Although I hate typing this, here I go: summer is coming to an end faster than I want it to. For me, summer is easier to stay on track. So many fresh vegetables and fruits all over the place. Grilling our dinners of fish, chicken or vegetables. When it is cold outside I crave comfort food. And most comfort food is hard to make healthy! When it is cold I am less active because I don't like the cold, so I don't go out to jog or go down to the park or go on walks. I don't like winter and I am not looking forward to it. I find it interesting how many people tell me exactly the opposite, that it is easier for them to be healthy over the winter. They tell me that they have so much going on in the summer that they don't stay on track in the summer. They find it easier in the fall and winter. I think that is very interesting, and I am going to be honest, I find that as just another excuse. Because those are the same people that decide that it is too hard during the holidays to stay on track. The same people that find another reason in the spring to not reach their goals. There is always an excuse. There is no other word for things that prevent you from reaching your goals: excuses.
People tell me all the time they want to eat healthier. They want to lose some weight. They want more energy. They want to look better in their clothes, or drop a few sizes to get new clothes. But they also want all of these things without having to make any changes or adjustments in their life! Think about it. If you are looking for the next diet or the next best thing to come along and just work for you, then you aren't serious about getting healthy. You have to really want it, and I don't mean WISH it, I mean you have to WANT it and be WILLING to do the work. It isn't magic. It isn't easy. But it can be done, with a little work and dedication, you too can reach your goals. There is a difference in wishing you were healthier and setting a goal to be healthier. Setting goals means you are developing a plan and putting that plan into action. Think about how you have reached other goals in your life, wishing it to happen doesn't work.
So what is stopping you now? Those of you that used summer as your excuse, that you were too busy, had too many events and so on. Well, you were really looking at wanting to be healthier as a diet. Diets fail, we all know that. To make a lifestyle change you have to be willing to make CHANGES and you have to be willing to make some sacrifices, you have to be willing to learn how to make healthier choices despite what is going on in your life and around you. Let me say that again. You have to be willing to learn how to make healthier choices despite what life throws your way. So if you wait to start a new program because you have a wedding coming up, or because you have a vacation coming up, then you are still looking at this decision to be healthier as a diet. And again, diets fail. There is always going to be something or some event or some activity in your life, always. So you have to learn how to have a healthy lifestyle around those things. You have to learn how to face them and still be healthy. That is the major difference between diets and lifestyle changes. I tried every diet on the planet and I always lost and gained. It was a horrible cycle. I thought something would eventually work for me, but it didn't. It wasn't until I realized the difference in deciding to change my lifestyle, to learn how to be healthy and still have a very fun and active life, that is when I succeeded.
How do you do that? You start making small changes. You pick something you are going to change this week or this month and focus on that. Maybe that means you start with a healthier breakfast and focus on that until it feels normal and habitual for you. That means it is now your lifestyle to have a healthy breakfast. And you write it down. Yes, you write down your goals, you write down how you are going to get there, and you make a plan. Maybe that is as simple as using a food journal to set goals and track them. But you have to write things down to make them goals, otherwise it is still just a wish. Then you change something else, like lunch. And so on. If you don't even know where to begin with that, then I encourage you to sit down with a nutrition coach. Changing your lifestyle and being healthy doesn't have to be hard, but it is work. It can be fun and rewarding at the same time too. But you have to be ready to commit and to not let excuses stop you. You have to be willing to learn how to live a healthy lifestyle. The rewards are so worth it. We are given such a short time on this planet, why don't you want to feel your best every single day? If you are ready to start feeling amazing but you don't know where to start, please reach out to me. I offer free 30-minute nutrition consultations over the phone to help you develop a plan to a healthier lifestyle. Email me to set up your free 30 minute call. laura@fitnesswithlaura.com
So what is your excuse now? I bet you don't have one. :)
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