How to Prioritize Your Health Without Obsessing Over It

The new year always brings a lot of familiar feelings - a fresh start, new goals, and a clean slate. This year there is quite a bit more unknown coming along with us into 2021. As we continue to grapple with the challenges we are facing, there may be an increase in desire to find ways to take the mind off everything that went wrong in 2020. We may find ourselves trying to hyper focus on the few things that we can control in order to deal with the chaos of the state of the world around us.

Improving our health usually ranks quite high on the list of things people want to control.

Have you ever tried to commit to a diet or exercise regimen before, only to find yourself overwhelmed and at your breaking point in a few short days or weeks?

There is a difference between making your health a priority and obsessing over the scale, monitoring every morsel of food and going to extremes to fit in exercise everyday.

The key to sustainable weight loss and finding a balance is to make your health a priority, but not a burden.

Your lifestyle, food habits, exercise routine does not have to be a burden.

**Your lifestyle, food habits, exercise routine does not have to be a burden.**

Maintaining our physical and mental health is an admirable goal, but there is a fine balance between a healthy lifestyle that allows for flexibility and healthy coping mechanisms, and being so obsessed with health that it consumes your whole life and one small “mistake” derails your entire mental state.

What's the difference?

Obsess can be defined as: to preoccupy or fill the mind continually, intrusively, and to a troubling extent

Prioritize can be defined as: to designate or treat something as more important than other things

We see a big difference in these definitions alone.

Some questions you can ask yourself to determine where you fall in the balance between these to are:

1. How often do I make choices in my life based on what I can or should be eating?

2. How many times per day/week do I think about my weight?

3. Do I feel guilty for eating dessert or indulging occasionally?

4. Am I afraid of losing control with food?

5. Do I feel that I must be "on a diet" at all times?

6. Do I feel the need to "work off" my meals at the gym?

7. Are there certain foods I consider "safe" and several foods that I must avoid?

Using the definitions above and these questions, hopefully you can pinpoint which one best defines your current situation.

Here are some strategies that can help you practice prioritizing your health without obsessing over it:

1. Create some non-health related goals. Have some goals that don’t focus on your health or body. They can be work related, hobby related, or even just calling your mom once a week. This can help remind you that you are more than just what your body looks like. Growing as a person can involve more than losing weight, and it’s important to set goals that remind us of that fact. When you do set health related goals, ensure they are “action items” and not solely tied into the scale or a clothing size. For more on this, refer to my blog post ”Set Goals that You are Guaranteed to Achieve”
   

2. Maintain flexibility in your diet. There are going to be unexpected wrenches thrown into your plans for what you eat. It happens every week. Whether someone brings in a delectable cake to the office, or your friends wrangle you into going to your favorite brunch spot when you planned a spinach omelette and a gym session for Saturday morning. If you plan to make room in less nutrient dense meals, then it won’t be a wrench in your diet because you planned for it. When you’re preparing your meals for the week, leave one or two blank spaces and know that you might fill them with brunch or an extra dessert run with your significant other. That way you feel like you have flexibility to use those times to fit into your eating plan.
   

3. Accept your mistakes and find others who do too. it’s easy to imagine that the people we look up to for health goals never make mistakes. It’s easy to think that you’re weak because your diet isn’t perfect or you skipped the gym twice this week. The reality is we are all imperfect in our diets and healthy lifestyle, and it can actually be a source of freedom and bonding to share your mishaps with others. Find a friend or family member, or even an online community, who you know won’t judge you and share your mishaps. Chances are they’ll have their own stories to tell and will encourage you that you’re not alone in being imperfect.

In summary, life is ever changing. No two days are really the same. Setting schedules, routines, improving your habits and your diet are all noble efforts and are things we should strive for, but we must keep in mind that life is more than what you eat and what the scale says. Find a way of eating and moving your body that fits your preferences, your schedule and your needs. Avoid giving into the latest diet trend or worrying about the “preferred weight” for people your height. Set goals to improve your health and make them a priority. When you find yourself obsessed with what to eat/what not to eat, spending too much time at the gym, or obsessed with the number on the scale, it’s time to adjust your plan.

If that sounds like you, reach out and let me help!

I’m here for you and I believe in you!

- Miranda Castillo, RD, LD, CDE