3 ways to make nutrition resolutions work...without diets and restrictions.
Diane Johnson
Empowering youth athletes with simple and strategic nutrition & wellness support.
A quick 3 minute read.
Nutrition is on the top of many minds this time of year. We have new intentions, new hopes, new goals for improving ourselves and making 2024 the best year yet.?
And while I don’t really believe that we should wait until the new year to start taking steps to better nourish ourselves, research actually shows that giving yourself the opportunity for a fresh start has benefits.
Hence, we absolutely can use the New Year to our advantage.
If nutrition is on your docket for 2024, here are a few ways you might approach it differently for greater ease and success.?
Understand where you are and be honest with yourself.
Too many of us try to change a whole bunch of things about ourselves without a real understanding of where we are or what we do most of the time.
Our ‘normal’ way of living can become so, well, normal. And normal is comfortable.?
We fail to recognize that normalcy can actually be contributing to our current challenges.? And we forget that we can change it.?
If normal is...
Then you have to ...
Sometimes in the nutrition field we suggest food journaling, using apps, taking pictures of foods, etc. as ways to get clear about our current nutrition habits (aka, where we are).
While these can absolutely be useful strategies, they must be accompanied by a willingness to slow down, build self awareness (through journaling, meditating, conversation, etc) and be honest with ourselves about if our normal is working.?
Often the impetus for making real, sustainable change is simply acknowledging that we aren’t happy, that something is missing and that we want and deserve more for ourselves.
THIS is what will make your efforts with nutrition really mean something.?
Deciding and Discipline
Einstein said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Honestly, this is where so many of us struggle with nutrition.
We can think of food as information for our cells. And really, most of us give our cells the same information several times a week or even in the same day. Again, this equates to the same outcomes performed by our cells, keeping us feeling the same, experiencing the same things every day.??
So if we can just decide to change one or two things and be disciplined about them, then naturally a different outcome will be produced.?
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Making the decision starts us and discipline keeps us going.?
Sadly, discipline, is a word that can be very triggering and have negative connotations for many.? In reality? however, discipline is a powerful form of self love and self care. Once you decide to do little things differently and you commit to that with discipline, change is inevitable.?
Spend time imagining your goals achieved.
Too many people think imagining is just fluff and that it doesn’t amount to anything really transformative.?
The exact opposite however is true.?
Consider all of the individual athletes and teams that have documented their experience and progress after spending intentional time visualizing skill execution and game play.? Without stepping into their playing field, they experience improvements.?
Consider also the magic of a child’s imagination. How all of us as adults ooh and ahh about how creative and joyful children are in their imaginative states.?
We should really learn from them and practice imagining our dreams and goals achieved.?
The more that we can put ourselves into the feeling of what our growth, change, transformation will be when it is achieved, the more that we will choose actions that align with this outcome.?
Many have said seeing is believing. But I’d actually argue the opposite.
Believing is seeing and we must believe before anything will take shape in our lives.?
We can build this belief by using our imagination. This works with eating and health goals just like it works for performance of skills.
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Share what you are doing.?
Another magical piece of change when it comes to nutrition is simply telling others what you are up to.?
Verbalizing your intentions and goals makes them more real and can add an unexpected level of accountability.?
If our health isn’t shaping up the way we want to, we might be used to disappointment when it comes to our work on ourselves.
The thought however of disappointing others hits home differently and can be a powerful motivator for us, especially when we are just getting started on our goals.??
Bringing on a small cheering section of people that you trust can provide you with big momentum, which will in turn help you push towards your goals.?
If nutrition, health or wellness of any kind is on your list of goals for 2024, considering these 3 points will help.
Here’s to a healthy and prosperous 2024 in which you see all of your aspirations achieved.?
When you are ready, there are a few ways that I help people like you everyday.
Until next week.
~ Diane