Real talk today…I have to set the record straight:

Being healthy is NOT a result that you “accomplish.” 

…It’s not an 8 week plan, or a 30 day challenge, or a 7 day cleanse. 

…It’s not like, “OK, I focus on it now and then can forget about it later.” 

It’s a LIFE-LONG PRACTICE! 

…It’s a skill you must develop and practice over the course of your entire life. 

…It’s the “forever plan.” 

That’s not big and scary and daunting.

It’s inviting. It takes the pressure off. You don’t (and can’t) get it right all at once. 

If you were learning how to play the piano, you wouldn’t be able to play Mozart on Day 1. Your diet is no different. 

If you want to truly evolve, here are 4 things you need to do:

#1. Shift your mindset

People with a fixed mindset believe that you have fixed qualities. Your intelligence, character, and personality are what they are, because that’s how you were born. They’re unchangeable.

This is how the majority of us approach dieting and health in general. We either “can” or “can’t” do it. There’s no in-between, there’s no emphasis placed on the process of learning. You’re either skinny or fat, healthy or not, determined or lazy, “on a diet” or “off a diet.” If you make a mistake then you’re a failure and can’t do it. 

That’s why, when so many of us approach our diets and health with a fixed mindset, the second we slip up we immediately consider ourselves failures and, paradoxically, self-soothe by eating more of the thing we’re trying to overcome. 

On the other hand, if you cultivate a growth mindset you believe that your basic qualities are things you can develop through your own efforts. Everyone can grow and change through application and experience. “Success” isn’t innate but can be developed and trained.

#2. Strategize

You need to plan and prepare. That means choosing what you’re going to eat for each meal and having it ready. Are you going to order it? Are you cooking at home? You need to be aware of curveballs like travelling or a busy weekend, and prepare healthy snacks in advance.

I’m not saying that you’re going to be perfect all the time. In fact, it’s likely that you won’t be perfect, but at least you’ll be prepared. And when you train that preparedness every day, you build the tools and the intuition to make healthy choices. That is something that you’ll take with you for the rest of your life. 

So it’s not just, “I learned how to lose a lot of weight and restrict myself, and that’s it.” You don’t really learn anything that way. I’m interested in helping people learn how to do this forever.

#3. Focus on the process, not the results

When you say you want to lose 10 pounds, 20 pounds, 50 pounds, whatever – you’re valuing your results over the process of getting there.

Imagine if, instead, you committed to the process of mastering your diet instead of the result of losing weight? What if you focused on your choices, instead of outcomes?

Wouldn’t you feel less pressure? Wouldn’t you enjoy life more? Wouldn’t you stop hating your ‘diet’ while you’re in it and hating yourself when you (inevitably) ‘slip-up’?

Yes, yes, and yes.

That’s why I only discuss your relationship with food and the process of mastering your diet, as opposed to chasing desired outcomes (i.e – losing weight, looking good, feeling good). All of these things will happen, but our goal is to generate inspiration and energy from the process, not the results.

#4. Invest in your mistakes

You will make mistakes, so use them as an opportunity to bounce back and gain feedback. Instead of spiraling into self loathing, or trying to restrict yourself for a few days, just go right back to the thing that’s healthy for you. 

Food is just one element of your success in this. You need to build a total awareness of all the factors involved, including your triggers and all the things that lead you to make unhealthy choices. Then you can rewire these habits and that’s when lasting change starts to happen. 

After we’ve worked together, you won’t have simply lost weight. You’ll have built a total lifestyle that you can keep forever. It will be trained inside of you.

You won’t have to start again a few months later, or try a new fad, or follow any crazy restrictions. 

It’ll be like riding a bike. You’ll just know how to do it.

That’s all I got for you today. Please let me know the impact today’s email had on you. Write me back and I’ll respond as quickly as possible. 

So much love. 

Daniel