Baby Steps Can Still Help You Reach Your Goal
When I work with folks I talk a lot about making small, sustainable changes - baby steps - rather than trying to make all the major changes all at once. I get the desire to try to make all the big changes all at once because we think it's going to get us to where we want to be faster. Whether its weight loss or health or whatever, we tend to think if a little/slow is good then a lot/faster is better!
But, how often have you been motivated and had a fire lit under your butt, say to lose weight - you make a plan... you’re going to completely change how you eat, you’re going to wake up early everyday to go to the gym before work. You’ll walk on your lunch hour, give up alcohol and be at your goal by…. Only to get stressed and overwhelmed and TIRED and then the whole plan falls apart and you’re right back where you started?.
I know we all want results yesterday, but there really is no rush...we have our whole lives to get to where we want to be. I want you to enjoy the process and make the changes in a way that makes sense for you and your life! In a way that's lasting! I don’t want you having to put in a ton of hard work to meet a goal but not have those things be sustainable.
Way back when, I was a Pepsi fiend. It Was pretty much all that I drank period. - and I’m not talking the diet kind either - the full sugar version. Occasionally I’d have orange juice with breakfast but more often than not Pepsi was what I drank - all.the.time! Is it any wonder that I struggled with my weight??
Once I decided I wanted to cut back. I went from having 4-6 cans a day to 2 a day. Then when that felt doable I went to one a day. Then I started just having them when I went out to eat - which was still several times a week. It took a couple of months to wean off them but I was finding a way to make it work for me. Eventually I started to realize that when I did have a soda I didn’t feel great afterwards. I’d feel bloated and ironically, dehydrated afterwards. At that point it became very easy to just give them up altogether - voluntarily! And I didn’t even miss them!
It's now been probably about 12-15 years since I’ve had a soda and water is my drink of choice.
I see so many people trying to cold turkey away from things that they love and are so used - and while that can definitely work for some (and may be necessary when it comes to some things), It seems for so many that white-knuckle approach is often short-lived.
It's so important to me that my clients can learn to make changes in a way that's not a struggle and that works for them in their lifestyle. Sure I can tell you what *I* think you need to do and how *I* think you should do it. I could give you a list of rules with a bunch of do’s and don’ts but if changes aren’t made in a way that fits for you it's not likely going to last. I would rather work with you to find a way for you to make the changes you want to make in a way that you find doable. Even if you baby step the progress its still forward progress!