Continuing on with last weeks topic of mindset when it comes to your healthy lifestyle, let’s talk about creating a “Health Spending Account”.
It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the perfectionist mindset when it comes to your health goals. Most of us treat our nutrition habits, workouts and healthy lifestyle as “all or nothing” which does not end up lasting very long. How can we break this habit and create a lifestyle that lasts despite the setbacks?
Let me introduce one of my new favourite analogies called the “Health Spending Account”. All this means is thinking about your healthy lifestyle choices as if its money in a bank account. Actions that get you closer towards your goals increases your health spending account, actions that move you farther away from your health goals takes away from your health spending account.
Positive actions could look like:
- eating more veggies at your meals
- being physically active
- drinking more water
- eating more lean protein
- eating slow & mindfully
- getting adequate sleep
- meal prepping
Less than ideal choices could look like:
- eating heavily processed foods
- skipping your workout
- not sleeping enough
- spending too much time on social media
- not drinking enough water
It is important to know that the “less than ideal” choices aren’t bad; they just aren’t moving you towards your goals. There is a time a place for everything, balance MUST be included in a healthy lifestyle otherwise it is not maintainable or enjoyable long term. Just like a bank account, the goal should be to ADD more than you SUBTRACT to increase your wealth, same goes for your health. Find small ways to add more good to your days, even if you feel like it was an “off day” find a way to add something positive to it (go for a walk, drink more water, get a good nights sleep).
If you want to spend $50 on something fun for yourself (eat a couple of cookies after dinner), go for it, and do it mindfully and with enjoyment! But just like spending $50 on a fun experience or new thing to own, it doesn’t mean you have to drain the bank account by $500 or even $5000, just because you’ve dipped into your savings.
Every time you take even the smallest positive step to nurture and care for your health, it’s like adding a handful of change into the Health Piggy Bank, even if it is only 25 cents at a time (taking 3 deep breaths, drinking 1 glass of water). Sometimes, you can throw in a bit more, sometimes less, but the point is to keep contributing to your Health Spending Account faster than you withdraw, and never forgetting that every one of those little positive choices DO ADD UP over the long-run.
This is how you shift your mindset into one that focuses on the positive rather than “all or nothing”.
Coach Ash.
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