Nearly everyone desires to improve their health in some way. Am I right?
So why do so few people seem to actually achieve the changes they want?
Here are three reasons I see that people give up or don't see results.
1 - Overwhelm/trying too much at once
We've all been there. We're excited to make a positive change, and we go all in ... only to fizzle out shortly after.
Instead of going gung-ho and overwhelming yourself, break it down into steps.
You want to start eating more whole foods? Great goal! But instead of stocking your fridge with enough fruits and veggies for a whole month, which then go bad sitting in your fridge, how about you break it down into something achievable?
Start with one meal each day, or each week, or even just having a supply of cut fruits and veggies for easy snacking.
Or maybe you want to replace all the toxic products in your home with better options. If you try to do it all at once, chances are you're going to get overwhelmed.
Instead, take it bit by bit. Maybe you replace products as you run out of them. Or maybe you work on a room at a time.
It took me an entire year to rid my home of artificial fragrance, step by step, product by product.
Start small. Make it achievable and BUILD it into your ideal!
2 - Not being consistent
We don't expect to finish a novel if we read two pages today and three more next week.
So why do we expect to see meaningful results in our health by only putting in sporadic effort?
Taking vitamins is good, but if you only take them five times during the whole month, are you gaining much?
Figure out what's keeping you from being consistent, and find a solution. If it's overwhelm, break it down into smaller steps. If it's lack of planning, make a plan. If it's just forgetting, set reminders on your phone or put something in plain sight where you can't miss it.
Whatever it takes, set yourself up for consistency.
3 - Not giving it enough time
Humans are notoriously impatient, aren't we? We want to eat one healthy meal and lose five pounds, am I right?
But that's not how our bodies work. We are made up of cells, and these cells replace themselves on a regular basis, but it does take roughly 90 days to replace all the cells in your body.
If you've set out on a health journey and gave up after a couple weeks or a month when you didn't see results, take a look at your methods. Were they truly a good way of achieving your goal? If they were, you perhaps just needed to give them more time.
If you really, truly want to change your health, give it 90 days of (consistent!) effort.
Is it difficult to wait that long? Of course it is! Is it frustrating to not see results right away? You bet! But that's where the real change happens.
Did you know? I've got a group on Facebook all about making small changes to our health over time. Check it Out
