by Jill Welch, LSW, Certified Holistic Health Coach, 200 RYT
You started whatever News Year's 2023 Goal you intened on January 2nd. Dry January sounded like a good idea so your jumped on that bandwagon, the juice cleanse you've been meaning to do that's been in your freezer since November, or the ultimate New Years goal, I am going to sign up for the gym and go balls to the wall 6 days a week or bust. You set your intentions, you did the work, you prepped the food, you booked your workouts, and then BAM it's Ferbuary 1st and you are ready to scrap everything! Life happened, as it always does; Maybe,
Your child got the flu and you spent 5 hours in the urgent care and picked up pizza on the way home where you stayed eating take out for the next four days because your thoughts told you, "what kind of parent leaves there ill child to go for their daily walk and whole foods haul".
Your boss criticized the report you spent all day Monday and Tuesday working on and you drove to Starbucks and downed a grande Frappe and lemon loaf and then felt so guilty you ditched the gym, cause your mind said, "what's the point now".
Your friends called you to go out and celebrate one of your girlfriend’s birthdays and you were doing so well with the salmon bowl but you couldn’t resist that champagne toast and a few bites of that amazing chocolate cake, "oh well" you thought "guess dry January is out the window"
SO now what, your subconscious mind enters the picture, this is our own personal spin doctor, and is prone to fabricating stories. Narratives that are not necessarily the truth but which we tend to believe as the truth. However, it is important to consider that the Subconscious mind is not necessarily trying to harm us maliciously. It is not the same as a tabloid reporter spinning stories about Meghan and Harry. Our subconscious mind thinks it is protecting us, essentially our subconscious is trying to keep us safe by wanting to spin stories to keep us as our familar self. It thinks it is doing us a solid by keeping us stuck in our old routines, patterns and habits because anything new is perceived as fearful. It likes us to stay exactly as is, nice and safe.
False Evidence Appearing Real
FEAR
That is why fear is known as False Evidence Appearing Real. This is also why Fear is so prevalent around circumstances in which we are trying to make a change with our behavior, our thoughts, and our lives. Essentially our subconscious mind spins false stories and looks for ways to make us believe that those stories are real. That part of our subconscious mind is trying to prevent us from leveling up and changing because it always senses that the unknown and anything outside our normal beliefs, thoughts, feelings, and actions is a threat to us. This was a primal instinct that served us in caveman days but in present times this is often what prevents us from moving forward with making the changes we desire the minute we have a set back.
So on Wednesday night when you had the champagne and cake your EGO and / or your subconscious were all too happy to use that evidence to be able to prove to you the “fact” that you don’t have the will power to change your nutrition, that you are not strong enough for that, that you will always be stuck dealing with bloat, weight gain, sleepless night, with no way out. It is almost like your mind is gaslighting you.
Accept that these are not facts, it is all false evidence because these circumstances are blips on the road map of your journey to becoming your most well nourished self and in the grand scheme of things you are human. You had some champagne and a little cake. It is not that serious!! You are doing great.
Taking Back Control of Your Goals & Your Mind
These steps will help you to rebound right out of these types of situations and get back on your journey;
Stop and observe your thoughts without judgment ( take even a few minutes to write your thoughts down in a journal or a post it note). Oftentimes when we are able to visually see the thought we will be able to ask ourselves if this thought is a fact (true) or fiction. Afterall it is just something our own mind made up. Just as easily as it came into our head, we can change it.
Be easy with yourself. You are human, it is about progress not perfection. This is a time to have a growth mindset and see if there's a lesson in the circumstance. Oftentimes this is where coaching comes in. It is something you can work through on your own but that honest non attached insightful perspective that a coach can give you is oftentimes invaluable. I am genuinely saying this from my own coaching experiences of being coached.
Find a thought that serves you better. Once you observe the thoughts that your EGO is spinning to make you feel like you are just going to throw in the towel, cancel the HITT class, and order some door dash and bing a Netflix series, write down a thought that serves you better.
I am becoming the healthiest version of myself everyday.
I have everything inside of me to stay on my journey to feeling better.
I am imperfectly perfect and every setback is an opportunity to grow.
Practice your new thoughts multiples times throughout the day and eventually that thought will become a part of your reality. It often helps to put your hand on your heart and say your new thought out loud with conviction. The more you own it and feel into that thought the greater liklihood it has for working for you to achieve your goals.
Oftentimes when I am practicing new thoughts I will set a reminder on my phone for every hour and repeat the thought to myself 3x’s with my hand on my heart. We could have an entire blog post just on this process though.
There is also an app, I AM, that I have and love, that will send you positive affirmation on your phone all day. You can create your own or pick from ones they have.
Whatever the thought is just make sure it resonates with you, lights you up, and ensure it is believable to you in that moment.
Hydrate with lemon water. It helps detox your system as well as cleanse your palate, and the citrusy taste doesn’t really pair well with eating sweets or snacks. If you have really gotten off track, rehydrate with at least ½ your body weight in ounces of water per day to drown out those sugar cravings and boost your metabolism.
Rebalance your blood sugar by eating some protein and healthy fat (always carry a small package of nuts in your bag or a clean protein bar for this purpose). The important thing here is you stop the sugar cravings and blood sugar fluctuation in its tracks by stabilizing it and get right back on track.
Get in some movement I do not mean punish yourself with exercise. This does not mean, I ate a piece of cake so now I “have to” go run 5 miles, this means go for a walk with your dog, go for a bike ride with your kids, or do some other form of exercise you love, get some sunshine, boost your serotonin, and remember why you started this journey .
The ANSWER IS ALSO MAKING YOUR NEXT BEST DECISION!! Do not give yourself permission to just let the whole day, week, weekend, turn into one big microquit, just make the next right decision. You are not disappointing anyone, but be accountable to yourself. The more you honor your commitments to yourself, the more you will begin to trust your own decisions, and the easier the change will come.
And always call your COACH! That is also my choice. Afterall, sometimes we need a nuetral clear perspective on the situation to move forward with clarity and a commitment to choicing a new future instead of staying the familar self.
Click the link to schedule a complimentary 45 minute health coaching consultation & learn more about how I can guide & support you to being your most well nourished self!
wellnourishedby@gmail.com
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