Ditch the All or Nothing Approach to Health

You’ve been there. I’ve been there. We’ve all been there…

We commit to working out more, hit the gym for a couple of days, and then neglect to get off the couch after a long day of work. Or our diet is amazing until the weekend hits. We continue to lay good intentions, but end up feeling more like a failure when we fall short of those expectations. Discouragement seeps in, and we no longer have a drive to commit to our self-improvement. So now what do we do?

These small hiccups don’t make us a failure, they make us human. The most successful people in the world slip up on their habits too. What sets them apart isn’t their willpower or motivation, it’s their ability to get back on track. They don’t get trapped in the all or nothing approach to health. There will always be instances when following our regular routine is basically impossible. We don’t need “superhuman” willpower to stick with our healthy habits, we just need strategies to put us back on track.

Schedule your workouts.

If you want to get back on track with your workout schedule, put it on your calendar. 6:00 am Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. Butt in gym. Hands on treadmill. Stick to your schedule. Don’t have enough time to do a full workout? Do some bodyweight squats. Don’t have enough time to do yoga? Take ten seconds to focus on your breath. It isn’t necessarily the individual impact that makes a difference. It’s the cumulative impact of sticking to our schedule that will carry us to long-term success.

Accountability is crucial.

Have someone who expects something of you. I’ve been on many teams throughout my wellness career and you know what happens when you have friends, colleagues, and coaches expecting us? We show up. The good news is Front Door Fitness has personal trainers in the KC area who can provide that accountability. Simply knowing that a familiar face expects to see you can be enough to keep you committed.

Focus on what you can control.

We waste so much time focusing on what we don’t have or what is withheld from us. This is especially true after we slip up and get off track from our goals. Anytime things don’t go the way we want to do, like eating healthy, going to the gym, etc., it’s easy to come up with excuses like lack of time, knowledge, or experience.

Change your mindset to “I can do this”. There will always be circumstances that make it difficult to stick with your workout plan. Progress might be slow. But we can do this and, ultimately, we are the ones in control.

Don’t get trapped by an all or nothing mindset.

It’s so easy to get hung up on an all or nothing approach to health. You either do things the optimal way or end up doing none of them at all. Here’s an example, “I really want to eat Paleo, but I go to Chipotle every Friday with my friends and I like to get sour cream and cheese on my burrito. That’s not Paleo, so I won’t even try.” Or “I have a book club meeting every Tuesday, and we always have ice cream. I don’t want to be the only one not joining the group. Maybe I should try something else?” Some is better than none. Eating clean five days per week is better than not eating clean at all. In fact, eating healthy one day or one meal per week is better than nothing at all.

Start somewhere. Make a new goal like eating clean every Monday. Just because we can’t stick to the optimal schedule doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stick to it at all. Good habits are built gradually. Start slowly and get better along the way. Progress is simply sticking to the basics…don’t miss workouts and eat real food. Master the fundamentals now, and you can optimize the details later.

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