There’s a gap that you might recognise in yourself. It’s the gap between how healthy you know you could be, and what you’re actually doing. When talking with someone about where their health is now and where they’d like to be, here are some of the barriers people tell me they’re experiencing: And potential solutions for you to try if some of them bring on an uncomfortable twinge of recognition!
- It all seems too hard. There seems to be too many problems to address. Will you ever be able to feel good again? This is a perspective I hear amongst people who have been unhealthy for a very long time. They’ve developed several chronic overlapping disorders and their enjoyment of life has been seriously curtailed. The solution: Don’t try to fix everything at once. Start with a small easy change, acknowledge and reward yourself for your efforts, and use this as a stepping stone for bigger changes. Recognise that you won’t fix all your problems just from this small change – but you’re making progress.
- You started with a positive change to your routine, like exercising every morning, but then something unexpected happened (like a family emergency) and your routine evaporated. Several weeks later you remember it. Why bother starting again? The solution: Establishing new routines, to the point where you feel weird if you don’t do them, takes months to establish. Just keep returning to your better routine after every interruption.
- You know you should exercise, you make plans to exercise, but when the time comes you find yourself making excuses: Its too hot or too cold; you’re busy; the children might need you; its too hard; you’re tired. The solution: Recognise your excuses for what they are, and ‘just do it’. Expect to have to overcome your excuses many times before it gets easier (which it will).
- You’re worried that you won’t ever be able to eat ‘fun’ foods again. If you go on extreme ‘crash’ diets you will indeed see your weight pile back on when you return to ‘normal’ eating. But a balanced healthy diet includes regular planned treats to help prevent feelings of deprivation.
- Is all this effort going to be worth it? When you’ve been feeling less than ideal for a while, being sick and tired all the time starts to feel normal. Think about all the activities you want to do that you can’t do now – like being able to buy clothes that fit. You’ll certainly feel it’s worth it when you start feeling great again.
Making positive changes in your health is all about taking action; every day, no matter how small the change. You’ll get there – just move past the talking and into the ‘doing’.
Did you have a 'change' moment that signalled a new, positive direction for your health? Would you like to share it with us? Leave your comments below....
Comments