I’m sure we have all been there, we’ve gotten to the point of creating the healthiest diet we can think of, the “best” workout routine that will keep us consistently active and have set HUGE goals for ourselves, but within 1-2 weeks we are feeling unmotivated and frustrated that we just can’t keep up. Why is this? Simply put, we are relying on our own willpower rather than setting up our environment and mindset for success. Willpower may work for 1-2 days but not for a lifetime. We are creatures of habit and when things are as easy as possible it’s a lot more likely that we will follow through with it. Especially around this time of year when everyone is excited to create new goals in the new year, I challenge you to look at your goals with a new perspective this time around. It may be the missing key to achieving what you’ve always dreamed of.

So, what does this look like and how can we approach our goals in a more realistic way to create better lifelong habits? We can use what’s called ‘the iceberg of success”. It’s all about making small shifts in your mindset, your environment, your habits and breaking down your goals into small manageable steps that do not require a lot of willpower. Starting with mindset being the most important factor to address, everything starts in the mind first. Our thoughts have a lot more power than we give them credit for. By shifting your mindset into one that is more positive, hopeful and excited about the changes you are making rather than one that isn’t enjoying the process, can help speed up results and set you up for LONG TERM success. We should be focusing on adding in more good rather than taking away, focusing on appreciating our bodies through exercise and learning to love the process of properly fuelling them to create a more positive relationship with healthy living. Viewing healthy eating as restrictive or viewing exercise as punishment is an example of a mindset that is not very supportive of creating long lasting healthy habits and a positive mindset.

The second tier of the iceberg of success is about creating an environment around you that supports your goals. This is all about making the healthiest option the EASIEST option so you can make it a consistent habit, which is key. This is why habits such as meal prepping, creating a weekly “veggie bucket” & having your workouts scheduled in can make such a big difference to following through and staying on track. Having a supportive environment of friends/family around you can also make a huge difference when trying to improve your lifestyle. Surrounding yourself with positive, motivated people who inspire you will likely keep you inspired to stick to your goals and have fun while doing it.

We are creatures of habit, having a consistent routine is something that will make or break your goals. Once something becomes a habit it’s usually pretty hard to break it, which is why finding ways to break down your goals into SMALL, manageable daily habits will get you a lot closer to your goals than relying on willpower. It’s easy to get into the habit of mindlessly snacking after dinner or scrolling on your phone for hours. Instead, take a second to evaluate where you can form some healthy, positive habits into your day. Instead of boredom snacking make it a habit to go for a walk with a friend, instead of eating all of your food while cooking and preparing it, make it a habit to drink a glass of water every time to go to make a meal. You may not think these small day habits will make a difference but they do add up overtime and will help you add in more of the good.

Knowledge comes next and it can be either an advantage or something that continues to hold you back from reaching your goals. Understanding why you are wanting to improve your lifestyle and how to do it in a healthy way is a lot more beneficial than jumping from diet to diet with no understanding of why or how nutrition works. Good nutrition isn’t a diet, it has to be balanced, enjoyable and maintainable long term which is where a lot of people go wrong. Forming a healthy relationship with food and training will keep you going for life rather than a “quick fix” or crash diet that has you farther from your goals than when you began. At the same time, many of us get trapped in the “researching” phase and end up taking no action as a result of trying to find the “perfect” way to do things. There is no perfect way to live a healthy life, it comes down to what works best for you, your goals, your environment and making it enjoyable along the way which is why having a coach can be so beneficial to helping you discover what that that looks like for you.

When you put your focus towards all of these areas first you won’t have to rely on willpower, which is how you make your healthy lifestyle last.

Written by Ashley Dussault.

Coach Ash’s credentials include:

Integrative Nutrition Health Coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition
Vegan Nutrition from Alive Academy of Natural Health
Certified Nutrition Coach through Two Brain Coaching

Ashley has developed a new amazing nutrition coaching program that we are now offering at RAM! This program is developed to help you build healthy habits that will last, while building a healthy relationship with food.

We know that you know what you should be doing. But are you taking action and doing it? Knowledge means nothing without action. A coach helps you take action!

Book a FREE Nutrition call HERE to see how Coach Ash can help you.