here's the thing a healthy lifestyle isn't restrictive or rigid it is so important to build in some flexibility into your regular routine and habits so you allow some space for when they inevitably get broken there are so many times in our lives where there are some external circumstances
or situations that really require us to pivot and adjust and be flexible and go with the flow because it's life and I know this might seem really contradictory especially since there are so many diets and plans that have taught you that you have to be strict with the
way that you're moving your body with your eating habits your lifestyle habits and even if you're not actually following right now a strict diet or a plan the same mentality likely still appears subconsciously from it being so ingrained in our society it's the whole all-or-nothing thought process here
that doesn't actually work for any of us in real life being too rigid can also cause you to develop some unhealthy thoughts or behaviors that are centered around food or your lifestyle and it can also be really damaging to have that really strict mindset versus just a little
touch of flexibility plus the reason we create healthy nutrition and lifestyle habits whether they're related to what we eat or how we move or how we care for our bodies is that we feel our best and we can actually enjoy this beautiful life that we're given and if
your habits are getting in the way of you enjoying your life you have it completely backwards so let's pivot and game plan this together I'm gonna walk you through exactly how to be really flexible with your nutrition and your health habits in a very intentional and purposeful way
that keeps you on track with your wellness vision it keeps you feeling great while also of course giving you the freedom to enjoy all those beautiful life moments [Music] [Applause] being too rigid can look like feeling really stressed out about breaking your healthy habits that you have established
or feeling like you have a lack of willpower or lack of determination or lack of motivation in certain situations and here's one example that I find so common with clients one situation that I constantly hear come up with them and also our community is about going out to
eat I've had dozens if not hundreds of women tell me that they're eating really well during the week but then they go out with their girlfriends or over to a friend's dinner party or I don't know even just a night out with their partner and they don't follow
the same eating principles and they end up eating the pizza the chocolate having the glasses of wine you fill in the blank this is also followed immediately by them sharing some feeling of like guilt or shame because they ate this way feeling like they fell off the bandwagon
which is often causing them to give up their healthy eating habits for multiple days at a time waiting for them to come up with that perfect time to start everything over again it leaves them feeling stressed anxious and then they also don't have a game plan for the
next time this happens so I'm curious have you ever been in this situation like this where you're feeling like you're choosing between sticking with your healthy habits and your routine or enjoying the moment of life like this to let me know if you've experienced something similar like this
because like I said you are so not alone I have been there and so of my clients and here's the first thing I want you to know one meal or one skipped workout or whatever it might be for you and your healthy habits will not make or break
your health goals let me repeat this for you one meal or one lifestyle action is not going to make or break your health goals and this is why I constantly say that health is a daily practice it is those small actions and practices that we make over time
that create long-lasting change and a study actually showed that when people are trying to form habits perfection wasn't necessarily the key factor here it was about repetition of the habit in the early that mattered most and we know this from a psychological perspective to that repetition meaning literally
repeating and existing or even a new behavior you're trying to incorporate is a key factor of how we create new habits over time so that means doing something most of the time is just as effective as doing it all of the time so that gives you a little
bit of room for flexibility in addition to repetition consistency is another key factor and habit change and it isn't just a fun phrase to say you know popular amongst dietitians or healthcare professionals like consistency is key but it is true consistency is key so with that in mind
you can use the simple strategy of the if and then planning to add some flexibility into your habits with if-then planning you're actually helping yourself out by identifying the moments that you'd like to take a break from your habit temporarily so the idea here is that you build
in a loose framework or guidelines for when it's okay to break from a regular habit ahead of time that way when you're in that moment you're not making decisions on the fly and possibly and when you break your habit you're like okay that's fine I feel satisfied rather
than looking back and wishing that you had made a different choice so it's really just about planning ahead so let's go through an example so you feel really confident here and then also so that you can get a better idea of what this actually might look like in
your real life so let's say again this is really common there are constantly like sweets or snacks at work people are bringing in candy ordering pizza for meetings sending cupcakes or cookies to celebrate birthdays in the office all things that are amazing but on one hand you don't
want to be so restrictive and rigid that you say I can't have sweets I can't have snacks but on the other hand eating these types of foods for a couple times a week isn't going to make you feel your best and it might take you off alignment for
your wellness vision so here's how if then planning really comes into play so if you normally don't eat sweets come up with an occasion where you would absolutely love to eat and enjoy sweets what type of dessert would be a 10 on your satisfaction rating was like I
am the most satisfied what experience would attend be for you I can almost guarantee to that eating store-bought cookies in front of your computer at work just like nonchalantly isn't going to truly satisfy your sweet tooth or even be an enjoyable experience right like most of us if
we're really honest where that's like a 1 on the satisfaction scale so instead maybe go through something like if I'm going to eat sweets I'm gonna really enjoy one of my two favorite homemade desserts with my husband or there's this amazing cheesecake that I like at this restaurant
can you see now how this gives you again that flexibility that full permission to enjoy the desserts that you want but it gives you some guidelines so that you weren't just like mindlessly or distracted eating when things are in front of you and the key with using this
if-then planning for these types of situations or exceptions or actions is to make them so that after you make the decision and you feel really happy you feel content you feel empowered that you chose to break your normal habit at that moment rather than looking back and wishing
you had made a different choice or even just wish that you had added a few minutes of contemplation so that you really made that choice or took that action very intentionally and with purpose so when you're thinking about using this if-then planning for these exceptions or these situations
make it feel special and make it feel like something that's really worthwhile for you like a real pleasurable and enjoyment situation and make these guidelines for yourself so that you can have that front and center and you don't have to be stuck with this whole spur-of-the-moment decision making
it also helps to write it down and this simple strategy can really give you clarity around what balance looks like for you it makes it so much easier for you to hold yourself accountable you can use this with friends with family members too and in addition to keeping
this phrase I shared earlier top of mind you can really help your shoulders relax a little bit and like ease your attention ease your mindset by just knowing that again one meal isn't going to make or break your health goals consistency is really the key factor here and
also repetition so lastly when we also really take a step back and we look at our lives from the mountaintop really being able to survey all that we accomplish all that we do in our lives it is so important to remember that our life is a path it
is full of challenges successes and we really have to put our human nature to the test by adapting to whatever might come and also giving ourselves a lot of compassion and if you're working on creating or maintaining healthy habits be sure to grab my free guide for creating
healthy habits with ease so that you can really create these habits that lasts for life and they're easy and simple it'll follow through so just follow the link around this video to download that and if you liked this video as always let me know by sharing your biggest
takeaway and be sure to follow or subscribe for more videos like this every single week and if you need any more inspiration for what you can do to support your mind your body and your spirit definitely head over to nutrition strip comm where you'll find hundreds of healthy
recipes articles all to inspire your day to day life so I hope you have a really beautiful day and remember health is daily practice
