Your 'Forever' Formula for Health: How to Take Baby Steps to Create Lasting Change

As many of you know, my sessions are a combination of empowering you with knowledge, working on emotional connections with food (that may be hindering progress), accountability and a whole lot of goal-setting.

One thing I run into - especially when I start with new clients - is that their goals revolve around results vs. actions. Diet culture promises quick results, which puts us in a mindset of immediate gratification. What this looks like is: Do these 5 things for x amount of time and you will see y result. The problem is that there’s a time cap on these actions.

Research shows us that within 1-2 years of going “back to normal,” most people regain the weight they’ve lost (and usually more). And these weight fluctuations are actually much more harmful to health than maintaining a consistent weight (even if that weight is higher than you’d like).

So what’s the solution? Baby changes that you can incorporate forever. This will look different for everyone and the results you see from these changes will seem inconsequential at first. The pace will also feel glacial for some. And your outcome list will probably change along the way.

Not all of these changes will feel fun at first. Change is never comfortable. But it does feel easier over time.

Struggle #1: I don’t know how to cook. If you’re not skilled in the kitchen? First of all, remember that only people who have spent many hours cooking are skilled in the kitchen. They didn’t walk in one day and turn into Julia Child. Learn how to chop an onion. Then how to roast a vegetable. Get comfortable washing dishes (yes, you heard me - we can do hard things!). We can only master one skill at a time and that’s ok.

Struggle #2: I have no time to exercise. If you’ve never worked out a day in your life, or feel stressed about where to fit it in, start with walking 5 minutes a day. Then work up in 5 minute increments. Use reminders. Make a tracker so you can check off exercise accomplished. 10 minutes of movement a day adds up over time. There’s no need to pressure yourself into hitting the gym for an hour if you know that will set you up for failure. Instead of feeling guilty for what you’re not doing, be proud of your small, consistent actions! As this becomes a habit, it may feel easier to add on more, or you may realize that this level feels sustainable. And either way, you’re taking action towards positive change.

Struggle #3: Meal planning is overwhelming. If meal planning feels daunting, start with one recipe. Make it and eat it. If you like it add it to your meal list and make it again next week (to work out the kinks and increase muscle memory). If you don’t like it, try another one. If you don’t want to think about what to eat - outsource. I will soon be offering a meal planning service that will do the job for you! If cooking every night isn’t your thing, fill in with meal delivery services. This is a great way to avoid take-out, get a balanced meal and not have to cook every night. There are many options that benefit not only your health, but also your bank account.

If it’s not working, pivot. Assess how important this is to getting to your long term goals. If the goal is important to you, then either find another way to accomplish it or realize that you may need to get used to regularly doing something you don’t love. This is how I feel about flossing my teeth and doing laundry. I don’t love either task, but I know that if I don’t floss, I get cavities. And if I don’t do 100 lbs of laundry a week my kids will run around naked.

If you realize it’s not that important then give it up. This is where outcomes sometimes change. It’s these moments that lead you to the realization that whatever you think may be getting in the way of a goal may actually be more important to you than the goal itself. These realizations can be freeing because you have a long term answer (whether it’s what you expected or not) and you can move on to other actions.

The point is that achieving long term health includes a ton of trial and error, constant check-ins with yourself, grace, commitment, intention and work. This results in a personal routine that is sustainable forever. It won’t happen overnight and it won’t be easy, but finding your unique health formula is so incredibly worth it!