Sustainable health In Real Life (not Insta-life)

Are January's good intentions hanging on by a thread? I hear ya. It happens to the best of us.

Some days you’re pumped for all the broccoli you can get and some days you just want to restock the junk press. If you’re not feeling like being “healthy” all the time, that’s OK!  Especially for those of us with menstrual cycles which can give us a natural wax and wane of energy and enthusiasm. 

It might help you to know that I have days like that too, even though I live and breathe this nutrition stuff. The pressure of real life can weigh on us all. You ought to have been a fly on the wall in the supermarket when my 8-year old broke down having been told “no” to the box of ultra-processed, artificially coloured, sugar-filled, zero redeeming features breakfast cereal that he REALLY wanted. He made a scene, absolutely bawling crying, and in between the sobs managed to spit out the killer blow “you always feed us healthy food”. Ouch. That hurt.

Was I tempted to buy that box because I didn't want the drama? Yes I was. Sometimes it’s just plain hard to hold the line, for your family or yourself (although I do draw the line at those terrible cereals. The box stayed on the shelf, I took a deep breath and weathered the tantrum). But this only goes to show that 

Real life is messy.

Feeling good about your body, having the energy to face the trials and tribulations of any given day, knowing that you have the freedom of movement you need to exercise in the way you like, or the confidence that your diet and lifestyle decisions are health-supportive for yourself and your family is not a pass or fail thing. The key to sustainable health is that it works inside your real life.

Any of my clients will be quick to tell you that the path to feeling well is somewhat windy, and definitely nuanced.  They’ve all come to me knowing something had to shift, but needed help with what specifically, why that would make a difference and exactly how to do it in a way that was sustainable for them. A number of them have had to unlearn the mantra I must be perfect in order to stop 'starting over' make real progress. I’m sure you can empathise in some way with this. The all or nothing approach very often leads to throwing the baby out with the bathwater, feeling that “I might as well give it all up” because of one day where you didn’t meet the standards set, wherever they came from. However, it’s important to know that

The people who make lasting progress are rarely the people who are perfect.

They’re the people who learn that consistency is actually about being adaptable.

The method that works, despite (or alongside) all the curveballs of life, is finding different ways to show up for yourself depending on the circumstances. This is why I come back to a few core principles again and again:

Never miss twice

You’re allowed to be human. Just don’t turn one wobble into a week (and don’t beat yourself up about a wobble - that’s a waste of precious energy).

Be choosy

Not everything is worth it. Pay attention to your options and pick something that genuinely brings you joy or value.

Know your opt-outs AND your opt-ins

It’s often easy enough to know what to avoid but knowing what actively supports you specifically is a hugely helpful strategy for making decisions.

The end of January is one of those key times of the year where we feel like we’re at a PASS/FAIL point and are tempted to throw out that baby with the bathwater. The January motivation of “New Year, New Me” is useful, but fragile. 

It’s in February, when motivation is fading, that structure starts to matter.

By building systems that support you now, before life gets busy again, you can head into the Spring mornings and the social plans that come with the lengthening evenings with increased energy, better mood and confidence in your progress - feeling steady and calm, not languishing somewhere in the nether regions of "not quite perfect”.

This is the work I do with my 1:1 clients. I help them to build a path to feeling good in their bodies by supporting them to

• Build realistic, flexible foundations that suit their needs

• Navigate real life: kids, work, hormones, stress and setbacks

• Stop starting over

I have a small number of 1:1 spaces opening in February. This is ideal if you want to reinvigorate that fading motivation and feel more on track this Spring. Click here to talk to me about how this opportunity might work for you.

You don’t need a ‘new you’. You need the support that suits the life you already have.

P.S. While I said no to the cereal, I have said yes to other requests (which, let’s face it, are many, varied and on repeat when you take your kids shopping with you) following the principles I just described. I practice what I preach in my real life, so I really do get how to help you to do that too.

What my clients say

Maija's programme helped me to show up for myself.

Maija sees the whole person and works gently to give you the tools and confidence to take back the reins.

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