If you follow me on Instagram then you may have seen this post I put up yesterday.
The quote is out of the book Flow that I briefly mentioned in a newsletter I sent out last week.
This quote really stood out to me because I think its something that we should be considering in our own health journey and something that we should be considering if we are helping others with theirs.
“When people restrain themselves out of fear, their lives are by necessity diminished….”
If you are making a health change because your doctor scared you, you watched a documentary that scared you, or because you hired a health coach and they are breathing down your neck, your life isn't going to feel very full.
Every time you sit down to eat you are going to feel restricted. You’re going to feel the weight of being on a diet. You are going to feel temptation when your coworker brings doughnuts into the office breakroom. That temptation can be painful when you are operating out of fear. You may not be able to stop thinking about it, you may breakdown and have it, and the worse part is that you might feel really guilty after you do it.
We can’t expect to change our health AND enjoy our lives if we are operating with a fear mindset. To do so will mean a diet that is not sustainable nor enjoyable. A life diminished.
“Only through freely chosen discipline can life be enjoyed, and still kept within the bounds of reason.”
This is how we diet successfully, sustainably, and enjoy it. You have to find your why. Why are you deciding to take this step towards improving your health? What’s in it for you? What are you going to be gaining? What do you want that better, health can provide, bad enough to stick with a health plan?
When you can answer these questions, you can come to the conclusion that you actually want to prioritize your health. You may choose freely to be disciplined, stick with the diet you chose, or the plan your trainer made for you.
When WE choose to be disciplined while attacking our health goals, we can actually enjoy being on a diet. We can enjoy the process. We can notice and enjoy the progress we are making. We can feel good yet still stay within the “bounds of reason.”
The point of today’s newsletter is to say that if you are struggling with diet or any health goal, you might need to rethink why you’re doing it. If it’s our of fear or because someone or everyone else is doing it, that may be the problem. Why do you want to take control of your health?
P.S. I just received a new shipment of Equip Beef Protein Powder, Beef Liver Capsules, Greens Powder, and Joint Support. These products have become a staple in my supplement routine. If you want to give them a try, I got a discount code hooked up for you. Head on over to their website and use the code THEKETOLOGIST to save!