As we approach New Year, it’s a recurring theme that many of us will resolve to improve our diet or lifestyle for the coming year.
Every year some 44% of people will set a New Year’s resolution to improve their diet but many set themselves up for failure by acknowledging that they will maintain their goal for only around 4 weeks! And 62% of them accept that they make the same resolution year after year!
So, while people start out with the best intentions, these don’t last – but why is that? It may be that unless we’re held accountable, we’re more likely to cave in and give up within weeks.
Studies have found that declaring goals and making yourself accountable makes you 65% more likely to achieve your goals. While having a specific accountability buddy or coach boosts this to 95%.
Why Do We Need a Coach?
So why should that be? The reasons for our failure or inability to stick with things long term are many and varied. So, let’s break them down. After all, if we can understand them, we’re more likely to be able to overcome them.
Firstly, there are the emotional and psychological barriers to maintaining a programme. We’re constantly barraged by temptations, cravings and social occasions where well-meaning friends may sabotage our efforts to stay on track. If we don’t fully analyse our reasons for eating and the emotional triggers that our body responds to, it is incredibly hard not to cave in at the first sign of stress or pressure.
If we haven’t taken time to really consider our motivation and how much effecting change matters to our life, we can easily talk ourselves out of making lasting change.
With so much information available about ‘healthy eating plans’ through the internet, diet books and even the January newspapers it’s easy to know what we should eat – right? Well sadly no. If there was a one-size fits all solution we’d all be healthy. If we all responded to the same stressors or had the same lifestyle pressures, we’d all be able to maintain healthy standards, wouldn’t we?
The reality is that everyone is different and has their own goals and their own mental barriers.
And although it looks easy to come up with healthy meals, if we don’t introduce and implement certain processes until they become habits it’s going to be ‘too difficult’ to change the routine we have to make a little more time for food preparation or meal planning.
In no time at all we’ve taken one night off, and one night becomes two and before we know it we’re back in our lazy old habits! I know this because I’ve done it too! None of us are immune, but by getting a coach to help instil new habits you can make changes that last.
When you engage with a coach you have someone in your corner who will help you to understand and identify your individual needs and will work with you to overcome the lifestyle and preference barriers that would otherwise derail you.
A qualified nutritionist will be able to explain precisely why specific choices or behaviours are detrimental for you, even if they work for your partner or friends. Nutritionists have a scientific training so can translate the chemistry and the biology involved in the interactions between food and your body into a tailored plan with actionable steps with a clear rationale for you.
It’s understanding the ‘why’ behind the ‘what to do’ that makes all the difference in compliance and accepting changes that are recommended for you.
This knowledge is only part of the benefit of working with a professional.
By staying in touch regularly, they’re there to give you a motivation boost, to check in and track where you are in line with your goals, to remind you why you were pursuing these changes and to help you adapt in a sensible and non-detrimental way when life throws a curveball, like a birthday celebration, a wedding or a holiday!
It’s no different than if you engage a Personal Trainer at the gym. Yes, you can go to the gym under your own steam but if you don’t have the willpower or the motivation to keep going it’s easy to stop working out before it’s done you any good. A Personal Trainer doesn’t let that happen. They encourage you to go beyond what you think is possible. They motivate you to do ‘just one more set’, and they make the experience more enjoyable.
That’s the type of support that you need when you’re changing your dietary habits. These habits are likely to have been ingrained over a lifetime, with certain beliefs around your food choices and limitations.
Your nutrition coach can help you see past the limiting beliefs and try new foods, routines or habits that become part of your lifestyle moving forward.
Contrary to popular belief it takes longer than 2 weeks to create a new habit. Studies show that the length of time can vary between individuals and new behaviours need an average of around 66 days before they become automatic. That’s an average from between 18 days to 254 days. So depending on your starting point, you may need to work with a coach for around 3-9 months.
However, if you’re serious about improving your health and your food choices this is a drop in the ocean, when you consider that you’ll be creating habits that will stand you in good stead for years to come.
You’ll end the experience with the understanding, and the know-how to maintain your motivation and your choices and will also know where your limitations actually are – not just where you think they are.
Choosing the Right Coach
Working with the right person is imperative. Of course, you need to trust that your coach has the expertise and experience that suits your health status and goals, but above everything you need to feel that they understand you.
If you’re not working with someone who is fully aligned with your lifestyle, your goals and can empathise with your unique health challenges you won’t achieve the same success.
So talk to possible coaches. Ask them questions and get a sense of who they are and how well they know their stuff! Any coach worth your time will offer a free telephone consultation (usually called a Discovery Call) to provide the opportunity to do this and to get a feel for them.
Look at their qualifications and depth of experience. And most of all, trust your gut! Once you’ve spoken to someone who suits you, your instincts will guide you.
So, there you have it. If you’re interested in exploring some 1 to 1 coaching to improve your health, let’s start that process by having a chat. You may be interested in the Metabolic Balance programme, or you may want to explore something will less of an outlay to begin with. Either way, if you start any programme with me before the end of January 2025, I am offering a 15% discount off of the regular fees.
Remember above all else, your health is an investment not an expense!