and the conflict in my own head about going to the gym instead of hanging out with the little dude, I piled on the pressure and started feeling guilty about missing exercise and eating badly. 

When I missed a session I’d chase my tail trying to make up for missing a session and eating badly... IT WAS FRUSTRATING!

Then, I ended up reading a simple little book called The Power of Less.

It finally dawned on me what I’d been doing.

By trying to do too much I was giving myself less chance of success.

To quote the book, if you adopt one new habit your chance of success is more than 85%. If you adopt two new habits your chance of success is less than 35%. And if you adopt 3 new habits your chance of success is less than 10%. Shocking, eh?

By putting the pressure on to exercise and eat better I was sabotaging my own success.

WHAT DID I DO?

I eased up on the diet and set myself a simple target to exercise four-times per week. 

I’d eat what I fancied (think Ben & Jerry’s, Green & Blacks...) but made sure rain or shine I was doing my pre-planned workouts.

The end result... I love training again! And now I’m ready to reign in my diet too.

I think this quote is pretty apt. “Chase one rabbit and catch it. Chase two, and you catch nothing!”