256. Creating Safety for Sustainable Eating and Exercise Results

Insatiable with Ali Shapiro, MSOD, CHHC

Dr. Michelle Segar, one of the more progressive health behavioral change experts, says sustainable behavior change with eating and exercise is not a product of rule-following.

In other words, trying so hard to perfectly stick to a plan is not an effective goal or strategy. Rather, we need to learn flexibility. Because life is much more unpredictable these days. Anyone like me who sends their child to daycare knows this deep in their bones!

We also need to learn how to experiment to see what actually works in this stage of our lives. Not what worked 20 years ago when our stress was minimal. Or now, in the menopausal transition.

How does one learn this flexibility and trust in imperfect action, which often just feels like guilt and shame for “being bad”?

I brought on my clients Whitnee and Erin to share their Truce with Food journey of how they learned to listen to their bodies to figure out what really works for them now and effectively experiment to reach their health and wellness goals.

In today’s episode we discuss,

• The importance of finding fun and magic in our goal pursuits, not just the accomplishment outcome
  
• The Catholic and Christian influences that formed both their stories and struggles to be “good”
  
• How Whitnee finally made a “Truce” with her dairy intolerance after years of the restrict-over do it cycle.
  
• How Whitnee and Erin both learned to be flexible with their exercise goals given Erin’s back pain and Whitnee’s knee pain, COVID, and then plantar fasciitis
  
• The challenge and freedom of growth mindset (ie.“trusting the process”) and how they set and work towards their goals now
  

Mentioned in this episode

SMART Goals: How They Sabotage Eating and Exercise Goals workshop (free, 1/11/23)

Truce with Food 2023: Registration runs 1/9-1/20. Save $500 in this once a year program when you register by January 16.

Erintusa.com

@trainwithtusa

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