Stop The Rot

I've been slacking over the past few weeks on my nutrition.  I realised it when I looked at my food tracking app on my phone.  Too many red lines - days where I ate more calories than I should have.  My habits had slipped backwards and some old habits are surfacing again.

But it didn't happen overnight.  It happened over the course of a few weeks - a meal here, a meal there, an extra coffee or a treat I knew didn't really needed.  It started to creep in without me even really noticing it.

My point is that sometimes the change in our eating doesn't come as a result of a catastrophic binge one weekend.  It can happen in a very gradual way.  What we need to do is notice when it is happening and take action when it does.

I often tell people to keep a food diary when they first start training with me.  I don't tell them this necessarily to make them count calories or check their nutrient levels.  I do it to promote mindfulness in their eating.

When we become mindful of our habits we are able to change them and make the change stick.  This is the key to long-term lifestyle change - making the habits stick.  So if you feel like there is some rot sinking in, stop the rot and start again.

This is what I am doing this week, focussing on the day to day process that has helped me in the past - one meal at a time, one day at a time.  Building successful days into successful weeks, into successful months.

That is the key point here - focus on what you are doing this day, this meal, or even this hour.  Focus on the small wins, and they will gradually turn into big improvements in your health and fitness.
_________________________________________________________________________

I would love to hear what you think about this article.  Feel free to comment or recommend this post to a friend via social media.  It would mean a lot to me.