THE BLOG
Picture this. It’s 8:48 am. Today is Saturday and it’s going to be a LONG one. Your son has a baseball game at 10 am, your daughter’s tennis tournament begins at Noon, and this evening you are volunteering at a fundraiser for the student mentoring group you have been a part of for years. You are in this midst of transforming your life, having lost 10 pounds in the last two months with 10 more to go to reach your goal weight. The idea behind your recent behavior changes is to stay active and healthy so that you can continue to show up fully for all the people who count on you. And…
Meal Prep is not always to most glamorous, but it helps us achieve our goals
You have a choice to make at this moment. All of that other stuff, the day and the tasks and what might transpire, the success of those things all comes down to this choice.
Option 1: Make your coffee and smoothie and prep your food for today. Up to this point, you’ve been doing great with your daily smoothies. Spinach, banana, almond butter, dark chocolate, flax seeds, protein powder and almond milk. The coffee feels like an added bonus, and the last container of Jambalaya with rice that you prepared earlier this week is waiting in the fridge. You can pack your lunch box, throw an apple and some nuts in there with it, and be ready to take on the day. This is the plan I created that will bring me to my goals, so I am going to stick to it!
Option 2: You can skip all the prep and get a little bit of work done this morning. It will feel great to go into the work week not having to worry about prepping tomorrow. On the way to the game, you can stop at Starbucks and grab a latte and a breakfast sandwich, at least there’s plenty of protein! Lunch at Jimmy John’s will please yourself and the family and at least hold you over through the event. I’m not sure what they are having at the event, but I feel confident making decent decisions. Besides, maybe these food choices aren’t as great for me as option 1, but after having smoothies and jambalaya for the last 5 days, it’s time for something different. It’s just one day, it’ll be fine.
What do you choose?
It’s easy to get caught up in our own minds about the decisions we make. We can choose if something is fun or not. We can choose if having the same thing each day is boring or not. When it comes down to it, though, sometimes we have to make the choice that’s “boring” in order to achieve our goals and enhance our internal frequency. What this comes down to is will power and determination to achieve your goals, so that you actually see the results you want instead of spinning in circles. In this blog, we will delve into 5 strategies for doing what MUST be done in order to accomplish goals and achieve visions (even when we don’t necessarily want to do the things that will get us there).
When we reach the top of the mountain, the thought of the work we put in to get there becomes pleasurable.
Create a Wellness Vision: When I work with my coaching clients, one of the first things we do is create a wellness vision. A wellness vision is a compelling statement of what life giving, health promoting behaviors we do on a regular basis. It’s written in first person and present tense, honing in on the mantra that we must assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled. Creating a vision is a process that takes into account our strengths, motivations, environments, resources, and past successes. It is a guiding narrative of who we are, what we do, and how we do it.
Create Goals: I have mentioned goal creation more than a handful of times within blogs and podcasts, because it is SO important for success. Creating goals in SMART (Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Time-bound) format helps us stay on track to incrementally see progress toward realizing our vision. Great goals feel achievable but also stretch our abilities and push us out of the comfort zone. For example, when I started my weightloss journey my vision was to get to 220 pounds. My first weight related goal was to get to 300 pounds (I started at 375 pounds). I knew I had to get below 300 to realize my vision, and at the time getting to 300 felt realistic and achievable.
Find External Support: This is the piece of my journey I wish I would have realized earlier. Having some sort of external support structure is crucial for so many reasons when you are trying to make transformation. First, and most importantly, having someone you can bounce ideas off of and run new strategies passed is so important to continue on the right path. I personally went through an insane amount of trial and learning to develop sustainable strategies to improve my health and wellness, and having an expert to help guide me would have expedited this process. Second, having someone who has been there and walked the same path you are on will keep you motivated and hold you accountable. Sometimes we need someone to help get us going, to call us out when we are out of sync, or to just be there and hear us out when we are having a tough time. This is why I have dedicated my life and career to becoming a health coach, because I have excellent insider knowledge when it comes to food addiction, weight loss, and effective movement strategies to catalyze results.
Reflect on the Process: This is another piece of the puzzle that I see people forget so often. Reflection is so important for us to get an objective view of where we are at and what we have already tried. Taking an honest account of our current position and the choices that have led us there gives light to what direction to turn next. It’s been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Keep track of what you’ve tried and embrace experimenting with new strategies to keep on growing.
Repeat: When it comes to transformation, time is the benefactor of results. When we look at the big picture, whatever ailments we are experiencing are more likely than not caused by events that built upon one another over the course of time. In my journey, it took me over 14 years to put on an extra 160 pounds and find myself in a place of extreme discontent and sickness. When I started my journey, I knew it would take time to sustainably transform my body and my life. Losing the weight took 6 years, and I am now in my third year of maintaining my new reality. It’s a lifelong journey, one that is ever evolving and changing. My wellness vision has changed many times, I have had countless goals, and I have had several different people who have supported me in my journey. By continuing to reflect and build my understanding of what I need to keep growing, I have found myself on a road filled with joy and gratitude.