Okay, so we’re knee-deep in summer; actually I have even started to feel a few hints of Fall in the early morning and the days are in fact getting shorter. July is almost done and we’re heading for August. Right now I am feeling like it might be a good time to check the compass and see where we’re heading with our food and nutrition. This is something anyone can do, but it’s especially useful for those of you who have been working hard at really solid food habits. This might end up sounding very Tony Robbins-ish, but bear with me, it’s all good. I’m going to break down (3) simple steps for a quick tune up.
Step 1: Right now grab a pen and paper and write down an accurate accounting about your current nutrition / daily food routine / diet. Here’s an example of the quick sound byte I’m looking for: “I am currently preparing 75% of all my meals at home, running an 80/20 primal program, loving it and wouldn’t change a thing about how I’m rolling.” Or perhaps the sound byte sounds more like, “I’ve been rocking the vaporizer a little too much, and I’ve hit In-n-out three times this week, and I can’t wait for number four! Maple-glazed donuts at 3am have become a staple.” We just want an honest account of where you are in your process. If you don’t have a pen or paper or you can’t write, then just think this one through with me here.
Step 2: Once you have spelled out what you are currently doing, we want to pick a new short term goal and try to hit it. Simple. We are going to use the month of August as our timeframe: what will be your main focus with your daily food grind for the next 30 days? Are you trying to lose weight? Are you trying to gain muscle? Are you simply trying to make it to one Farmers Market a week? Would you like to add veggie juice into your routine? Try to keep it simple and very tangible. If you’re satisfied with where you are, that’s cool too, but there is always something we can tweak or refine; (maybe give up one of your vices for 30 days…alcohol is always a good place to start). Be clear, be specific.
Step 3: Now let’s dial in a quick and easy action plan. I want you to write down two things for this step: first, why do you have to make this happen over the next 30 days? What is important about this goal? And second, what do you need to do in order to be successful. This is a really key component to getting clear about the goal and how you’re going to be make it happen. A few things to remember: if you need a major reset in your habits, part of what you’ll want to note here is what foods you currently have on hand that you might want to clear out of the fridge and the pantry. So step 3 should look like this: “I have to make this happen because I have a big competition that I have to be ready for, and I need to get all of the boxes of cookies and chips out of the effing pantry today in order to be successful.” Something like that.
Ok, so take your three items that you have just written down and put them in a prominent place that you’ll be able to see every day (maybe consolidate it to a yellow stickie note and put it in your WOD book). Take the next few days to get yourself dialed in on this mini-challenge and hit on August 1st; add in the good stuff and clear out things that are not helping you get where you want to go. This is yet another (albeit informal) opportunity to put yourself in challenge mode to refocus your efforts and clarify why you do what you do with respect to food.
Simple compass re-set, three steps:
1. What’s your current state of the union with food?
2. Pick a new 30 day goal for August for your nutrition.
3. Action plan: why do you need to make this happen and how are you going to make it happen?
As with everything that is challenging, there’s never any shortage of ups and downs and we tend to get discouraged when things don’t go as planned; and when we get discouraged we tend to say “f*#@ it,” and make decisions that ultimately don’t serve our greater good. But wherever you are in your food paradigm, if you’re reading this, take a moment and dial things back in and re-up your commitment to walking the walk.
As always, hit me up with any questions or if you need a little tech support.
