When it comes to health and fitness we know that eating right and exercising more are essential components. But we humans are emotional creatures; knowing the benefit of food and exercise is not enough to spur us into action. Your actions are affected by the thoughts you have, and the things you tell yourself. So, if you want to transform yourself, you’ve got to deal with your thoughts, your excuses, your beliefs and your self-sabotaging paradigms. It’s only when we shift our mindset about our health that we start to see solid results.
When it comes to our holistic health, including eating clean and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, our emotions play a huge role in the consistency and focus that we apply to our nutritional intake and healthy habits. Success or failure in achieving and maintaining a fulfilling balance is entirely a mental game. When someone succeeds, it’s not because they found “the perfect diet” or “the perfect exercise routine”—it’s because they cultivated the appropriate mindset.
With the rise of the health movement, eating strategies, diets and ideas about food and how to eat are becoming as polarizing as religion and politics. Eating like you actually love and respect yourself isn’t up for interpretation. It’s the same for everyone, and it’s basically the key to really living a healthy lifestyle. I tell my clients, “If you want respect from your spouse and your friends and your children, then maybe you should start respecting yourself, and they will follow suit.” The food we eat is everything. It fuels us, nourishes us, heals us, and energizes every cell in our bodies. If we can’t slow down and be mindful of what we’re eating I don’t think we are really living as deeply as we could, even if it’s taking a moment to be thankful for the opportunity to eat well.
I encourage eating as clean as possible. Foods with no nutrition label are best—and eat until you are satisfied. No rocket science here. Someone who eats like they love themselves isn’t trying to stay away from food; rather, they constantly have whole nutritiously dense food around in case they get hungry. For someone who eats like they love themselves, food is an ally—a tool to help them feel strong, clear-headed and capable of completing their tasks.
So often I hear people say things such as, “It’s so hard for me to go to business dinners or social dinners and eat healthy.” Not true! It’s actually quite simple. With that limiting attitude, you’ve just lied to yourself, or at least you let your insecurities trick you. This is self-sabotage. What you’re actually saying with a statement like that is, “I’m afraid to look different and feel awkward.” It’s ok to be different. In fact, it’s not only just ok—it’s empowering to yourself and inspiring to others. Be proud to say “no” to the bread, squeeze lemon in your water and order the yummy fish and grilled veggies. Be a pioneer and enjoy feeling the power of a sound mindset and your authentic actions.
You’ll not only impress yourself, but you’ll positively inspire your peers to consider following such intrepid behavior. Be the change you want to see in your life—if you wish business meetings could be healthier, make them healthier!
Equally important is to become aware of pitfalls. Self-evaluate when you feel a sense of self destructive behavior looming. Consider the factors that are contributing. We can all agree, where there’s life there’s stress. Turning to food as a form of relief is short lived, and the misuse of food usually results in an even worse state of mind than before. It’s important to remember that food is not therapy. Deal with the stress. Throwing unhealthy sugar-laden, processed junk at the problem will not help in the short term (your pancreas will be screaming!) or the long run. I find doing something active shifts the reflexive action to use food to replace an emotion.
We all wish to be healthy, look healthy and feel healthy. This is a mental game… get your head in it.
By Hennie Eisen
