TheFirstWealthIsHealth

Image Attribution: Quotes Everlasting

Note: As a complement to this post, I’ve asked Regan to offer a few free 30-minute coaching sessions. I expect these to go fast, so make sure to fill out the application, asap!

Last time we talked about one way to create a breakthrough — how baby building blocks can remove the barrier to getting started and lead to significant change.

Today, we are taking a very different approach to breaking through. Hail Mary, hallelujah, let’s go big!

The year is still new and shiny, and I want to talk about how you can reach your health and weight loss goals before the next holiday season rolls around.

I recently asked what inspires you to eat more plants on your path to better health, and I LOVED reading these comments.

You have such compelling and important reasons to make these changes. Here are some of my favorites:

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These are FANTASTIC goals.

Inspire Others: We want to be around, energized and healthy for our children and grandchildren, and provide an example of good health.

Solve A Health Issue: Some of us struggle with diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol or some other chronic condition preventing us from living life to the fullest.

Look And Feel Our Best: We want to have energy and confidence for whatever life throws at us, knowing that we are looking and feeling our very best.

Now, fast forward exactly one year in your mind’s eye and imagine where you could be

A LOT of transformation can happen in a year. Think about what life will be like when you’ve met your goal.

Imagine waking up and instantly feeling at home in your body. Full of energy, you hop out of bed, ready for anything that the day throws at you.

Imagine being off your diabetes, blood pressure, or cholesterol meds. Not only do you get to say goodbye to a major monthly expense, but you no longer feel off from the side effects.

Imagine being totally happy with the way that you look. You get compliments when you go out for your walk around the neighborhood, and don’t have to shy away from pictures.

Imagine losing 20, 30, or even 100 pounds and the ease, freedom, and additional self-confidence that it would bring.

These are all completely life-changing benefits, and YES, you can make major progress in a year.

Not overnight. Not with some magic bullet or diet pill. Not without some real effort.

No, this only happens by committing to yourself, your health, your future, and making steady and consistent progress. Day in and day out.

But if you just keep at it, you can absolutely revolutionize your health and reach your goal weight (or at least make significant progress) in a year. Totally achievable.

Now let’s get honest with ourselves.

What is it REALLY going to take to reach your goal in the next year?

It’s easy to dream, but what does it actually take to get from point A to point B?

As we well know, there are quite a few pitfalls along the way. Ok, fine since you asked so nicely, I’ll share my favorite cartoon with you one more time.

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True for life, and especially true for health. Here are a few of the biggest roadblocks that we all face when it comes to taking charge of our health:

Time: One of the best thing we can do for our health is to prepare our meals at home, but it’s so hard to find the time amidst the demands of modern life.

Cravings and emotional eating: We all sabotage ourselves at some point. We make progress only to find ourselves thrown off track with cravings or emotional eating.

Over-complication: Instead of focusing on the big wins, we get lost in the details, overthinking and over-complicating everything. Finally we burn out.

Conflicting information: Are fats good? Bad? What about carbs? Is coconut oil saving your life or killing you?

Negative self-talk: Those little voices in our heads that tell us that we aren’t good enough, that we can’t do this, that we don’t have what it takes.

Social pressure: Your dear significant other, best friend, or mother-in-law is not exactly on your team. Then there is navigating parties, eating out, holidays, and more.

Life: Sometimes the things beyond our control have the biggest impact on our health. A stressful job, problems with relationships, having to take care of others.

Not exactly a walk in the park!

I bring this up not to discourage you, but because if this is to be the year that we change our lives, we need to step back and look at the landscape.

For this to really work, we have to embrace reality and make the necessary changes.

Maybe you are intimately familiar with the challenges you face and know where you get off track.

Maybe you are starting out and all this is completely new.

In either case, how can we overcome these barriers?  Is there a way to ensure that we will follow through — even if we have tried and failed many times before?

Making Failure Impossible

Having the right information is important. And with all the conflicting health information out there, it’s become increasingly difficult to know what to do.

But the bigger challenge always comes back to the follow through.

When we look at what is holding us back, we often know deep down that another recipe, book, or kitchen hack isn’t going to produce the monumental sea change that we are looking for.

So for this year to be different, for this to be THE transformative year, I want you to think big. How can we engineer success? How can we ensure follow through?

It reminds me of one of my favorite quotes by Thomas Jefferson:

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Note: We have a tendency to always jump to reasons why the solutions won’t work. Suspend your inner skeptic just for a minute. What if anything was possible?

Brainstorm with me for a minute. What haven’t you done that could make all the difference? What’s a “big win” that would put you well on your way to success?

Is there a barrier that you haven’t addressed? An elephant in the room that you’ve preferred not to look at?

Get creative, think big, and DON’T limit yourself just yet. You can sort through the ideas later.

Let me give you some examples:

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None of these are easy. They either require a big investment, a large life change, or having the courage to look at a deep issue.

They all require you to step out of your comfort zone.

But they are all extremely powerful. In one fell swoop you could eliminate a major obstacle and be so much closer to reaching your goals.

Imagine how much easier it would be to follow through if you could come home to meals waiting for you.

Imagine what a difference it would make to have a group of friends that support your healthy choices.

How less likely would you be to cheat if you were investing in a coach or a chef. You’d know you’ve made this top priority, and would be taking it that much more seriously.

This is the difference between buying a gym membership vs investing in a personal trainer.

It might be hard to muster the willpower to go to the gym, but if you are paying for a trainer, there is no way you are ever going to miss a session.

You’ve almost guaranteed that you will follow through.

Or buying some books to read versus enrolling to get a college education. The chance that you’ll read the books and get the same education? Pretty minimal.

Enrolling in college? This is a huge life-changing investment that provides a quantum leap in your skill set.

These are the “big win” solutions that can almost guarantee a major life change.

Maybe these particular examples aren’t right for you at this point in time. We all have our constraints. Believe me, I know not everyone can hire a chef.

But there are always creative solutions to the challenges you face, and the point I’m making is that sometimes to meet your goals you have to REALLY go for it.

How can you engineer success? How can you ensure that you will follow through?

Get A Head Start With A Free 30-Minute Coaching Session

Apply for a free session with Regan
A year from now you could still be reading blogs about health and weight loss or you could be well on your way to having your life back.

You could still be dreaming of the far off day when you’re favorite jeans will fit again, when you’ll have lost enough weight to begin exercising, or go on vacation, or enjoy a day at the beach.

Or you could be free to enjoy your time with family and friends without having to worry about medications, not having enough energy, or feeling self-conscious.

Make this the year. Be willing to try the big things that you’ve never tried before, to step out of your comfort zone, and know that the solutions are always there if you just keep at it.

Unless you have some special super power, odds are your journey won’t be perfect. No matter. I have total confidence that if you just keep at it, you will arrive sooner or later.

And Regan has been kind enough to offer some of her personal time to help you get started towards your goals this year.

She is offering a limited number of free 30-minute coaching sessions.

If you are interested in some additional guidance and accountability, this is a great way to get started, put together a clear path forward,  and create some added accountability.

Space is limited and I expect these to go fast! If you are interested, go ahead and fill out the application here.


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