How to Stay Committed & Focussed

Are you able to stay committed and focussed to your weight loss goals?

You can listen in to the podcast or if you prefer, you can read the blog below … the choice is yours. 😊

Do you find that after a couple of weeks of starting a weight loss program or a healthy eating program, or a walking or training program that you start to lack the motivation and focus to keep going?

And before you know it, you’re back to your old ways and maybe even feeling discouraged?

I’ve been here and if you can relate to this, then this podcast is for you.

1.  The First key to staying committed and focussed is to reshape your mindset.

That takes some work as our thinking and habits are engrained in us and when we try to make lasting changes, it takes time and effort.

But, it is well worth it!

When it comes to weight loss and/or improved health it is important that you have a vision of a healthy, future you … and you need to keep that vision alive at all times.

Once you have your vision, you can then play it over and over again in your mind or, if you have it written down, you can read it over and over.

Especially when you find yourself faltering.

This will help keep you focussed and moving forward towards your health goals.

It becomes your big reason for getting into the best possible health.

In episode number 1, which was 6 Tips to Embracing Aging, I spoke about having a future vision and had shared a very powerful exercise that you can do to help you detail your own vision.

And then every decision you make will be based on your goals and the future you.

This exercise comes from my 5-Day Shift Your Mind to Shift Your Weight Program and is called Mind the Gap. Click on the link below for your free copy of this exercise.

→ Mind the Gap

Now that you know what your vision is and what your goals are, it is time to start doing the work required to get you there.

You are off and running. You start to feel good and happy and I’m sure you are beginning to look at life a little differently.

Then after a week or two, you may find your motivation starting to wane and this could be for a variety of reasons.

If you are following a strict diet, you may find the deprivation and restriction is getting too hard to continue the diet.

Or, maybe your exercise plan was just too much to handle. You joined a gym and told yourself you would go every day, and if you miss a day here and there you start to feel discouraged.  And maybe even give up!

I understand that and I have been there many times as well.

In order to be successful with your weight and health goals, and to stay committed and focussed to them, you need to put into place actions and goals that are DOABLE and will provide you with some leeway.

For example, going on a diet that restricts food is really hard to stick to; and even if you do stick to it, it may not be all that healthy especially if it cut out some needed macronutrients.

The other thing is you haven’t learned how to eat well so you go back to your old habits … and then before you know it the weight comes back on and then some.

Oh yes, that dreaded roller coaster ride of dieting!

The best thing that you can do is to work on BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS that ALLOW for a falter here and there, but always with an eye on moving forward.

Even if you are trying to make healthy lifestyle changes, you could still find yourself losing commitment and focus, however it’s easier to get back on track especially if you have the right supports in place.

The right people around you and maybe even a nutrition and health coach.

So far we have mentioned that in order to stay committed and focussed you have to keep your vision of where you want to be with you at all times. And repeat it to yourself often.

Make sure to do the Mind the Gap exercise as it will help you set your vision.

Another very important mindset tip is to be AWARE of your inner critic. Pay attention to how you are talking to yourself. Make sure you show yourself some self-compassion.

We tend to be hard on ourselves and we really need to stop doing that.

Your inner critic creates your self-image. And, your weight and health is directly tied to this image!

The best thing you can do is to learn how to manage the voice in your head that criticizes you, the voice that says negative things about your body, or tells you how your’e not good enough.

Your inner critic can keep you stuck!

And Here’s the thing…we all have inner critics.

The next time your inner critic gives you a negative thought, It’s important that you acknowledge the thought and remind yourself that the inner critic voice is just a thought.

Just because you are thinking about something, does not mean that it is true! These thoughts can be exaggerated. Plus, they’re based on your past personal experiences.

A perfect example of this is when your inner critic says “you have been on and off of crazy diets and they haven’t worked. Nothing you do will ever work”

Have you ever said that?

Well, I can tell you for a fact that there are healthy programs out there that will work. Your inner critic is basing it on your personal past experiences.

Your goal would be to acknowledge the thought and then rephrase it. Such as “Yes, I may have been unsuccessful at following the latest trends, losing weight and keeping it off but I know with proper lifestyle changes, I can in fact lose weight and keep it off.“

Rephrasing those thoughts are very important to your success and to your overall wellbeing.

When it comes to weight loss and quick fix crazy programs that don’t work, we have all tried them.

The marketing of them is phenomenal.

