Do you have an "all or nothing" mindset that's getting in the way of improving your health? Let me share some examples and see if anything sounds familiar!
If you prefer to listen, you can do that here!
Scenario 1: The Guilty Eater
You see food as either good for you or bad for you, with very little in between. When you eat one of the "bad foods" like chips or cookies, you might say, "Well heck, I already ruined today, I'll order pizza and try again tomorrow."
Eating anything fun or comforting makes you say, "I've fallen off the wagon" and suddenly it feels difficult to climb back on.
Maybe you go a week or two with zero sugar, zero oil, all fresh produce, small portions... until you go to that football party on Sunday and THE FLOODGATES OPEN and now you can stop snacking. You go home mad at yourself.
Mindset Shift #1: Utilize the gray area.
Foods are not "good" or "bad" and they are not tied to our self worth. Some foods offer us more nutritional value that others, and this is more like a sliding scale. There is room for all of it in a balanced diet.
Sometimes we make decisions based on convenience or the situation, and that's okay. Sometimes we want to eat a veggie stirfry for lunch and chocolate for dessert. Sometimes we want pizza, but decide to reduce the cheese and add a side salad.
There is room in a healthy diet to make both nourishing and delicious choices. One delicious or fun choice doesn't ruin anything, and there's no wagon to fall off of (what is this, the Oregon Trail?)
Scenario 2: The Overwhelmed By Healthy
You know what healthy habits are, but the idea of developing them is overwhelming. You'd exercise, but you're having trouble carving out 45 mins a day for that workout you like to do or that 3 mile walk, so you just skip it.
You hear that eating more plant foods can improve your health, but you're a steak-and-eggs kinda person (and don't get me started on cheese platters). You don't think you could ever "give these up," so you write off the idea of plant-based.
Other thoughts that pop up might be, "I don't have time for healthy food prep," "learning healthy eating is too overwhelming," or "I don't really like healthy foods." These thoughts get in the way of making changes.
Mindset Shift #2: Tiny Habits make BIG impact.
Maybe you don't have time for a 45 min walk, but could you find 10? Could you go up and down your stairs 10 times? Can you play in the yard with your kids? Can you park in the back of the parking lot and hike to the store?
You're already cooking dinner. Could you add in a vegetable, or one more vegetable? Do that every day for a week and suddenly you've had 7 more servings of vegetables. Add a piece of fruit to your breakfast and that's 7 servings of fruit, too! If you aren't at the place of wanting to "give up" anything, then start from the place of ADDING.
Scenario 3: The Self-Doubter
Setting goals is for other people. Changing habits is for other people. I'm not really the "goal-setter" type, ya know? I like to go with the flow.
Making changes is hard and I'm in a really fragile place. I don't think you understand my story. I can't do anything else.
I've tried making healthy changes before and it didn't work, so I don't think I'll be able to do it now, either. I don't have dedication or self-control or (________)
I'm too busy/tired/stressed/overwhelmed/depressed/anxious/_____________
Mindset Shift #3: It's time to decide you are worthy & capable of good health.
I see you. I see that it's hard, that change is hard, that digging up motivation to go on when you don't have any is hard. I think I understand it much more than you probably realize.
Just because you haven't traditionally been a habit-changing person doesn't mean you can't be now. You're allowed to grow. You're allowed to decide that, in this scenario, you'd like to show up as a different version of yourself.
Go back to mindset shifts 1 & 2 and remember: the changes you start with can be tiny. They might feel insignificant at first, but they'll add up oh so fast.
There are tools to help you. There are coaches to help you (hi). There are friends, online communities, books and podcasts...
First, though, you have to start to change the way you are talking to and about yourself that is blocking your ability to make changes. You have to decide that healthy changes will be of value to your life (your mental health and clarity, your physical health, your energy, your confidence) AND that you, my dear, are worthy of having those effects.
You are worthy of feeling good. And you are capable of making healthy changes. One tiny step at a time.
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I think I am a combination of 1 and 2! It depends on the day! I also am trying to abandoned the idea of using sweets and treats as a reward for a hard day, stressful time, or eating healthy all day.
I had all 3 bad examples in my life. Thankfully (with your help!) I have switched to the more healthier and happier approaches. Overall I think it’s remembering we’re human and just trying to figure out life…..so we need to give ourselves some grace! 💜