Getting Health and Fitness right can be hard work. This is especially true of nutrition. What starts off as good intention usually turns into another botched effort. Why is it that we can't quite get it right this time?
There are many reasons for this, but the main culprit is usually taking too much on at once.
In terms of fitness this can be a beginner client coming to a coach and asking to get fit. The coach nods his/ her head and then prescribes their keen new client this exercise...
For those of you who are unfamiliar with this exercise it is probably one of the most technically difficult exercises we can perform which takes years of practice to perfect. Although there are many benefits and we "know" this is good for us long term, what happened to the progression?
This is usually what happens with nutrition. We forget all the small strategic steps we need to get there and all out into the Dukan, Atkins, Paleo, Zero Sugar and Detox diet. Unsurprisingly our nutritional Barbell comes crashing down on top of us.
Where to start
So where do we start? Well actually this answer depends entirely on your circumstances and can be anywhere. The best way to start is to turn yourself into the coach. "What do you feel is your biggest limiting factor right now?". To take its a step further, only select one thing, even if there are four or five you can think of.
Which limiting factor resonates with you the most/ gives you that feeling of, yeah I am really stuck with that one right now.
Next ask yourself how confident you feel out of 10 (10 being the most confident), of sticking to a solution to that habit.
For example, I keep skipping breakfast in the morning.
Next you ask yourself the 5 whys...
The 5 whys will help you identify the real reason you are skipping breakfast.
To speed things up, lets imagine we now we have the real reason for skipping breakfast... getting to bed later than you know is good for you.
What next
The final stage of this example is finding a time to go to bed at a time you are at least 9/10 confident of sticking to on a regular basis. At least 80% of the time. This may start as small as 15 minutes earlier than you usually do. Make the solution so easy that you can't say no. Make it 5 minutes earlier if you have to and build on it from there..
Aim to stick to this single change for 2-4 weeks, and if you can stick to it 80% of the time, you will be ready to move onto the next limiting factor.
If we were learning to lift the bar overhead in the video above, we would have started small and maybe without any bar at all. Follow your nutrition goals the same way. Start objectionably small and remember slow and steady always wins the race when it comes to health and fitness.
Yours In Health
Patrick Fallis
Founder of Leaner
www.leaner-uk.com