New Health Program? Don’t Make These Mistakes! by Joan Kent, PhD

New Health Program? Don’t Make These Mistakes!
by Joan Kent, PhD

Congratulations on caring about your health and wellness – and for getting started now. To help you prepare, here are the 3 biggest mistakes people make when starting a health and weight-loss program – and what to do instead.

MISTAKE #1: Thinking “Diet” Instead of Health

“Diet” is an outdated term for a temporary change in eating habits. From the start, the goal of a diet is to lose the weight so you can go off the diet and get back to eating “normally.” Which is probably what caused the problem(s) in the first place.

INSTEAD, focus on your health and think long-term. Fortunately, most people have abandoned the diet concept in favor of lifestyle and lifetime changes. Change what you eat – not just your portion sizes, not just your calories (I don’t care what anyone says). Make the changes gradually so you don’t feel as if you can’t wait to get back to your old habits.

MISTAKE #2: The All-or-Nothing Approach

What’s all-or-nothing with exercise? “I don’t have time for my usual 45 minutes, so I won’t work out today.”

What’s all-or-nothing with food? “I ate a cookie, so I blew it. I’ll start again on Monday.” (That can be really bad if it’s Tuesday – and you spend the week eating bags of cookies to gear up for Monday’s diet.)

INSTEAD, with exercise, think Better Than Nothing. Do whatever your time allows. Won’t 15 minutes burn more calories than skipping your workout altogether?

In fact, it’s a good idea – some say a better idea – to follow current thinking on high-intensity interval training. Plan a workout of, say, 10 or 11 minutes. Start with a short warm-up, followed by intense bursts of 30-45 seconds and 15 seconds of rest. Keep repeating till you’re done.

With food, review Mistake #1. You’re in this for the long haul. What’s 1 cookie over the course of your life? After a splurge, planned or not, go right back to healthful eating. Not next Monday, but now – or at the very next meal.

MISTAKE #3: Confusing Motivation and Enthusiasm

Which comes first – motivation or results? Often, people say motivation. How can you get results if you’re not motivated to start? And there’s some truth in that.

But my first fitness job was to show new members how to use the equipment and begin their programs. Some were excited; others were resigned: “My doctor said I need to exercise to lower my blood pressure.” “My wife told me I have to lose weight.” Some were even resentful; they just didn’t want to be there.

Yet once they started to see results – lose weight, feel more energetic, sleep better, get compliments – they wouldn’t miss a day. They’d leave a pair of cross-trainers in the trunk because it messed up their plans when they forgot them one day. Sometimes results come first.

So what is motivation? Many people think it’s excitement, but that’s usually on a sliding scale.

The early A.M. gym crowd, for example, is pretty consistent. A man who’s at the gym most mornings once told me, “I didn’t want to be here today, but I said, ‘Gotta do it.’”

On any given day, many gym regulars probably feel exactly the same way.

INSTEAD, take a more open approach:
• Accept your love-it-hate-it feelings about exercise and eating better. One day, working on your health will feel great. Next day, you’ll hate it. Embrace the dichotomy.

• Prepare healthy meals while grumbling. Exercise with a scowl. Complain to anyone who’ll listen. No matter how much you didn’t want to do it, you’ll be glad you did.

• Redefine motivation as a neutral state. It’s not always enthusiasm, let alone excitement. If you did it, you were motivated.

Sometimes motivation is just planning, then getting where you have to be, doing what you need to do, and pushing through the obstacles that come up – so you can get the goal you say you want.

In keeping with that view, one of my favorite quotations comes from George Bernard Shaw, who said:

“Forget about likes and dislikes; they are of no consequence.
Just do what must be done. This may not be happiness, but it is greatness.”

Of course, I’m also partial to the Nike slogan: “Just Do It.”

No one said, “Jump up and down with excitement and then do it.”

Small Changes Can Lead to Big Change

It’s easy to avoid starting something because you don’t believe you can do it. But a single small step, then another, and another can make a big difference over time.

Build slowly and watch things (including your self-image) change. Next thing you know, you’ll be light years from where you started – and feeling great about it.

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Where could you use some help – with planning, doing what you need to do, pushing through obstacles, something else? Coaching could be the best way forward. Please visit Coaching on the home page and sign up for a free, no-obligation Food Breakthrough Session. I’ve been coaching clients to great results for many years. I’d love to help you reach your goals.