Making Health and Lifestyle Changes

Speaker 1 0:00

The real work lies in adapting and changing your habits and your lifestyle . You are not going to , with the shit habits that you have today , lose 10 kilos . That whole version of you needs to shift and as soon as you can like , clock that and actually understand it , your whole health and fitness journey is 10 times easier .

Speaker 2 0:24

Shift work can be brutal , but it doesn't have to be . Welcome to a healthy shift . My name is Roger Sutherland , certified Nutritionist , veteran Law Enforcement Officer and 24-7 Shift Worker for almost four decades . Through this podcast , I aim to educate shift workers , using evidence-based methods , to not only survive the rigours of shift work but thrive . My goal is to empower shift workers to improve their health and wellbeing so they have more energy to do the things they love .

Speaker 2 0:56

Enjoy today's show and welcome back to another episode of a Healthy Shift podcast . You would have to go back to episode number 39 of this podcast to hear what Kate Morris had to say , and what I did was I got her onto the podcast to discuss the benefits of having your coach and she crushed it . I've followed Kate , obviously , for quite some time and she is an absolute badass , someone that you really need to listen to . There's a reason why I'm getting Kate back onto the podcast today as we step into 2025 . If today's episode hurts , we are talking to you , all right , because today you're going to hear what you don't want to hear , but what you absolutely need to hear , and this is the very reason why I got Kate on . Kate has literally coached thousands of women in all sorts of areas as a certified nutritionist , as a PT doing everything and you will hear in today's podcast that Kate is going to call you out on your garbage and what you need to do is have a really close listen to this one in relation to what you need to do to actually turn up as a better version of yourself in 2026 . Because if you start today , the world will be a wonderful place moving forward Now .

Speaker 2 2:18

Kate started out as a on-floor PT . She's a certified nutritionist as well , and what she did was during COVID , she had to completely re-pivot her whole business and she went online . Kate continued to coach online for some time and now she's actually a business manager and manages businesses and just helps people to accelerate their businesses and is doing an amazing job in relation to it . Kate's someone that you really need to hear today . People , you need to listen to what she's got to say around making change and why you need to be making change , and not only that how to go about making change . Welcome back to the show , kate Morris . How are you ?

Speaker 1 3:03

Thanks for having me back a second time . I am excited for today's conversation .

Speaker 2 3:07

Now , Kate , you've had me on your podcast and I was truly humbled to be in your space . But I met you probably about three and a half years ago now through a mutual friend , in utmost admiration of you at the time with what you were doing and you were absolutely dominating it . Coming out of COVID at the time , Girl , you are a badass . You are absolutely smashing it now .

Speaker 1 3:29

Thank you . I can't believe we've known each other for three and a half years .

Speaker 2 3:32

I know it's crazy , isn't it ? Now I do hook into you in one way because I mean I've picked up so much from what you've said and what you've done along the way there as a 60-year-old man in a coaching space that's learning the way . Obviously , I've come from a background of policing , so it's a whole , entirely new space for me , and we spoke about this on your podcast and I'm loving it . But I have to learn from the young people like yourself as to what you're doing , and I do take an awful lot from what you say and I do take an awful lot from what you say . So for those people , kate is just a badass in what she's doing and how she's going about doing it . Kate , can you just do us a favour and reintroduce yourself and tell everybody where you've come from and what you're actually doing ?

Speaker 1 4:17

Yeah , so my name is Kate . For those who don't know me , I assume that there's a lot of listeners who have probably never heard of me before . I started out in the industry as a qualified nutritionist . So I went to uni , got my degree , started working as a clinical nutritionist and then realized very , very quickly that I didn't love the work that I was doing . I was working with a lot of people who were extremely unwell , whether they had heart disease , eating disorders , were struggling with obesity , you name it . I've probably dealt with it . However , I struggled a lot with actually getting people the results that I knew I could get them , because everyone who came to see me didn't want to be there . They were referred by a GP .

Speaker 1 4:52

I decided at the same time I was falling in love with my own training in the gym and I thought you know what I'm going to do my Cert III in foreign fitness with no idea to ever own a business or ever do anything to do with ever working in a gym or training other people . And then , as I started studying , I saw the gap . The gap between getting people results is the thing that everybody needs . Seeing somebody with accountability more often than you are not . So I decided to get into the gym , where I knew that I could see people help them with the nutrition , help them with their training and , essentially , build the body of their dreams right , whether this was losing weight , gaining weight , getting stronger , getting abs , whatever the story was . And then , pretty much from there , I moved into online coaching and I started business mentoring , which is majority of what I do at the moment . I still do online coaching , nutrition coaching but a big part of my business is helping other people build successful , scalable and secure businesses in the online space .

Speaker 2 5:40

And you're absolutely crushing it . I've been watching it . I get people to go over and have a look at what Kate Morris is doing and I will be putting all the links into the show notes anyway , Kate

Transforming Habits for Health and Fitness

Speaker 2 5:49

. But what I wanted to do was you had people who were sent to you . What was the common theme in a lot of people that were sent to you that were tragic , real problems ? What was the common theme in relation to starting them off , to getting them to where they wanted to be ? And I think you made some really valid points . It's not about just fat loss , is it ? A lot of the times it can be about building muscle , gaining weight or actually navigating health issues as well , can't it ?

