Over the years, I have witnessed many clients get in the best shape of their lives through blood, sweat and tears.  Many resort back to old habits shortly after hitting their goals and lose their gains in doing so. This is of course, very frustrating to me. I want my education and influence to last a lifetime. Most of my nutrition clients spend an average of 3-6 months working with me. They have the knowledge they need to go on their own after that period of time if they chose to. Accountability definitely plays a role as to why clients “fall of the wagon” after they leave me. However, there is one factor that is even more influential: personal perception.

Positive self talk leads to a positive self perception.  A positive self perception leads to less feelings of frustration and despair. I commonly interview clients who have resorted back to  overeating, inconsistent exercise, and poor dietary decisions. Every single client has identified one common emotion that led them to say “screw it!” That emotion is frustration.  How do we avoid feeling frustrated?  This is a tricky emotion to not face if we are setting aggressive goals for ourselves. Positive self talk is key.  We can only give 100% of what we have everyday we show up to the gym. Some days that may be 50% of what we normally have if we are run down. We can only give 100% adherence to a dietary regimen. We cannot be married to reaching every quantitative goal within the specified time if our body is not allowing it.  The key to avoid frustration is to consistently give 100% effort in all areas of our life that keep us physically healthy and fit and let the outcome be what it will be. We must be happy with our effort in the journey. We must congratulate ourselves every week that we maintain discipline in eating and bust ass in the gym. Do not settle for anything less than 100% of what we have. After that, let God decide where your body may go. Sure we can strip calories down to an unsustainably low amount to reach the desired weight or body fat percentage. Sure we can cram two a days or three a days in our schedule to become better athletes. This may be necessary in both situations for a short period of time, but long term extremes only break our body and mind down.  The more dangerous break down is the mental breakdown. When we break down mentally ; we lose faith in ourselves. We start to perceive ourselves as someone incapable of achieving goals. We need to set goals to be motivated in life. We must reevaluate those goals periodically to make sure they are the best goals for our overall health. Our overall health does include relationships and emotional needs. We are not robots.  We are all human and can only push so hard for so long before we need rest (or more food). We must let go of the factors in life we cannot control if we ultimately want to maintain our highest level of fitness.