Three Ways To Stop Sabotaging Your Health Goals

It’s the time of year when everyone has a health goal. As a coach with expertise in healthy habits and a bullet proof nutrition plan, I love it. However, I realize most don’t know where to start. Instead of it being fun and feeling confident to move forward, some people feel defeated and deflated by the end of week one. The road to health requires more than diet and exercise. The success you seek in your health is a desire for WHOLENESS.

Health defined is –beneficial to one’s physical, mental and emotional state. It’s about your heart and the heaviness it feels, and your body that has kept the score. It’s about the mental well-being that is fractured because of the toll the chaos has taken on you. So I want to take a minute to meet you where I meet all of my clients and ask you an important question.

What does HEALTHY look like for YOU?

It’s not about abs or even perfect nutrition unless that is what is calling to you. It’s about what you want and why you want it and then to work what is best for you. Here are three things that are vital to create the health you want.

1.Have a plan of action.

It looks like more than a meal plan, but a game plan. When a challenge arises, have a game plan for how you will succeed. I want to be strong. I want to leave a legacy. I want to feel my best to give my best. The plan to have that kind of life requires SUPPORT, COMMUNITY and STRUCTURE. As the challenges arise, you simply work the plan. This stops the spiral and enables you a path out of shoving chocolate down your face.

Stress will arise and science says this will trigger your desire for sugar. But with support and a structure, you can begin to recognize and work your plan. As a coach I often provide the “phone a friend” lifeline. When you are feeling overwhelmed, you can reach for accountability and remember that the cake doesn’t contribute to your healing or your hope or your health.

2.Set some boundaries.

The minute you decide to make a difference for yourself is the minute many obstacles show up. People will push back in the strangest ways, and you will suddenly feel obligated to eat all of grandma’s pies. Remember this choice is not about grandma. It’s about you. And you are going to show up with greater joy and be more fully present when you fuel your body according to your goals, plan and desires. It often goes back to question number one. What is healthy, healing and hopeful for you?

These are boundaries you must make emotionally for physical health success. When things start getting out of control externally that’s a good indication things are out of control internally. If boundaries are out of wack and you find yourself consuming or starving, consider taking a deep breath. What is triggering you that is causing you to be out of control externally? Then consider if this is an indication to stop. I care about your physical body because this is connected to your heart. Nothing really changes until we decide to direct our misguided craving to the one who is capable of changing it all. So set some boundaries with your sleep, your water intake, your food choices. What you are craving that is obsessive or excessive, it’s time to pause. One day doesn’t send you spiraling. It’s lack of boundaries EVERY DAY. Just make sure you are making the choice. And not allowing someone else to choose for you. You determine the outcomes of your physical choices. You will have misguided cravings. This week the issue is not what you are eating..but what’s eating you. When a craving doesn’t come from hunger, food will never satisfy.

3.Monitor. It’s super important to check in with yourself. I’m not one to advocate for a daily step up on the scale. But have a weekly way to pulse check your progress. It’s important to embrace your current reality. Avoiding or obsessing are both unhealthy and can sabotage your ultimate goals. Focus on the good. Take it a day at a time, and this week do something fun. Something that gets your body moving. Try planning an activity that’s physical. Not just for calorie burn, but for serotonin. You will choose better. Your perspective will shift. Health is not just about looking your best, it’s also about feeling your best. Taking care of your well-being is the catalyst for making other essential healthy changes. And for all of my clients, that’s the goal. That they level up in their faith, family and whole health.
 
I hope this helped you as I know many of you are on your journey. If you are not yet a client but would like to explore what healthy might be for you, set up a time to chat with me here.