Speaker 1 6:18

Yeah , absolutely . I think a lot of people . At the time when I was working as a nutritionist , a lot of the clientele that I was working with were older populations , right , so they had spent a very big chunk of their life having really poor food habits , food decisions and just really poor overall lifestyle choices . So getting somebody to change a habit that they have spent the last 35 or 40 years forming was quite difficult in one session and then not being able to see them again for three months , right . But the biggest thing that I noticed out of all of them whether it was somebody struggling with a really crucial health problem , a disease , whatever it was a lot of people just didn't believe that it was possible for them to make the change . They didn't think that they had the level of discipline , of consistency , of willingness to actually decide . Today I'm going to stop doing X , y and Z and then just fucking do it .

Speaker 2 7:14

I think this is so true that a lot of people must take that one step , because they don't believe that they can take that one step , and that one step will make the difference . Because I think what we see here is in social media circles today , we see eight-week transformations , don't we and you've been guilty of that and we've all been guilty of it ? An eight-week transformation I'll get you from point A to point B in eight weeks and you'll lose six kilos and you'll look absolutely fantastic . A lot of coaches in this space today are actually sharing images . It is an eight-week transformation , but it's about five of them back to back or it's over a period of 12 months . People get sucked into that . I think one of the biggest problems that we have with that is we need people to take a step and understand that it is literally just taking one step and then , building on that , what can you do today that is going to make a difference to your life tomorrow ?

Speaker 1 8:13

Oh , absolutely , and I also think that everyone needs to understand what I'm about to say , so , so deeply . The version of you that you are today , with the poor habits , the bad food choices , the lack of consistency , the laziness , the excuses , is not going to be the same version that loses the 10 kilos , the 15 kilos . The real work lies in yes , cool , you can be given a training program , you can be given a nutrition protocol . Whilst that is all important don't get me wrong to have the structure and the accountability , the real work lies in adapting and changing your habits and your lifestyle . You are not going to , with the shit habits that you have today , lose 10 kilos . That whole version of you needs to shift and as soon as you can like clock that and actually understand it , your whole health and fitness journey is 10 times easier . You will get the result 10 times quicker if you can actually clock that .

Speaker 2 9:08

Now clocking . That is exactly what needs to happen , because if people look at where they are today and they think that they can literally just find a meal plan or can literally just get some macros and go and change , that's not going to happen because you are still the same version of yourself doing that . What you need to do is start changing those habits . Where should someone start ? Obviously , everyone's got their own difference , but I'm talking a tired shift worker . Now you've coached shift workers . Where would Kate Morris with a tired shift worker ? I've got a mom that's got two children . She's working shift work , her husband is not a shift worker and working nine to five .

Speaker 2 9:50

Where does Kate Morris start ? Jenny , the shift worker that's tired and fatigued , where are you going to start her ? Because she has to make a change . She can't do it herself . If she could do it herself , she'd be doing it , wouldn't she ? I want to get into this because this is really , really important . You can't do it yourself . You need someone to put their arm around you and guide you and say , hey , you're doing a good job , this is right , and also to guide you slowly with your steps . So what is the step ?

Speaker 1 10:18

Obviously , first thing first is getting the support that you needed . If you are tired and you're fatigued and you're a mom and you have a husband and you're raising a household and you're working really hard on your career , do you have the time to figure out what you're going to eat tomorrow ? Probably not . Hiring someone who knows and has nutritional knowledge that can hold you accountable and remove the stress and overwhelm for you is going to be your best bet . Now , something that we say in the business world is like outsource all the tasks that you don't like doing because you know you're going to be successful in the ones that you can do really well . So if you don't know how to do nutrition , if you don't know what you're meant to be eating , hire somebody who knows how to do it . It's going to be a pure time collapse , meaning you're going to get to your result quicker and also you're not going to use that brainpower and capacity when you're already exhausted . Being a night shift worker , being a mom , right . The second thing that I would look at is your sleep protocol , so getting your sleep a hundred percent on track . Now , obviously this is hard , roger , you know way more about sleep with night shift than I do , but it is a hard thing to get on top of , especially when you're a night shift worker . However , again , hiring someone who knows how to do this is going to be the most beneficial thing you can do .

Speaker 1 11:24

Then the third thing I would probably look at is like where are you being lazy and making excuses ? Now , I know some people are going to listen and be like I'm a mom , I'm tired , I'm not lazy , blah , blah , blah and like yes , absolutely . But also , we're fucking human and innately whether we're a mom , whether we're not , whether we're a shift worker , whether we're not we are innately fucking lazy . We live in a world where technology is at our fingertips , everything is accessible and it's easy . We are lazy and that's just how we are .

