Frustration.  Confusion.  Impatience.  Any of these can affect your ability to stick to a plan, program or even your own goal.  When we overthink or get in our own heads – mental paralysis can sneak in causing even more of an internal battle.  Then of course, there is the overabundance of misinformation and disinformation.  Let me explain the difference between the two:

• Misinformation – someone gives information that is inaccurate, but it is not intentional.
• Disinformation – someone knowingly offers false information or proceeds with the intent to deceive.

Ever had someone give you their two cents worth, or you research too much and now you are bombarded with so much information that you do not know how to proceed?  This is the mental paralysis I mentioned above.  A former coach of mine liked to use this one frequently.  Why?, because it is very accurate and so applicable to the times in which we live.  The instant access to the web can give us too many answers in a blink of an eye, which can cause many to not take action.

Mental paralysis can be as much a part of our health behavior as anything else.  Our health behaviors are multifaceted and displayed in many ways.  They can be common, like the bond that ethnicity, religion, or even our cultural preferences provide.  They can also be person-specific like our belief or value-based systems.  Mental paralysis is not just the inability to act, it is also the ability to continue acting in the same manner as you have.

Nutrition is almost as bad as politics or religion these days as everyone seems to have an opinion.  I mean why not – we all eat.  The problem is cognitive dissonance and biases can come into play.  Just because some ”thing” worked for someone, does not mean it may work for you.  What if they have a medical condition that you do not have?  Your life factors may be different as well, not to mention you are a different body.  While there can be common factors like age, sex, and maybe even the same number of kids, there are still too many variables for a one-size-fits-all approach.

Take myself for example.  People (especially clients) ask me all the time, “you’re a coach so why do you use a coach?”  I used a coach because we all need help somewhere.  I want to achieve my goals in the most linear fashion possible while avoiding or limiting unnecessary setbacks (and no, there is nothing linear about this process).  If you are unfamiliar with me, allow me to offer a full transparency moment.  I struggle to eat when not hungry and my goals require calories (so do yours btw).  I have physique and strength-based goals and while I may be hesitant to increase calories when I stagnate in the bulk, my former coaches were not; therefore, they ultimately, helped me, help me.

I have a client that has been with me for years.  She came to me like so many women do, undereating for the needs of their body, placing a ginormous calorie deficit on themselves while damn near killing themselves with exhaustive cardio.  Sleep was a mess.  Stress was a mess.  Lifestyle factors and management were a mess.  Kicker is, she had been doing this same cycle for so many years with no sustainable result, yet she kept doing it!  When she arrived in my inbox she was confused, desperate, impatient, and as you can imagine, 100% frustrated.  She had mental paralysis – yes, she was into action, but she was doing the same stuff over and over again while still expecting a different result (which is the definition of insanity btw, lol).

I told her in a nutshell, we are going to focus on eating, lifting, and for goodness sake’s, let us slash this exhaustive cardio.  She was floored – “no one has ever told me or suggested I eat this much food and not do cardio!!”  Despite her inner voice reminding her what mainstream media and her friends had beat into her over the years, she chose to move forward, pushing through her mental paralysis.  Within 80 – 90 days she had accomplished her initial goal and had 1000% fallen in love with the process.  She realized that her body needs calories, stress was now manageable, sleep was improving, she felt revitalized, confident, and was looking forward to her next goal!

If you are currently unhealthy you may believe you do not have any ‘health behaviors’, but you do.  Also, if you have children you are most likely passing these same unhealthy behaviors onto them.  While not all-inclusive it can look like

• Overconsumption of fast and convenience foods
• Binge watching tv or video games
• NOT engaging or being present in your life; just going through the motions
• Parking close to the store instead of further out and walking
• NOT measuring or even tracking food
• Always eating to hunger cues (and if you are over or underweight your hunger cues are not accurate)
• Constantly CHOOSING deep-fried or highly-palatable foods
• NOT teaching your children what nutrition is or eating at the table without tv or phones
• Always putting off today what can be done
• Having more processed or shelf-stable foods in your home than fresh foods
• Talking down to yourself

While I am a clinically experienced wellness provider, you do not have to believe what I write, the things I say, nor my social media posts.  But I do encourage you to drown out the noise provided to you by mainstream media and those looking to make a buck off of you.  There are no quick fixes you can buy that will offer the sustainable changes you are wanting to make.  Stop allowing people to benefit off of your struggles – critically think for yourself.

Change takes time.  Just like the fat you may have accumulated over the years, or the type 2 diabetes or other lifestyle acquired disease(s) you may now have. Stop moving through life not being a part of it, just going through the motions, then one day the doctor walks in and says, “we need to talk.”  Why wait for this moment?  Let the acknowledgment come the day you realize the baby is now a year old and you still have the baby weight on you.  Let the acknowledgment come the moment you realize you cannot throw ball with your kid in the front yard or can no longer ride the roller coaster because of the size limit.  Be present in your life!  Don’t wait for the doctor to open the door…

Need helps and not sure where or how to start.  Click the coaching application below and let us schedule a free consultation towards your healthy change!