For many years as a health and nutrition coach, I have had a version of the same conversation with every client.  She would like to change her body, usually she would like to lose fat while maintaining or gaining muscle.  As we start to talk about nutrition, without fail, she will say, “I know I eat pretty healthy.” 

For years this has perplexed me.  I have never had a client say, “I know I need to clean up my diet if I want to take off a few pounds.”  Overwhelmingly, they are frustrated by their weight gain, because they believe they are eating “mostly clean” or “lots of healthy foods” etc.  

One day it clicked for me.  I finally understood that every client was truly saying: “I could eat worse.”

Believe me, they weren’t consciously thinking this.  Not at all.  But, I finally deduced the reason they thought they were eating pretty well.  At whatever level of nutrition they resided, it could always be worse.  To maintain their current level of healthy standards and ideals, it took persistent willpower and they were constantly having to defend against bad choices.

The biggest factor here is food culture.  Food is everywhere.  Aside from the restaurants and grocery stores, every check stand from Old Navy to Dick’s sporting goods has food spilling over the aisles by the check stands.  A wall at the bank shows a happy woman sipping a big foamy latte.  The poster advertising empty shops at the mall features an eight foot tall photo of a happy family eating ice cream.  Even the TV above the treadmills at the gym is often tuned to the Food Network. 

Physiologically, when we see or think about food, our stomachs begin to excrete acids in anticipation of the digestion work that is coming.   Even if we are not truly hungry, our bodies make us feel as if we are.  We turn to food when we are bored, stressed, lonely, happy, or sad, and so with food at every corner, and our stomachs constantly getting the message that it is time to eat, it is no wonder our minds have to work so hard to put on the brakes.  

I remember walking into the gym one day with a friend and there was a hospitality station where they were serving free breakfast burritos.  She cried out, exasperated, “half of the reason I come to the gym is to get out of my kitchen and away from food for the morning!”  She is right to be exasperated, food is chasing us down.

Next problem is the confusion served up by the health media.  If you are using headlines and magazine articles to set your goals, it is likely you will feel more than a little unclear on the right approach.  You will try out some things, get frustrated, try something else that doesn’t work, and feel as if there is something wrong with you for being unsuccessful.

So, if you do not have a degree in nutrition science and iron clad willpower, it is likely that you believe the way you are currently eating is “pretty healthy”, you are frustrated, and you can’t imagine further denying yourself.  

The good news is, there is always a way forward.  The best is to make small incremental changes that will build to a solid foundation of lasting health.  Ask for help from a pro, who can look at your intake and exercise plan and help you sort out the good from the “could be better”.  

Soon, you will have a new normal and it will actually be pretty healthy!

Have you been thinking about hiring a health coach? Read this first.

Already know you are hiring a coach? Make the most of is by following these tips on working with a pro.

Here are some self-guided paths:

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