It's okay to do things your own way!

Hello, Friend! Happy Tuesday!

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Really. It’s okay if you don't do things the same way everyone else does. In fact, it might be better if you go about life in the way that makes sense for you and not try to fit into a mold that isn’t appropriate.

Here’s the thing though, when it comes to fitness and nutrition, the scientific principles still have to be there.

As a simple example, in order to lose weight you need to be in a calorie deficit. That’s the science. The way you go about getting into the deficit, however, can be entirely personal. Some people like to track their food. Some people like to fast. Some people prefer to moderate treats or portion sizes. Some people like to add exercise. Any of those can work and get the same result.

Similarly, some people can work towards their goals and manage their food all on their own. Others can have one consultation call with a coach and be good to go. Others want 1:1 guidance and weekly coaching. Within that, some might want and benefit from more frequent contacts, daily even.

What am I getting at with all of this?? It’s that knowing yourself and the way you function best is hugely beneficial when it comes to achieving food and fitness goals.

If you think about yourself in other aspects of your life, that might help you figure out what kinds of plans might be best for you when it comes to food.

Here are some questions to consider:

• How do you work best at your job? With support from a manager? With lists? With focused targets? Specific checkpoints?

• If you think back to your past experiences, have there been times when you’ve set a goal and stuck to it until finished? If so, what did you do to support yourself during the process? Use those same principles to help you create supports for your food plan.

• In thinking about those past experiences, did you utilize a coach or guide or work with a group? If so, you might want to consider hiring a coach to help you with food.

• Are you someone who easily adopts habits? Like, if you decide to drink more water you just DO it? If so, you might think about the habitual actions that you could use to get you closer to your goal, rank them in order of importance, and then institute them every week or two until you’ve built the life that’ll get you to your goals.

• How do your emotions play into this? Are you easily swayed by how you’re feeling in the moment? If so, you may want to create non-negotiables for yourself that you will stick to (barring emergency) in your food/fitness plan. Equally, having a guide/partner/coach to share how you’re feeling and get support might be helpful!

• Do you operate well with '“rewards” or checkpoints? If so, how can you set those up for yourself? Or is it possible to have someone else hold you accountable to them or reward you?

Maybe these are not ALL of the questions that will help you figure out how to approach your food plan, but they can at least get you thinking about how you prefer to operate and what might be best for your approach to food.

The worst (okay maybe not actually the worst, but I’m using the word anyway) thing we could do is to assume we can do things a certain way, whether it’s because someone else did it that way or because that’s how we “should” do it, and then experience failure or frustration because it’s not the way that makes the most sense for you as a learner/doer.

Figure out what’s best for you. And then use that to help you achieve what you want.

What do you think of this idea? Helpful to think about how you prefer to/best do things and what you’re trying to accomplish? Or is this like a “duh, Sara, we all already know and do this” kinda thing?Let me know in the comments or via email at sara@nutritionforlifeproject.com!

As always, thank you for reading,
xoxo,
Sara