“I have to eat healthy”

How many times have you complained about having to eat healthy?  Having to cook dinner?  Or having to meal prep for the week?  World famous Crossfit coach, Ben Bergeron, has talked on the idea of “have to” vs. “get to”.  When it comes to creating healthy, lasting life style choices, psychology plays a bigger role in your success than what the actual lifestyle change is that you decide to make.  If you have a negative mindset towards your diet or your workout habits, you are less likely to be successful with them.
As quoted to the left, when thoughts become words, words become actions, and actions become habits.  This can dictate your overall success towards a health or fitness goal!

This was proven in this study where, “Georgia Institute of Technology researchers have determined that dieting success ­– or failure – can be predicted with an accuracy rate of 77 percent based on the sentiment of the words and phrases one uses on Twitter.”  By either posting tweets that were positive towards their diet or negative complaints about it, 77% of the time it predicted whether or not they were successful!  Just by speaking positively about your experience makes you more likely to stick with it – and consistency is the key when it comes to being successful with a nutrition or exercise goal.

So when approaching a new goal that requires the development of new habits, try to not complain about the choice that you are freely and willingly making to become the best version of yourself!  Instead, use the phrase “get to” whenever talking about the actions required to develop the new habit that will lead to successful goal achievement!

I get to eat healthy – so that I can feel my best

I get to meal prep – so I can take control of my eating habits and reach my goals!

I get to go workout – because I love my body and it is capable!

I get to make dinner – to provide myself and my family with a nutritious meal to end our day!

I get to eat a salad – because I also got to enjoy a sweet indulgence earlier today as part of my balanced diet

Get the idea?  I fall into the “have to”s sometimes too – I actually decided to write this because as I ate the last of this weeks meal prep at dinner I thought, “Ugh I have to meal prep again now”.  But I caught myself by reminding me that I have goals lined up to be a successful athlete in 2018 and I get to stay on track of my goals by eating well, and I get to eat well because I take the time to dedicate an hour to preparing foods that will best suit me to feel and perform my best!

So try it this weekend when you get to take control of achieving your goals by eating well and preparing your weekly meals!  Send me a message on Facebook or Instagram about what “GET TO”s you did this weekend!