WHEN WILLPOWER AND MOTIVATION DON'T HELP!

While it might seem like just a matter of “willpower” or “motivation” stopping you from reaching your health and wellness goals – or even getting started – there are actually SEVERAL more factors involved than you might think.

The three biggest categories that could be affecting your healthy actions each week are: BIOLOGICAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL; and SOCIOLOGICAL.

So, let's break it down a little more.

Biological – How Does YOUR Body Work? These factors vary GREATLY from person to person.

Metabolism; Age; Immunity; Male or Female; Recovery; Genetics; Hormones; Pathogens; Exercise; Digestion. All of these biological factors have an impact on your health. 

And did I mention they vary a LOT from person to person? Yeah. That's why your spouse can decide they want to lose weight, stop putting an extra sugar in their morning coffee and lose 10 pounds in a week, while you can eat veggies all day, every day and still only lose half a pound.

Psychological – What’s Your Mindset? Your thought process, how you feel, how you were raised can all affect how you approach your health goals.

Thoughts; Feelings & Perceptions; Expectations & Goals; Memories & Predictions; Worries; World-View & Perspective; Values & Priorities

This one can actually be much more tricky than we might give it credit for. I'll give an example. Hubs and I grew up pretty differently when it comes to food. He was raised to clean his plate when he ate, you ate what was in front of you and that was it, and "fought" two brothers for the leftovers. I was raised that mom cooked what she cooked (usually whatever worked for my dad), and if I didn't like it I was free to make something else. As long as I wasn't pestering my mom to add to her workload, I could experiment with cooking different foods to find things I liked. Neither way was "wrong". It was just how we were raised and so we have different perspectives, memories, and perceptions around food choices, health, cooking, etc.

Sociological – What’s Around You? This one gets me more often than not. Letting what’s going on around me affect my ability to focus on my health goals.

Friends & Family; Job, Coworkers, Boss; School & Education; Physical Environment; “Tribe” & Community; Culture & Society.

As I have written before, we live in a "super-sized" society. It is very easy to overeat because we simply DO NOT KNOW the correct serving size anymore.

Or you're out to eat with family or friends and everyone else is ordering a bacon double cheeseburger with loaded fries - and you're glaring at the salad options on the menu. Or the salad options are even WORSE in terms of calories, fat, and unhealthy add-ons than the double cheeseburger!

Stuck choosing the best option from a fast-food chain on your way to an event. Eating at someone else's house and not wanting to be rude by turning down their double-cherry cheesecake.

Any of these three factors (biological, psychological, sociological) could be why the “Just Exercise More” or “Just Follow a Meal Plan” approach to health and wellness might not be working for you.

Another example: You are an older female who was raised in an environment where family comes before anything else, but you also work a full-time job, volunteer for your church, and have children or even grandchildren who need your attention, then you have ALL THREE of these factors (biological, psychological, and sociological) that can interfere with your health goals.

It’s not necessarily because you don’t WANT to work on your health goals. But other influences are impeding your progress. If you have to leave work and rush to a ball game, or to pick up a grandchild from a sports practice, you might not have time to make a healthy meal at home or even have a healthy snack if you’re eating from a concession stand (GUILTY!).

The situation might call for a little bit of adjusting on the fly. What is the healthiest thing you can find at the concession stand? Maybe it’s just a small snack (jerky) until you can get home to eat healthier or stop for something more nutritious on the way home.

If you’re going to be busy all evening long (at a softball double-header, also GUILTY!), maybe you can find an area to walk between the action and get some steps in for the day.

Or possibly keeping a small “Snack Bag” in your vehicle might help if you have to be on the go all the time (peanuts, sunflower seeds, trail mix, dried fruit, granola bars, etc.).

This also might be the time when having a coach or a trainer is a good idea. Someone who can not only help you define WHAT your goals are, but also HOW to reach them and work around some of these obstacles (biological, psychological, or sociological) that may be sabotaging you. And provide you with the support and accountability you may be lacking in your everyday world.

Book a FREE Consultation Call with me, and we can discuss what the best steps are for you to reach your health and nutrition goals and overcome barriers in your way.