Catchup with Coach M - Edition 71 - When the Basics Become Boring

There are some blogs where I have about 47 things I want to say.

This is one of them.

So, before I disappear down seventeen different rabbit holes, I am going to try very hard to keep this one focused.

And I am going to start with me.

Not because I want sympathy.

Not because I want anyone to treat me differently.

And definitely not because I think my situation is more important than anyone else's.

I am using myself as the teaching example.

Because sometimes the lessons we need to learn are the ones we already know.

We just stopped doing them.

My body didn't forget

I have had a pretty complicated relationship with my health over the years.

My ulcerative colitis resulted in my colon being removed, and technically I no longer have ulcerative colitis in the same way I did before I was diagnosed.

But surgery didn't magically change the way my body responds to stress, inflammation, poor recovery, dehydration, food, medication or training load.

My body still has its wiring.

And that wiring matters.

Over the last 12 months, alongside everything that came with cancer treatment and recovery, I gradually found myself dealing with increasing symptoms from my underlying inflammatory condition.

Eventually, I was back in a full flare and had to return to medication that I had been off for a long time.

Now, there were legitimate external factors involved.

Cancer treatment placed an enormous load on my body. There were periods of significant inflammation, stress, dehydration and disruption to my normal routines.

But if I am being completely honest with myself, I also have to accept something else:

A large part of this was on me.

And that is an uncomfortable thing to admit.

Because I know my body.

I know many of the things that help keep me well.

I know the things that can increase my symptoms.

And I know that when I am feeling good, it is very easy to become comfortable.

That is where the problem starts.

When feeling better makes us careless

When we are in the middle of a flare, injury, weight-loss journey, burnout or health crisis, we become incredibly focused.

We pay attention.

We sleep.

We eat better.

We hydrate.

We manage our stress.

We take our medication.

We move appropriately.

We recover.

We do all the boring things that we know we should be doing.

And then...

we start feeling better.

The symptoms settle.

The scale moves.

The fitness improves.

The pain disappears.

The energy comes back.

And slowly, almost without noticing, the things that helped us get better start disappearing.

Not all at once.

That would be too obvious.

It happens one small decision at a time.

One late night.

One missed meal.

One week of poor hydration.

One stressful week where everything else becomes more important.

One "I'll start again Monday."

One extra treat.

One less training session.

One more training session when the body actually needed recovery.

One decision becomes a habit.

The habit becomes normal.

And because nothing immediately falls apart, our brains tell us:

"See? It doesn't really matter."

Until it does. Now Please know - I realise some people are going to read this and and deny any responsibility, because when we do that we admit a flore in our make up. I urge you to keep reading. Becasue we need to learn that we can take responsibility without it being a problem.

Autoimmune and inflammatory conditions are not one-size-fits-all

Now, before someone jumps into the comments with a medical textbook, let me make something very clear.

Autoimmune and inflammatory conditions are not all the same.

Type 1 diabetes isn't rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis isn't lupus.

Lupus isn't Hashimoto's.

Hashimoto's isn't multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis isn't psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis.

Crohn's disease isn't ulcerative colitis.

And coeliac disease is different again.

There are also other chronic inflammatory or immune-related conditions, such as Sjögren's syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis and other forms of inflammatory arthritis, where the way the immune system behaves and the symptoms experienced can be very different.

Even within the same diagnosis, two people can have completely different experiences.

So I am not saying that there is one universal autoimmune diet or that the same lifestyle rules will control every condition.

There isn't.

And there is no magical cure

This is another point I think is really important.

Autoimmune conditions don't have a magical lifestyle cure.

You cannot eat one particular food, take one supplement, follow one 30-day programme or start one exercise routine and suddenly erase an autoimmune condition.

For many autoimmune conditions, the reality is that they are managed rather than magically cured.

Treatment, medication where appropriate, medical monitoring, lifestyle, nutrition, sleep, stress management, movement and recovery can all play different roles depending on the condition and the individual.

And remission doesn't necessarily mean the underlying tendency has disappeared forever.

That is something I have had to learn personally.

Feeling well can mean that things are being managed successfully.

It doesn't necessarily mean:

"I'm fixed. I can go back to doing whatever I want."

That distinction is huge.

Because when we confuse remission with cure, we can become complacent.

We stop managing.

We stop paying attention.

We stop respecting the things that help keep us well.

And eventually our bodies remind us that the condition hasn't necessarily disappeared just because we weren't experiencing its symptoms.

For me, that has been a very real lesson.

I had a colon removed.

I have had periods where I felt incredibly well.

I have had years where things were manageable.

But that doesn't mean I get to pretend my body has suddenly become someone else's body.

I still have to steward it.

The inflammation bucket

Think of it as an inflammation bucket.

Again, this isn't a medical formula.

It is a picture I use to explain something that I think many of us understand instinctively.

One thing goes into the bucket.

Then another.

And another.

Poor sleep.

Stress.

Dehydration.

Under-fuelling.

Overeating.

Highly processed foods.

Too much added sugar.

Alcohol.

Foods that you personally know trigger symptoms.

