This week I listened to a great Podcast with Olivia Towers and Abi Lyle.

 

Abi was talking about exercising and eating well as an act of kindness to yourself. She discussed how often at the end of long days etc we often “reward” ourselves with junk food when in fact what our body needs is nutritious food to nourish and re energise it. Also how we can view exercise as a punishment to our bodies for the food we’ve eaten when it fact it should be a way of looking after our bodies and keeping it fit and strong.

 

I really like these concepts and definitely identify with them for my own training and nutrition and those that I try and instill in my clients. 

 

Often I ask my clients to identify their WHY for training and changing their eating habits.

 

This is super important as this is what makes people stick with their habits. This why needs to be a positive reason such as improving performance, improving how you feel in clothing etc. 

 

For me I feel like I have it easy in terms of motivation as if I train to be strong I am in less pain, I perform better for work, I ride better and generally life feels a bit easier. If I eat well I have less brain fog, less stomach issues and have more energy. These are some really strong WHY’s that definitely align with being kind to myself. As I don’t know why I would want to not train and eat rubbish when this would make feel crazy tired, brain foggy and leave me in a lot of pain? That would definitely not be being kind to myself. 

 

I want you to think about that when creating your own healthy habits. What are your positive reasons for doing them?

 

Will eating better give you more energy, so you aren’t as tired during the day?

 

Will going for that run clear your head?

 

Would some yoga relax you?

 

Whatever your reasons try and make them positive and come from a place of looking after your physical and mental health. You’re more likely to stick with them and actually feel good about them too.

 

“Look after your body it’s the only place you have to live.”