The myth of moderate change
When making a decision to become healthier, do you believe it’s best to approach the change with a series of small incremental steps, or would you be best off jumping right in and changing everything at once?
Making a number of moderate changes instead of doing it all at once makes a lot sense. Little steps and small, attainable goals are rewarding. We love success, and setting realistic expectations for many of things we strive for leads to the desired outcome and makes us feel proud of our accomplishments.
Take saving money for example, saving just 2% of your income every time you get paid will build into a significant sum over time. If you want to learn an instrument, a few minutes of daily practice goes a long way. Athletes training may be shaving milliseconds off their time each month through consistent training, and in 4 years can break world records. Building a business on social media through regular posting and growing your audience of ideal followers is a gradual and sustainable way to grow a business.
Even with your exercise routine this can be true. How many times have you got all serious about going to the gym, signed up, hammered it with both weights and cardio for a few days and then collapsed in a heap, never to walk in those doors again throughout your entire annual membership? Committing to three sessions a week would be more achievable. Having a trainer write a program that gradually builds your strength and endurance over time would be more likely to get you the result you’re chasing, especially if there was some accountability built in.
With all these common examples of when small changes is the answer, its easy to see why many of us approach changing our health and lifestyle in small steps too. Giving up cigarettes, and alcohol, and junk food, and soft drink, all at the same time, as well as going plant based, drinking more water, beginning regular exercise, and changing out all your toxic personal products for natural alternatives, all at the same time, sounds crazy.
It is reasonable, given what we know, to think about tackling each thing, gradually one at a time. Maybe start with cigarettes, and smoke one less each day until you’re down to zero. When you’ve cracked that go for fast food. Just give up Macca’s first, then Hungry Jack’s, gradually until there are no fast food places left to give up. Then lollies, first I’ll give up Black Cats, then Jelly Snakes… Now alcohol, I’ll start measuring and reduce my intake a little each day.
You get it now don’t you!
What makes sense for many things in life just doesn’t work when it comes to changing our diet and lifestyle. The truth is, that this is one time when jumping right in and doing it all at once really pays off. If we abstain from alcohol, we are less likely to reach for a cigarette, and more likely to make healthy food choices. If we have eaten a diet of fresh fruits and vegetables, we’re more likely to feel like going for a walk. If we stop consuming toxic ingredients in our food by eliminating all junk food, we are more likely to feel mentally clearer and emotionally happier, which makes less likely to reach for such foods and other mind and emotion numbing substances.
Another truth is that junk foods, sugar, alcohol, cigarettes, recreational drugs, soft drinks all have withdrawal symptoms as you detox. You can have headaches, nausea, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, low mood… do you want to drag this out, or get it over with ASAP?
As soon as you start drinking more water and eating more whole fruits and vegetables your body will begin to detox. Going for a walk, doing some breathing exercises, letting your body sweat instead of blocking the pores with antiperspirants will therefore speed up the detox. By doing it all at once you can actually start to feel really good in just 3 or 4 days. The good feeling is rewarding. You have more energy and clarity. You feel like a champion, and success breeds success.
Yes the first couple of days may be hard, but your motivation is high at the beginning, In just a few days you have a taste of just how great you can feel. You can feel rested, energetic, healthy, happy, free from pain, fatigue, brain fog, and all the associated emotional baggage. Your ability to handle life stressors will increase, and your likelihood to reach for those toxic escapes will decrease.
Thus when it comes to making health and lifestyle changes, even though it may at first seem counter intuitive, doing it all at once is your most likely path to success. This is the theory underpinning all my coaching programs. All begin with education and awareness around nutrition and toxicity, and then we jump all in! – We stop putting toxins in and start filling ourselves with fresh fruits and vegetables. We implement simple lifestyle changes such as walking, drinking more water, getting in the sunshine and we support all the avenues of elimination and detoxification. For some, a deeper detox or cleanse in the form of a fast can be part of the journey. For all we look at creating a sustainable lifestyle which we can continue to live beyond the program.
One other thing which increases our chance of success is not to do this alone. You can work one to one with a coach, which gives you a great personalised journey and is recommended if you have a specific condition or lifestyle disease you are looking to reverse.
For many people who just want to reboot their health and kickstart a healthy lifestyle, joining a group program is a great option. Being on the journey with a group of likeminded people keeps you inspired, motivated and accountable. You can support each other and cheer each other on.
If this is something you’re keen to do, I am offering half price places on my 8 week group coaching program to the first 10 people to commit. The program commences on 5th Feb, once the holidays are done, the kids are back at school and we have time to focus on our selves a little more.
If you would like further information, please book a free discovery call and lets chat and see if this is right for you.