Speaker 1 11:48

So I would be looking at where we are potentially complaining a lot , you know , scrolling and wasting lots of time on social media full of excuses and being really honest with yourself of where do I want to get to and what current habits , patterns and behaviors am I repeating that is stopping me from being able to get there . As soon as you can have that honesty with yourself . You've hired the coach , you've got your sleep on track , your fatigue and everything else is a little bit more managed . Where are you being lazy ? Where are you falling into your victimhood ? Where are you falling into the excuses and where do you want to get ? And what's stopping you from getting there right now ?

Speaker 2 12:20

People have to call themselves out on their own bullshit . They literally have to sit there and go . Is what I'm doing now going to get me to where I want to get ? No , so what do I have to do ? I don't know . So find someone to help you . These are very valid points that you make . Find someone who is going to help you to put simple things in place .

Speaker 2 12:41

I find that one of the biggest problems we have today is people just naturally drawn to their phone and picking their phone up and wasting hours and hours on it , whereas the benefit of actually getting up and going for that walk early Now we talk about shift workers and getting light People think that they have to track macros , get their food right , go to the gym , do all that . You don't have to do that . You can literally start by just going for a walk early , and this is where a coach with experience comes in that actually can say to you no , let's start very simply and work through . No , it's not an eight-week challenge and you may be with me for three or four months , but you will be in a much better position in six months time than you are in an eight-week challenge . What we're going to say today is going to hurt some people . It's because we're actually talking to you Now .

Speaker 2 13:33

The habits that I see that are horrendous is rolling over in bed grabbing your mobile phone and lying there in bed for an hour scrolling on that mobile phone because you got this . It's a habit . That's what it is . It's just a habit . You feel like you're missing out on something . If you were to get up , get that hydration in , get that early movement out in the daylight , you'd be surprised at the difference that it will make in your life . I know people have got kids and they have to get up and they have to get moving , but you can take the kids to school , drop them off , go for a walk and take yourself for a walk before you do anything else , and it doesn't have to be hours .

Speaker 1 14:09

No , and also there's so many ways around it . I mean I'm going to quickly drop something that my mom did that completely changed her world . Don't quote me the exact time age , but I'm pretty sure in 12 months she lost 30 kilos by not going to the gym . All she focused on was walking and her nutrition . 30 kilos in less than 12 months , which completely changed her life . Not only was she able to get her diabetes under control , but now she loves the way she looks . She's less self-conscious and she's more fit , mobile and active for her grandson right .

Speaker 1 14:43

So don't get it twisted that you need to do all of the things in terms of like . Yes , of course , going to the gym and weight training is important for longevity , bone density , osteoporosis , avoiding that later in life . We love that right . But don't think that you need to grab everything all at once .

Speaker 1 14:59

Focus on the small steps first , like getting outside and making time for yourself moving your body , like if you have kids , for example , and you have a partner who's at home sleeping , you could get up 30 minutes earlier and go for a 30 minute walk .

Speaker 1 15:11

If that's not accessible to you , you could buy a walking pad that you could pop at your desk every day . If that's not accessible to you , you could buy a mini treadmill for $70 on Facebook marketplace or $50 on Facebook marketplace and have that in the lounge room at night when you're watching TV with your family . So so many options , and the thing that stops so many people from doing it is either the lack of self-belief that they can actually achieve the result , or the excuses and the laziness , and that's the reality of it . We should have prefaced at the start of this podcast for the listeners that I'm very savage and very direct , but I've coached thousands of women like thousands and thousands of women over the last six years , and it's like . These are the patterns and behaviors that I have observed firsthand Night shift mums , non-mums , non-night shift workers it's all the same .

Speaker 2 15:56

Oh , totally . I interviewed Dr Ian Dunican during the week and he's done his PhD on sleep and performance in elite athletes and he's now specializing in shift work sleep and he's just released a book . But the interesting thing about that is and what he says there's no difference between sleep and performance for an elite athlete than there is for sleep and performance for a shift working person or anybody

Building Discipline for Health and Fitness

Speaker 2 16:21

. Because once we get the sleep right and this is the thing a lot of people say , I can't get my sleep right and they're reaching for medications and supplements and they're looking for the magic pills . There aren't any magic pills . I'm here to tell you , and Kate's going to tell you exactly the same thing , which is the reason why I've actually got her on the podcast , because I know she's going to call it exactly as it is . How many supplements are there that can actually support a healthy lifestyle ? None , exactly , there are none . There's none out there that are going to improve your sleep . And I always use James Smith's analogy here as well , kate , that if you've got your dog and you look at your dog and your dog's carrying weight , do you go and find it skinny tea and put it on skinny tea or look for a gastric sleeve . No , you don't what you do . Instead of giving it two handfuls of food , you give it one and then you take it for a longer walk . This is literally what your mom did to lose 30 kilos . She wasn't going to the gym .

Speaker 2 17:22

We all talk about the gym . The gym's very important for people to go to in time , because we don't want chrome rails on each side of the toilet so that we can get up and down on the toilet as we age . I had a conversation with my 85-year-old mum only a few weeks back home . My mum said to me I'm proud of you for going to the gym now and doing what you're doing now . She said because I wish I had started myself going to the gym . Had I have started going to the gym , I wouldn't be in the position that I'm in today . Now , my mom's still healthy , but obviously she gets muscle wastage . Sarcopenia doesn't eat as well . She eats very well and she's very healthy , but she's not got that muscle . Do we want to ? You can make all the excuses you want I'm a mom , I haven't got time but do you want chrome rails on either side of your toilet to get on and off the toilet ? Do you want to be carrying that weight and living with diabetes ? The bottom line is no . You need to make a fucking change yourself and really get in there and make a change , a simple change .

