I believe life is about achieving remarkable things and that your health is your best asset.
I recently did something outrageous. I ran 21 km for the first time in my life at the Australian Running Festival on the 13th of April, 2014. I got fit!
There was a time when I ran 500m, puffed, then turned around and headed home. Instead of throwing in the towel, I dusted myself off, told myself I could do it and had another go the next day. My initiative led me to running 21.1km and it empowers me to tackle other challenges in my life head on.
Here are 6 tips that I’ve learnt to help you make positive life changes and put your health first:
1. Create your own silver lining
It’s daunting to make a big goal and stay motivated. Break the big goal up into smaller, mini goals and celebrate them. You need to ensure they are SMART:
- Specific,
- Measureable,
- Achievable,
- Realistic, and
- within a Time-frame.
Every little effort counts so you need to celebrate them in order to stay motivated and keep going. You may have a long way to go but look at how far you’ve come!
For example: One of my goals was to eat better and curb my extreme hunger post-training. I broke the goal up like so:
- Specific: Have a high protein snack, such as 1 small tub of yoghurt and half a handful of berries OR a small tin of tuna, some sweet corn and wholegrain crackers and drink lots of water post-training.
- Measurable: I kept a food diary to see how I felt when I snacked after training.
- Achievable: I trained 4 times a week, so I wanted to snack better on those days. I ensured that I had high-protein snacks on hand for those 4 days.
- Realistic: I initially focussed on snacking better on the days I trained only, so 4 out of 7 days.
- Time-frame: I wanted to have a high-protein snack after training for one week then review to see if this fixed my extreme hunger feeling.
2. A goal is a commitment to yourself
The outcome of a positive life change can take weeks and months to be tangible. Patience, dedication and determination are essential, not optional. Above all, a goal is a commitment. A commitment is a promise. You can keep promises to your friends, colleagues, spouse and siblings. Why not keep your promise to yourself?
For example: By setting the goal above, I was committing to smart snacking and eating balanced meals. When I trained a lot and was constantly hungry I addressed this by filling my tummy with minimally processed and whole foods which left little room for discretionary foods. This is possible because I stock up on whole foods weekly and keep adequately hydrated with water. I eat the same types of foods when I train for marathons versus when I don’t. It is the amounts that differ! You will want to eat more when you are active! A part of this process is learning to listen to your body. You give yourself a chance to learn to listen, when you make a commitment to follow through.
3. Be kind to yourself and stay positive
What you say to yourself inside your head matters. While running long distances, this is what I repeat to myself: “You can do this. Don’t stop now. You can do it. Keep going. Keep going. Well done. Come on not long to go now. You can do this.” After a while it simply became a habit. I started to say this myself when I am not running. I have become my biggest fan by altering how I think of myself and my abilities. Progress is not linear. There are a lot of dips, troughs and spikes. Having a positive state of mind helps you get pass those dips and troughs and help to achieve the bigger goal, whatever that may be. Check out Samantha’s latest post “You are what you think you are” for more on the benefits of positive self talk.
For example: Adequately nourishing yourself with nutritious foods is a way of being kind to yourself. By doing this you are giving yourself the best possible chance to achieve your goals. See every meal as an opportunity to nourish your mind, body and soul!
4. Impress yourself first
If you break your big goal up into smaller, mini goals and you are kind to yourself, then you will be sure to impress yourself. This is important because it is an internal positive feedback loop. It is an upward, positive spiral. Setting a small realistic goal and achieving it feels amazing. When you achieve it you will impress yourself and you will be inspired to keep going in a stepwise, upward manner until you achieve the bigger goal. There are no short cuts to achieving anything great. You have to put in the hard yards and do it one small step at a time.
Nutrition tip: When you are out there being active for around 30 minutes a day, your body naturally craves food that’s good for it! I cannot tell you how many times I crave crunchy Pink Lady apples after a workout!
Get moving tip: Try 30 minutes of power walking or dance in the lounge room to music – move your body! Make your goals both achievable and fun!
5. Empower yourself
When you do all the things above you will find that your happiness is self-generated and that you are the one empowering yourself. There will always be people who are further on the journey than you but the only journey you have to focus on is your own. I remember running in my race and thinking “Wow, look at all these women ahead of me.” I was in awe at everyone’s efforts and it inspired me to be better. I know I am not the fastest runner. There are many others faster than me. But I know that I used to not be able to run 500m and I have come a long way. I will keep working hard and improving myself.
Why not look inward for inspiration? Empowering yourself is important because when you are your own inspiration you will never have to look far for encouragement.
Nutrition tip: Changing your eating patterns one small step at a time is more realistic because it is more achievable. Little changes that are successful empower you to make bigger changes. Focus on smaller sustainable changes first. For example, if you’ve never brought lunch to work before, start by bringing lunch to work 2-3 times a week first. Achieving this for a few weeks will empower you to do it 5 times a week eventually. Real changes take time. :)
6. Surround yourself with the right people who have the same goals as you do
Help will always be there when you need it. Set up your own support system! Don’t be afraid to ask for an extra helping hand in the form of seeing a professional. If you need nutrition support, contact The Healthy Eating Hub. We’re here to support you. Love yourself enough to achieve your goal for yourself and seek help when you need the extra support to get there. Running is not a team sport. But I have received much support and encouragement from many people who also love it. I actively sought them out.
In order to achieve something, at first you have to try. After all, you only have one body and one life and your health is your greatest asset. Look after yourself and love yourself enough to get out of your comfort zone. Extend yourself and become better than you were yesterday. Empower yourself by enacting your goal. What will your initiative and unrelenting commitment to yourself lead you to achieve?
If you’d like further help with your nutrition please click below:
