Eat healthy: If the motivation is missing

We all know that we should drink more, eat less sweets, and more vegetables and fruit, or even cook fresh food more often. All of these things contribute to a healthy diet and lifestyle. But even knowing all these things, we often lack the motivation to improve. Sometimes we start out motivated, but after a week, we fall back into our old, unhealthy behaviors and habits.

Today we're going to look at why it can be so difficult to maintain motivation and what we can do about it.

Why is it so hard for me to stay motivated?

Motivation is a funny thing. When it's there, we feel unstoppable, confident, and full of drive. When it disappears, all of that quickly reverses: We can no longer overcome our inner demons, quickly become tired and exhausted, and invent all sorts of excuses and reasons not to keep going. What's behind it?

An important point is the Reasonthat initially motivates us to establish a new habit or change a behavior. People who have formulated a strong "why" for themselves find it easier to stick with it. Objective plays an important role. If we set our goals too high, they quickly seem unattainable, and we feel like we're barely making any progress.

Maybe you have heard of the goal setting method “SMART” belongs to the category “SMART”. The word “SMART” helps you to set realistic goals. “S” stands for “specific” = specific, “M” stands for “measurable” = measurable, “A” stands for “attainable” = reachable, “R” stands for “realistic” = realistic and “T” stands for “time-bound” = time-bound. Our goals should therefore not be formulated too broadly, be measurable to detect progress, be not too ambitious, be achievable, and include a time dimension. If you'd like to learn more about this method, please take a look. here over.

In addition to our goal and the "why" behind it, it's also important to recognize which obstacles, stumbling blocks, and distractions could derail us from our path. If you're prepared for these difficulties, it's easier not to let them discourage you and keep going. Finally, overwhelm is also a major factor. We usually take on too much at the beginning. If we don't achieve it, it becomes difficult to stick with it and not give up.

In summary, all this means:

1. Find your personal “why”.
2. Define possible obstacles, distractions, and stumbling blocks that you may encounter along the way.
3. Develop concrete solutions and ideas on how to deal with these difficulties.
4. Don't overextend yourself and start small. Let's say with 50% of what you initially set out to do. You can always improve.
5. Document your progress to regularly remind yourself how far you've come.

You can apply these points to all kinds of goals and areas of life: exercise, eating habits, self-care, (creative) projects, hobbies… And in theory, that sounds pretty good.But how can these points be put into practice?

Let's return to our initial topic, healthy eating. Below, I'll provide examples for each point so that by the end of this post, you'll have something tangible to take away from it and concrete suggestions for increasing your motivation. 🤗

1. Find your “why”

If we don't have a real direction, we can quickly fall into complacency and old habits. If we want to stick to our goal of eating healthier, we need a strong and specific "why." Your why is like your core motivation and shows you the way.

Important: Formulate one or two concrete sentencesthat get to the point of why you want to change your habits. These sentences should positively formulated be (“I want to feel more energetic”; a negative formulation here would be z.B. “I don’t want to feel so tired and exhausted anymore”) and written down Just thinking about it is half the battle. If you write your "why" on a Post-it, for example, and stick it somewhere you'll see it every day, you'll be much more likely to stay motivated than if it just popped into your head once!

Possible “whys” could be:

• Healthy food makes me feel more energetic
• I want to be a positive role model for my children
• When I eat less sugar, I get fewer headaches
• A healthy weight reduces the risk of diseases such as _________
• When I eat healthy, I am more concentrated and focused
• If I eat less in the evening, I can sleep better
• Through a balanced and conscious meal I feel more balanced and comfortable in my body
• ....

Photo by The Matter of Food on Unsplash

2. Obstacles && Define distractions

If only there weren't those stumbling blocks... Unfortunately, there are always things that tempt you, that your inner demons react to, or that are just too hard to bear. Consider what potential obstacles might be in your situation:

Not enough time to cook a whole meal? Not enough money for healthy food? The convenience of a quick kebab from the corner? The self-imposed pressure to either make it perfect or not at all? Your preference for fatty or sweet foods? The feeling of not knowing enough healthy alternatives?

Think about what you are doing in the Past from eating healthy and what has stopped you in your Future could make things more difficult. Define 1-3 possible obstacles and write them down as well.

Important: Go one obstacle after another If you try to immediately remove all possible obstacles, you'll burden yourself with too much weight and either make slower progress or give up because it's too strenuous. So, for the next step, focus on just one of your defined obstacles.

