Here’s a short story: I have been meeting with a client, one who is really starting from square 1. She hasn’t ever really cooked (tacos and burgers are her staple along with pizza night), she didn’t know what a crock pot was (or if she even had one – she did), had no idea what some ingredients were nor where to find them at the store, and each week, cooked the exact same menu because she’s a busy mom with a husband and two growing boys, ate out almost every day, never really had a grocery list so was going to the store every single day, and she felt lost and anxious. She sees a personal trainer 3 days a week, but knew she needed something else to get her to where she wants to be. So we met. She impressed me because she didn’t have any excuses. She fully admitted that she’s a sugar-holic and that her diet is terrible. She also knew that she wasn’t pushing herself with her trainers. She wanted so badly to lose weight and get in shape, to start eating better so that her family would start eating better, too. She wants to be a good role model for her kids so that they never struggle with a healthy lifestyle. She had no excuses, and wanted a change. And that’s how I knew she was ready for the 1:1 coaching.
 
After our initial meeting, we met the following week. We came up with a plan that she felt comfortable with. We didn’t go for major changes, just small ones. She decided that she would drink more than 2 bottles of water per day, only drink one can of diet pop per day, cook one new meal out of the 3 that I had given her, and just try to make healthier choices.
 
We met again, and I was blown away. She started off by telling me that she had some good and some bad. She had made 2 new dishes (not just 1!) and her family LOVED them! She also had made enough for leftovers (something she never did), and was able to eat those leftovers for lunch, as well as on the nights that she had very little time to cook. She didn’t go out like she usually did, but when she did, she ate only half her meal. She tried sticking to only one soda per day, but on a couple of days had 2. She did have a sugary snack at the end of the night, but when she thought about it, she didn’t have as many cookies as she normally would have. She got an extra workout in at home and felt great. And the best part was that in just a couple of weeks, she felt more in control, she wasn’t overwhelmed, and all the steps she took were small ones.
 
She was telling me that she could have done better, and I reminded her to look where she started just a couple of weeks prior. She had made amazing changes in that short amount of time and didn’t feel deprived, nor overwhelmed. Everything she did was doable and she was already seeing the benefits with those small changes that she was making. She was confident that she could continue making small changes so that she could live a healthier lifestyle.
 
So the moral of the story is this…if you want to create a healthier lifestyle, you need to take ownership and drop the excuses. Take small doable steps toward your goal, and stay consistent. All of those small steps add up. You may not realize it at the time, but when you look back, you’ll see that you’ve come miles from where you were.
 
So, what small steps can you take today that will get you closer to the healthier lifestyle you’d like?