We truly want to believe it when they say that we can lose 50 pounds in a month.

It DOES NOT WORK!

Another mindset tip is to let go of perfectionism and allow imperfection to come into your life.

We are human and all humans are imperfect.

There is only one you! You are unique and have strengths in some areas and weaknesses in others. And we continually learn from day to day.

Yes, you will eat something you shouldn’t or miss your walk today or forget to do your meditation.

That just means you are normal. 😊

The best thing you can do is just pick it back up the next day. And over time, all the good that you are doing will impact your results in a positive way.

It is all about PROGRESS and accepting the fact that there is no such thing as perfectionism

Once you do that, your commitment and focus stay strong.

Next, you need to be able to identify the roadblocks that are in your way and work through them.

• Is it a struggle to prepare healthy meals?
• Is it a struggle to get in some exercise?
• Is there confusion about what is healthy. There is so much on the web. What’s right, what isn’t, etc. What will work, what won’T.

Are there too many excuses such as:

• I’m too tired
• I am too stressed
• my family won’t like it if I alter menus
• too expensive to eat well ( a little planning and less take out and you just might find it is cheaper),

The excuses seem valid but they are excuses just the same.

Many of us have said “I have tried to lose weight before and it doesn’t work!” (It does work if you make healthy lifestyle changes, and when you do that not only will weight loss but you will also get so many other health benefits)

I have experienced all these roadblocks and have had all the excuses. It was only when I accepted that making healthy lifestyle changes over time will work, and not to beat up on myself when I did go off track, did I start to see change and it was lasting change.

Plus it was easier to stay committed!

Each of us will have different roadblocks that can detour our efforts. Whats important is that you identify them and then come up with a plan to work through it.

The 5-Day Shift Your Mind to Shift Your Weight Program addresses all of the mindset stuff: setting your vision, taming your inner critic, letting go of perfectionism and more.

And for each one there is an exercise to help you strengthen your mindset.

For all my clients, I begin with this 5 day program because mindset will help get you where you want to go and it will help you to stay committed and focussed.

2. After mindset the second key to staying committed and focussed is to move your body. Especially as we are getting older.

It does not mean going crazy … just moving.

We all can move. It might look different depending on where you are on your health journey.

The key is to start slowly.

Your goal would be to make sure to incorporate a variety of exercises in your routine, some cardio, strength building, flexibility, and balance exercises.

Incorporating all four, cardio, strength, flexibility, and balance will give you the energy that you need to live a life of quality and vitality.

And this is especially important for those of us who are getting older.

The endorphins that come from moving will improve your energy and your mood!

And when you say ‘Oh I am too tired or I don’t feel like it,”  remembering the feel good endorphins that you get when you move just might motivate you to get up and go.

Changing the self talk from “I’m too tired” to “I can’t wait to get re-energized” will do wonders.

If you are still struggling to move, then tell yourself, I will go for a 10 minute walk. And go.

Maybe you’ll only do the 10 minutes and that’s ok. You’ll feel good and happy that you did it.

Or, you may go out for the 10 minutes and end up walking more because it feels great to be moving.

3. The third strategy to staying committed and focussed that I would love to share with you is to focus on healthy eating. You want to EAT TO LIVE and NOT live to eat.

With overweight and obesity statistics around the world continuing to rise, we are finding that too many people are living to eat instead of eating to live.

People who live to eat tend to eat highly processed foods … quick take out foods such as McDonalds, Harveys, or Wendys,   Eating foods without good nutritional content can lead to high risk for chronic diseases.

If you find yourself eating quick processed foods often, then it’s take to make a change.

Before you order it or buy it, try to catch yourself, then take a breath and ask yourself “Will this help me reach my goals? Will it get me to that future vision I have? What could I have instead?”

Just asking yourself these questions may help you to make better choices.

This is not to say that you can’t indulge once in a while. I’m a firm believer in planned indulgences.  And, I believe that when you have a planned indulgence that you enjoy it guilt free!

If you do have an indulgence that was not planned, tell yourself “Ok, I had it, no problem.” Then continue on by “making it right with the next bite”

Another tip to help control eating is to write down everything you eat without judgement. And then review it and see where you may be able to improve.

Sometimes writing it down, will actually stop you from eating unnecessarily!

In addition to all you have heard today, here’s a great exercise that can help you to stay committed and focussed on your health journey.

