Set Yourself Up For Success

Mid-January already — how are the New Year’s resolutions going? In Austria, we call it the “Morgen-Diät”, which loosely means “I’ll start healthy eating tomorrow.”

So why aren’t you hitting your goals? Can’t be bothered? Life got in the way? Any other excuses? Or maybe it’s worth looking at it from another angle!

When I was training for an Ironman, my long training days were on the weekend. The weekend looked like this - Friday: a training free day to recharge and get ready, Saturday: a long swim and long run — which could easily be a 3 km swim followed by an 20 km run. Sunday: a long bike ride, something like 140 km. Monday: recovery swim.

Come Friday night, I was dreading the weekend. I couldn’t sleep in anticipation of those long, long sessions. But you can’t do an Ironman without long training days. If that wasn’t negotiable, how could I cope better?

Eventually, I realised it wasn’t the long Saturday or the long Sunday. It wasn’t the 4am alarm to get it all done. It wasn’t the packing and unpacking of gear. It wasn’t even the dreaded weather forecast with potential rain.

It was Monday!

After two long weekend training days, I still had to get up again on Monday at 4:45am to head to the pool for a recovery swim. All I wanted on Sunday was to chill with my family in the afternoon, and on Monday to sleep in.

I didn’t change anything over the weekend. I spoke with my coach, and he said it wasn’t a problem — we could swap Friday and Monday. I got my training-free day and slept in on Monday, which took all the pressure off.

The bottom line? The obstacle might not be the obstacle you think it is. The problem you believe you’re having might be solved by shifting something else.

So what does this have to do with nutrition and your New Year’s resolution?

Let me ask you: how is No Sugar January going? Or Dry January — or are you heading for Dry February? How’s that new gym membership going? Have you been?

If you come home and all you want is a glass of wine, is it really the wine? Or is it stress, boredom, habit — something else entirely? Try to fix the something else before you pour that glass.

Why aren’t you heading to the gym? The alarm goes off and you can’t be bothered to get out of bed? I know people who sleep in their gym gear on gym days so they don’t have an excuse. Could you get your bag ready the night before — together with your car keys, food, towel, drink bottle, and post-session fuel? Could you meet a friend there, because you don’t want to let them down, right?

Your weight-loss journey failed on day two? Sound familiar? So think about why. Did you come home to an empty fridge and order takeaway? Maybe working on your diet isn’t the first priority — maybe working on your time management is, so you can fit in a shop and have your fridge stocked with healthy, easy-to-grab options.

A full grocery shop feels too overwhelming to get started? Then start somewhere. Start with shopping for a healthy lunch, snack, or dinner — just focus on that one thing.

Set yourself up for success. Look at it from all angles — if that means starting somewhere different but achievable for you, then start there.

Not sure what a healthy lunch, snack, or dinner should look like for you? Get in touch with me, and I’ll help get you on the right track. Sorting out even one part of your nutrition can take a lot of pressure off and help you feel proud of what you’re doing. I’m here to help you make it happen.