Catchup with Coach M - Edition 31: The 4 Magic Ingredients & More!
- Active Living Active Living
- Mar 9
- 10 min read
Welcome to the 31st edition of my Coach Catchup Blog! While this doesn’t include race reports or the occasional bits and bobs I’ve shared along the way, it’s still a significant milestone for me. This blog series has been a long time in the making, and reaching this point feels like a big accomplishment. Sharing my knowledge, insights, and experiences with all of you is something I’m incredibly passionate about, and I’m excited to continue this journey for as long as possible.
Now, let’s dive into what’s in store for this week’s edition! The 4 Magic Ingredients to Your Health Journey
Unpacking My Training
Personal Development
The 2025 HARD Challenge
The 4 Magic Ingredients for Navigating Your Health, Fitness, and Weight Loss Journey
This week, I want to dive into a subject that’s not always easy to navigate in this world we live in—one that often gets overlooked but is crucial to any journey of transformation.
Whether you're focused on health, fitness, weight loss, or just creating a better version of yourself, there are four key ingredients that can make all the difference.
These ingredients are Gratitude, Self-Gratitude, Self-Love, and Self-Respect.
While there’s no shortage of advice on diet plans, calorie deficits, exercise routines, or supplements, these four powerful practices are often the magic ingredients that can take your journey from good to great. So let’s break them down and explore their true meaning and impact.
1. Gratitude
Gratitude is more than just saying “thank you” when someone holds the door open or gives you a compliment. At its core, gratitude is the practice of recognizing and appreciating the positive things in your life—whether big or small—and expressing thanks for them. It’s about shifting your mindset from what’s missing to what’s present.
Gratitude is a tool that can help reframe your perspective, especially on days when your journey feels difficult or frustrating. When you practice gratitude, you start to notice the good—whether it's your body’s ability to move, your mental strength, or the simple fact that you woke up today with a chance to work toward a better version of yourself. By practicing daily gratitude, you reinforce a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity.
In the context of health and fitness, being grateful for your body’s capabilities—no matter where you are in your journey—can help you stay motivated and grounded. It's not about waiting for your "ideal" body to show up before you’re grateful; it’s about appreciating the one you have right now and everything it does for you.
2. Self-Gratitude
Now, let’s take it a step deeper. Self-gratitude is all about acknowledging and appreciating your own efforts, qualities, and accomplishments. It’s easy to focus on what we haven’t done or what we need to improve, but self-gratitude helps you shift that mindset to the positive actions you’ve already taken.
This can look like celebrating the small wins—maybe you chose a healthy meal or got to the gym for a workout. It’s about recognizing that you are a work in progress, but also giving yourself credit for the hard work you’re putting in.
Self-gratitude is essential because it builds self-esteem and reinforces the idea that you are worthy of love, care, and attention. It encourages you to be kind to yourself, even on the hard days. Just like you’d thank a friend for their support, remember to thank yourself for the effort, commitment, and consistency you’re showing in your journey.
3. Self-Love
Self-love is the foundation of everything. It’s not about narcissism or arrogance, but rather a healthy regard and care for yourself. Self-love is the act of valuing yourself—flaws, strengths, mistakes, and all. It’s about accepting who you are in this moment, while still striving to grow and improve.
Loving yourself is a crucial component of achieving long-term success in health and fitness. If you don’t love yourself where you are right now, it can be easy to fall into a cycle of self-criticism, shame, or impatience. But when you love yourself, you’re more likely to make choices that reflect your worth—whether it's eating foods that nourish your body, resting when you need to, or saying no to things that don’t align with your values.
Self-love is about taking care of your mind, body, and soul. It’s a practice that allows you to respect your body for all it is right now, not just when it changes or looks a certain way. When you genuinely love yourself, your choices are motivated by kindness rather than guilt or pressure.
4. Self-Respect
Finally, self-respect is about honouring who you are, both in how you treat yourself and how you allow others to treat you. It’s about setting boundaries, upholding your values, and refusing to tolerate anything less than what you deserve.
When it comes to health and fitness, self-respect means treating your body like the temple it is. It’s about making choices that reflect the value you place on yourself and your well-being. Whether it’s saying no to things that don’t serve you or pushing yourself to prioritize your health, self-respect is the key to maintaining long-term success.