For some people, gluten or wheat can be a problem. For someone with coeliac disease, gluten is a very specific and medically important trigger.

For others, particular dairy products, eggs, nuts, certain high-fat foods, spicy foods or other individual foods may aggravate symptoms.

Processed meats and heavily processed foods may not be helpful for some people either.

The important part is not creating a universal list of "bad foods."

It is learning your own body. Its taking responsibility and making the hard decisions to say no when you need to!

Because what triggers one person's symptoms may have absolutely no effect on someone else's.

And then there is the other side of the equation.

Too much or too little training and movement

Too little recovery.

Too much stress.

Too little sleep.

Too much caffeine for the individual.

Overuse of certain over-the-counter medications.

Not taking prescribed medication appropriately.

Or simply ignoring the warning signs that your body has been giving you.

None of these things automatically causes an autoimmune flare in everyone.

That's important.

But your body has its own patterns.

And if you have a chronic condition, learning those patterns is part of managing your condition.

So let's learn to listen to the body

When I coach someone who has an autoimmune or inflammatory condition, one of the things I will generally encourage them to do is keep a food and symptom diary.

And before anyone hears that and thinks, "Oh great, Coach M is going to make me write down every single thing I eat so she can judge me," — no.

Absolutely not.

I'm not interested in creating a food-policing exercise.

And I certainly don't want to use it to punish someone or criticise their choices.

Because let's be honest...

their body has that one covered. Trust me.

The purpose is completely different.

We are looking for patterns.

What did you eat?

How much did you eat?

How did you sleep?

What was your stress like?

How did you train?

Were you hydrated?

And then...

How did your body respond?

What symptoms showed up?

When did they show up?

How long did they last?

Was there a pattern?

Did something happen repeatedly?

Did the same symptoms appear after the same type of food, training load, stressful period or lack of recovery?

This isn't about deciding that one food is suddenly "bad."

It is about collecting information.

Because sometimes our bodies are giving us warnings long before we are willing to listen.

A food and symptom diary can help us start recognising those warning signs.

And once we recognise them, we have something incredibly valuable:

the opportunity to act before the problem becomes the problem.

That is stewardship.

Not punishment.

Not perfection.

Not fear of food.

Awareness.

Learn your body.

Listen to your body.

Notice the patterns.

And then make informed decisions with the appropriate support from your healthcare team.

Because our bodies are constantly communicating with us.

The question is:

Are we listening?

This isn't just about autoimmune conditions

And this is where my story becomes bigger than autoimmune disease.

Because the same principle applies to so many areas of life.

Someone wants to lose weight.

Someone wants to get fitter.

Someone wants to run a marathon.

Someone wants to recover from an injury.

Someone wants to manage stress.

Someone wants to improve their mental wellbeing.

Someone wants to change their relationship with food.

Someone wants to build strength.

Someone wants to simply feel better.

At the beginning, we pay attention.

We meal prep.

We drink our water.

We get our steps in.

We train.

We recover.

We sleep.

We plan.

We make better choices.

And it works.

Then the results start coming.

And ironically, that is often when things start falling apart.

Because the basics become boring.

The basics are boring — until you need them

The meal preparation becomes mundane.

The water bottle becomes annoying.

Going to bed early isn't exciting.

Strength training isn't glamorous.

Walking doesn't feel like enough.

Recovery feels like doing nothing.

Eating well doesn't feel like a "diet" anymore because it has simply become normal.

And suddenly the person who was doing all the little things that created their success starts looking for something new.

A new programme.

A new supplement.

A new diet.

A new challenge.

A new app.

A new coach.

A new "hack."

Anything except going back to the basics.

And eventually they plateau.

Or they start going backwards.

Then comes the question:

"What am I doing wrong?"

Sometimes the answer is brutally simple:

You stopped doing the things that were working.

We love to reinvent the wheel

Human beings are fascinating.

When things go wrong, we often want a complicated answer.

We want to find the hidden problem.

The missing supplement.

The perfect programme.

The secret exercise.

The new diet.

The thing that everyone else knows that we somehow haven't discovered yet.

But sometimes there is no secret.

Sometimes we simply stopped doing the basics consistently.

And instead of taking responsibility for that, we look for something else to blame.

We blame our genetics.

We blame our schedule.

We blame our age.

We blame our metabolism.

We blame our job.

We blame our family.

We blame the programme.

We blame the coach.

We blame the circumstances.

Sometimes those things genuinely are factors.

But there is a very important question we need to ask alongside them:

"What part of this is mine to own?"

That question changes everything.

Stewardship

This is where the word stewardship comes in.

I love this word because stewardship is different from ownership.

Ownership says:

"It's mine."

Stewardship says:

"I've been entrusted with this, so what am I going to do with it?"

Our bodies are something we have been entrusted with.

So are our time.

Our energy.

Our relationships.

Our careers.

Our finances.

Our talents.

Our opportunities.

Our health.

Our future.

And stewardship means taking responsibility for how we manage those things.

It doesn't mean we control everything.

We don't.

Life happens.

Illness happens.

