Vacation. Birthdays. Illness. Visitors. Travel. No time to grocery shop. So. Many. Kids. Activities.
We have goals, make plans and expect to eat all our veggies…and then real life happens. No matter who you are, when you start the journey to improve your health you have images of weekly progress and daily, measurable success, but that’s just not how it works. There are weeks when the choices are easy and 5 pounds disappear and you’re MOTIVATED! Followed by a week where you do everything right and you gain 3 pounds (WHAT?!). Then a week when you wonder why you started this and decide to eat like a 4 year old let loose in a gas station…and you don’t gain anything, but every part of your body hurts. Change is a roller coaster of emotions, hormones and our bodies trying to catch up. It can get discouraging when we don’t realize what’s going on because we’ve lost our long-term perspective.
When clients have the ‘AHA’ moment where they realize that their success won’t be linear…that ‘setbacks’ aren’t really setbacks, but just part of the journey…they’re suddenly free to keep trying without discouragement. They expect to gain 4 pounds each month around their periods and it doesn’t spaz them out because they know the water weight disappears in a few days. They know that a major step toward their goals means their bodies will plateau for a while as it adjusts to the ‘new norm.’ They know that when they splurge on processed foods that their bodies will hold on to water for 2-3 days afterward…and it’ll go away if they just jump right back into their normal habits. They know that their motivation will lag at certain times of of the month and year and they know how to fall back on practiced habits to get through those times. It’s all a normal part of the journey. For everyone.
Have you lost your long-term perspective? Do you feel lost in the tangled mess in the middle of progress? There’s a path through and it’s not as complicated as you think…I’d love to talk to you about your goals! You can message me on Facebook or contact me at kim@thrivenutrition.life
