What’s your “addiction?”
When it comes to food, we all have an addiction. It’s the one thing that you just cannot say no to. It’s always calling your name and wins you over in times of weakness, knocking you right off the fitness bandwagon right into the guilt trap.
In some cases, this guilty pleasure stops you from even starting.
You may or may not be aware, but that one thing you just “can’t” do is holding you back from all that you can do that’s completely unrelated. . . and it’s a total lie. Food addictions are mental and they can always be beat.
There is one piece of advice that works every time with any fitness goal you have: start small, and start now.
There’s a common misconception that fitness is “go hard or go home,” “no days off,” or “committed all the way” and that, unfortunately, makes it seem exclusive. The truth is, you can be just as dedicated, disciplined, and strong but you must start where you are. Imagine having the discipline to get in shape whenever you want and having complete control over how you want to look and feel on a day to day basis. You can be one step closer to that now. Use these steps to get you started on finally getting rid of your “addiction.”
Keep your guilty pleasure.
Go ahead, do it. If you feel like you can’t slay the dragon now, don’t even try. Don’t even burden yourself mentally with this monumental task. Just build your armor, little by little. Train your fighting skills, day by day until one day you have the courage, mindset and skills to defeat your enemy.
There are two ways to view your goals: One is “I want to lose weight but I love pizza. How can all these other people not eat pizza ever? I really don’t want to give up pizza this is going to suck.”
The other is “I’m going to lose weight.”
The first option is painful and daunting, the second opens the door for solutions. Which one do you think will give you the outcome you want?
Forget about your weaknesses for now and focus on what you can do.
Pick one thing you can do.
Pick just one. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t have to announce it on Facebook. It can be to just drink more water or throw away those last few bites of every meal. If you’re struggling, the smaller the goal the better. It may seem counter-intuitive but when you accomplish small things, you will gain confidence to do bigger things and the winning ball just keeps rolling, getting bigger and bigger each day/month/year. Everyone has something they are good at.
Feed what you exceed at it. It has a magical way of turning your weaknesses around.
Challenge yourself.
Now you have the one thing you can do, let’s say, eat 1 cup of veggies before each meal. You feel proficient at this and you can even stay committed to it standing before a Thanksgiving feast.
It’s now time to up the ante.
Choose some way to build on that. Maybe you can completely replace something on your plate with the cup of veggies or try to season a different veggie you were never a fan of. Have fun with it. You’re practicing for the big addiction which brings us right into my final point…
Give yourself room to fail.
This is a journey, not a test. You cannot win every battle so it’s okay if you try to do something and you don’t get it right. Try again or pick something smaller. Every time you succeed at your small goals you are that much stronger and growth is what we are aiming for. Failing does not take anything away from you so if you get it wrong, don’t get sad and quit. Shrug, learn from why it didn’t work and reset.
Eventually, in less time than you think, you will look up at the dragon, with full armor, ready to finally win.
Leah Watkins is a NASM certified personal trainer and natural figure competitor. She believes that fitness is personal and should be tailored to each person’s individual lifestyle. After embarking on her own fitness journey and losing over 70 lbs, she has made it her mission to offer simple, easy to follow tips on how to get to any fitness level you desire! Instagram: @the_leahshow.
By subscribing, you consent to receive emails from BlackDoctor.com. You may unsubscribe at any time. Privacy Policy & Terms of Service.
