Why is it that when we aren’t exercising, we frequently say F*&k It! It doesn't matter if I eat like crap.
How does that make sense? It's like since we aren't burning extra calories via exercise, that gives us the excuse to eat whatever processed, extra fried, sugar on the side, chemical shit storm stuff?
The truth is that doing this really screws with our heads it makes us gain more weight, be even more tired, and feel even more depressed and anxious than before.
A common fallacy is on Friday night we say: ‘Well my eating is down the toilet already, I might as well throw progress out the window for the rest of the weekend and start again on Monday.’
But guess what.... THAT only reinforces our negative thought patterns and causes an even bigger set back.
This type of all or nothing way of thinking is the exact reason why the general population, and you, may be gaining more weight every year.
We put soooo much pressure on ourselves to be perfect, and when we can’t (because hello! We are human after all), we just say screw it all. Why make any attempts to be healthy?
Soooo. If you're ready to DITCH PERFECTION AND MAKE POSITIVE CHANGES please keep reading for some tips:
BABY STEPS
First, realize this: No one is perfect. Not even bodybuilders. Did you know that after 12 to 16 weeks of extreme dieting, it is common for bodybuilders to put on a substantial amount of weight right after their competitions end?
Why? Because you can’t always be perfect or stay in a caloric deficit. It’s not healthy or natural and your body will rebel. Instead of perfection, the best advice I can give is to try to be better than you were yesterday.
Baby steps work best. I recommend picking one small change in habits, then work on it until it's just part of your routine, and then move on.
For example, most of my clients are actually not eating enough. Not enough calories, not enough healthy foods and definitely not enough nutrition. So the first thing we change about their daily habits is getting them to eat small, whole food meals every 3 or so hours. And what happens? They lose weight.
Then,once that becomes easy for them, we pick a new habit change, and so on. The result is they end up losing more weight than if they tried to be perfect all the time and they adopt new lifelong healthy habits that lead to keeping their weight off.
BEING FLEXIBLE, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT STRETCHING WELL AFTER YOUR WORKOUT
Life happens. Stress at the job happens. Injuries happen. Family emergencies happen. Falling off the healthy eating train happens. Plateaus happen. Drowning your sorrows in Taco Bell/McDonalds/ Fill in the blank crappy food HAPPENS (hopefully only occasionally though). Holidays, kids, travel, school, illness, fatigue, a-hole bosses, family, traffic, etc. It all happens!!
But they don’t have to get in the way of your goals. The trick is to know how to handle it when life happens. It can and it will. Expect it. Plan for it. It's 100% true if we ‘Fail to plan, we plan to fail.’
Figure out what keeps getting in the way (travel a lot for work), what it causes (meal skipping, extra alcohol, limited meal choices etc), and figure out a way to plan to beat it (ex. protein shakes on hand at all times, Lara bars in your purse, a small cooler of healthy snacks).
When you can’t make it to your workout that day (or because an injury stops you for 6 weeks), that is okay. You don’t have to gain weight and lose energy just because you have to take extended time off to heal an injury. You can absolutely stay on track with your progress when you would otherwise fall off.
----Bump up your healthy eating 90% of the time vs. the 80% when active.
----I bet there are other exercises you can do that don’t include your injury. Foot injury? Do more upper body work. Or, want more cardio? Try modifying a cardio fusion workout like PiYo. Start to think outside the box and be flexible.
KEEP IT REAL
Be brutally honest with yourself. Are you soooo busy that you can’t squeeze in at least 10 minutes of breaking a sweat to your day or is it that you aren't making your health a priority.
If you really and truly are unable to do even 10 minutes, is it a matter of something else is more important to you than completing even 10 minutes? And if so, you can combat this.
---My husband and I usually watch a show most week nights together. We sit down, cuddle and enjoy one anothers company. But, if I didn't get in a workout yet that day, I do it during the show. We are still spending time together, plus, I'm taking care of 2 priorities at once.
