The Emma Guns Show

Right, we're in the hardest part of any change-making - the bit where it gets worse before it, hopefully, gets better. Changing my diet and fitness regime at the same time has meant learning lots of new lessons, perhaps more importantly, unlearning a lot of what I thought be true, and holding on tightly while the turbulence of change has me desperately wanting to 'eject'.

What I keep coming back to is that what worked for me before had stopped working and a new approach is the best way forward. Even though it's tempting to go back to what I was doing before, that would mean getting to the same place I was without any clearer idea of how to get closer to my goals.

Anyway, it's all a bit unsettling, weird and strange after a few years of feeling comfortable and confident in how I ate and trained. I continue to trust I'm on the right path though...

Also in this episode; my thoughts on the Beckham family drama, why the Queer Eye fall out is indicative of a bigger issue and my opinion on GLP-1s that might make you hate me.

Please do head over to Substack to let me know your thoughts. It's where we can all chat about the topics in the show.
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Do you immediately assume that doing less equates to being lazy? More than that, do you feel that if you aren't constantly 'on' that the world will assume you aren't a motivated, successful, go-getter?

Over the last few weeks, I've been a guinea-pig in my own 'what's the worst that can happen if I do less?' experiment and the results, so far, have been surprising. Not least because, truth be told, I have created an identity around going above and beyond, over-delivering and always being poised to pounce on the next idea that to make the decision to absent myself from that sense of urgency has been, dare I say, uncomfortable and unsettling.

Whether a down-shift in perceived effort is a good thing is something only time will tell, but nearly a month into this effort, I can definitely tell you what it feels like to consciously 'do' less and how that has been showing up.

It hasn't been particularly comfortable and, as someone who has also responded to my internal Sergeant Major immediately, to suddenly tell that loud, shouty inner voice 'not today' or 'not right now' has led to a fair amount of low level guilt.

Doing less has felt like choosing laziness.

However, doing less via conscious choice as opposed to apathy has changed the texture of my days - even this soon into the experiment. I'm practising this new, slower approach across work, nutrition and training and my one observation across all three is that I feel far more connected to all my tasks and less knee-jerk and reactive. More on this in the episode.

My main takeaway is that this reframe means I'm no longer living in a state of low-grade urgency and the knock-on effects of that have been pleasing so far...

Have a listen and let me know what you think of this experiment, whether you're trying it alongside me or whether this has made you look at your workload differently. Let's chat in the comments over on Substack...

Hey! Why not share your thoughts and insights to make your listening experience even better. Complete this listener survey to tell me what you want to hear: http://bit.ly/theemmagunsshow-survey
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Have you been sold a lie?

What if doing more is actually a fast track to achieving less?

You know how it goes, you find more time in your schedule, you've become competent at a certain amount of work and so your instinct is to fill the time gap, add more to your workload and generally max yourself out.

I'm not wrong, am I? Women especially have been targeted by a culture of success meaning a side-hustle, having some sort of brilliant entrepreneurial idea that'll make millions and being able to do everything perfectly in all corners of our lives. Yep, we're all expected to be able to do our own accounts, bake a Bake-Off quality birthday cake with no notice and maintain a fitness regime that requires hours in the gym.

It's. All. Too. Much.

So, in this episode I look at the ways in which you can still get everything done but without the accompanying panic, stress, cortisol spike and general urgency that we've been conditioned to lock into in order to appear, and feel, like we're doing things properly.

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It's not that I've been going wrong, as such, but after eight months of effort towards body recomposition, I've had to acknowledge that something wasn't working. I'm not mad or upset because, ultimately, I've maintained my 50lb weight loss. However, if you've set your sights on a goal and after months of effort, you are no closer, it's only sensible to take a look at your output and see what you could be doing differently.

The plot twist here is that my new approach actually feels like doing less.

But, if you don't try you'll never know and as much as this is a huge trust exercise, I am also hopeful that this does work. To be more specific, I really want this to work because if it does then it means there's more than one way to skin a cat (horrible expression, but it's universal) and I can finally let go of the idea that the only way to get to where you want to be is to go at it full pelt until you eventually fall over.

As it turns out, this whole new approach has come at a time when I think I need it most, and not just when it comes to my training, but let me know what you think and if you have any examples where doing less actually got you more...

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It's natural to get to the end of the year and assess and appraise the 12 months that have just passed. As someone who has, for a few years now, found the 'new year, new you' and the whole resolutions/manifesting/visualisation/vision board culture borderline offensive AND ONLY TARGETED AT WOMEN, I haven't indulged too much in the idea that I need to make huge changes.

However, 2025 has involved a fair few realisations, epiphanies and general 'what has worked before is no longer working now' and it's become clear that it's time to try a different tack.

But what does that look like and, as someone who has been programmed to do more and just 'up the effort' when you want better, bigger and more results, is it time to embrace an entirely less 'throw everything at it' approach?

I'd love to know what you think of this episode so let me know by DMing me on instagram where I'm @emmaguns, commenting underneath this substack post (and don't forget to subscribe) or emailing me at [email protected]
Hey! Why not share your thoughts and insights to make your listening experience even better. Complete this listener survey to tell me what you want to hear: http://bit.ly/theemmagunsshow-survey
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