Are You Supporting Yourself... or Constantly Testing Yourself?

You know why I always say things like… “keep it simple”, “stop overcomplicating it”, “simplify your healthy behaviors”, “it doesn’t have to be THAT HARD”? It’s because after coaching hundreds of clients - and running my business online, and just existing in this world - the thing I see every day is that people have a tendency to make healthy behaviors and choices much harder than they need to be.

And it’s not because they don't know what to do, or because they are not capable of doing it, but because they are constantly putting themselves in situations where every healthy decision turns into a test of willpower. And when every one of us make a million decisions a day - and are consumed by decision fatigue by the end of each day - those little tests of willpower to make the healthy choice - they just become exhausting.

This might look like:

Mary is trying to eat more protein and veggies at each meal - but leaves the house without packing a lunch & hopes she will “find something healthy” between meetings. Or Sarah wants to stop grabbing take-out after work, but she doesn’t have groceries in the house and hadn’t thought about dinner until she is already hungry. John wants to drink less alcohol, but is heading to happy hour with colleagues telling himself he will “just have one” without ever considering what he actually wants that evening to look like - or what it will feel like being out with his colleagues who will definitely be having more than one.

These situations are not about whether or not they have discipline - but each one of them are relying on a version of themselves who can make “perfect” decisions under less-than-perfect circumstances. And that’s a big ask.

Something we do know from behavioral psychology is that our environment has a huge influence on the decisions we make. In fact, a lot of our daily behavior happens automatically in response to the situations we are in. When we’re tired, hungry, stressed, running late, or overwhelmed, our brains naturally look for the easiest available option. That’s not a character flaw, but an efficient strategy when you think about it. Your brain is constantly trying to conserve energy & making thoughtful, sometimes hard decisions, requires energy. Which is why I think we get ourselves in a bit of trouble when we treat every day like a test.

So if you have ever said something like: “I’ll just keep the cookies in the pantry - and practice self-control” or “i’ll just wait until i’m hungry then pick something healthy at that time”, you’ve probably experienced this. We do it over and over again - we convince ourselves that succeeding under the HARDEST POSSIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES somehow proves that we are stronger, that we are doing well, that we can DO THIS within our regular life - which has these challenges in it.

BUT WHYYYYYYY are we creating the hardest possible circumstances in the first place. WHYYYY are we continuing to ask “How can I be more disciplined?” when really - the question we WANT to be asking is “How can I make this easier?” LIFE IS HARD ENOUGH - our healthy choices don’t need to be.

And that question “How can I make this easier?” changes just about everything. What are ways we can make things easier? So glad you asked:

-Grocery pickup or delivery instead of wandering the store without a plan when you are hungry after work or with the kids on the weekend when you will grab all the extras that lead to the constant temptations.

-Packing your lunch the night before instead of HOPING you will have time in the morning or find something good on your lunch break.

-Eating dinner before the kids sporting event or bringing it with you in a cooler so you aren’t grabbing fast food on the drive home.

-Bringing a protein bar in your bag because you know that long afternoons get you snacky and you’re gonna snack on something.

These are not shortcuts in your nutrition, they are SYSTEMS THAT SUPPORT YOU. They are plans on how to make things work better for you. Plans to make things easier for you to succeed. And those are so powerful.

Expecting that you will walk into any situation and make the healthiest choice without planning ahead every time is wild. It’s exhausting. And when you KNOW yourself well enough to anticipate where you are likely to struggle - then put something in place that helps you succeed - that’s not weakness, that’s not a shortcut - that’s smart. That’s awareness. That’s making the healthy behaviors easier.

I often think about it this way: if I know I have a long afternoon of client calls and meetings, why would I expect myself to magically make a thoughtful nutrition decision at four o'clock if I haven't eaten enough all day? Why wouldn't I pack something ahead of time? If I know I'm more likely to skip a workout after work because my energy drops, why wouldn't I schedule it before my day begins or shorten it to twenty minutes instead of sixty?

The goal isn't to prove that you can succeed under the worst possible conditions, the goal is to create conditions where success becomes more likely. And those two things are very different. And when you create conditions where success becomes more likely - whether the conditions are ideal, or okay, or not great…those systems are supporting you every day.

I think this is one of the biggest differences I notice in people who have built healthy lifestyles that actually last. They spend far less time testing themselves and much more time SUPPORTING themselves. Their refrigerator has foods they enjoy eating. Their calendar includes time for movement before the week begins. They repeat meals they know work. They carry snacks because they know what happens if they don't. They don't see these things as crutches, they see them as intentional choices that they have built as part of their system.

If you've been following along with my blogs lately, you've probably noticed this theme coming up again and again. Whether we're talking about simplifying nutrition, creating fallback routines, planning your week, or adapting during busy seasons, the underlying idea is always the same.

Healthy habits become sustainable when we stop asking ourselves to constantly rise to the occasion and start creating an environment that quietly supports the person we're trying to become.

So this week, I'd encourage you to look at one area of your health and ask yourself a simple question:

Am I supporting myself here...or am I testing myself?

Because if the answer is that you're constantly hoping your future self will somehow make the perfect decision under difficult circumstances, there may be an easier way. And in my experience, easier doesn't usually lead to worse results. More often than not...it leads to better follow-through.