Some of the best advice I can ever give: find a way to make it work for you.
What do I mean by “it”?
“It” is anything that I recommend for your health (and of course you can apply this to all other aspects of your life).
Sometimes we can hear a new concept (or even an old concept phrased in a way that it actually resonates with us)…
… but it feels intimidating, scary, or you don’t really feel like doing it.
That’s when we only look for how it won’t work for us!
This is when advice, suggestions, and options are discarded quickly.
But here’s the thing – assuming the advice is coming from a source you trust, instead of rejecting the concept, try to see if it’s something you can make work for you.
For example, I very much support cutting out harmful foods.
That includes grains, sugar, the majority of processed and packaged foods.
While I have learned how to baby-step this process for my patients, I know most people recoil at the mere thought of having to cut out any type of food.
This is when I have to ask them to please hear me out!
What if, instead of rejecting this new idea, they would would look at the concept and how they can make it work for them.
Granted, during our appointments together I help with this process, knowing the ins and outs, the best place to start, and all the science / physiology / biochemistry.
But building the mindset of “how can I make this work for me” is such a great tool!
So back to all the toxic stuff one can cut from their nutrition.
I use this example because it isn’t just a food to be cut out. It’s a psychological thing. A physiological thing. At times, an addiction thing. That’s huge!
So how could one approach the concept, scariness and all, and make it work?
There are many options for this example. To start cutting out harmful foods one could:
- start with one food where you know you feel crappy after consuming it, that way you see changes fast (which makes it easier to stick with)
- choose one category of food to start with – learning how to substitute and allowing your taste buds to change as you go makes the next steps so easy
- start weaning yourself off of harmful foods – be honest with yourself how often you consume it, and start decreasing that (and set a date by when you want to be off that food so you have something to progress towards and achieve)
- start increasing the healthy, delicious foods and slowly crowd out the toxic foods
While these options are a broad approach, they work. There are many ways I’ve adapted this for patients. There is always a way to make it work.
Instead of just rejecting the overlying concept, only seeing why something can’t work for you, start training yourself to look for how you can make something healthy work for you!
If you catch yourself automatically rejecting a healthy habit, pause and look if you can adapt it to your needs.
With this new perspective, you might want to revisit previous newsletters of mine and see if you can make the healthy habits in them work for you!
http://unlimitedhealthy.com/articles/
