Hannah Sweetman Nutrition

Looking into the future

As we approach a new year it is common for people to set themselves new year’s resolutions. For many, this time of year can be a great opportunity to look back on the last year and evaluate which aspects of your life may not be supporting your movement towards the person you wish to be.

As your nutrition coach, I urge you to evaluate which health aspects you wish to pursue in this coming year. To achieve this, we must look to… 

1.    Set goals. Something you want to achieve that has an endpoint.

2.    Change. To alter or to modify something.

To change, we must have reached a tipping point. That tipping point is when the sacrifice of action is easier than staying the same. 

This is when your actions become a high enough priority that you make them happen whilst overcoming the other barriers that life will throw at you such as lack of time, bad weather, dark nights, current restrictions, stress etc.

Unfortunately, the start of a new year does not mean that you will automatically have reached a tipping point where suddenly you want to transform the bad habits that are holding you back from achieving your health and weight goals.

Therefore, I would always advise clients to ask themselves the following questions when setting themselves goals/targets for the new year.

1.    Is now the right time?

2.    What can I commit to right now?

I have clients ask themselves these questions as many people will set themselves new year’s resolutions wanting to change something within their life but not follow through with the actions needed to fulfil that desire. 

This can be because of several reasons:

1.    They adopt an all or nothing mindset and don’t plan for days when things won’t go to plan.

A way around this is to always have a plan in place but also have an ‘if’ ‘then’ plan in place too. An example of this would be I plan to go to the gym today however if I must work late then I will go for a walk during my lunch break instead. Write down every barrier or obstacle that might occur during your journey or as they happen keep a note of them. For each barrier create an if-then strategy so you are prepared in advance or for the next time this barrier is present.

2.    They try and change too much too soon.

Just because it’s a new year doesn’t mean you need to drop all alcohol and only live on chicken, broccoli, and rice to lose weight. Small changes over time add up to huge results. Make it so easy you can’t say no. You could start with improving your nutrition on new years day by adding veggies to all your main meals or aiming to have two bits of fruit a day. If you are struggling to meet the targets you have set, then scale it back till you can meet them every day/time.

3.    They don’t break down the steps required to get to their end goal.

You need a plan. If you set yourself the goal of losing 10kg then you need to know what you will need to do daily for this to be achieved and then you need to hold yourself accountable to that plan. What exactly do you want to achieve and how are you going to do it? Make space and time in your diary to book in the habit you are working on and give it the time it requires as it’s important to you.

4.    They don’t align the change they want with their values and how they see themselves.

If a smoker offered a cigarette to you, but you didn’t smoke, you would decline their offer saying no thank you I’m not a smoker. The same needs to go for living a healthy lifestyle you need to value your health. When a barrier comes up or you are offered or presented with an opportunity that will take you away from achieving your goal you must decide if the cost is worth it to you.

5.    They hate the idea of the journey.

If you hate the journey towards achieving your goal you will not make long term lifestyle changes. You will simply be miserable then possibly reach the goal only to revert to your old ways and therefore your results will be short-lived. It’s never the end product that we really want that’s just how we’re wired to think. The enjoyment is achieved in the journey. Clients always report they feel confident and great within themselves well before they reach their end destination. They feel this way throughout the journey.

The above elements are why people don’t change, rather than what you can do to help make change possible:

1.    Make a start so easy you can’t say no.

This will provide momentum and with each small win you are proving to yourself you can change. This breeds confidence and supports you in buying into the process. Make things more challenging only when you are successfully hitting your targets. Don’t rush the process or leap ahead when you are not ready to. Give yourself time and understand you will relapse from time to time that is normal human behaviour. When you do relapse always get right back on track straight away. A simple way of not beating yourself up and accepting there will be times when you slip up is to not let a single slip up become a trend or to become normalised. For example, if you miss a day of eating within your caloric needs then ensure you are back within your calorie needs the following day. The process of change needs to be challenging enough to drive and reward you but not too challenging that it becomes overwhelming, so keep it simple. 

2.    Track your progress.

We all love to see progress and there are many ways you can do this and reward yourself for hard work. Some examples are to have a habit tracker on the fridge or to have a pound coin pot and every time you achieve something you place a pound in the pot and when you have enough pounds you can reward yourself.

3.    Think about the consequences of your actions long term.

What will your life look like if you make this change? What will your life look like if you don’t make this change? Set yourself up with a pros and cons list of what you want. Sometimes we need to accept some short-term sacrifice for long term rewards.

4.    Educate yourself to become aware of your actions.

You cannot change what you don't notice. The problem with unwanted habits is that they are automatic; you do them without thinking. One of the biggest changes I see with clients is when they become aware of the calorie content of different foods. By educating themselves, they can make educated choices on portions and if the food is worth it to them or supports their goals. 

5.    Prime your environment for success.

We can often believe that if we fail to achieve something then we have no self-control. However, the research consistently demonstrates that self-control is helpful when starting to form good habits, but it should not be utilised as an ongoing strategy for long term behaviour change. A key feature of a habit (unlike self-control) it does not require cognitive effort for the habit to take place as it's an ingrained response. Priming your environment is a way to support good habits by making good choices easy to take and less favourable choices harder to make. An example is placing higher-calorie foods out of sight and reaching distance in your cupboards and having fruit and vegetables in sight.

6.    Support. 

This is probably the biggest tool you may need on your journey to change. Support provides accountability. This will keep you honest and focused on the task at hand. Support also provides the ability to talk with someone when things are challenging and provide inspiration/motivation when things are hard. When lacking motivation remind yourself and your support why the change is important to you.

What do you want to change? – Be specific and make sure it can be measured.

Why do you want this change to occur?

Before you answer these questions, you must be ready to own your answer. The change you want to make must be what you desire to be different in your life. You will need to take responsibility for the commitment, actions and sacrifices required to initiate the change. Only you can control your lifestyle so it’s now time to let me know what you want to achieve.