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Feeling Stuck with Your Health Goals? You may be sabotaging your goals.

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“I’m STUCK!!”

“The scales haven’t moved in WEEKS!!”

“I’m doing EVERYTHING I’m supposed to do!”

 

These are just a few frustrated comments I’ve heard from clients who are on their journey toward better health.

 

Can you relate?

I know I can.

 

You’re doing everything possible and NOTHING – I mean – NOTHING is going your way.

 

My most frustrating moment happened many years ago. I had joined a healthy eating plan with a group of other ladies and we met weekly. Week after week the other women would come to the meeting all giddy about their weight loss. Me? Ha! It took me 12 weeks – that’s right – 12 weeks to lose one little pound. And believe me, I was living by the book, so much so, my family threatened to leave town.

 

Feeling stuck is so disheartening and you get to the point of throwing in the towel. You’ve ditched the processed junk foods and started bringing healthy lunches to work.  These are powerful first steps that sound simple but make a profound impact.  You even saw some significant improvements in the beginning, but you’ve seemed to hit a plateau. 

 

So, what’s going on?

 

Let me share what I discovered in my own journey. While eating clean is of utmost importance when paving a healthier path, there could be some non-food related reasons why you’re not seeing or feeling any improvements lately. 

 

 

Here are a few non-food related reasons you may be feeling stuck…

 

Being too focused on the scale

Who in the world says we must weigh every single day?

Banish that bad boy to the corner and put a towel over it.

 

When you feel like you’re doing all the right things, it can be frustrating not to see or feel any improvements — try not to get discouraged, though.  We tend to measure our success by the number staring back at us on our scale, which isn’t an effective way to gauge our progress.  With things like fluid fluctuations and building muscle, the scale can be deceptive. 

 

Get Healthy

 

I refuse to weigh anymore. It is most practical and accurate to assess our growth by how we feel and how our clothes are fitting.  Don’t let the scale tell you how you’re feeling; you are far more than that number. 

 

 

Not exercising

Are you exercising?

 

If you’re eating healthy and not prioritizing exercise of some sort, you will likely hit that plateau.  While eating clean is a crucial piece of staying healthy, exercise is the other puzzle piece necessary to achieve the goals you’ve set for yourself. 

 

You don’t need to workout in the gym for an hour every day if you don’t want to but at the very least, walk briskly for 20 to 30 minutes each day.  Find the exercise that fits into your schedule and that you enjoy the most. 

 

I’m sitting at this lovely computer most of time and discovered the desk cycle last year. I have since purchased one for each of my desks and cycle away during the day. This, added to my normal exercise routine, keeps me active during the day.

 

 

Exercising too much

And yes, there’s a fine line to walk with exercise. If you don’t exercise enough, it’s not ideal — but if you exercise too much it causes stress and impairs your adrenal hormone production. So if you’re working out too much in hopes to reach your goals faster, take a couple of days off and reevaluate your workout strategy for better results, like with yoga and weights instead. 

 

Contrary to what you might think, weights are an important part of an exercise that will help you build a stronger body, even when your body is at rest.  Here’s a little tip if you don’t have any weights. Grab a couple of cans of vegetables from your pantry and lift away – they’re approximately a pound each.

 

 

You’re still drinking sugar

This is the biggest saboteur of our health goals.

 

Sure, you eat salads and healthy meals all day long but your morning coffee is filled with cream and sugar, or you’re drinking fruit juices or diet soda. 

 

If this is a struggle, make it a goal this week to begin making some changes in this area.  If your drink of choice is something other than water, begin trading water in for your beverage of choice until you crave water more than that sugary drink.  It will happen, I assure you! 

 

Try flavored sparkling water like LaCroix to satisfy the bubbly craving and infuse your water with fruit to add some flavor. 

 

 

I’ve learned to pay attention to other areas of my life when I’m feeling stuck with my health goals. Being mindful of all areas of your life is as important as your eating habits. So when you feel like you’re stuck in a rut, reevaluate the non-food related daily habits that may be hindering your progress.

 

Here’s a little checklist to keep you motivated during those moments of frustration. Request your FREE copy, print it, and post it in a place you can easily read each strategy daily. 

 

 

Mindful Health Lifestyle Strategies

 

 

 

Blog Photo by Christian Joudrey on Unsplash