Transparency is real. I gained 20lbs after I finished playing professional basketball. My nutrition habits and appetite didn’t keep up with my athletic workouts. The hard reality was I needed to either buy new pants that fit… or make some lifestyle changes. Can you identify? Truth is being overweight was just not aesthetic. It was effecting my mood, self-confidence, and energy levels. I choose to make changes. The change started with shifting my mindset.
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It starts first with your mindset. How do you view your relationship with food? Yes – everyone has a real relationship with food. Your attitude and mindset toward this relationship determines your results.
It is time to “mess with your food”.
There are new “fad-diets” each year that promise to help you radically lose weight. Some folks are trapped on the “seafood diet” – that is, the see-food diet. I was! If you see it, you eat it. It boils down to smart choices.
Do you know that 70% of losing weight and feeling better is connected to your nutrition?
Eating “clean foods” is the answer. Consuming whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains and healthy fats will give you the nutrition your body needs.
Limit those highly processed snack foods, sugar drinks, sweets and other packaged foods, because they choke off a positive mental outlook, interfere with brain functions, and can promote depression and mood swings. Suggest the Mayo Clinic Healthy Lifestyle and other websites to lead to healthy food choices.
Your mindset has to shift from living to eat to eating to live. Kick the free for all eating habit that anything goes and take 100% ownership of your nutritional mindset.
You are the only one who can control which foods go into your mouth thus your choice of the right nutritional mindset is critical. This ownership of food choice also embodies a sign of self-love and self-respect.
Q’s Corner:
In a nutshell, the truth is our nutrition plays a critical role not just in losing weight but also in our moods. Our moods affect our personal freedom and ability to live out our values at the highest level.
Have you noticed, when existing on a unfulfilling non-nutritious diet, how often the “hangry” hypocrite-self monster comes out to sabotage your mood and what you are trying to achieve?
The research shows “clean” eating promotes higher levels of the neurotransmitters serotonin and dopamine which have a positive affect on your mood and thereby promote the best version of yourself.
Your shift can take place with your Monday Morning Mindset of owning your own health. Plan out your meals and snacks in the morning for the day. Work on this mindset and daily prep for the next 30 days.
You can lose the proverbial 10 lbs or more and gain ownership over your health. Your attitude and confidence will increase while you empower your authentic-self.
I benefited from clearer thinking about my nutrition mindset and lost 10 pounds and then a total of 20 pounds. You are geared to do the same with a shift in your nutritional mindset!
Challenge:
- What attitude needs to shift in your relationship with food?
- Spend 20 minutes a couple times this week to gain knowledge on which foods, and why, impact your mood and physical self.
- Develop a plan – A Morning Mindset – to own your health.
(Here is a great jump start – https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food-201511168626
The journey continues…
It’s GrowthTime!
Coach Q
Looking for more? Check out “Win the Day: Redefine Your CORE Strength”
