Pitfalls to avoid on your fitness journey

Part II: Where I went wrong

Hello readers,

I am writing to you deep from the jungles of Borneo, that are more than 100+ million years old!

I am in Borneo for a half yearly vacation with my partner and so far we are done with the first half of our trip, which was dedicated solely to diving! We explored the pristine waters of Sipadan, Kapalai & Mabul islands. And now we are in the second half of our adventure which is on land, more specifically in the jungles of Borneo, exploring its unique wildlife, flora, & funga!

The past couple of days were particularly rough, esp. at the start of this trip when I couldn’t make it to a dear friend’s last goodbye and the news shattered me from within, but I found myself midst raw nature and its restorative power has me gripped. I immersed myself in the spirit of the ancient forests to find wisdom, love, and power to heal myself through this rough patch. Not a day goes by without thinking about my lovely friend, and everyday spent in documenting my travels through my sketches is now dedicated to his love for art.

I am coming to grips with reality finally, and finding myself in nature’s lap everyday has reaffirmed my faith in its magic. I am learning new things about it & therefore myself, and that in turn is helping me strengthen my connection both with the world & most importantly, myself.

In tune with that, I hope you had a chance to read my previous post about changing my relationship with food, exercise & habits to get a physical & very mental transformation. This edition is a continuation to that post, and as promised, here are my failures & learnings (the hard way) from this project. Hope you can avoid these and bolster your progress. Though, if I am being honest, everyone has their own journey, and sometimes, without living your own mistakes, it gets a little difficult to truly change. But we live, we learn. And all I can do is hope that you get to see the very real & difficult parts of this story as well. So let’s go:

1. Underestimating the power of calorie counting: My coach wanted me to calorie count to the T and for good reason. Turns out without calorie counting, you cannot get an accurate view of your portion sizes & your nutrition. It’s true. So get into this habit as soon as possible to avoid shooting in the dark. Chances are you will still be off by 50% in the beginning. Only now can I eyeball my food & understand my macros. For example, I am on vacation and it’s difficult to get my protein intake but I noticed that I’ve been subconsciously keeping a tab on my sugar intake & trying to up my protein & fibre as much as possible. Calorie counting has built intuitive eating habits for me. And it’s impossible to feed myself in any other way. How cool & transformative is that!

2. Neglecting cardio: Even with proper guidance, I continously skipped cardio in the gym. I have now realised that with strength training, I needed cardio (both LISS & HIIT) to build endurance and to keep doing all the activities that I so dearly love - frisbee, hiking, trekking, swimming, running and diving. Please DO NOT skip cardio, and especially for women, please have your cardio days in the morning to avoid shooting your cortisol levels in the evening. I was advised to do cardio 2-3 times a week alternating it with my strength training days. I love how it helps break the monotony but also gets my heart pumping & hey, a quick cardio workout on days that you are super crunched for time is the best thing, isn’t it. So, don’t ignore your cardio days. I don’t need to tell you its many benefits but here you go - a quick primer.

3. All-or-nothing mentality: 5 good days, 6 bad ones! This hide and seek happened with me for the longest time. It was stressful to see myself keep going in circles and lose my progress with a flurry of bad days after a great streak of good days. The golden rule here is to not skip your workout 2 days in a row. It’s stupidly simple but it helps so much to get you back on track quickly.
   Also, another important facet, which is a corollary of point 1 & 3, is that - once you have a basic idea of your macros/nutrition plus your workouts - these work together to give you a sense of how much progress you can see with X effort. So, say you get derailed on days 1 through 3 in a week, you still have days 4-7 to save your progress and get back on track. Consistency trumps perfection. If you slip, get back on track immediately.

4. The subtle art of self deception: Cat’s out of the bag. I lied to myself consistently! I used to think that I have ‘cracked’ it. After couple of successful months in the beginning of my fitness project, I thought I had it all figured. I couldn’t be farther from the truth. I thought I had gained mastery over all skills & that I am great at portion sizing & nutrition. Well, I lied to myself for the most part.

   “A dessert won’t hurt, I am working out so hard” - but if that dessert happens thrice a week, it definitely hurts. My humble plea is to be honest to yourself. We all have emotional eating patterns, and the truth is, it’s really hard to break free from those. But the only way to break this rut, the real way, is to be honest to yourself, realise and accept the emotional eating pattern and then actively break it down into smaller problems to solve. We need to be really wary of lying to our own selves & to break free from the illusion that we are doing the “right thing”. Unlearn & relearn, friends. Fitness is all about that.

5. Not resting enough: There’s a clear pattern you can trace from the above points in my journey: have consistent good days, rejoice, be an armchair fitness coach to self, indulge in bad habits consistently, have a flurry of bad days that are difficult to come out of, beat self up, lose progress, get frustrated, go back to reinvent the wheel, have consistent good days, rejoice..it goes on. And in that rut & in ultra hustle GO mode, I completely forgot about rest & recovery. Worst mistake. You don’t actually build strength, muscle, or endurance in the gym. That happens between training sessions—provided you get enough sleep and fuel up on nutrient-rich foods during this time.

6. Not listening to my body: BIG ONE. Your body speaks volumes during those intense training sessions. It's like the whispers of these 100-million-year-old trees - subtle, but filled with wisdom. When your muscles scream or your joints whisper caution, don't push through blindly, please. Adjust, adapt, and live to conquer another day. Remember, our bodies are our most faithful companions & are very intelligent. I suggest checking out some somatic classes in your neighborhood to better understand how to (re)connect with your body. If nothing is available/possible, checkout some YouTube videos to get a headstart.

7. Not warming up pre training / not stretching enough post training: Activate before & relax after a workout session. Take it from me, your body will thank you loads. Pre-workout activation:

   1. Wakes up your muscles and nervous system

   2. Improves blood flow to the working muscles

   3. Helps prevent injuries by preparing your body for the upcoming stress

   4. Enhances overall performance during your workout

   Post-workout stretching:

   1. Helps muscles relax and return to their resting length

   2. Can reduce post-workout soreness and stiffness (did for me)

   3. Improves flexibility and range of motion over time

   4. Aids in recovery by promoting blood flow to tired muscles

8. Caving in to social commitments: This can derail your fitness journey faster than you can say "just one drink." I've been there, torn between crushing goals and FOMO. The key? Balance. Prioritize events, suggest active hangouts, for females please cycle sync and remember: true friends support your goals. It's not about isolation, but about integrating your fitness lifestyle with your social one. The key is to stop treating your fitness journey as a temporary phase. It's a lifestyle, build it like one! And sometimes, that means learning to say no - not just to others, but to that voice in your head that fears missing out.

These are my learnings & I hope this helps!

I have also closely observed & met people on similar journeys & a quick note here on some pitfalls to avoid, that I successfully avoided, but can be difficult to manoeuvre at times:

• Ignoring proper form: Rushing through exercises with poor technique can lead to injuries and suboptimal results.

• Overreliance on supplements: Remember, they're meant to supplement a solid diet, not replace it.

• Comparing yourself to others: Your journey is unique. Focus on your own progress rather than measuring yourself against others.

• Not adjusting your routine: As you progress, your body adapts. Regularly update your workout plan to avoid plateaus. Work with a trainer till you can successfully achieve balance.

With this, I take your leave as I prepare for the coming week exploring some more rivers, forests & oceans!

All my luck & love to you for achieving your goals. Crush it. <3
Don’t hestitate to reach out if you have any questions.

Until next Sunday!
Love, Ishita
xx

Fun fact: Some Borneon jungles (aged 140 million years old) are WAY older than the Amazon rainforest (aged 55 million years old).