Have you lost your mojo and lacking motivation to stick to your healthy eating routine?

Creating change can be difficult. Often a lot harder after the initial buzz of what you are doing has worn off. For some this may be 3 weeks after trying to eat better, for others it may be 3 weeks after joining the gym. Whatever the issue or time frame, if you’ve lost your mojo, then keep reading! It’s something we are all too familiar with after joining the fitness industry as a Coach back in 2008. Motivation comes and goes. When it comes to healthy eating, if you use food to make yourselves feel better or escape our problems, then all the things you are doing in an attempt to eat well (going shopping on a full stomach, shopping from the perimeter of the supermarket, eating more plant foods, following a diet or nutrition plan) will only get you so far.

What needs to change is your relationship with food. This one alone is a deep one so we have a whole section on this topic in our Overhaul manual but the short and sweet of it all is this: We need to understand that food is the vehicle that provides nourishment and fuel for our bodies. It’s not the vehicle that brings us happiness (even though at times it may result in us doing a happy dance…I am a culprit of this myself) but my point is, our day to day meals serve a purpose to fuel and nourish our bodies….that’s all. On special occasions we enjoy ourselves with something special, but if we are wanting to shift some kilos or improve our energy levels, our reason for eating is to fuel and nourish our bodies. But what if you’re relying on food to provide you with enjoyment? There’s nothing wrong with enjoying your food, food is delicious! But in what other ways can you bring enjoyment into your life? There are many things you can do but when starting out be careful not to use training as one of those activities unless you already have a plan in place to take care of what may follow. More on that in a second.

Enjoyment comes from feeling happy in your own skin. It may come from getting dressed up and feeling good about yourself in what you’re wearing. It may come from spending time with people you love and cherish, laughter, doing activities and going places. Schedule in fun things to do on your days off. Dress up and make an effort to feel good about yourself on a daily basis. Visit somewhere or someone who lifts your spirits on weekends and try bring in enjoyment through activities rather than food.

So then what’s the purpose of your training? Once you’re in a routine and you can see the benefits of training (usually after having nutrition on track and being active 3-4 times a week consistently for 4 consecutive weeks) then yes, training is definitely enjoyable but starting out, it’s not always the case, especially if you’re feeling unfit, doing rehab work or following a structural balance program. Pushing yourself you do something you’d rather not be doing takes a lot of mental effort and that’s exactly what training is for the first few weeks when you’re working on creating a new routine. If you’re unable to suck it up and do it then get yourself a good coach who will keep you safe and accountable. Change does not happen without effort. You will be so glad you did this once you push through those initial weeks so long as your consistent with what you’re doing. So if that’s where you’re at, use your training as a tool to get you stronger mentally, whether that be turning a weak “I can’t” attitude into “I can do it”, or perhaps if you’ve been using food to escape, then in this case, training is a great alternative for now too. In the initial weeks of starting out it may mean you show up but put in a half arsed effort, that’s ok. Consistency is the key here. Don’t miss a planned session and plan to do something 4 times a week! A walk, a conditioning session, a PT session, a yoga practice, a run, whatever floats your boat. I personally believe training has been one of my greatest teachers in life! It’s taught me the power of strength, discipline, patience, acceptance, consistency and hard work. Things that allowed me to turn my entire life around but it’s a journey and like anything, nothing worth having comes easy.

So in summary, my take home points to remember:

1. Relate to food as your fuel and nourishment.
2. Enjoyment comes from taking pride in yourself, fun activities with friends/loved ones and places we visit.
3. Training is what we do to make a weak mind stronger until it becomes something we enjoy. Show up and put in the work until it no longer feels like work.

These are some of the things we cover in our 12 Week Overhaul Course, a program we created to help our clients completely overcome unhealthy lifestyle habits and discover their full potential.