Nutrition….not just a class you fail in college. Wait? Was that just me? I thought the class was boring.  As a freshman who had never thought about nutrition a day in her life, it’s no wonder this was not my favorite class. Thankfully I re-took the class my junior year and I’m happy to report I passed. This was the beginning of my long and complicated relationship with nutrition, my mind and body. 

Fun fact: March is Nutrition awareness Month. 

What is your goal when it comes to your nutrition? 

Do you want to up your calcium, iron, fiber, protein?

Maybe you’re looking to eat less sugar and/or drink less caffeine?

Whatever your nutrition goal is, you gotta get specific. Now would be a great time to grab a pen and paper. Let’s get to work,

Just saying you “want to eat better” is not good enough. What does that even mean? Why do you want to eat better? What’s the end goal? Better lab values? Less bloating? What’s the RESULT you want?

🖊️ Write your specific goal down…yes, on the paper 

Now that you got the goal in mind, what or who will get in your way of reaching that goal? Job, kids, spouse, animals, schedule? We all have obstacles that get in our way.

🖊️ Write down the obstacles you’ll face achieving your goal

Anticipate the struggle. It’s ok and totally normal. Obstacles don’t mean stop. They mean make adjustments and keep going. 

Make a plan ahead of time how you will overcome the inevitable road blocks. Don’t skip this step. Get creative. BTW, there are no “I don’t know”’s here. If you did know….what would or could you do?  

🖊️ Write down a plan for each of those obstacles you listed

Now that you know what/who will potentially be getting in the way, what are YOU going to do to mitigate it?

Listen, this sh!t is important. We gotta put in the work. This is the work.

🖊️ Write down at least 5 things that you will do to reach your goal

I know you. You’re gonna want to execute these things “perfectly”.

It’s not gonna happen. Here’s the good news though…You don’t have to do it perfectly. Perfection is a lie and impossible. Stop striving for perfection.

 “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good”. 

So many of us quit ahead of time because we know we won’t be able to “eat perfectly” this week. Ok, you ate a chocolate bar from Finland for lunch instead of the egg bites. And, by “you” I mean me. I’m the one who ate the chocolate from Finland (f*ck it was so good). Who cares. Move on. Make the NEXT best decision. 

Could you imagine if you just stop doing IV’s on patients because you missed a few? How silly. It’s the same thing with our goals. It’s ok if you “mess” up. How human of you. 

Stop quitting and giving up on yourself and your goals. You are worthy of achieving these goals.   

We are on the home stretch here…..just one more step!

Take a real hard look at those things you just wrote down. Yes, you have to write them down.Trust.The.Process.

🖊️ Write down the obstacles to all those actions you want to take to reach your goal

You KNOW shit is going to come up and get in the way of you taking action toward your goal. Plan for it. Anticipate it. Be ready for it. Then you be able to handle it like the baddie that you are. 

Writing all this out will help your brain in those difficult times. Your future self will thank you past self for figuring all this stuff out ahead of time. 

I know we all want the quick fix. The quick “How to”. Make time to do this work if you are really wanting to reach your goal (nutrition or not).

Your health and well-being are important.

Here’s my example:

🖊️ Write your specific goal down…yes, on the paper

Lower my “bad” cholesterol and triglycerides (with out medication)

🖊️ Write down the obstacles you’ll face achieving your goal

Eating out and being social. Overeating. People bringing or having treats at work and not saying “no thank you”. Emotional eating/cravings. 

🖊️ Write down a plan for each of those obstacles you listed

I can find out where we are going and plan my food ahead of time. I can eat before I go out. Eat only half of my meals. Remind myself that No Thank you is an option. Recognize how I’m feeling before I eat to numb my emotions. 

🖊️ Write down at least 5 things that you will do to reach your goal

1. Avoid all coconut oil, MCT, and XCT oils
2. Reduce about of sweet treats I’m eating daily
3. Add more cardio to my weekly workouts
4. Limit the heavy cream I put in my daily coffee
5. Make an extra effort to increase my raw veg intake
6. Work on losing .5 pound per week for the next 52 weeks

🖊️ Write down the obstacles to all those actions you want to take to reach your goal and plan how you can overcome them when it comes up.

• Look at ingredients of non dairy coffee creamers 
• Stop buying sweets 
• Set a goal to go for an intentional walk every day, even just once around the block 
• Use a measuring spoon for coffee cream 
• Prep veggies ahead of time 
• Weight myself once per week and track it

The beauty of doing this work, is that my brain has something to focus on. Our brain loves to solve problems. 

I’m here to help you. You can post your goal and plans in the comments, or send it to me in a DM. I’d love to know what you’re working on.

Setting and achieving goals feels amazing. 

Get to it girl. I’m cheering you on.

💜Valerie