Cancer happens.

Injury happens.

Autoimmune disease happens.

Genetics happen.

Environmental factors happen.

Loss happens.

Unexpected circumstances happen.

Sometimes we genuinely get dealt a terrible hand.

But there is still a difference between what happens to us and what we choose to do with what happens to us.

That distinction matters.

Life will always be happening

This is where I think we sometimes get ourselves into trouble.

We are waiting for life to become less busy before we start taking care of ourselves properly.

But life is never going to stop being life.

Work will always be busy.

Family will always be there.

There will always be deadlines.

There will always be financial pressures.

There will always be environmental stressors.

There will always be unexpected problems.

There will always be someone who needs your attention.

There will always be a reason why today isn't the perfect day to look after yourself.

And if you wait for life to calm down before you take responsibility for your health, you could be waiting forever.

The goal isn't to create a life without stress.

The goal is to build yourself into someone who knows how to manage themselves when life is stressful.

That is stewardship.

Because the successful person isn't necessarily the person with the least stress.

They are often the person who has learned how to navigate stress without allowing every stressful season to destroy the foundations they have built.

My lesson

For me, this current flare has been a reminder.

I know what my body needs.

I know that I have to be intentional.

I know that my training goals require me to fuel properly.

I know that recovery isn't optional.

I know that sleep matters.

I know that hydration matters.

I know that stress management matters.

I know that there are foods and behaviours that my body does not appreciate.

And I know that when my body starts giving me warning signs, I need to listen.

I also know that this didn't happen because of one single decision.

My health is far more complicated than that.

But knowing what I know means I also have a responsibility to apply what I know.

And that is the part I missed.

The small things became less important because they weren't screaming at me anymore.

Until my body started screaming again.

And now I have to rebuild.

Could I have prevented everything?

No.

Could I have controlled everything?

Absolutely not.

But could I have done some things differently?

Yes.

And that is the part I am willing to own.

Personal Growth and Development is often painfully unglamorous

We talk about personal growth and development as if it is always about becoming a better version of ourselves.

Big goals.

Big dreams.

Big transformations.

But sometimes personal development is much less exciting.

Sometimes it is simply doing the thing you already know you need to do.

Again.

And again.

And again.

Even when nobody is watching.

Even when you don't feel like it.

Even when there is no immediate reward.

Even when the basics feel boring.

That is where consistency is built.

And that is where stewardship becomes real.

Because ultimately, our lives are shaped by what we repeatedly do, not by what we occasionally intend to do.

Don't wait until it's too little too late

This is probably the biggest lesson I want to leave with you.

Don't wait until your body forces you to pay attention. Don't wait until the auto immune or inflamatory conditions has gotten to a flair

Don't wait until the weight has crept back up.

Don't wait until the fitness has disappeared.

Don't wait until the injury is severe.

Don't wait until the burnout is overwhelming.

Don't wait until your health becomes the crisis that finally makes the basics important again.

Pay attention to the small things while they are still small.

If you have an autoimmune or inflammatory condition, know your condition.

Know your triggers.

Know your warning signs.

Know what your healthcare team has told you.

Know what helps you manage your condition.

And then actually apply that knowledge.

Because knowing what to do and doing what you know are two completely different things.

And that applies whether you are managing your weight, Fitness or some disease like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Hashimoto's, type 1 diabetes, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, multiple sclerosis, coeliac disease or another chronic, inflammatory or auto immune condition.

Your diagnosis may be different.

Your treatment may be different.

Your triggers may be different.

But learning to take responsibility for the things within your control is still incredibly powerful.

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater

And when you do find yourself in the place where it feels like everything has gone backwards?

Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Don't assume everything you did before was wrong.

Don't immediately go searching for the next fashionable solution.

Stop.

Take a breath.

Look at what worked.

Look at what changed.

Look honestly at your decisions.

Take responsibility for the decisions that are yours.

Ask for help where you need it.

And start applying the basics again.

One decision at a time.

Steward your life

We don't get to choose everything that happens to us.

But we do get to choose many of the things we do next.

And that is a powerful place to live from.

Not victimhood.

Not guilt.

Not perfection.

Responsibility.

Stewardship is not about being perfect.

It is about being intentional with what has been placed in your hands.

Your body.

Your health.

Your time.

Your energy.

Your choices.

Your relationships.

Your future.

Life is going to keep happening.

Work will be busy.

Family will need you.

Stress will show up.

Environmental stressors will exist.

Unexpected things will happen.

There will always be something.

The question isn't whether life will get easier.

The question is whether you will take responsibility for what you need to decide and do to keep yourself healthy while life is happening.

Because successful people aren't necessarily the people with the easiest circumstances.

They are often the people who learn to manage what they can control, take responsibility for their decisions, adjust when things aren't working, ask for help when they need it, and keep returning to the basics.

Even when the basics are boring.

Especially when the basics are boring.

Because the basics are usually not what holds us back.

It's our failure to consistently steward them.

And sometimes the greatest personal development lesson isn't learning something new.

Sometimes it is remembering what you already knew...

and finally deciding to live it.