If you are feeling stuck in a cycle of high action followed by apathy towards your health and fitness, then this simple exercise can help you decipher your thoughts and take manageable action towards significant change.

First, let me set the scene. Here 3 examples of statements from nutrition coaching clients about behavior change;

1. “I feel like I am really motivated for a few days, get into a groove, and then I have 1 off moment, and I backslide. Then I feel guilty and shameful that I have given up on my goal”.

2. “I spend so much time planning and feeling good about it, then when it comes time to start, I don’t want to - I feel like a failure for not being able to even get started.”

3. “I am better at identifying what I don’t want to keep doing, but don’t know how to decide what to do instead. This makes me feel stuck and reliant on my current habits.

You can likely think of a time when you have felt a similar way. You are not alone in feeling that change is difficult. When these scenarios come up, one of the exercises I may have my nutrition coaching clients perform is to answer the 4 part question below;

1. What do you gain by changing your behavior?

2. What do you gain by keeping your behavior the same?

3. What do you lose by changing your behavior?

4. What do you lose by keeping your behavior the same?

This is an exercise in identification that helps you recognize what you value and the high-priority areas of change to focus on. With this information, you can more clearly decide what actions to take and in what areas. You can also be more clinical in deciding what NOT to focus on, as having too many options can be a significant contributing factor to feeling stuck.

A task for you;

1. Think of an area of your training and nutrition you’d like to improve.

2. Look at what you do now and use that as the focus of the above questions.

3. Take 10 minutes to write out your answers to the questions.

4. Take 5 minutes to review your answers and highlight the keywords that highlight what you value.

5. Think of a change you are going to make each day for the next week that aligns with these values.

6. Review your behavior change in 7 days, and score your success out of 10. If it is above an 8, add a new behavior to change. If it is 7 or below, revisit your behavior and revamp any pitfalls you identified and repeat for 7 more days.

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