Speaker 2 18:27

Find a coach . Find someone that specializes , whether it's a female that you relate to , whether it's a male that you relate to . If you're a shift worker , I'm your man . I'm going to say this to you because I understand . I can coach with empathy . I can coach you with support and understanding of what it's like , but if you're a female that needs it brutally given to you between the eyes , go and find Kate , because she's going to tell you exactly how it is . What is it that women and men in this catastrophic world that they live in , these days , where they're gaining weight , their sleep is really poor , they're using alcohol , they're having drugs , they're having all sorts of problems , what is it they need to hear ?

Speaker 1 19:05

I think the thing for me and like something that I have focused on heavily whether it's my own fitness transformation for anyone who's listening I started off very , very underweight . I'm nearly six foot tall and I used to weigh about 40 kilos . I've had a transformation of putting on about 20 to 25 kilos over the last like four years . Right , so a more healthy , sustainable and optimal weight for the performance that I'm wanting to do inside the gym and in life . But I think for me , I always , always , always , take my clients through a process of becoming more disciplined in all avenues of your life .

Speaker 1 19:35

Right , if you can master becoming more disciplined , whether it's with your weight loss goal , whether it's getting outside and getting steps , whether it's getting more sleep you need to be disciplined in the very start to then be able to acquire that skill over and over and over and hopefully forever . Right , if you are somebody who looks at their health and fitness and feels overwhelmed or maybe they feel anxious about not knowing where to start or not knowing what to do , become more disciplined in actually changing what you're currently doing and you are going to reduce the overwhelm , you're going to reduce the anxiety because you're going to be able to have a plan . You're going to follow it . You're going to get good at flexing your discipline muscle , regardless of what life throws at you , regardless of how you fucking feel , regardless of the adversity that you've been given . It's like if you can stick to the discipline around getting to your goal , you're going to get there . Whether you get there now , in six months , a year's time , but you're always striving forward .

Speaker 2 20:27

And while you're striving forward , you are gaining momentum , aren't you ? Because as you're moving forward , yes , you might fall and land flat on your face , but then you get to stand up again and get going , you dust yourself off and you keep going . A lot of people fall flat on their face because they were moving forward and that's why they've fallen flat on their face . And the one thing that I do want to cash in on here as well , because you and Gemma recently discussed this on your own podcast , oi , let's Talk , which is an absolute beauty , by the way , I'm a male , I listen to it , I've been fortunate enough to guest on it , but there was a point that you and Gemma made that I don't think was made strong enough to us , and this is why I want to get you on to talk about this , and this is the confidence that you actually gain in every area of your life . I hope you're enjoying the show . If you are , please don't forget to rate and review once you've finished . This helps the show's reach enormously .

Speaker 2 21:21

And have you got my free e-book the Best Way to Eat on Night Shift ? Well , this is a comprehensive guide to the overnight fast , why we should fast and how to best go about it . I've even included a few recipes to help you . I've put a link to the e-book in the show notes . And are you really struggling with shift work and feel like you're just crawling from one shift to the next ? Well , I've got you . If you would like to work with me , I can coach you to thrive , not just survive , while undertaking the rigours of 24-7 shift work . I also conduct in-house live health and wellbeing seminars where I will come to your workplace and deliver evidence-based information to help your wellbeing team to reduce unplanned leave and increase productivity in your workplace . I've put the links in the show notes to everything mentioned . You can find me at ahealthyshiftcom or on Instagram at a underscore healthy , underscore shift .

Speaker 2 22:22

Now let's get back to the show . I interviewed Jack Hallows in relation to talking about , and he spoke about this as well . Jack Hallows in relation to talking about and he spoke about this as well when we drop off from the gym and when I say gym , I'm talking about movement , exercise , doing whatever we're doing , whether it's going for a walk early in the morning , going to the gym , doing a Pilates class , doing yoga , whatever you're doing , whatever your jam is , we're happy with , but it's the confidence that comes and where the confidence comes in so many different areas and I know you love to go to the gym because it helps you with your confidence in many areas . Can you just expand on that a little bit more as to how going to the gym increases your confidence in life full stop in so many areas ?

