“Not Nurturing yourself is not selfish - it's essential to your survival and your well-being." - Renee Peterson Trudeau

Introduction:

Starting a new health journey is exciting and fun! You can’t wait to get to work on yourself. Buying the new gym membership and exercise outfit will be put to use. 

Staying on that road isn’t easy. Each year 80% of people who start a New Year’s Resolution give up after thirty days. Why? They don’t plan for the hardest phase of getting healthier.

Dealing with Your “Messy Middle” 

Did you know only 9% of people complete their New Year’s Resolutions each year? That means 81% are not finishing what they started. Since financial and health changes are at the top of the resolution list, I thought I’d chime in on why this happens for one’s health.

It’s because we fail to plan for what I call the “Messy Middle.” 

This is the space between starting your health journey and getting the health transformations you want. How come so many of us struggle with the messy middle? The answer may surprise you.

Let's look at four ways to deal with the pesky middle of your health journey! You don't have to feel defeated when your roadblocks to health happen. 👊

1. Be Honest About Your Habits

I was documenting my daily runs on Facebook for several weeks. When I first started I didn’t ask myself an important question; “What could stop me from running consistently?” First, decide what your health resolution will be. Lose thirty pounds, eat smaller portions. 

Next, make a list of current habits that may break your consistency. A big one for me is the weather. In Washington state we get a ton of rain? So, I have to plan accordingly. If I don't, my chances of not sticking to my routine are high.

What obstacles can get in the way of your health improvement? Be honest and list them out. Having them in front of you can lower the worry of not sticking to it. 

With the right blog, you can drive traffic to your site consistently. A blog is also a great way to generate sales. If people visit your blog and sign up for your email newsletter or download a resource that you’ve put out there, they become potential customers or clients of your business. Blogs are a great way to get people engaged with your brand.

2. Plan for Special Events

The biggest time for your transformation to falter is during the holidays! The months of October to through January offer a bevy of food temptations! It’s easy to tell yourself, “I’ll just get back on it on Monday.” After a few Monday’s you’re back to square one.

Check your calendar. What personal and professional events do you have planned? Put together a “Disaster Meal Plan.” This is the plan you can use to eat at or after events. You know the ones I’m talking about. They have all the sugary, fattening treats we all love!

3. Change Your Mindset

Once you skip a workout or eat more than one cheat meal, guess what? It’s easier to feel defeated and eventually quit getting healthier. That old mindset of “Here we go again!” won’t cut it. Instead, change your mindset. Here’s how I do it. I tell myself at the beginning of each week:

“Clyde, you won’t do your workout perfectly. In fact, you may even eat something you shouldn’t. But the next day I'll get back to it!”

Just because you don’t work out for a few days, or eat a cheat meal, it doesn’t mean you’re a failure in getting in shape. Have the mindset you will keep on getting healthier no matter what!

4. Realize Setbacks Are Apart of Success

There’s no such thing as perfection when it comes to getting healthier. I would love to eat the perfect foods and workout like a pro athlete each day. And there are days when I don’t want to work out. Sometimes ice cream sounds better! But I don’t beat myself about it if I have a healthy habit setback. 

Remember, your health journey is a process. It’s a one-step-at-a-time walk. Rarely is sprinting involved with progress. All good things do take time. View your setbacks as part of success. You will appreciate this when your transformation happens for you!

The "Messy Middle" Quick Workout!

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