Moment of Frustration Day - Everyone has moments of frustration, especially when on a fitness journey. Here at Skinny, we've found that redefining how we view that journey helps limit the frustration. Afterall, wellness is a lifestyle, not a timeline!

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There is a saying “You are your own worst critic” . Well for many people this is true, and many times this limits us from seeing our accomplishments. Your wellness journey is only completely viewed by one person,.. YOU! Only you know that you are making small changes. It could parking further away, taking the stairs verses the elevator, going from 3 sugar packets in your tea to 2 sugars this week, spending 5 minutes meditating every morning or any small health change you are making on a daily basis, and YOU may be your biggest critic by your also have to be your biggest cheerleader.

You need to congratulate yourself and motivate yourself by saying “you are doing it!” “keep it up!” and setting up goals for the next day, week, or month.

As mentioned before your goal should be to create a healthy lifestyle. Aiming for progress and consistency not perfection. If your goal is to have a perfect week you will most likely end up frustrated! We are human and have long daily to-do list which make it near impossible to have a perfectly planned and executed day let alone a week,

Here are 3 tips to help you feel accomplished in the small wins and help to push you forward inside of getting frustrated.

Journal
Keep a journal. It may sound cliche but it has been proven to work. Some studies have shown it can even enhance weight loss results! This is because it helps you to identify triggers and then hopefully you can create a plan of action to avoid them or work through them. The journal may also be used to track your food to become more self-aware of your food choices due to certain environments, stressors or triggers.

Focus on Small Changes
One of the biggest mistakes is having an all or nothing mindset. This will make it incredibly more difficult to stick to a plan for healthy eating, exercise or any major health goal. If you have an all or nothing mindset and one day you all of a sudden can not make it to the gym, you throughout the rest of your goals and start back to square one.

Instead focus on smaller short term goals. Identify one specific healthy change that is reasonable and attainable as long as you nudge yourself to work towards the goal. Remember the goal is to make progress not be perfect. Progress is an improvement and you should be proud of that!

You could be going for a 10 minute walk after dinner instead of immediately laying on the couch. Remember to keep a journal and keep track of the different ways you have made progress and give yourself credit for them, because small changes add up to big changes.

Listen to how you talk to yourself
Your inner dialogue is powerful and pervasive. These inner thoughts can be leading to your success or causing a road block.

Instead of saying “I’m so fat” or “I’m so out of shape” replace negative self-talk with a powerful mantra such as “I am enough,” “my body and mind are strong,” “I have come a long way,” “I can do this”. Use these to help kick the negative self-talk and boost self-confidence.

Do not be frustrated in your progress or journey, but instead celebrate your wins and use those successes to motivate yourself to keep moving forward. Every little step is a step in the right direction.

Click Here to beat frustration

October 12, 2022 — Bianca Shah