Speaker 1 23:05

How do

Embracing Confidence Through Body Image

Speaker 1 23:06

I word this ? I think people sometimes fall victim to feeling guilty for wanting to look better . We do live in a bit of a society at the moment where we don't want to focus too much on the way that we look , because then we become self-absorbed and then the beauty standards and all the things that are influencing us and like , yes , there is place for that a hundred percent . But also , if you're wanting to change your physique , if you're wanting to optimize the way that you look , because you know on the other side of that you are going to be more confident , go for it . Don't let other people say , why are you focusing on that so much ? Why are you doing things so heavily and like wanting to get abs or wanting to get lean ? It's like , if that's your goal , it is okay to want to look and feel your best at all times of the year , at any age , and I think that needs to be made very , very clear because women , specifically , we feel bad being like , oh , we want to lose weight . You look at Adele , for example , right the singer . She was overweight . She lost all of this weight . If you go and look at her comment , she gets absolutely railroaded for losing weight . You self-absorbed . How dare you lose this weight ? It's like she did it for her health and is getting hate for it . So if you're somebody who wants to change the way you look , absolutely full permission to go for it .

Speaker 1 24:16

And I truly , truly believe that if you focus on optimizing the way that you look in a way that you know is going to make you feel more confident , this is going to bleed out into every avenue of your life . You are going to be more confident in building relationships . More confident dating . More confident in the boardroom , doing a presentation in front of people . More confidence walking down the fucking street and not having to wear baggy clothes because you don't want to catch your reflection in a fucking window . You are going to be confident in holding conversations . You are going to be confident in walking into a room of people that you've never met before . It will bleed out into all avenues of your life . However , people get caught up in that oh , I just want to do it to lose weight . Oh , this is really vain of me . Oh , I need to spend time to do this . Oh , this is too hard . It's like this actually bleeds out into every avenue of your life and you're going to optimize everything .

Speaker 2 25:03

You don't have to go into a gym and smash yourself . I go to the gym and I just turn the weight over and I just enjoy turning the weight over and doing that . But whether I've changed in appearance or not is irrelevant to me . I just feel like I'm doing something and I feel quite confident . Now I'll be honest with you . I have two trains of thought in relation to this , and you know that I'm very different in this way . One is I feel that if you focus on the weight loss or focus on the fat loss , it actually can have massive impacts on you as well . It's your right to want to change the way you look , right . But I actually think if you change the way you feel about yourself and what you actually do and start looking after your body , then you start to change the way you look because you nourish it so much better with the way you do it .

Speaker 2 25:54

Now that sounds like a convoluted way of going about it , and a lot of clients that I have don't quite understand that . That if you change the way you feel , positive body image and negative body image are not opposites , right ? Negative body image is standing in front of the mirror and picking on yourself Now . Kate , you've been training for years . You could stand in front of the mirror , butt naked and pick the shit out of yourself if you wanted to , right , and absolutely . This nipple's higher than this one and I've got fat around here and my love handles and God , I wish my ass was smaller and you know what I mean . We all talk about things like that and we can do it easy , right , and I can do that as well . And positive body image is very different to that . Positive body image is being grateful for what your body's actually done for you . It's carried you through the day . It stood you in front of what you're actually doing . It's got you better from sickness . It gives you two arms to wrap around your partner . It gives you two legs to wrap around your partner as well . But let's not go there . But what I'm saying is it actually you're lucky that people have got this , and it's about being grateful and positive in your body image area . It's not standing there going , damn girl , you are smoking hot , right ? When you know that that's not quite the truth , right ? It's about thank you body , because I was sick and you got me better . Now you've been sick , right ? You've been quite ill . You've been to Bali recently and you've been quite ill , but you're sitting there a picture of health today because your body got you better . It looked after you , you looked after it , it looked after you and got you better .

Speaker 2 27:22

I think we need to practice more gratitude . We need to practice more positive body image and really get more in touch with what's going well in our life . Now it's their right to want to lose body fat and want to , but what are they trying to conform to ? You can actually start to feel confident by just going into the gym , walking around in the gym , feeling great just because you're there . And it's not about comparing yourself to the other chick in the gym or the other bloke in the gym . It's about being in that club . It's about going in there because I don't go into the gym to talk to anybody . I might acknowledge or say hi or something like that , or spot someone , but I don't go into the gym to have a conversation with people . I just go in there to do my thing . But you know what ? I recognize everyone and everyone recognizes me in the gym , and it's a nod and a wave . It's the confidence that you get out of doing that as well , isn't it ?

Speaker 1 29:06

yeah , and I also fully believe as well , if you focus on the way that you feel and I said this on my podcast if you focus on the way that you feel , all the aesthetic stuff is going to come along anyways , totally . And this is where it's like there's night and day , right , like I'm going to contradict everything I just said and then I'll probably contradict everything I'm about to say , because we're a fucking human and we can do that . But when you look at like training and getting to your goal physique , it's like you can absolutely want to change the way that you look and I think , all fucking power to you . You live one life and you want to look the best , feel the best , be the hottest version of yourself . Go for it .

Speaker 1 29:40

But then also , if you're that person who's right now super fixated on the way that you look , I challenge you to focus on the way that you

Taking Action for Health and Fitness

Speaker 1 29:46

feel , because when you focus on the way that you feel , the byproduct of that is getting up earlier , going for a walk , moving your body , lifting heavier in the gym , eating nutritionally dense foods that make you feel better and give you more energy . The byproduct of that is looking better , right , exactly , is sleeping better is feeling more optimal , whether that's losing weight or not . You are going to look at yourself in the mirror and go holy fuck , I look amazing , I feel amazing , I'm way more confident . So I think there's like caveats to everything , but I truly believe like focus on the way that you feel and that's what got me into the gym in the first place .

