Look at it this way…

So I have these thought bubbles 💭 when supporting my clients through their lifestyle changes. I tell my clients these are just for thought. To analyze, to digest. Not to necessarily take action on, but to see a differing perspective.

For example, one of my clients is learning how to make her favorite restaurant foods at home. She bought the ingredients and sent me pictures. As a 💭, I had her look at the total nutrients in the dish (that’s what we were working on that week), and since she had control over the ingredients, she could decide to cut the bacon portion in half and then maybe shave off some cream cheese to decrease saturated fat. I did not say to eliminate or even to swap for something “healthier”. She is ALREADY making the healthier choice by making the dish from scratch at home (and saving💰)! If she chose not to alter the ingredients that was FINE because again, she was making the macro healthier choice.

This is how sustainable changes are made. Rarely does long term behavior change work by extreme measures. Especially when it comes to weight, both in gaining and losing.

It also helps that I’m giving my client the control. This is how she will learn to make decisions while I’m not working with her. Allowing her to come to her own conclusion with the information given drives autonomy and this is a huge factor in positive behavior change.

I attended a wellness retreat in Vermont in 2008. I learned a lot about myself and where my negative self esteem originated, but that’s a different blog 😉). One concept has stuck with me and been pivotal in making my own behavior changes as well as my clients: Scenario - last night you came home from work and sat in front of Netflix eating through an entire gallon of ice cream. If tonight you come home and eat half the gallon - you’ve succeeded at making the healthier choice. You’ve set the foundation. You cut your intake by HALF! That’s huge!

My conclusion to this 💭: Next time you make even a slightly healthier choice; order a small fry instead of the usual large, eat half the piece of cake instead of the usual whole piece, go for a walk between Netflix episodes- CELEBRATE IT!!! 🥳 Set the foundation. Small steps still get you to the finish line, and because you’re going slower you have time to stop and smell the roses, encounter rainbows, analyze thoughts and feelings along the way. 💛