The Devil is In the Details…but Not in the Way You Might Think
Do you remember your parents telling you to read the fine print? Or to make sure you dot your i’s and cross your t’s. There are times in life when the details are imperative. When we are talking about healthy strategies…not so much. Yep, that’s right. Things like what time of day you exercise, when you eat in relation to exercise, how many superfoods you have in your diet, whether your vegetables are fresh or frozen, or even which vegetables should we eat over others and is fruit good or bad? The amount of information out there promoting best tactics and strategies around exercise, nutrition and sleep are abundant. These details that often pop up in attention getting headlines can be cause for paralysis by analysis. In other words, we get completely wrapped up in the small things before we master the big ones.
The world of health and fitness is filled with noise. New headlines pop up each day about the superfoods you should be eating, the best time to exercise, the optimal time to eat after exercising or what 7 things you should be doing for your best night's sleep. Not to mention all the latest products you need to be healthy. It’s easy to get swept up in all of the advice. I’m not suggesting there isn’t any value in these pieces but we might want to pause and give serious consideration to where we focus our efforts. Some of you may be familiar with this video where the teacher keeps asking the students if the jar is full. The moral of the story: pay attention to the big things first. The same concept holds true with our healthy practices.
So what does this look like in real life? When we think about areas of focus for health and well being, sleep, nutrition and exercise often top the list. I shared a blog on sleep noting several things to try to help promote good sleep. I certainly believe all of the items mentioned (not to mention a slew of others) help promote good sleep, and if you’re not prioritizing sleep and carving out the time for it, you’re missing this big ticket item. You can do all the meditating, turn off all the screens and have the ideal temperature, but if you’re only allotting 5 hours for sleep you will come up short. We can find the same scenario with food. It seems every week there is a new headline touting the best food to eat, what you shouldn’t be eating or even the best hours to eat or not eat. You will find similar stories around exercise. Strength training is the best, no wait, zone 2 training is where it’s at, or maybe it HIIT (high intensity interval training) is what I need. We can get so caught up in trying to do all of the best things, we miss out on doing the things that really move the needle for us.
Please don’t misinterpret my message. I’m not saying there isn’t benefit to mediating, experimenting with eating schedules or exercise routines. What I am saying is consider where you are and what will give you the most bang for your buck. If you are always feeling short on sleep, take a look at your bedtime and wake routine first. How much time are you actually prioritizing for sleep? If your diet is heavily processed, focusing on changes to incorporate less processed and more whole foods may serve you better than intermittent fasting. If you are currently sedentary, rather than fixate on what type of exercise is best, just focus on finding movement you can be consistent with. All this being said, if you are already carving out the time for sleep, eating mostly nutritious foods and exercising regularly and you’re not getting the results you want, then diving in a little deeper may be necessary to get the results you want. Assess where you are and start with the big rocks and then focus on the pebbles and sand if needed.