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Does this resonate with you?
“It's really hard to get back into my routine when I return home from vacation.”
If it does, this email should help:
The Big Picture 🖼
Explain It To Me It Like I’m 5 🧒
What Wagon? 🛒
How To Think & Act Clearly 🔎
Parting Zen 🧘♂️
The Big Picture 🖼
I’ve often written that ‘there is no such thing as going off track.’
While that’s true regarding your Journey (the long one of life) …
… that doesn’t mean you want to stay off course for too long now.
It’s July 4th weekend here in the USA.
It’s a holiday that leads to short, medium, and long durations of behaviors that do not support the fitness goals of many people.
Here’s my opening suggestion for you:
Learn to think and act clearly about staying on track.
It’s that simple.
I will explain how to do that below.
Explain It To Me Like I’m 5 👦
Today’s topic, as simply as possible:
“It’s not always clear why we do things.”
What Wagon? 🛒
Just a thought:
How To Think & Act Clearly 🔎
Thinking Clearly
“I had a few drinks this weekend, so what’s one more night?”
“I’ll get back on track after [after the summer / next week / some other time].”
“I’m too busy to start or restart my diet now.”
These are unclear thoughts.
None of them is your authentic voice.
These justifications are an avoidance of pain.
The pain of doing (or not doing) something now.
Truth: it is easier to do nothing different now.
Learning to change your thinking is simple.
It is not easy; it takes practice.
Here are a ways to begin jumping over these mental hurdles:
Review Your ‘Why’ & Goals.
This should be clear, written out, and reviewed at least monthly. It’s helpful to remember why you are doing this when things get rough.
Name Your ‘Demon.’
Giving a name to ‘that voice on your shoulder’ will help you tame it. It sounds silly, but it works. It’s not the real you talking; it’s ____.
Insert A Pause.
Insert a mandatory 1-minute pause before eating anything. You still have permission to eat it, but only after the pause.
Remove & Reframe Negative Words.
Change the way you speak to yourself and others. Force yourself to write out repetitive negative thoughts in the positive.
Assign Impermanence.
It’s OK to have negative thoughts or feelings, but we tend to exaggerate and internalize their duration.
Here’s an example thought pattern:
“I ate like crap this weekend, so I’ll just have another cookie tonight. It doesn’t really matter anyway because I always do this. I’ll never be thin.”
Here’s how you might rewrite that on paper:
“I could have made better choices this week for sure. I will do my best tomorrow to make choices to help me feel good about my eating. I deserve better.”
Even if you don’t believe that, writing it out will help you begin to believe it.
Acting Clearly
If I go in-depth into this section, today’s email will go far beyond my 5-minute reading time promise. I will expand on Acting Clearly more soon.
The punchline is:
Once you have decided to take a positive action, the key is to take an action you can stick to repeatedly that supports your goals.
So, a poor action would be, ‘After falling off track this vacation, I’m going to jump into a complicated crash diet to lose weight quickly.’
A better action would be, ‘After falling off track this vacation, I’m going to focus on eating three meals a day, each with adequate proteins & vegetables, plus 1-2 whole fruits as snacks.’
If you do the second action six days out of seven, you’ll lose those 5 pounds from vacation in one week.
If you need personalized help with your actions, you can click here to book a call with me.
I’ve created a short survey for you. If you didn’t fill it out last week …
Your responses will be very helpful in making the newsletter more valuable.
Parting Zen 🧘♂️
A simple word, phrase, or thought to take with you:
It’s not the car or the road driving your health; it’s you.
Be well,
Coach Matt
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PPS: My common-sense disclaimer …
The advice I offer is not medical advice. If you have any medical issues, please consult your doctor first. The advice I offer should be personalized to your needs. I can help you make those personalizations or refer you out. Reply to this email if you need help.keto
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