Speaker 1 30:16

I remember walking in on day one being like I can't push a five kilo chest press machine . I couldn't even push it off the thing . Then in three weeks I could push it . I did 7.5 . And then I was like , oh my God , I feel incredible and that's why I'm still training eight years later or six years later .

Speaker 2 30:31

Because going into the gym is measurable , isn't it Like ? Even if you're on a treadmill , it's about doing 30 minutes at this incline , at this speed , and then , all of a sudden , you've got to increase the speed , increase the incline to get the same result and you get better and better and better . That's what I love about it , too . What you've said is exactly right . I'm going to say this to the shift workers . You can say , oh God , I've had a really hard four days and it's been afternoon shift and I'm really stressed and I'm tired and lie in bed and scroll on your phone and say , oh , I'm going to listen to my body today and I'm listening to my body , and then roll over , go back to sleep , get up All of a sudden it's 11 o'clock and you're thinking , oh , can't be bothered , I'm just going to go to the couch and sit and watch something on Netflix and scroll on the phone . You've missed Netflix , you've missed the phone , you've done everything and , oh God , I've got to go to work soon , but that's not going to get you to where you want to go and it's not listening to your body , and the reason why you feel so shit and you've got no energy there is because you are not doing the thing . You are not doing what you need to actually do Now . What you need to do is you need to get yourself up at a regular time every day .

Speaker 2 31:41

Now , my shift working community come at me pretty hard with this , but as a shift worker , you still need to get up at a regular time within hours . Right , I was up this morning early . I've got radio at midnight tonight . I'm still up early and I will go through the day today . I will have a power nap this afternoon to get me through and I'll go and do radio tonight . My priority was to get up , get to the gym , do the steam room , do my hour , walk in the pool which is what I do on a Wednesday with a mate and then actually come home and work and interview Kate , and that's what I'm doing today . I don't lie around on the couch . This fulfills me , fills my cup and as I start feeling better and better , so you start moving more , and so you want to start doing more as well . Because it perpetuates , doesn't it ?

Speaker 1 32:27

Oh , absolutely , and it's a vicious cycle , right ? And I truly believe there is going to be a day and , as a listener , you're going to listen to this right now , and this day might be today , as you're listening to this episode , it might be in six months , but you are going to remember this there will be a day where you get sick of your own shit . You get sick of your excuses . You get sick of just listening to your body . You get sick of not loving the way that you look , or not feeling energized , or not being strong , or always having injuries . There will be a day where you get sick of your own excuses , and when that day comes , you're going to go . Why did I not get on top of this shit sooner ?

Speaker 2 33:03

I use the expression when the pain of staying the same outweighs the pain of change , then we change , because the pain of staying the same is shit and the problem is the pain of staying the same for the period of time that you're going to stay in .

Speaker 2 33:17

That means it's going to be harder for you to get out of it . Every day that goes by , it gets harder and harder and harder for you to come back from that particular point . And this is why you have to take a step today . And I'm not talking about this from a selfish point of view , from a business point of view either . I'm just talking about it for you , because I just want to see shift workers and anyone listening to this today take one step in the right direction to really help themselves to move forward and get better . My goal is to touch 1 million shift workers in 2025 , 1 million shift workers in some way , whether it's through podcasts , whether it's through social media , whatever it is I want to hit 1 million shift workers in 2025 . And if I can touch one of them in some way to make them change what they're doing and get them more healthy , then all power to me for that , because that's what my goal is .

Speaker 1 34:11

Absolutely and I agree . It's like it's not about business at all . It's about allowing people to see that it's possible for them , but also allowing them to change their life , like when I think about the work that I used to do as a nutritionist . I saw some grim fucking shit right , and I know what it's like to be on the other side when you are struggling very bad with your health not just gaining a couple of kilos , not just not feeling strong , like having morbid obesity , where your doctor is saying you will probably die from a heart attack , having heart disease , having an eating disorder . That's completely ruining and destroying your life .

Speaker 1 34:47

So when I look at health or fitness or nutrition , I always look at it through a health lens . It's like everybody has a million problems Life is busy , kids have to be dropped at soccer , I'm tired , work stressful , I'm anxious , whatever the story is , everybody has a million problems . Until you have one fucking problem and it's your health , then you don't care about all the other problems that you have , because you just want to work on fixing the health problem that you're currently facing , and a lot of the time it's either too late , which sounds morbid , or if it's not too late , it's 10 times harder to reverse because you could have just made small changes along the way .

Speaker 2 35:20

I think that's absolutely where we need to be today . People need to understand if you could get to your deathbed and revisit it , what would you do today to make that change ? Because you don't want to get to that stage . There's so many people that go I wish . You don't want to be that person that gets to that stage where you say I wish . And this is the message that I can't understand . And what I can't understand is a lot of my target clients and target audience are nurses .

