If you’ve spent ten minutes googling “how to eat healthier” or “workout plan” or anything else of the like… you may have noticed that it is a bit extreme. The majority of (false) claims about health, fitness, and nutrition are completely all-or-nothing.
Have you ever been told to stop eating all carbs? To only workout fasted? To never eat bananas? All these definitive “solutions” are anything but the answer. Making essential food groups off limits or having rigid rules to follow will likely lead us to one place: failure.
It isn’t your fault either. The information online is meant to keep us stuck in a cycle of shame that we can’t get out of. That is why finding a coach who really wants to help you is key.
So, is it all-or-nothing when it comes to health? Kind of, kind of not. We need consistency commitment, and awareness of the things to do more of and the things to do less of. This doesn’t mean that there is no flexibility though.
When we pursue lifestyle changes that do not have any flexibility, then we are more likely to fail. When we find the gray area, then we find success.
What does this mean? We need to stop being so definitive about our fitness + nutrition mindset. We need to stop feeding our narrative that carbs are “bad”, eating after 7pm is “off limits”, we can never get meals out, etc.
Instead we need to understand that carbs are a tool to provide more energy. Eating carbs makes our workouts better. We can learn to eat when we are hungry. If we hada late lunch, then later dinner is fine. We can make mindful choices at a restaurant. We can enjoy an occasional dessert.
So start thinking about how you can expand your mindset. Next time you find yourself thinking that you can ‘never” have X and you “always” need to Y, then think about the middle ground.
Ask yourself: where did I learn this belief? Is it possible that there is another way?
It isn’t easy to start to live in the gray area, but it is the key to long-lasting health & happiness.
If you need help creating this balanced and flexible lifestyle while ALSO feeling your strongest and most confident, then my door is open. Schedule a free call here.
