There’s a very common approach in Diet Culture when it comes to behavioral change.
The idea is pretty simple – decide on the outcome you want, and then determine the behaviors you need to get there.
Then, fight like hell to do them – use willpower, discipline… anything at your disposal to make it happen.
And if you just can’t stay consistent with those behaviors? You’re just not trying hard enough, or you just don’t want it enough.
I’m sure you’ve heard all that before. And while this “no excuses” philosophy might work for some people, most people are going to burn out very quickly relying on sheer grit to get things done.
What’s the alternative?
First, understand that true transformation is about identity change. Lasting changes in your life are just delayed representations of changes in who you are.
You become someone different. You grow. And your world around you changes to match that identity.
So you have to approach the outcomes you want in your life through the process of identity change.
What does that mean exactly?
Imagine a tree with its roots, trunk, and branches/leaves.
The roots beneath the surface are your beliefs. The trunk represents your behaviors. And the branches/leaves are the outcomes/results in your life.
Most people focus on the trunk and branches.
But unless you address the root system, these behaviors, and the resulting outcomes, rarely last.
If you want your healthy behaviors to come more naturally, you have to overcome the limiting beliefs in your life that are keeping you out of alignment with your new identity.
This is the reason our Ideal Body Formula focuses on healing your relationships with food, body, exercise, and mind.
Because these relationships are essentially your beliefs around your food and body (and exercise, etc).
The meaning you attach to these things determines your behaviors and your outcomes.
The relationships you have in these 4 areas right now are creating your current circumstances.
If you want a different outcome, you need to heal the dysfunction in these relationships.
Optimum and effortless healthy habits, and YOUR unique Ideal Body will be the natural side effects.
Talk soon…