Why Do You Eat Well? Building Your Mindset to Stay on Track.
Is there a magic number you are hoping for on the scale? To fit into your favorite jeans? To feel more confident? Is it to live longer? To have more energy? Improve athletic performance?
Finding your deep-rooted “why”, plays a huge role in your adherence to your healthy lifestyle.
May I offer some advice? Choose a goal that is related to performance, quality of life, or health. When you set your focus on a more positive goal over a negative goal such as “to lose weight”, “to be smaller”, “to look better” you are more likely to stick to the plan and have more sustainability and enjoy the process.
Focusing on a larger positive goal will help you find healthy small goals to aim for daily. These daily healthy goals will compound into achieving that big goal you have set.
Here are some examples of more positive and larger goals to consider;
· My goal is to do a pull-up or to complete X amount of pull-ups.
· My goal is to lower my LDL (unhealthy) cholesterol.
· My goal is to live a healthy energetic life.
· My goal is to run a marathon.
· My goal is to qualify for Fittest of the Coast in CrossFit.
· My goal is to keep up with my kids.
Do you see that none of these examples have to do with restricting foods, asking for less of yourself, or negative self-talk? However, all of these goals will require fueling your body with quality foods, resting, consistency, and proper hydration. Choosing a goal that asks for performance and health over body composition yields a more positive experience and better health.
Taking this a step further, let’s say your goal is to run a marathon, now let’s set small, daily/weekly goals to achieve so that over a certain period we will achieve the larger goal.
· I will drink at least half of my body weight in ounces each day.
· I will train 4 days per week.
· I will aim for 7-9 hours of sleep each night.
· I will limit my alcohol consumption to 2 drinks/week.
· I will not skip meals; I will focus on fueling my body both pre and post-workout.
· I will eat more vegetables each day.
Over time, these small goals become habits, and these habits will deliver you to the result you have set out for. (Can I get a hallelujah?!)
When you are struggling with motivation and adherence, remind yourself why you want to run the marathon and what it will feel like to complete the race. Think about the details of the race, the joy, and excitement of the day, and celebrating your hard work. Use this technique to ground yourself back to when you set your goal. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t however, it will help motivate you to get back on track if you lost your way for a moment.
My big goal changes over the year however, for the most part, I find value within these two;
1. Focusing on getting stronger and improving my Olympic lifts (Snatch, and Clean+Jerk)
2. My hormone health. I have struggled with acne and I took hormonal birth control for 15+ years. I am still working to balance my hormones. I continue to strive for a lifestyle that can better support my hormones so that I can feel my best.
These two goals keep me on track most of the time. Knowing that these are the two items I value for my health helps motivate me to make better decisions. For example, if I have a hard training session scheduled for the following morning, I won’t drink alcohol the night before. Also, I prioritize healthy foods because I want my body to heal, recover, and build muscle from heavy training sessions, and avoid inflammation and injuries.
Take some time and consider what matters to you, what will add value to your life. Then focus on your positive goal, commit to daily healthy habits, and reap the reward.
Discipline is freedom!