I had a wonderful conversation with one of my clients who is attending my Jump Start Your Wellness Group Coaching class. She wanted to lose weight and incorporate exercise back into her life. She said upfront that she felt she had a good diet, and didn’t eat junk food. She also was not going to eat chicken breast to lose weight! This client is a foodie and had taken many culinary classes and “bland chicken breast” was not going to touch her lips. Also, she had many self imposed restrictions on when and what she would do in the exercise area, which made it difficult to fit in any exercise.
Not to toot my horn too much but fast forward four weeks into my Jump Start Your Wellness Program. She has incorporated exercise into her life several days a week and is now eating chicken breast. Now, chicken breast isn’t a requirement for losing weight but it is a great source of lean protein. She was able to take a different approach with her exercise and diet that worked for her. She is now making tasty skinless boneless chicken breast meals that she’s enjoying. She also realized that even thought she doesn’t eat junk food her regular visits to the “all you can eat” restaurants was packing on the extra pounds so she cut back on those visits.
She also realized that she didn’t have to go to the gym to get fit, so she cancelled her gym membership. Heck, she hadn’t seen the inside of her gym for at least a year and hadn’t gone regularly for almost three years. She now wakes up every morning and does pushups and crunches and works out with a friend several times a week at home and outdoors.
She use to be a gym rat in her 30’s and was always working toward that “perfect body”. Looking back she realized that she was never satisfied with herself. Now that she’s in her 40’s and a mom of preteen she’s not striving for perfection or to look like someone else but now wants to feel healthier, have more energy for herself and not for anyone else.
Choose your own path or create a new one!
We often have preconceived notions that we must eat certain foods to lose weight, or go to the gym to get fit. Instead, do what you enjoy whether that’s going for walks or dancing or eating the dark meat of chicken (it’s better than frying it). Your likelihood of making permanent changes is much greater when you do something you like! Makes sense right? Also, start out by taking baby steps when you decide to go on a diet or start exercising. In the excitement of it all we tend to bite off more than we can chew then we get down on ourselves and quit when we don’t follow thru. Initially, make small changes consistently for several weeks, and then you can tweak it a little more as you get use to your new routine or eating habits. Remember to celebrate every accomplishment no matter how small it is!
Follow Michi!