Grab a paper and pen or open up a document on your computer and make three headings: Mindset, Nutrition, and Exercise.

Next, you are to come up with one non-negotiable for mindset, one for movement, and one for nutrition.

A non-negotiable is something you can do regardless of what is happening in your life.

Here are some examples:

For mindset, your non-negotiable could be:

• To have a positive affirmation that you repeat daily to yourself 
• Maybe it’s to create a vision board and put it where you can see it daily 
• You could take a few minutes in the morning or at lunch or bedtime to run your vision through your head or read it to yourself.

Just pick one non negotiable to begin with. Remember it has to be something you can do no matter what happens in your life.

Mine is to repeat a positive affirmation first thing in the morning. I can do other things for my mindset but this is my non-negotiable because I know I can do it no matter where I am or how I feel. In fact it helps me to feel better.

For eating healthy you’re non-negotiable might be:

• to put your knife and fork down between bites so you can slow down your eating
• to plan out 3 meals for the upcoming week
• maybe its to drink a glass of water before having your first cup of coffee in the morning
• to eat one fruit every day

My non-negotiable used to be to drink a glass of water before my morning coffee but that is so engrained in me now, that it happens without me even thinking. So now I have a new non-negotiable which is to chew my food 20-30 times for every bite.

Find one non-negotiable related to nutrition that works for you and make sure it is something you can do no matter what.

For movement it could be:

• walking 3 times a week for 15-20 minutes
• taking the stairs only at work
• stretching 3 times a week or
• maybe it’s putting your exercise clothes next to your bed before you go to sleep, putting them on as soon as you wake up and then doing some type of morning exercise
• maybe it’s having a dance party twice a week. 🕺

Whatever works for you … and again just pick one!

My non-negotiable is to do some type of exercise four times a week.  I put in my agenda what the exercise is and the time I will do it. Since it is in my agenda, it gets done!

Again, only pick 1 thing that will be a non-negotiable in each category.

Something that you can commit to completely. Committing to 1 thing is very doable.

It sets you up for success and all these little successes add up to big results.

And not only that, since it is doable, it is easier to stay motivated and focussed.

I’m a firm believer in making healthy lifestyle change slowly, step by step, habit by habit and day by day … it works!

All the 1% wins you have along the way are golden as they add up quickly and get you to your health goals.

And, I really don’t believe in any of the restrictive or quick fix diets. They may serve a purpose if you are looking to drop a few pounds for an event but know that those pounds will not stay off.

Of course, diets that are for a specific case such as someone who has high blood pressure or diabetes may be restrictive in terms of certain foods but these are controlled diets and are long term for these individuals. Plus they are followed by a nutritionist.

When it comes to making healthy lifestyle changes, some of you may be able to move forward on your own and that is awesome.

And for others, even though you know what to do, you would benefit more by having support and help from a nutrition or health coach.

There is a ton of information on the web that you can research and I think you all know by now that some of it is valid and lots of it isn’t.  And because of that it can become really confusing as to know what to eat or not eat and why; types of exercises to do, etc

I don’t know if there are any mindset programs such as the one I have. You may find bits and pieces of it here and there.

Because I want to help others make lasting healthy lifestyle changes, I put together my 90 Day Healthy Eating and Active Living program that works WITH you.

It is focussed on the 3 pillars of nutrition, movement, and mindset. And what makes it unique is number 1 that it works.

It EMPOWERS YOU to make the changes you need to make. It will guide you along your health path and due to the nature of building habits one at a time, it will prevent overwhelm.

And, you will have the support and accountability you need to stay committed and focussed

If you are interested in having more info, just click the link below, and, if you are not sure if it is for you and would like to chat, we can definitely do that.

→ 90-Day Healthy Eating & Active Living Program

In any case, I hope that the tips shared today on how to stay committed and focussed have given you what you need.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out by commenting below or sending me an email. Take care, stay healthy, and here’s to aging with vitality

Love the life you live,

Anita Duwel
Certified Holistic Nutrition Coach
Certified Master Workplace Wellness Consultant
FB Group Aging with Vitality
Coach Anita Duwel FB Page
AnitaDuwel@live.com 

PS If you are 45 or over, I invite you to join my Aging with Vitality FaceBook Group. It is a place to share information and strategies on living a life of quality and vitality. Be the first to have access to freebies, challenges, etc.  Also a place to share some funnies!