Looking back at my late 20s and early 30s I feel I was dieting most of the time.
And so were people around me.
All the time.
After having my daughter 6.5 years ago things just got worse. I realised none of the diets worked long term. Every time I lost weight, I’d always put it back on. The yo – yo dieting cycle was never ending.
The only way to move away from the dieting mindset was to do something different.
Dig deeper and really find out why I want to change.
The moment came when we went to park, my daughter was probably 2 years old, and she run away from me, wanting me to chase her.
I had zero energy to do that. I felt sluggish and unmotivated to do anything.
And that was pretty much the pivotal moment for me.
I need to be healthy and fit so I can run with her, chase her playing tag, climbing the monkey bars and playing frisbee.
I realised what I really want from my life.
Why is it important to me.
This was a really difficult exercise for me to do.
My purpose was no longer just lose weight for me.
My values became Health, Family & Happiness.
These are my values. Do you know what yours are?
To help you move forward, you need to identify you WHY. Your values and your purpose.
HERE are 3 areas to look into:
1.Identify your REAL WHY. Not only to fit into smaller jeans and lose weight. Dig much deeper. Why is it important to you?
Why do you want to change now?
Why is it different this time, to the previous occasions?
How would your life change if you made positive changes into your life?
How would you feel if you made those changes?
I want you to sit down and really think about this. Write down how do you feel now and how do you want to feel.
2. The ‘WHAT’
Once you identify your WHY, you need to look at the WHAT.
What do you want to change?
What habits do you want to change?
What habits are currently holding you back?
What habits do you want to replace with the new healthy habits to help you with your WHY?
3. The ‘HOW’
How are you going to get there?
How will you move away from where you are now?
How can you improve your nutrition habits?
How can you improve your activity level habits?
How can you improve your mindfulness habits?
How can you improve your workouts routine?
Base your answers for your WHAT & HOW around these 4 pillars to help you with your goals.
- Nutrition
- Workouts – Fitness
- Non – exercise activity
- Mindfulness.
This will help you understand where you are now and how you can move forward. Not just for 6 weeks, but for the rest of your life.
If your WHY is deep enough it’s easier to align your actions with your goals and your WHY. Even on the days you don’t feel like it.
This way you can create a routine to suit your current schedule and one you can sustain and enjoy.
The weight loss will become the bypass product of your routine and you soon realise you can be happy exercising and eating healthy instead of being miserable dieting.
Yes, you will have days when it feels like, ‘What’s the point?’ But overcoming those days and showing up for yourself on these days, is what make the difference between doing it for short them comfort or for the long-term benefits to improve the quality of your life.
Give this a go.
Write down your answers.
Once you understand where you are now and where you want to be, it’s to close the gap between the two places.
I would be really interested to find out how did you find this exercise so please let me know.
I hope this has helped you today.
Have a great week and as always feel free to get in touch if you want to discuss this or if you need help with identifying your WHY.
Petra