I'M BACK!

After a short break in my blogging schedule, I am back with another post for y'all.

Today's post will discuss the importance of understanding your "WHY".

This is arguably one of the most important concepts in health coaching. Why do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to change your eating habits? Why do you want to exercise more?

It’s not enough to tell yourself you want to fit into a smaller pair of jeans, or you feel like you should eat more salads because they’re good for you.

To put it in a more dramatic way, in order to be successful in changing your habits and achieving your health, nutrition, or weight loss goals, you have to BELIEVE in what you are doing. Your health, your nutrition, your movement, and the resulting weight loss need to be entrenched in your core values and beliefs.

What does that mean?

For you, it means rearranging your thinking to encompass a new way of viewing yourself, talking to and about yourself, and what you value and envision for yourself.

Some of the core ways you identify and value yourself might be as a mom, a friend, a spouse, a Christian, through your job (teacher, lawyer, nurse, accountant, etc.). Or you value things like your faith, independence, honesty, charity, compassion, etc.

So how does this relate to health, nutrition, and weight loss?

It means working on your mindset and becoming the person you envision yourself to be. For example: you want to eat healthier. Why? What does eating healthier MEAN to you? Is it about how you look? Is it about how you feel? Is it because you value wellness, longevity, and vitality? Is it because you envision yourself as a person who eats nutritious, whole foods rather than ultra-processed foods? Are you trying to eat healthier to prevent disease because you value your family and want to be there for them as long as possible?

What is the WHY behind the why? If someone were to ask why you want to lose weight and you say it’s because you want to fit into skinnier jeans, what is the WHY behind that? Once you start digging into the values behind the skinnier jeans, and the vision you have of yourself, it could be because you actually want to show your kids how to be strong and confident in themselves, but you don’t currently feel comfortable in your own skin. Or it could be because you value beauty, you simply like pretty things, and want to appreciate those things in yourself.

Nothing wrong with EITHER of those examples!

But the point is, to be successful with your efforts, it’s important to dig deeper into what you’re trying to do (eat better, move more, better sleep, manage stress, lose weight) to find out the deep-down reasons, and connect those to your goals.

It’s easier to choose the salad or vegetable soup when it’s connected to feeling like an example for your children and the benefits it gives them. Or when you feel empowered taking an evening walk because you want to be confident in your body, as well as in your new clothes.

Connecting your goals to the deeper WHY will add an additional level of commitment, and ingrain the importance into your neural pathways much faster.

So, take some time and dig into your reasons for why you’re working on specific goals. By attaching values and deeply held beliefs to your health and wellness efforts, you are more likely to see results.

And if you would like help setting goals, learning more about core values, and how to create a healthy relationship with the two, Book a FREE Consultation with me.