---For me, when I make up B.S. about why I can't be healthier, identifying the excuse, and thinking of alternatives is the very first step to making progress.
WANT LASTING CHANGES? NEVER GO ON A DIET
People who go on diets rarely plan on eating that way for life. It's "gotta lose 10 lb for the reunion", "I wanna be skinny for my wedding" and therefore almost ALWAYS gain the weight back (or more) once they stop following their ‘diet.’ The secret that people who lose weight and keep it off for life know is that they first must accept that they need to adopt a complete lifestyle change. It includes eating healthier and getting in some heart pumping along the way.
They also know they don’t have to completely give up eating foods like cookies, pizza, take-out, etc. They first must change their mindset. No food is "evil" or "bad" just less nutritious so they cut back on those items. They stop thinking "this is the last time I will ever have these cookies". Because they know they will allow themselves grace and eat that food again. This allows for that food to have less power over them and therefore they tend to have more control over it. They aim for eating healthy 80% of the time.
PICK ONE HEALTHY HABIT YOU ARE CONFIDENT YOU CAN DO EVERY DAY. LET IT BECOME A HABIT. KEEP THE HABIT. START A NEW ONE.
*Join a support group and get a free coach like a Like Me. Community is soooo important. You are not alone in this journey and there are new friends waiting to help you reach your goals
*Download a calorie tracking app, and log your food daily. Get to know what is in everything you eat. It might surprise you. It will also hold you accountable to what you are putting into your body.
*Download a calorie tracking app, and log your food daily. Get to know what is in everything you eat. It might surprise you. It will also hold you accountable to what you are putting into your body.
*Try to get in at least 10 minutes of breaking a sweat per day. When that gets easy, as 5 more minutes, and so on.Start writing down all the ‘excuses’ you give yourself as to why you couldn’t eat right or get in some exercise. *Watch for patterns.
*Be brutally honest with yourself. Not mean. Just honest. NEVER talk badly to yourself. It just feeds the negativity that holds you down in the first place.
*Aim for eating healthy 80% of the time. This means whole foods, high lean protein, high fiber, low sugar, unlimited veggies.
*On Sundays create a weekly meal plan. And use proper portion control and make sure the meals are balanced and therefore will fill you up. Also, incorporate treats and/or drinks into your meal plan. This way you don’t set yourself up for a complete over eating melt-down because you think you will never be able to eat junk food again. The all or nothing attitude sets you up for failure. At each meal, aim to keep a 40% carb, 30% fat, 30% protein ratio. An easy way to do this is thru a portion control system like the 21 Day Fix. Or their color coded Container System.
*Drink as much water as possible throughout your day. Think 64 oz is enough? Aim for twice that by keeping a gallon of water next to your desk, so you will always be refilling your water bottle.
*Eat tons of veggies.Veggies are way less calorie dense but are very high in volume so they'll help fill you up.
*Don't be afraid of fruit but limit your fruit to 2 or so servings per day.
*Stay away from sugary drinks and sodas, and stick to additive free, calorie free choices.
*Get enough sleep. Being rested plays a HUGE role in how easily you will be able to adhere to healthy eating habits and an exercise routine.
*Get in a positive mindset as opposed to negative. If you need help in this department let me know, I have a ton of suggestions for mindfulness apps and books to help.
******MOST IMPORTANTLY******
If this seems overwhelming and you can’t do all of these suggestions at once, start with ONE of them! One thing will put you in the right direction. Once that becomes a habit, then add in another. Know and expect to have good weeks and bad weeks. Just do what you can and be positive about it. If you fall off of eating healthy, get back to it as soon as you can.
AND DON’T QUIT TRYING just because you had a bad day/week/month. Just keep trying to be better than you were yesterday. THAT is your main goal.
P.S.
I would love to hear in the comments below why you think that we give up the moment we can’t be perfect? Do you think you can’t change your body unless you are perfect every moment of every day?
Because I’m telling you right now, your body and your mind will never be able to change until you STOP trying to be perfect.
