A lasting lifestyle plan begins with two questions: why do you want to make a change, and what tends to get in the way? Write down your answers before you begin.
Our health coaches will help you find an individual path toward your health goals and build the tools to sustain those changes.
You will find that as you progress through this program, it will be important to develop defenses to help protect yourself against the constant barrage of attacks against your new lifestyle. No matter what way of life you choose, there will be a constant onslaught on your desire to maintain a healthy life. Whatever diet you choose, the negative influences will still be there to overcome. Unfortunately, commercials with pizza will not disappear, family events with your favorite desserts will not go away, and social pressure from friends or co-workers will always remain as tests against your best intentions.
Are you sure you are ready for a lifestyle change? Are you aware of what it will take to achieve your goals?
On your first day in our program, we will ask you two sets of important questions.
1. Why do you want to make a change?
We want to know, why did you come to us? What are your primary motivations? We are an immersive program — what are your motivations for being here and spending the next 12 months with us? What are your goals for this program?
These questions and their respective answers will be important for us to know so that we can anticipate the level of self-advocacy that you can muster when times are tough.
Some of our clients have major health concerns and are scared of amputations due to diabetes and have no room for error. Others have lived their entire lives at an obese weight and are desperate to escape. Other patients want to feel more energy or decrease their joint pain. Whatever your reasons, it is important to have a clear understanding of what your primary motivators are as well. Write these down for us.
Our second question relates to anticipating hardship. Our practice wants to make sure that your lifestyle is successful in the long term. For this to occur, we have to anticipate hardships and cultivate defenses that will act as tools when they do occur. How has your lifestyle been derailed in the past?
One of the problems with anticipating hardships is the following; by the time people come to see us, while they are ready for big changes, they can be too overeager and will present unrealistic expectations of what lifestyle changes they think they can sustain over the long-term. Our job is to help you build defenses and tools that still work on your hardest days, when motivation is low. Any doctor, dietitian or 'get-rich-quick' scheme can get you to make changes in the short-term, but usually only for a finite period of time. This won't serve you in the long-run. Instead, we want to give you the tools to help make change for good.
Many come to us with lofty ideals that they "will never eat chocolate again", or that they "will never cheat." We have found that it's MORE important to plan for the times when this enthusiasm is gone. What will you do when you REALLY want that chocolate? We care about how you will approach your lifestyle when you are struggling, when you are stressed out, and when your boss, kids or parents are upset at you. We want to anticipate this hardship and plan accordingly. Planning for best-case scenarios is not a winning strategy. Planning for your worst day is!
So with that said, our second question is:
2. Which foods and situations make change harder?
What are your problem foods?
What foods do you struggle with? What foods do you have the most difficulty restricting or controlling? Maybe you have difficulty with chocolate. Maybe, like me, you struggle limiting ice-cream. Maybe you find yourself sneaking candy and eating it alone or in-private (Yes, I am also guilty of that). Maybe you just can't say "no" to Grandma's apple pie. What are the foods that you struggle with that don't fit your lifestyle plan? Again, when answering these questions, DON'T think about your ideal moments; think about your weakest, most stressful ones and answer accordingly.
What are your problem times?
Maybe you find maintaining your lifestyle goals extremely difficult at lunch-hour or during break-time at the office. Maybe you struggle before you get home from work. Maybe you struggle when you start cooking for the family or, after dinner, eating your children's leftovers. Maybe you struggle late at night when the kids are asleep and you're ready to relax. What are the times you struggle the most?
What are your problem places?
Maybe you find the greatest difficulty maintaining your healthy lifestyle while at your favorite restaurant? Maybe you find your home or work to be particularly vulnerable. Maybe you struggle every time you visit your parents' house? Where do you struggle the most?
What are your problem situations?
Maybe you struggle at business meetings or after-dinner when you are by yourself. Maybe you struggle at holiday parties and birthdays. Maybe you struggle with your lifestyle goals at your weekly date night or late-at-night after the kids are asleep and you want to relax. Maybe you struggle every time you go out to eat with your friends. What are the situations in which you find sticking to your lifestyle goal very difficult?
Who are your problem people?
Do you find it hard to maintain your lifestyle goals around your family? Does your spouse share your same dietary goals, or are you forced like me to watch her bake endless cookies? Do you find it difficult maintaining your diet when you are cooking for your children or when you visit your parents or friends? Are there people in your life that make maintaining your lifestyle goals difficult? Who are they?
