Consistently Sustainable

Joseph Carrera R.H.N.

www.triple3holisticnutrition.com

Do you ever find yourself wanting a lifestyle change? The plan is all set, and all the necessary steps to achieve those changes are mapped out. You start off great. You feel amazing and proud, then find yourself stuck and heading back to your old ways? Sound familiar? We all get caught up looking at fitness and health professionals out there, dreaming that we could look half as good as they do, and know just a little bit of what they know.

We stare at pictures they post and wonder what they're eating? We Admire them for making good food choices, while making it look so easy. You’re instantly filled with amazement, hope and frustration all at the same time. So, how do you get there? What is the key to their progress? Two words. Consistency and Sustainability.

No one starts at step ten. Regardless of where you are and where you want to be, you need to start at the very beginning. First, start off by asking yourself what you truly want? Set realistic goals, and take the baby steps to get there. Is it a weight loss journey you want to be on? Are you trying to improve an aspect of your health? What is it that YOU want? Forget about the world around you and all wonderful Instagram posts, and focus on you.

I can speak from personal experience. Drastic changes to your diet, don’t work. They look good on paper and in your mind, but they aren’t sustainable. Why aren’t they sustainable? It’s too much of a change, too fast. It’s too much of a difference that you simply aren’t ready for. No one starts off running a 10 km marathon. You start by going for causal walks. Maybe those walks turn into longer jogs. The point is, you work up to the changes in your life. You can’t go from bacon, fried eggs and French toast for breakfast one day, to coconut yogurt and pumpkin seeds over night and expect it too stick. There’s not a health and wellness professional out there who would expect a change like that too last.

That brings us to my least favourite word in the industry, diet. There’s no such thing. You’re not looking for the next trend or fad. You’re looking for sustainable food changes and choices that you can build off. Remember the mention of step ten? Well, making a sustainable change is step one. Take your current “diet” and change one item you know isn’t beneficial for you.

Here’s the key, here’s the moment this article makes the most sense. You NEVER remove anything from your current “diet”, without replacing it with something nutritionally sound and equally enjoyable.

For instance, if you’re used to 2 pieces of white toast for breakfast, why not try substituting 2 pieces of whole grain bread? It’s a simple change you probably won’t notice, but your body will. Build on that change with what goes on your toast. Are you used to margarine? (that’s a discussion for another day). How about adding a little organic butter, or organic coconut oil? Just two ideas in an ocean of alternative choices we have today. Soon, these changes become the norm, and you will be excited for the next small step. Without realizing it, you’ve made plenty of progress which will feed your hunger for more change. Eventually, you’ll be examining what other aspects of your food choices you can change.

Going back to consistency. These are changes that need to be adhered to as much as possible. Sure, we all veer off track every now and again, but the ability to get back on track is the difference between standing still and moving forward. No one expects perfection and complete structure, all the time. Even people in the health and wellness field want a burger and fries here and there, but how many times will you see that picture posted? The difference is having that kind of meal once in a while, or having it consistently.

Eating consistently healthy will produce results, even if a “bad” choice meal gets thrown in the mix. Conversely, having bad choice meals constantly, then eating fresh veggies for a snack will not help you in achieving your goals.

No matter where you are in your journey, keep in mind there will always be people further ahead than you. There will always be those who know more than you, eat better than you, but they all started off the same. They wanted to know more. They wanted to understand what their food choices can do for them, and they all started much like this.

Sometimes reading a few words can spark a flame that ignites a fire and a journey you never imagined taking. How big a spark, or how long that fire burns, is ultimately your choice.

Only you can feed that fire.