This also means standing up for yourself when it comes to how others might view or treat your body. No one else’s opinion should determine how you feel about yourself. When you have self-respect, you make decisions based on your own internal compass, not based on external validation.
Putting It All Together: The Magic Formula
We often get caught up in the practicalities of weight loss and fitness—calorie counting, protein intake, strength training, and cardio. While these are all important, it’s easy to overlook the mental and emotional aspects of the journey. The truth is, you could follow the best workout plan and meal plan in the world, but without these four key ingredients—gratitude, self-gratitude, self-love, and self-respect—your journey might feel harder and less fulfilling.
The magic happens when you combine these four practices with your physical efforts.
Imagine loving yourself first, exactly as you are in this moment, even before you start seeing changes.
Imagine respecting your body enough to treat it with the care it deserves.
Imagine being grateful for the opportunity to be healthier, and for your body’s ability to grow and improve.
And finally, imagine expressing self-gratitude for every step forward you take, no matter how small.
When you change your mindset and start treating yourself with more compassion, appreciation, and respect, the physical results will follow. Your mental picture of yourself and your journey will shift, and it will make all the difference in your success.
I’m not here to preach, and I’m definitely not here to come down on you like a ton of bricks. But I am here to tell you that if you can practice gratitude, self-gratitude, self-love, and self-respect, your journey will become so much easier, more rewarding, and more sustainable.
So, take a moment today to reflect on these four ingredients. How can you implement them into your journey? How can you love, respect, and appreciate yourself more fully, right now, at this very moment?
This is your journey, and the path to health, fitness, and weight loss is not just about physical changes—it’s about mental and emotional growth as well. And when you have the right mindset, magic happens.
Stay kind, stay committed, and remember: you are already worthy of success.
TRAINING CALENDER
A HARD Training Week & Why Balance is Key to Your Fitness Journey
This week, I had one of those HARD training weeks—the kind where I did more sessions than I initially planned. But here's the thing: I’m eternally grateful that my body is capable and able to handle it. That’s the power of training consistently and building a foundation of strength, endurance, and flexibility. Even when things get tough, I’m reminded of the progress I've made and the importance of listening to my body.
Now, this week, I’m not going to share my exact calendar of workouts, but for those of you who are new to my blog, I want to take a moment to dive into the WHY’s behind my training plan. Why do I include a balance of cardio, strength, recovery, and—yes—fun in my weekly routine? Let’s break it down.
Cardiovascular Health: Building a Strong Heart
Our heart is a muscle, just like any other muscle in the body, and it needs to be strong and grow to function properly. Cardio is how we strengthen that muscle and improve our cardiovascular health. But here's the key: not all cardio is about going full throttle. To truly build that aerobic base (the foundation of your fitness), you need to do cardio sessions where you're working at a moderate intensity—enough to get your heart rate up, but still be able to hold a conversation. You actually need to sweat...these sessions provoke sweat and loads of it!
While some high-intensity, full-throttle sessions are necessary for pushing your limits, balance is essential. That’s why I aim for a combination of both impact and non-impact sessions, giving my body the variety it needs to improve endurance while also allowing it to recover.
Strength Training: More Muscles = More Strength & Higher Metabolism
Strength training is a non-negotiable part of my routine. The reason? More muscle mass means a higher metabolic rate—so, as you build muscle, your body burns more calories even at rest. But beyond the metabolism boost, strength training makes you stronger, more capable, and more resilient in your daily tasks.
It’s not just about aesthetics; it’s about creating a body that stays strong, functional, and able to take on the challenges of everyday life, well into your old age. The older we get, the more crucial it becomes to maintain muscle strength for overall mobility, stability, and health.
Recovery: The Secret Sauce to Progress
Here’s the part that many people overlook—recovery is just as important as the workouts themselves. After all, it’s during recovery that your muscles repair and grow stronger. Recovery isn’t just about resting; it’s about taking the time to rejuvenate your body and mind so that you can come back even stronger the next day.
