Have you ever thought about changing your life? Of course you have. You’ve probably dreamed of having the career you have, imagined the relationships you are in, and held a vision for the kinds of choices you wanted to have before you were able to make them. Did you ever stop to consider what you had to put in place before those came to fruition? So when it comes to your health, how do you make a lifestyle change that’s sustainable?

Up front, know that you and women like you are my reason for what I do. I have a passion to help women who are doing #allthethings, and juggling all the balls, understand that they can also be on the priority list. I help them realize they can be more than just on the priority list; they can be at the top of that list. It can be done without sacrifice: taking care of yourself doesn’t have to mean setting aside your relationships, your family, or your career. 

How do you make a lifestyle change

Understand, it's not the diet you choose or the workout you follow. What matters most is the implementation of it. What I mean is every diet works until it doesn’t and every workout works until it doesn’t. 

So for example, if you choose to follow a plan that consists of exercising five days a week but can only fit in three days due to other commitments, changes are that plan isn’t going to be sustainable for you. Maybe you reconcile to yourself and think you’ll choose the five day a week plan, but only follow through on the three days you can commit. In the back of your mind, you're going to feel like a failure because you're not actually doing what the plan asks you to do. 

Nutrition is another example. If you choose a nutrition plan that requires that you meal prep for hours, once a week or once every other week, but in your heart you know you love variety and spontaneity? Well, when it comes to you pulling out the same meal for the fourth or fifth time in a week span, you might decide you just don’t want to eat it because you are bored. It’s going to affect your success, your frustration levels, and your happiness.  The plan is not sustainable for you. 

An exercise plan might be built around a series of gym workouts, pre-written out with specific gym equipment that you don't have at home. However, to you, being in the gym is really intimidating. This plan isn’t going to be a good fit for you because you aren’t going to want to show up at the gym as it requires. 

We humans are creatures of comfort and habit. We don't like things that make us uncomfortable or that seem impossible to us. It’s a limit that is meant to keep us safe, but ultimately, it sometimes means we aren’t going to do what’s asked of us even if that’s what we say we choose. 

Know that change - or any worthwhile change - is going to require some level of discomfort and unfamiliarity. There’s a saying that insanity comes from doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. If the choices you are making now in your life aren’t working to help you get the level of health, energy, and fitness you desire then you understand that you need to create some kind of change. It means you have got to get a little uncomfortable in order to be successful. 

I encourage you not to put up barriers - consciously or unconsciously - that make it absolutely impossible to create the change we want. If we try to set our sights on a plan that just doesn't work, we're setting ourselves up for failure. 

What 3 things are important to ask before making a lifestyle change?

I want your success I created my signature program Self Care for Female Leaders designed around the premise of implementation and sustainability, so it becomes a lifestyle change, and not a flash in the pan crash diet. 

There are three things that you need to consider when you're choosing a plan or creating a lifestyle change. 

1. Understand your body. 

Before choosing and committing to a plan, do an honest check in with yourself and assess where you are. No one is grading it, but it will help you understand what will work for you, and what is less likely to be a good fit for you in choosing a plan. 

• Is running something that you can do? 
• Do you want to run? 
• Can you lift weights? 
• Have you ever lifted weights?
• Do you have injuries? 
• Do you have limitations? 
• What does your body need? Note: this is different from what do you want to make it to? 

2. Understand your lifestyle. 

If you already feel like you don't have enough time in your life, committing to a program that requires a significant amount of time every day is not a good idea. You will not be successful. Again, do an honest check in here. 

• What kind of lifestyle do you live? 
• Do you have time every day to exercise? 
• Do you only have a few times a week? 
• Do you eat meals on the fly? 
• Do you need convenient meal options? 
• Are you the type of person that cooks dinner every night? 

3. Understand how are you going to implement this change on a practical level

We all get ambitious and believe we are going to somehow become someone we haven’t been up until this point. I am here to tell you, no, you’re not. Ask yourself what you can realistically commit to? 

Take a look at those three things. Write them down. Now take some time to reflect on these questions: 

• What is your body like?  Or not like? 
• What can it do? 
• What kind of lifestyle do you live? 
• And where can you fit you into it? 
• Finally, what's the most practical way that you can implement this stuff? 

If you're not quite sure about all those things, or you need some help, I invite you to schedule a call with me. I created this program Self Care for Female Leaders because I work with women just like you to help them streamline their schedule, focus on their goals and priorities, and create sustainable steps to fuel their body and move your body for the lifestyle they want to live. How many programs have you tried and failed? Understand it’s not an overnight wave of a wand; it’s a process that takes time. But that’s why it works and that’s why the results last because you deserve to be the best version of you.