Break the Cycle

My Christmas gift to you.. tough love :). Do you ask yourself why you can’t stick with that meal plan or exercise routine? Maybe you beat yourself up because you start and stop so many times throughout the year and can’t figure out why you don’t accomplish your health goals.. yet again. Maybe your goals are too big, you feel overwhelmed and not even sure where to start. Or maybe they are too small, not challenging and you’re boring yourself. I encourage my clients to start with their “why” before getting too specific on their goals. If your only reason to workout is because you think you “should”, you probably won’t stick with it too long. If your reason for working out is to set an example for your kids or decrease your risk for that disease that runs in your family, it will be easier to form a clear path to building the healthy habit of working out. How many times have you said you would start tomorrow, or Monday, or January 1st, or when things slow down. Life isn’t waiting for you. So many people try to accomplish their goals on their own. And while this is possible for some people, we are built for community. Accountability and outside perspective is often the push we need to truly make progress. “I can do this on my own. I don’t want to tell anyone because then I’ll actually have to do it. I’ll start going to the gym when I’m in shape. I’m too embarrassed because of ___”. Have you said this to yourself before? Because I have heard it before. In fact, I used to say these things too! I had tried quick fixes or diets in the past that never brought lasting change. Personally, I only saw real change in my life when I started spending time with people who were where I wanted to be, people who would push me and hold me accountable. I hired a coach, joined a fitness program with a group of women, learned about nutrition and eating well. I was patient with myself but remained consistent in working towards my goals in baby steps. I can honestly say the healthy habits I have built have changed my life. Not only has my physical health improved, I’m actually proud of my body, and my mental health is the most improved! We often wait for symptoms to appear before we will make any changes, but the reality is that most health issues start far before symptoms will appear. People will say “I feel fine” or “I don’t have any symptoms (or confirmed diagnosis) so I don’t need to change anything”. As one example - it could take YEARS for symptoms or signs of diabetes to show. I’m all about giving yourself grace and being patient, but as a coach I also will call you out when needed. You can come up with one million excuses not to do something but you really only need one good reason to do it. Motivation is a myth. If you’re waiting to feel motivated, you might be waiting forever. There are many things in life we cannot control and it’s easy to focus on only these things, but try making a list of all that you can control and actually take control of those things before they control you (what we eat, whether we workout or not, our habits, our attitude, etc). And with that, take some time over these last two weeks of the year (yes, I know it’s so busy BUT this is important) and reflect on 2022. Write down a few goals for 2023, not only what those goals are but HOW and WHY you will accomplish them; what resources/ materials/ people do you need in order to accomplish these goals. Be consistent, be disciplined. Don’t give up this time. You are worth more. - CS