Small Steps to Success on the Journey to Better Eating

Here we are, about halfway through the first month of 2021. And my question to you is how are your New Year's resolutions coming along? I would venture to say, if you're like many people, things went out the window a few days after you made your resolutions. Or, you're continuing on, but getting a little tired of the new routine.

Health is a journey! It is not a destination. It really requires true change. And that takes consistency and persistence.

All along the way, anytime we make a change, whether you're changing your eating habits, like I am, whether you're adding exercise, whether you're changing your money story, whether you're trying to get more sleep, no matter what you're trying to do, you need to know and understand the process.

It's not like this 'ZIP', like you start here and you get here. No, it's up, it's down. It's up, it's down. There's a flow to it. And on your part, on my part, there has to be an acceptance of the nature of change and also forgiveness.

I meant to! I wanted to! I committed to! But I couldn't today. I haven't been doing it for the past few days. Whatever it is. In order to keep going, you have to forgive yourself.

Now, making a lifestyle change, which is what I'm talking about here, such as changing eating habits, losing weight, exercise, and so on - it's very important to understand that making that change too big, too much, too soon is overwhelming.

People can really get knocked down to the point where they feel like a failure. Like I'm a failure! And this is completely untrue! The plan is the failure, the steps along the way were failures, not me!

So, we have to go back in and rework the plan.

Now the best thing is to understand what your goal is. That goals should be specific, very specific. For example, if you're going to lose a certain amount of weight, or if you're going to lift a certain amount of weight, or you're going to go outside and walk for half an hour or a certain number of days like that - it should be clear.

You want to take it as slow and small as necessary so that you feel success. The more little bits of success you feel, the better you feel, and then you want to do more, and then you feel more successful.

That success builds on itself.

I have found that when my patients get to a point where they feel better, they stop. And they're like, you know what? I'm here, I've arrived. I don't need to do anything else. And unfortunately, what happens is they end up going back to either eating the way they were eating before, to not exercising as much, to not getting as much sleep, so on and so forth.

Track your goals, track your successes! Go slow, go small. And remember: this isn't like losing enough weight to get into a really great dress to attend a friend's wedding. It's not about that. It's about moving forward into the whole rest of your life with good vibrant health.

I'm offering a free webinar on Wednesday, the 27th of this month, January, 2021 at 4:00 PM, Mountain Standard Time. Better Eating Through Meal Planning. If you're interested, it's a great tool to start to change some of your behaviors around food, like what you're eating, how you're eating, and how you plan for eating.

Join me if you'd like! There's a link in the box below to find out more and to register.

Thank you for listening.

Dr. Elaine

Free Webinar information and registration: 

https://www.drelainestewart.com/better-eating-through-meal-planning

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.