3.Find ways to overcome these obstacles

Awareness is half the battle, as I like to say. Once you're aware of the circumstances that can make your life difficult, you're already well on your way to healing and change. The key here is to prepare yourself as best you can for the obstacles and consider possible solutions.

Let’s say one of your top obstacles is that you too little time and therefore tend to eat unhealthy but readily available meals. What can you do to prevent this?

For example, you could try meal prep, i.e. preparing meals, Try it. Investing an hour of time at the weekend can save you several hours during the week. You can make healthy muesli yourself, chop or roast vegetables in advance, and then have them on hand for a curry during the week. You could also cook several batches once a week and then freeze the leftovers. That way, all you have to do next time is defrost them. You can prepare your overnight oats the night before so you don't have to worry about breakfast the next morning. You can search the internet or in cookbooks for 15-minute meals.

Further examples of obstacles and suitable solutions

If your obstacle is that you don't spend too much money on food If you can, you can research online to find out which foods are particularly cheap and where. You could buy larger quantities of grains, lentils, or beans, as they will also be cheaper. You can buy seasonal fruits and vegetables, or use frozen vegetables. These are often cheaper but just as nutritious.

If your obstacle is that you often snacks unhealthily, then you can prevent this by stopping buying sweets or by buying healthy alternatives. A small container of nuts, an apple, or a healthy snack bar can curb cravings and can be easily taken to work or anywhere else.

If your obstacle is that you think you simply don't know enough about healthy eatingOr if you think healthy eating is exhausting or simply doesn't taste good, you can find a wealth of inspiration and knowledge online. I find YouTube videos, in particular, to be a great way to get started. And for almost all unhealthy snacks like brownies or chips, there are fantastic healthy alternatives! Dare to try new things!

As you can see, there are a lot of possibilities here. You just have to take the time to look for solutions :) As I said before: Please tackle one obstacle at a time. If you feel ready to move on to the next one, that's great. But please don't think you have to have everything perfectly under control right from the start...

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4. Baby steps!

Big goals are all well and good, but it's important to stay realistic for our brain's reward center. Because whenever we complete a task, our reward center fires up and dopamine is released. This makes us feel good.But if we work towards something for a long time without actually reaching our goal, our brain remains unrewarded for a long time and we lose our motivation.

For this reason, you should really take it slowly and in small steps. Only then will your progress become visible.

Let's say you want to eat out less because you tend to eat unhealthily. Instead of trying to only When it comes to eating at home, try praising yourself for every time you manage to eat at home. If you used to order takeout five times a week and now only do it three times a week, that's still huge progress!

Another goal could be to incorporate more vegetables into your diet. Instead of forcing yourself to eat baked vegetables without anything on them every day, you could first try incorporating vegetables into the dishes you already enjoy: Add bell peppers to the tomato sauce for your pasta, make rosemary potatoes instead of fries, or garnish your cheese sandwich with a bit of cucumber, tomatoes, or baby spinach...

If you like to prepare your breakfast the night before and have never done so before, then ask yourself not The goal is to do it seven times a week. Maybe start with three evenings a week.

5. Document your progress

This is a point that's often ignored and overlooked for convenience. Yet it's truly important. Only when you document your progress will you truly realize how far you've come. Of course, you don't have to meticulously record everything you eat. You also don't have to count calories or weigh yourself daily. Quite the opposite. Try not to focus on optimizing any number (which can quickly lead to an unhealthy relationship with food), but rather on establishing new, healthy habits.

For example, it can be very motivating to document and record the points we discussed in the previous step ("4. Baby steps!"). For example, you could create a "habit tracker" in which you check off each task you complete. However, it's not about being able to check off every day—that can lead to internal stress and demotivation if you don't complete it. It's simply about becoming aware of your personal progress.

Whether you write a short daily note about what went well and what you can improve in the next week, or whether you use a traditional habit tracker – stick with it! Focus on what you've accomplished. Even if on some days that "only" means eating three-quarters of a bar of chocolate instead of a whole one. That's progress, too!

Lower your expectations of yourself; you're already doing a great job!

Last but not least...

...it can also help if you hold yourself accountable, for example, by sharing your goals with someone who can regularly remind you. Or by finding someone to walk the path with. Professional help from a nutritionist can also be an important step and help you stay motivated.

You got this! 😊❤️

If you would like to learn more about healthy eating, mindfulness, sustainability or family and pregnancy, Check out more exciting blog articles on these topics here.

Photo by Jimmy Dean on Unsplash