Speaker 2 35:48

Nurses are nursing people back from poor health . A lot of them they're looking at and saying , oh , they can't help themselves . The problem is the nurse that's actually nursing them . They can't help themselves either . It's a massive problem because they think , oh , they're sacrificing so much . Shift workers as frontline health and first responders are sacrificing so much in their lives . They're not turning up as the best version of themselves for the health of other people . It's so selfless . But they're not helping themselves . They're just writing it off to that , thinking , oh , I'll do shift work for 10 years and then , once I get out of the shift work , it'll fix itself .

Speaker 1 36:25

No , it won't . Yeah , you have to take action now , absolutely .

Speaker 2 36:29

Yeah , that's fantastic . We'll wrap it up . We just want to get a short message out there for people to really find out what they need to do . They need to just make these one steps and we're into 2025 now , and I think the question that people really have to ask themselves today is do you want to be in this position , or worse , this time next year ? Do you want to be coming through Christmas and new year next year going ? I really wish I'd started today . That's the message , yeah .

Speaker 1 36:57

Yeah , absolutely . And also as well , look at it like we're in 2025 , it's a brand new year . What can you do every single day to be 1% better and work 1% harder towards the goal that you want to achieve ? Whether it's getting more sleep , whether it's losing weight , whether it's getting stronger , whatever the goal is , what can you do today to be 1% better and one more step closer to achieving that ? It doesn't need to be going zero to a hundred like a year's resolution . Right , it can just be , you know , writing a list of things that you're no longer going to do . I will no longer make excuses , I will no longer be lazy , I will no longer scroll on my phone for four hours , so you can actually start achieving the things you set out to do .

Speaker 2 37:34

My New Year's resolution , coming into 2024 , was to give up alcohol , and I stopped drinking on the 1st of January . I haven't touched it since . I can't begin to tell you , kate , how much better I actually feel for actually giving away alcohol , and I'm truly grateful for all of my friends , family , everybody around me that are supportive of that . I actually expected that I would be ostracized for oh , you don't drink . How do you have fun ? Well , caitlin's got the answer for that one how do you have fun with your hangovers ?

Speaker 2 38:05

But I think what is really great is giving it away . I just feel so much better and I've got more clarity in life . And I'm not dealing with that Now . I'm not saying that you have to make a New Year's resolution and start there . What I am saying is just make a decision to do something right for yourself and stick with it , and that's what I've done . And it only has to be one habit . And I think if people knew what you did every single day , if they knew , if they had a day in the life of Kate Morris , they would not be able to keep up . But that's not how Kate Morris started .

Speaker 1 38:36

No , not at all . And going back to the news resolutions , I heading into this year , into 2025 , I didn't make a news resolution . Everyone kept asking me what are your news resolutions ? What do you want to do in 2025 ?

Speaker 1 38:48

And whilst I believe in goals and I have goals I actually decided this year I'm writing a list of no's things that I'm no longer going to do anymore . I am not going to complain , I'm not going to make excuses , whatever the thing is right A big , long list of the things I'm not going to do , because when it comes to new year's resolutions and I'm going off on a little tirade for a sec but when it comes to New Year's resolutions , all we do is add more onto our plan . We're already really busy , we're already doing all the things and it's like let's just add 10 more unrealistic things that we can't achieve onto the plate . So this year , I decided I'm just going to remove everything that I know that I do . That keeps unquote proud of doing , and I just decided I'm going to write a list and that's what it's going to be , and I will not do all the things , because it's easier to take things away than it is to add more things onto our plate .

Speaker 2 39:32

I like that . I think that is really really good . We do tend to add further things on that we can't do or we won't do or whatever , and I think the more we tell ourselves something that we can't do , the more we actually want to do it , because it's human nature to want to do it . This is a good one , actually . I think if people sit down and they actually identify what don't they want to do next year that they're doing this year , what is it that they don't want to do , and actually target that , I think that's good . Another thing sorry just to go back to this as well One thing that I was really really pleasantly surprised in your podcast between you and Gemma as well , was how small your circle is .

Speaker 2 40:11

I'm sure that over your life you've gradually made your circle smaller and smaller and smaller . I know I have . At my

Selecting Supportive Friendships for Health

Speaker 2 40:18

age today I probably could count . Well , I can tell you I've got probably three good friends . You don't need more , do you , kate ? Because it becomes too much and you become so overwhelmed and you're in the same boat . I found that mind-blowing because I always thought oh , there's Kate Morris , she's got all these friends . Oh , my God , she lives this fantastic life . It's just not that way is it ?

Speaker 1 40:39

I have a very , very small , select circle of friends and it's purposeful , right . All of my friends serve a purpose to me , not in a way of like what they can provide for me , but what can they can provide to me in a friendship . So I have a friend who is not , you know , supporting me or is doing really bad habits and things that no longer align with the life that I want to live . They're no longer going to be a part of my circle . And I do find it very interesting this time of year . Everyone's like everything's so crazy . We've got dinners and everything on , and it's like I have dinners with my friends as well . But I'm in full control of it because I only have like maybe six friends max that are like in my close circle . Obviously , I have acquaintances as well , but in my close circle it's like six people . They're the only people I want to see .