For me, recovery sessions often include mobility work, foam rolling, sauna time, and lymph drainage. I can’t stress enough how important these recovery practices have been to my overall well-being. Incorporating them consistently has allowed me to perform at my best, avoid injury, and stay feeling fresh.
Fun: The Essential Ingredient
And here’s the one thing that not everyone realizes is essential to your fitness routine—FUN. Fitness isn’t just about going through the motions or pushing through gruelling workouts. It’s about enjoying the process, feeling good while you do it, and maintaining a positive mindset.
Whether it’s working out with friends, taking a solo walk in nature, or simply doing a workout you genuinely enjoy, having fun with your training helps keep you motivated and engaged. If you're not having fun, you're less likely to stick with your routine long-term, and consistency is what truly leads to success.
A Glimpse Into My Weekly Routine
Here’s how I structure my week to maintain this balance of cardio, strength, recovery, and fun:
15,000 steps a day: This helps me stay active and ensures I’m meeting my daily movement goals. This is normally the average for the week including my running steps.
3 structured strength sessions: Focused on building and maintaining muscle.
2 non-impact aerobic cardio sessions: Currently, these include one bike session and one mixed machine cardio session.
3 runs: This typically includes one trail run/walk/hike, one long run, and one hilly interval-type session for variety and challenge.
Recovery: For me, this includes swimming and stretching—non-negotiable swim sessions, plus 2 stretching sessions each week.
Sauna: Although my sauna sessions aren’t always lengthy, I fit them in whenever I can to help with recovery and relaxation.
Lymph drainage: I’ve recently incorporated daily lymph drainage into my routine, and it’s made a huge difference in how I feel and recover.
Wrapping It Up
The key takeaway this week is balance and moving daily. Your fitness journey should include a mix of activities—each serving a specific purpose for your overall health. Cardio for your heart, strength training to build muscle, recovery to repair and rejuvenate, and fun to keep it all enjoyable and sustainable.
At the end of the day, it’s not just about ticking off a workout schedule; it’s about creating a routine that helps you feel strong, capable, and healthy in both body and mind. I hope this gives you some insight into how you can create your own balanced fitness routine.
Remember, your body is capable of more than you might think—trust in the process, listen to your body, and enjoy the journey!
PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
This week, I had the chance to dive into a few podcasts, and I’ll be sharing some of the best ones with you in the weeks to come. But there’s one that really resonated with me this week:
If you’ve been feeling constantly overwhelmed, stressed, or like you’re running on empty, this episode might just be the reset you need. Consider it a blueprint for taking back control of your life and building a strong foundation for a balanced and productive week.
After listening to this episode, I felt more grounded and motivated to take action. If you’re in need of a reset, I highly recommend checking it out and giving these habits a try.
Stay tuned as I dive deeper into these habits in the weeks ahead—trust me, they’re game changers! CLICK ON THE LINK TO LISTEN
2025 HARD Challenge
The 2025 HARD Challenge: When Life Gets in the Way, But Giving Up is Not an Option
This week, the 2025 HARD Challenge was, well... HARD—and I’ll be honest, I didn’t manage it the way I had hoped. Contrary to popular belief, I’m human too, and I’m not immune to the ups and downs of staying on track. I had far too much sugar, barely managed about 30 minutes of focused learning, and my plans for refocusing didn’t exactly go as expected.
But here’s the thing—giving up is not an option.
Embracing the 4 Magic Ingredients and Getting Back on Track
Even though I stumbled this week, I’m not throwing in the towel. Instead, I’m applying the 4 magic ingredients to help me reset and get back on track. It’s all about gratitude, self-gratitude, self-love, and self-respect—and no matter how messy things get, these are the tools that keep me going.
So, this week, I’m reapplying everything, focusing on staying kind to myself, and pushing forward with even more effort than before. Failure isn’t falling down; it’s staying down—and I’m definitely not staying down. This week, I’m going to try harder, reset, and get back to the grind with renewed energy and determination.
Life can throw off your plans at times, but the key is not letting those setbacks define you. Instead, use them as a reminder to get back up and keep moving forward. Here's to another week of staying committed, learning from the bumps in the road, and pushing through!
Thank you again for joining me on this journey! Stay safe, Stay extraordinary and remember the magjic ingredients!
Chat next week ! Coach M
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