Have you ever given up on a diet because the scale did not move right away?
Have you ever cancelled your gym membership because you did not start to look like the supermodel on the cover of your favourite fitness magazine?
Have you ever started a new program or challenge only to quit seven days in because you ended up splurging on ice cream on the weekend?
Me too.
You know what helped? When I reminded myself to strive for progress and not perfection.
It is easy to beat yourself up when you are not making the progress you wanted to. When you are not seeing the body composition changes you expected. When your friend that you train with at the gym, sister, husband or daughter is seeing changes faster than you are.
It is easy to beat yourself up when you are comparing yourself to others…when the scale has not moved in weeks…
It is easy to tell yourself that you are eating too much and at the wrong time of day, that you are not burning enough calories, or that you are not “doing it hard enough.”
But here is the best part.
If you are fulfilling your requirements for health, if you are eating, moving and thinking By Design, if your spine and nerve system is being checked and corrected regularly; guess what? You are making progress.
Your body is naturally moving towards its natural, healthy set point.
Your immune system is working at a heightened level.
Your body is less inflamed and more capable of healing and repairing.
You are stronger, more mobile, and can move further without getting out of breath as quickly.
…even if the number on the scale has not changed.
At Eat By Design Coaching we focus on what to do, not what not to do. We help you focus on the abundance of delicious, satisfying and healthy foods that you and your family get to experience and enjoy. We focus on how simple it is to create goals and an action plan, grocery shop, design a menu plan and get your family on board, not on how restrictive and hard changing your diet is going to be (which is not true, by the way, that is just a story you have told yourself.)
If focusing on perfection and not progress sounds like a scenario you have been in before, these steps will help.
First, pull yourself out of, what Dan Sullivan calls, the gap – the mental trap that confiscates your self-esteem, confidence, productivity and progress when you compare where you are today to your ideal (which may not even be realistic to start with.) You will know when you are in the gap because you will feel disappointed, anxious and stressed out.
Next, review your goals. What? You haven’t created those yet? You were just hoping you would eventually end up stronger, leaner, fitter and happier? Do not worry; I have done this before too.
Ok, start by creating your goals. Now write down your most important goal, why it is important to you, and how you will know once you have gotten there. Next, create an action plan and ask someone to hold you accountable to it. If you are lost for an accountability partner or do not know how to create an action plan, we offer that type of support that you might be looking for at Eat By Design Coaching.
Grab your journal and write out ten things about your health that you are grateful for. Maybe you and your family have been living By Design for years and this is just normal, or maybe this is really new and you are jumping into your first 30-day challenge. Either way, I know you have started to make positive health choices and have something to be grateful for.
And remember, progress; not perfection.
For more simple By Design recipes why not pick up your copy of the Eat By Design Cookbook. I’ve created it in the form of a 28-day meal plan (plus grocery lists!) so you don’t need to think about what’s for breakfast, lunch or dinner for the next month. Or you can grab the first 7 days FREE by clicking here.