Ok, I am in a take-no-prisoners mood so take a seat and get ready for some tough love.
I cannot tell you how many people message, email, text and call me looking for help in establishing and maintaining an exercise and nutrition routine. Honestly, answering those enquiries is like a job in itself! And I am beyond flattered to be that go-to person for them and I love giving them solutions. What I don't love so much is when they then balk at the effort it will take to make the changes I know they desperately need and want, offering up a myriad of excuses as to why exercising 3-4 times per week and eating nutrient-dense food is "just not possible with their life demands" or "it's not the right time right now".
Guys. I can't.
I can't want change for you more than you want it for yourself.
I can't fully know what a difference getting a handle on your health will do for your life (although I have a good idea).
I can't do the work for you.
To have gotten to the point where you make the effort to contact a professional to ask for help, you are obviously in a place of 'enough is enough'. And it takes something to get to that place. But then something seems to happen when the work required is revealed and, suddenly, your 'enough is enough' mindset becomes 'I'm fine'.
But think about it; if the roof of your house is damaged, shingles falling off, a hole forming, rainwater coming in, even if you have limited funds with which to fix it, you find a way because that's your home, your shelter, your security. If you didn't get it fixed and just let the roof deteriorate, eventually there will be a major incident where the entire roof caves in and the cost to repair (at this point indisputable) is to an incredible amount.
The same thing goes for your health. At first there are issues, maybe you get out of breath running around with your kids, maybe your cholesterol and blood pressure becomes too high, perhaps you discover that you can no longer fit into a pair of jeans you wore last Autumn. You think that you should get a handle on things and start exercising regularly and eating healthier foods so you get in contact with someone to help you get on track. During the consultation, you realize that this is going to be a lot of work! So you say "thanks but no thanks" and carry on with your life. More time passes and you can't play with your kids at all anymore because you get so fatigued, your doctor tells you that you now have diabetes and have to take these medications forever, you are shopping for an entire new wardrobe because you can no longer fit into any of your clothes. Your major incident has happened and now it feels like an impossible feat to get into action around your health.
This is an extreme example but, believe it or not, I've seen it happen. It's happened to members of my own family and they continue to refuse my help to get healthier because it's "too hard".
So, in a very dramatic way (!), I'm telling you to choose your hard.
Yes, it's hard to find the motivation to exercise daily and make good nutritional choices that support your goals but it's harder to live in the skin you're in when that skin is slowly killing you.
I won't ever tell you that the process will be easy - I've been in that skin and it was the hardest thing I had ever done - but what that effort and commitment will give you is worth the hard. And the hard doesn't last forever! I promise!
Here for you.
Sabs xxx
