Lose The "All Or Nothing" Mentality
Most of my clients are working parents and we chat a lot about balancing the triangle of family, work and health. Clients tend to get into a good exercise routine and it’s all going well until suddenly it’s not. A family member gets sick, there’s a big project on at work, a childcare arrangement falls through, an injury happens. They skip a couple of workouts due to unavoidable commitments. They grab some takeaways en route to or from said commitments, maybe to and from. And maybe a chocolate bar at the petrol station. From there, they give themselves permission to let it all hang out and embark on a streak of unhealthy choices. After all, what’s the point in restraint until they’re able to resume the gym regime and “get back on track”? Usually on a Monday, perhaps with a new fad diet ….
When you’re a bit of a perfectionist it can be difficult to accept things not going to plan, and easier to embrace complete chaos than realise the goals you’ve set are unrealistically high for this point in time and adjust accordingly. My job as a trainer is to identify when a client is about to throw themselves off the wagon and step in to change the goals.
Here are a few examples of the types of dialed down short-term goals I set clients under pressure:
To keep the metabolic rate up drink just one litre of water a day if three isn’t possible. Aim to average seven hours of sleep a night if eight is unrealistic.
To keep some awareness of treats, diarise food three days a week if five is not realistic. Keep two days a week alcohol-free if four is impossible.
To keep up some level of exercise do just ten pressups each weekday if a whole workout is not possible. Temporarily shift PT sessions down to once a fortnight if twice a week is not realistic.
A client won’t lose weight on a dialed back regime but sometimes my job is just to make sure they don’t gain it. Don’t let being busy / sick / injured / stressed / out of routine / over it be an excuse to completely let yourself go. Keep your momentum and a sense of progress. Then you won’t have to battle guilt and regret which is healthier on every dimension.
When you’re a bit of a perfectionist it can be difficult to accept things not going to plan, and easier to embrace complete chaos than realise the goals you’ve set are unrealistically high for this point in time and adjust accordingly. My job as a trainer is to identify when a client is about to throw themselves off the wagon and step in to change the goals.
Here are a few examples of the types of dialed down short-term goals I set clients under pressure:
To keep the metabolic rate up drink just one litre of water a day if three isn’t possible. Aim to average seven hours of sleep a night if eight is unrealistic.
To keep some awareness of treats, diarise food three days a week if five is not realistic. Keep two days a week alcohol-free if four is impossible.
To keep up some level of exercise do just ten pressups each weekday if a whole workout is not possible. Temporarily shift PT sessions down to once a fortnight if twice a week is not realistic.
A client won’t lose weight on a dialed back regime but sometimes my job is just to make sure they don’t gain it. Don’t let being busy / sick / injured / stressed / out of routine / over it be an excuse to completely let yourself go. Keep your momentum and a sense of progress. Then you won’t have to battle guilt and regret which is healthier on every dimension.