5 Lessons Learned from Others
One of the best parts of my job is learning other people’s stories. I hear about great successes and triumphs and also about their failures. It’s so interesting. The transparency that occurs in a trusting relationship helps everyone. Failure, as we all know, simplifies our choices since we can see what does not work. And even though we often don’t want to waste time learning, we also can only go as far as we know.
Two questions that frequently come up are:
What can I do to look/feel/act/behave differently?
Am I willing to do different things to get results?
The first question often creates a lot of conversation. There’s a lot of ways to change the body, so finding one or two things to take action on, takes a lot of talking. The second question is not usually as easy to answer.
When we’re frustrated with our habits or how we feel or how our clothes fit, we’re often willing to talk about change. But the follow through can be bumpy, even with our best intentions. We can all list the distractions and difficulties associated with change. We’ve all failed at it before. So what have we learned?
Fluctuations are a HUGE part of physiology. We mentally understand this concept, but when nothing changes fast enough, we are tempted to stop and try something else. We know change takes time, but COME ON! :) However, if you remember nothing else from me, take this in: Our bodies fight change because they thrive on homeostasis. As long as we are trying to create changes in our metabolism or workouts, our bodies will try to stay the same. Only when we keep changing will our bodies fall in line. So stop quitting.
We need a plan, but we also need some flexibility. Since we have significant influences coming at us all the time, we need some structure to keep us moving down the road of change. However, we also need some flexibility for when the road takes a sharp and unexpected turn. Too much rigidity will be unsustainable. Too much flexibility will be too tempting not to change. We have to ride down the middle of the road and be willing to give up a some things for a while in order to get somewhere new.
There’s going to be some discomfort along the way. Whenever a diet commercial says that it’s easy, anyone can do it, takes no effort or thought, and happens overnight, they’re lying. Changing the way we have eaten all our adult lives is a challenging undertaking in the best of circumstances. That’s why those commercials are made; they appeal to our resistance to acting differently. It makes thoughtless laziness sound attractive. We KNOW differently. So, with that knowledge, be prepared for some growing pains and understand they are part of the story.
Not changing is frustrating, too. When we’re negotiating with ourselves about how much change we can actually handle, there are usually some absolutes, like: “I won’t give up my coffee creamer, wine or bread.” We give ourselves this freedom because we know that extremes don’t work for the long term. But, some of these nonnegotiable things have created the discomfort. We will have to give up some good things to get a different result than we already have. We will have to choose which pain we want: the pain of staying the same or the pain of sacrifice.
One caveat to this lesson is that there are seasons in life in which change can feel easier. For some people, it’s having a life event to work towards. For others, it can be a health risk increase. Sometimes, it’s someone dragging us kicking and screaming to the starting line. So if the thought of trying to change one more time makes you want to crawl under your bed, give yourself some space. For most of us, there’s no firm deadline that we have to meet. If we can get ourselves to the point of wanting to change, we will be more likely to succeed.
The other caveat is that if you’ve been wanting/waiting to change for a very long time but haven’t been able to, it’s time now. The longer we wait, the harder it gets to make ourselves different. So, hurry up.
We can change using exercise, nutrition or both. Dietary changes impact our body weight. So does exercise. And research also changes. So, we have some choices, and we have to test out what will work for us individually. This can be frustrating to some of us, but it’s really good news. Any changes we make to our current routines will produce a different result. As we begin to adapt to these changes, we either have continue to make more changes, or we stay at the new normal and find our homeostasis. There are points of diminishing returns in both workouts and diets, so one approach is to start with something you’re willing to stick with for at least a few weeks. By changing one thing, you’re able to find the answers for how your body works. Here are some examples that have worked with a few of my clients:
exchanging vegetarian protein to poultry
eating smaller snacks frequently vs 2-3 larger meals
exercising in a fasted state
exchanging high intensity/shorter duration cardio for lower intensity/high frequency activity
eating smaller portions
eating more vegetables and less starch
drinking less alcohol
increasing exercise frequency
sleeping more before midnight
I hope these ideas will trigger some action. If you’re in a good spot, pass it along to someone you know. Let these lessons learned become a catalyst for your future.❤️
