Got trouble changing fitness habits? Then don’t – not all at once, at least.

July 9, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

“You look great. But I could never do it. I could never just quit my favorite foods cold turkey.”

I’ll admit it.

When people say this to me, I feel superior.

A cut above. Like royalty , even.

(Okay. Not quite *that* crazy. But there’s still time…)

But, the truth?

I’d love to be as awesome as Queen Vega. But, honestly, I didn’t just wake up one day and go vegan.

And, if that whole term (“vegan”) induced a hefty dose of eye-roll upon reading, no worries. What I’m about to say actually goes for any major dietary overhaul. Whether you’re talking about going vegan or starting some other kind’ve diet that means massive habit change – the same thing applies: one step at a time makes for sustainability. I look at is as laying fitness bricks for my carnal kingdom. Lugging blocks for my body pyramid. Shipping in gold for my throne of-… Okay, you get the metaphor. My point? It’s the best way to keep the change you’re about to make. Is it possible to go cold turkey? Yes. Yes, it is. Do more cold turkeyers tend to regress back to bad eating habits, though? Yes, also. See, our brains have this evolutionary mechanism when it comes to uncertainty. We don’t like it. Even if we know we’re doing the wrong thing, we prefer to stay comfy in the chaos, ‘cause it’s the devil we know. We may be sick and fat, but we’re not dead – yet. (Even if we’re well on our way with obesity, diabetes, and arteries so clogged that even Drano wouldn’t clear ’em.) But, once we invite in a little dietary change, acclimate, and realize it’s not so bad – that we even feel good – then being open to other tiny tweaks seems survivable.

See, for me (for example), quitting my whipped cream or sashimi (no, not together) seemed “Princess Bride” level inconceivable, initially. And, while I may’ve indeed known what that meant (as the ol’ meme goes), what I didn’t know was that I couldn’t just hurl myself down the diet-change hill face first. I tried that once, and ended up right back where I’d begun. However, when I went in for round two, I did what the experts suggest: take it as slow as your boyfriend promised to in the backseat on prom night. What I did was start with a list. And, on that list was the answer to two questions. First: what did I love indulging in – that was bad for me? And, second: what could I replace it with? Stevia for sugar. Soy or coconut creamer for dairy. McDougall’s soups instead of the dairy based Campbell’s. Tofu as a meat sub. Ezekiel bread for the blood sugar spiking stuff I’d been eating. Sushi Jin’s vegan sushi. The options were endless, once I opened my mind to it. But doing it all at once? That had been sensory overload. I hadn’t had time to find substitutes I liked. Thus, I felt forced, resented the diet, lost it, and gained the weight back.

That’s why, the second time around, I micro-committed.

In other words, I changed things, bit by bit – but gave myself a deadline for each thing I needed to nix.

(Not exactly “baby steps” ’cause actual baby steps are generally rapid, followed by a face-plant.
More like baby *sized* steps, followed by a pause and acclimation period.)

For example, I started with the stevia and creamer changes for this first week or two. That was tough – but only until I found my fave flavor of soy, almond, and coconut based creamer (and never looked back). After adjusting to that, I started modifying my pot’ve soup. I even came to fall in love with the process of making stuff myself (instead’ve, ya know, dumping it out’ve some can packed with chemicals.) Then, it was the bread. (Which I began to actually miss less and less on a plant based diet – but bought Ezekiel’s for days I craved some.) Then, there was the sushi. (After giving it a chance, I noticed the vegan options were equally satisfying.) And, while the order might be off slightly on that list, the point’s this: I didn’t just quit stat because I was born with steely resolve. I accepted that I’m human, that I needed a little space ‘n time to transform comfortably without resenting my diet, and did exactly that. And exactly that is what I’d recommend to anyone else. Whether you’re looking to go vegan or paleo or whatever, going cold Tofurkey might not be for you. And that’s okay. If that’s the case, all you’ve gotta do is design some incremental goals, reach them, and then set the next one. Because you’re not going on a “diet”. (Which implies something that’s gonna end at some point – along with your lovely new low weight.) Rather, you’re building a whole royal, dietary empire.

Which means you’re making something built to last.

And just like Rome wasn’t built in a day… neither is that majestic somatic kingdom’ve yours, queen.