Speaker 2 41:28

They're the only I love this . I always look at it what value add are they adding to your life ? You know , like you say , it's not that you want something from them , you do , but it's what value are they adding to your life ? Because once people are no longer value adding to your life , they are draining you . And I think what you need to do is you need to recognize that they are draining you if they're not value adding to your life . Now we've got people out there that have got . You know , I have friends call in on the weekend . Oh , just one Christmas party after another after another , exhausted . I don't want to do this , I don't want to do that and I go all power to you , but I don't . I haven't been to Christmas parties this year because I just don't have friends that are having them and we just are all working along and we're happy as we could possibly be . We're not turning up fake anywhere , we just do our thing and we just love it .

Speaker 2 42:19

And I think people say , oh , I don't know how to get rid of negative . Jenny , it's pretty easy . I learned this term as well . You just untie the boat and you just let it drift . That's all you got to do you just untie the boat . I love that expression .

Speaker 2 42:31

You don't have to say to a friend look , I'm sorry , Kate , but I can't spend any more time with you because you're just a droner , You're just Debbie Downer and I just can't stand it anymore . You literally just untie the boat and they will drift away . If they're meant to be there , they will come back , but if they're not , then they will literally just drift out of your life . But get people and put people in your life that support your values and your goals and support you in what you're doing , not people that look at you and say , oh , you can't do that , or what are you doing here , or whatever . I think that's probably a really good lesson out of this as well . Maybe 2025 is the year to reduce your circle somewhat and stop spending so much energy swapping messages with people that can't fucking help themselves .

Speaker 1 43:14

Yeah , and also , if you have a circle of friends who are partying and drinking and eating crappy foods and you're the person right now who wants to take care of their health , it's like you probably need to go out and look for people who are more aligned to your values and your morals and where you're going , versus staying in old , shitty friendships that you've clearly outgrown , or you maintain those friendships but you look for a new circle that you're going to spend more of your time with .

Speaker 2 43:35

There you go , boom . I think we'll finish off on that , because I honestly think that that is the line of the whole podcast , and it is because you can't be trying to change your body and being healthy and doing whatever you're doing if you're hanging out with people that are partying and doing all the wrong things all the time . Well done , kate . That's fantastic . All power to you . You really are someone who's such an inspiration to someone like me to watch . I want people to go over and find you and follow you . As blunt as you can be and the way you call it out . People see the good side of Kate and what she does and how she enjoys it . She loves her dog , she loves her man , she loves her business . She loves doing what she's doing . Most of all , she absolutely loves helping people and calling them out on their absolute bullshit , which is what I absolutely love about Kate and following Kate as well . Where can they find you , kate ?

Speaker 1 44:22

Just over on Instagram thekatemorris that's my business page . I also have my other Instagram account that is KateMorrisPT , for all nutrition and training stuff .

Speaker 2 44:31

I think the Kate Morris is probably the best one going . Kate , thank you so much . Now we do talk about this at the end of every single podcast . That I do because I truly value the friendship and I've just come into millions of dollars I wish . Where am I building the house for you ? I've told you that I have to build a house for you and it's for six months of the year . I don't remember where you said last time , but this time , where are we building the house for you ? You can take them on if you want . It's up to you . Take the doggos or you can just go yourself and just have some chill time or go with the girls , but six of the year you have to live in it . Whereabouts am I building it ?

Speaker 1 45:05

this is going to sound really left of field , but I feel like I want to be up in , like finland , wow , six months of the year where it's freezing cold , I have to watch the northern lights in a little cabin . I'm imagining you building me this cabin with a fireplace . Of course I can get little snow , yeah , snow , dog me around . I'd probably do six months there , cabin work from home perfect home , perfect cozy .

Speaker 2 45:26

I absolutely love it . I've actually got a friend that I'm following at the moment that's in exactly that situation , looking out at the northern lights from their cabin , looking out through the windows , and the photos are just unbelievable . All right , kate , thank you so much . I do really appreciate your valuable time and giving us the time and sharing your wisdom with our listeners as well , and the bottom line is do the fucking thing that's what we're saying and start it today . Doing something , seek someone out . All right , thank you , kate , and I will talk to you soon . Bye , there you go .

Speaker 2 45:55

That's Kate Morris . She's fantastic , isn't ? She Really does call it as it is . There's some great little nuggets in that one there , nothing that we need to revisit at this point in time . I think it was just a fantastic podcast .

Speaker 2 46:14

Most of you don't even get to this stage of listening to this . You turned it off , but if you're still here , thank you Really really grateful that you have got this far in the podcast . If you got any benefit out of that , please , I really do ask that you share it with your colleagues or to someone that you feel may need to hear it , and I'm sure there'll be a lot of people that you know that needs to hear this one . That's Kate Morris . Thank you so much for tuning into the show and I will catch you on the next one . Thank you for listening . If you enjoyed this episode , be sure to subscribe so you get notified whenever a new episode is released . It would also be ever so helpful if you could leave a rating and review on the app you're currently listening on . If you want to know more about me or work with me , you can go to ahealthyshiftcom . I'll catch you on the next one . You .