“I’ll start on Monday….”
Is that a common theme for you?
At the start of every week, there’s that renewed sense of promise…
the first page of a new copy book.
It feels incredible.
The motivation, the excitement of a new plan, the definitive direction of the change you are so desperate for…
But I’m sorry…it’s not discipline.
It’s DOPAMINE!
That feeling you get from the novelty, the structure …the certainty that
‘this is it…this time it will work’….
It’s brain chemistry.
Life kicks off, a child is home from school, work stress ramps up, the in laws come to stay for a night….
Hunger gets louder, fatigue has you scarfing half a pack of Maryland cookies on the couch on a Wednesday night with a sauvignon blanc…
And by Thursday morning, you’re promising that next Monday will be different again.
This failure isn’t yours!
You’re not weak!
You’re not lacking motivation.
You’ve been sold a lie and told that all you need is to work harder …
and THAT is supposed to be enough to fix everything.
I’m here to tell you – it’s not you….its them.
They were wrong. Restriction triggers;
- Increased hunger hormones
- Food preoccupation
- All or nothing thinking (we call this a fixed mindset)
- Emotional and physiological urgency around eating
You body isn’t failing ….its protecting you!
If dieting worked…you would be able to sustain it long term!
…and you wouldn’t have to restart every Monday!!
Here are some of the major changes you could make that don’t include restriction:
- Set measurable goals based around behaviours: Ask yourself which behaviours do you want to see yourself doing long term. List them out. But be realistic. If you want to run 10k every day but you work a full time job and have a young family…how realistic is it to plan for that.
- Understand your current situation: Analyse your current environment, lifestyle and demands. What do you need to prioritise right now?
- Develop strategies and objectives: Start with one change at a time – if you change everything all at once, your strategy is going to fall apart at the first hurdle.
- Develop tactics and action plans: What happens when plans change, what happens when you have to cancel training, what happens if you can’t get out to do the shopping for dinner…planning for challenges clarifies how you will take action instead of resorting to short cuts that don’t serve your needs.
Want to learn more about setting realistic, achievable goals?
Pop me a message or book here for a call.
