Let's Make Healthy Changes - Part 1
Why is it so hard to change?
There’s one very important truth we all need to recognize before we make any health changes. And it’s this –
We don’t behave rationally when it comes to our health.
That rational part of your brain that really wants to exercise more or eat healthier can make a lot of great plans, but in the moment, the moment when you’re making food or deciding to exercise, is NOT driven by rationality.
It’s driven by emotions and the emotional part of our brain is MUCH stronger than the rational part.
We can’t expect to change just because we want to, BUT! We CAN create change in the present moment just by engaging with positive feelings or negative feelings if we don’t do it.
It might seem too simple, but it really works :)
For example, sometimes I can struggle to exercise, even to go to a yoga class I really enjoy. I’ve found a studio I love that’s only 5 mins from my house…but sometimes inertia gets the better of me. I just want to stay in my warm and cozy house.
To gain the momentum to put my coat and boots on I first connect with why I love going to this studio. I remember how nice it is inside the yoga room, how lovely the instructor is, and how good I feel when the class is over. Ahhhhhh….
Sometimes that works perfectly and I’m quickly getting ready for the class…but other times it’s not enough to motivate me out of my cozy house. Usually, my mind reminds me of how hard it can be and I hear “you don’t need to do that today”.
So, then I shift to remembering the negative consequences of going to the class, like “the next one will be so much harder if I don’t go to this one” and “my knee and back will start to hurt again if I don’t stretch them out”.
That usually works :).
I think it’s important to remember that our health decisions aren’t made out of our rational mind. It may be that our rational mind dreams them up, but it’s our emotional body that makes the moment to moment decision.
Another way to engage your emotional side is to engage a friend. When we have someone else counting on us to do this too it makes those moment to moment decisions so much easier.
Don’t be hard on yourself if you struggle with those moment to moment decisions, instead engage your emotions and you’ll have a much easier time. And celebrate every win! Connecting with positive moments is much more effective than feeling guilty when we don’t accomplish what we had hoped.
If you want to learn more about the research behind this idea, check out this TED MED talk
You be you
A healthy life happens in small little decisions each day. And in small little changes over time.
Change can feel so hard and overwhelming! I get it, I’m not a natural changer…I usually need to create some sort of trick or hack whenever I need to change something. But it works! I think it’s important to know how your brain and body work and be okay with what it needs.
To find what might work for you now and in the future, look into your past. When have you made a change (diet, exercise, any habit) that worked really well and was easy? Try replicating whatever you did to create that win and there’s a VERY good chance it’ll work again :).
I struggle with big changes, so I stick with small ones. I struggle to remove foods from my diet, so I focus on adding foods and letting them squish out the other ones. I find following recipes exhausting, so I only do it when it’s something I’m excited to cook. I don’t see these as weaknesses, they’re just me.
What do you need or like? What changes have you made that have felt easy for you?
Use that as a guide to find what YOU need to create the changes you’re looking for. Don’t reinvent the wheel or hope you suddenly become someone who’s amazing in the kitchen. Just be you.
Why do you want this?
Our rational brain can have a great idea, but our emotional body might not be on board. When that happens those changes can be a big struggle.
We go through most of our day subconsciously, we’re not fully engaged in every task we do. Like when we’re getting ready in the morning or making breakfast. We’ve done that task so many times that we’re on autopilot, and that lets our mind wander onto other things. It’s in these moments that our emotional body is in charge.
When we try to change something, especially something in our regular schedule or lifestyle, it means that we need to hijack these autopilot moments and stay fully conscious with the new habit we’re trying to institute.
This is EXHAUSTING! Plus, we’re in a race against our internal energy. This new habit needs to become something so ingrained we can do it on autopilot BEFORE our energy and willpower run out.
Wanna know why most diets fail? This is why. It’s not a sign of weakness, it’s just a part of being human.
But, there IS a way to work around this to make real change – we just need to get our emotional body on board.
You need to have a reason for doing this that’s more than just “because I should” or “I want to lose some weight”. You need a deeper, more emotional reason.
Like –
I want more energy to play with my kids or grandkids
I want to feel better so I can work on a creative task that I really enjoy
I want to do something I’ve never done before, like run a marathon or hike up a mountain
When we have an emotional reason, it becomes easier to wake up out of autopilot and do that new habit. And, because you’re not using a ton of energy fighting your emotional body you have more energy to put toward the task.
If you want more info on this idea, check out this webinar recording. I talk about this at about the 15 minute mark <3.
Make it EASY and start small –
Life is hard enough as it is, a healthy lifestyle doesn’t need to add to your stresses.
Even if you feel you need a full diet and lifestyle overhaul (that’s where I started too), don’t do everything all at once. Start with what’s easy and go from there. Any changes that look so hard they feel almost impossible will start to look a lot more manageable soon. I’ve seen it happen many times.
In my first year or so in practice, I met a very lovely woman. Like me, she loved sweet foods and she had a lot of white sugar in her diet. My recommendations for her included a gut bacteria cleanse in the future, and when she saw it, I could tell that it seemed impossible for her. I assured her that we wouldn’t try it until it felt easy. I thought it would be in about 6 months or so.
We slowly changed her diet, replacing white sugar for healthier sweets and balancing her blood sugar with a new breakfast and lunch. She was feeling fantastic!
About 3 months in she asked to see that cleanse again. In shock, she said, “so, all I really need to do to follow this cleanse is to find a different breakfast…right??”. Yup, that’s it.
In 3 short months, she made enough tiny changes that a cleanse that seemed totally impossible quickly became doable.
Small changes might feel frustrating when you feel like you have a lot to change. It can feel like nothing is happening…but A LOT is happening. I find a chunk of my job is to remind my clients where they started because it’s easy to forget how far you’ve come in a short time <3.
Easy changes for the win! WOO!
Think about obstacles ahead of time –
Are there moments in your day that you could use a little reminder? Or do you have some stumbling spots that happen over and over?
If so, instead of stumbling, think about a solution ahead of time.
For me, late afternoon has always been a stumbling spot. I want something sweet around 4pm and chocolate is usually calling my name. I feel better when I have fruit instead…but I forget if I’m in autopilot.
So, in the morning, when I’m bright-eyed and bushy-tailed (yes, I’m one of those annoying morning people…) is when I prepare for my late afternoon slump. I put a piece of fruit either on the counter where it’s easy to see or in my purse if I’ll be out in the afternoon. That way it’s handy, easy to see, and it’s not cold (I don’t like cold fruit, esp. in the winter).
If your stumbling block is breakfast, can you do something before bed that makes breakfast easier? Maybe leave the non-perishable ingredients out on the counter? Or make slow cooker or overnight oats? Maybe bring ingredients to work?
If your stumbling block is dinner, what about a slow cooker or Instapot to make dinner easier? Or make larger batch meals so you have more leftovers?
Email me or post on our Facebook page if you’d like some help with a stubborn stumbling block.
Got any questions or comments? Jump to our private Facebook Group or the Ask Lisa page :)