Blog Fitness or Lack Thereof Lifestyle Uncategorized Women's Issues

Tipping Point

January 25, 2020 by Jessica No Comments

tipping point^{/ (ˈtɪpɪŋ) /} noun: the crisis stage in a process, when a significant change takes place (courtesy Dictionary.com)

I was talking with a good friend a week ago, and I was sharing my goal and plan for the new year to finally, once and for all, get rid of the excess weight I’ve been carrying around on my body since I had kids almost a decade ago.

This isn’t my first time to this rodeo. I’ve gained and lost weight so many times since college, I’ve lost count. I know what works for my body, and what doesn’t, and yet for so long, I just didn’t do it. Why?

My friend wanted to know what is different this time. What was the trigger that has made me keep all the parts of my goal faithfully for every single day of the year so far since January 1?

I’m making consistent, measurable progress this time.

What was my tipping point?

Is there something in your life that you wish was different? Is there some bad habit you want to get rid of, or some good habit that you want to integrate into your lifestyle, but you just don’t know how or where to start?

How do you find your tipping point? What will make you finally change?

Here are some suggestions:

Clearly identify what you want. Make a list of how your life isn’t working how you want it to, and how accomplishing your goal would change your life for the better.
Know yourself well enough to know where you are most likely to get tripped up. What do you struggle with? I used to make lots of excuses and use being tired as a crutch. I also used to have a “splurge day” where I would eat whatever I wanted, and usually a ton more sugar than is reasonably healthy. The result? I’d undo the progress I’d accomplished during the week and begin the next week either at a deficit or at best, starting over again. So much for all my hard work, huh? Now I integrate things into my plan, so I don’t feel the need to go overboard at the end of the week.
Make note of the things you naturally do well. In my case, I’m really, really good at checking things off a list and following a consistent, set plan. Fit as many things as you can into your goal that you naturally do well and will help you succeed.
Use the expertise and wisdom of other people. There is no shame in stealing good ideas. There is strength in using words of encouragement from others that speak exactly to where you are now. When you identify a goal, surround yourself with the voices of these people who are succeeding at what you want to accomplish, and internalize what you hear. Listen to podcasts. Follow health gurus and fitness professionals on social media and listen to what they have to say. Read books. Learn all you can.
Consistency is key. Habits are created by consistency. It’s a lot easier to be consistent when you have the same plan every day. Maybe you read for 10 minutes each day. Maybe you get 20 minutes of body movement each day. Maybe you eat the same thing for breakfast so you can control your daily caloric intake easier.
Start small. Choose one thing that you can change daily that would help you feel like you’re making progress. As you progress, add another small thing until you can be consistent with that, and then keep going. Believe it or not, consistency and progress will create a craving for more good habits.
Think long-term. The end goal is not the actual goal itself. The journey is greater than the destination. It’s the creation of better habits that will result in life-long change that matters most. You have to realize that you’re going to set habits you will follow for good. Don’t give yourself an end date. You want to affect change for life. You have to do the things that you can realistically do forever.
Give space and grace. You won’t hit it out of the park. You won’t hit 100%. You’ll forget. You’ll get sick. You’ll be too tired. Just don’t quit. Give yourself space to temporarily fail, and don’t beat yourself up about it. If you mess up one day, do better the next day. Just DON’T GIVE UP. Don’t quit. The beauty of this being life-long change is that there’s always tomorrow.
Stop making excuses. This is probably the most important one, and you won’t see change until you step up and accept responsibility for your life. Sometimes it’s hard to hear, but you have ownership and control over your choices. You are not a victim. I made myself the victim for so long and used every excuse in the book as to why I couldn’t start better habits. I was too tired, too sore, too busy, didn’t have the right fitness equipment, wasn’t a gym member, it was too cold outside, too snowy, too icy, you get the picture.

So what was my tipping point?

My tipping point was multi-faceted.

I follow a health and fitness trainer and coach on social media, and she usually has awesome gems of wisdom that make me stop and think. She posted something toward the end of December that said something to the effect of: Where would you be today if you hadn’t stopped? What would happen if you were actually consistent?

That resonated with me. There have been so many false starts the last few years, and I’m tired of looking back a couple of months later and thinking, what if? I’m tired of the shame-cycle and beating myself up over what could have, should have been.

I am tired of being unhealthy. I’m tired of not sleeping well. I’m tired of aches and pains that will only get worse with time. I’m tired of the reflection in the mirror not matching the image in my mind. I’m approaching my health goal this time in a radically different, and yet surprisingly simple way.

And what is my plan?

My plan is daily, small habits with a single, overarching goal. I’m not setting several goals in several areas of my life. I’m choosing one thing – my health – and focusing on that.

Most importantly, I’m moving my body EVERY DAY. My doctor said the magic number is 21 minutes every day. I’m doing some sort of purposeful movement every day, with a target of a minimum of 30 minutes. I’m doing cardio and also integrating weight training two to three times a week. I find myself being more purposeful with my time so I can fit it in.

I track my food intake in a food app on my phone daily. The good, the bad, the ugly. I’m not eliminating any food or food group. I’m not holding myself to following calorie goals every day, just recording EVERYTHING that goes into my mouth. The result? Since I didn’t set a calorie goal, I don’t have to feel guilty about what I eat. And I’m becoming more and more aware of what goes into my body and am naturally adjusting to actually stay within my calorie goals.

Every day, I write a couple of sentences in a “health journal,” documenting the events of the day and if I did or didn’t follow my plan. What did I accomplish? How did I feel physically that day? What were my feelings and emotions? I’m looking forward to coming back in a year and reading through my posts and seeing the evolution and change at the other end when I have set healthy habits for myself and made tangible progress.

I have an accountability partner, who is also going through a health journey. We check in with each other daily and celebrate progress and encourage each other when we don’t want to keep going.

The magic for me is checking off a daily list and having that be my goal. I’m not setting a target weight or target numbers. My goal is to do this thing EVERY. DAY. And that’s why I’m succeeding. It takes the pressure off to “make the numbers,” which I can’t control as easily. I can, however, control my choices and actions. My goal is to do the actions themselves, which will end up affecting lifestyle change and health numbers automatically. And I know can do these actions for the rest of my life, and I need to.