My “Intuitive Eating” why?
Choosing a “why” is so important to the start of any journey.
A “why” is the reason why you get started, why you want to achieve a certain goal, a reason to keep going when it gets hard, and why you choose to do the hard work and stick to something.
Starting anything new at first can be exciting, and sometimes a bit hard, but, usually, the first couple of days or even weeks are exciting in a new lifestyle change or adventure, but after the newness wears off, that is when things start to get hard and maybe you even begin to question why you even started in the first place.
I remember when I would start a new diet or workout program, I was always 100% committed on the first day, but usually, after a week or two things would start to get hard. Even if I did complete the “diet” or workout program, it was hard. I needed to have a great reason to finish – if the motivation and “why” weren’t strong enough – I would quit. Life would get in the way, I would become distracted from my goal or it would be easier to just go back to my normal way of life.
This same thing will happen even with intuitive eating. Yes, intuitive eating is not a diet, but it is a huge lifestyle change that is hard to stick to in the beginning when things are hard. Intuitive eating is meant to last a lifetime with no end date, ever, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need to find your reason “why” to make it stick. It is a change that will take work and effort and a very strong reason why.
My “why” comes from a couple of different places including wanting to participate in life, not wanting to worry about my body or diets, and simply just desiring to be truly healthy. My main “why” though is Quinn and Knox (and Aaron). My wonderful family and how I impact them is the real reason why I keep going when I sometimes want to inch backward to my old ways.
Knowing that Quinn and Knox are watching every single move I make is such a motivator for me. I think back on my life and all the heartache and pain I caused myself by focusing on diets and trying to change my body, I do not want them to go through that. I can tell you with absolute certainty that a certain number on a scale or a specific number on a pant size will not make you happy – it will make you anxious to keep that number where it is at. Learning to eat without diets and listening to your body, feeding it nutritious food while also enjoying the special treats of life is where balance, joy, and true freedom are.
“Knowing that Quinn and Knox are watching every single move I make is such a motivator for me.”
Having a poor relationship with food is something I want Quinn and Knox to run far away from. I want them to see and have a mom that is fully present and willing to eat what they want and skip workouts to play with them. I want to go out on a random morning and get doughnuts with my family without tracking calories. All these little things will add up because I have a super special role in their life right now – I get to be who they want to be. That is beyond scary and that will change – but right now I want to be proud of who I am when I am with them. I don’t want to hide when I eat chocolate, I want them to know every aspect of me.
This is my why – my why is I want to be the best mom and wife possible – and that means want to truly live life with them. Not on the sidelines but right beside them while showing them how to be healthy, but not forcing it. Just letting it be an everyday normal life.
What would your why be? What makes you want to change?
