An introduction

I’m a nutritionist and I work closely with people on improving their eating habits and reaching their health goals. If  I were meeting with a new client, my first order of business would be to find out more about them, their goals and their motivation. Seeing that you and I are meeting for the first time, let’s imagine having this type of exchange, shall we?  I will be V, you can be C.

V: “Tell me about your goals and why you’re here.”

C: “Well, I want to  _______( insert goal here). ”

For the sake of this exercise, let’s say you answered something like this:

C: ” Well, I want to lose weight. I also want to eat better.”

Alright. Let’s stop to talk about goals for a minute. A goal could be anything from wanting to lose weight, to improving your blood work, to running a sub-8 minute mile (we all can dream can’t we?).  Goals are important and you should keep track of them. But there is another element that is equally important for you to keep track of.  It’s the reason why you set those goals in the first place. It’s your motivation.

Let’s get back to our imaginary exchange:

V: “So your goals are to lose weight and to improve your eating habits. Ok. Can you tell me why you want to lose weight? Why is eating right important to you?”

Asking yourself why helps to identify your motivation, and though you may share the same goal as someone else, motivation can be entirely different:

C: “I want to lose weight and eat better because I want to ______(insert your motivation here)

…feel better about myself.”

…have more energy when I get home to my kids”

…prevent diseases that run in my family”

…get ready for my first marathon”

When we’re in the process of  reaching our goals, we sometimes forget why we set them in the first place. Times get tough and the feeling that sparked your initial get-up-and-go attitude fades away and you find yourself deviating from the plan. Reminding yourself why and finding new reasons why you’re making healthy lifestyle changes plays a big part in your success.

A new challenge

Inspired by my friends, family and clients all working hard to make positive changes, I’ve decided to take on the blogosphere as my way to provide them (and you!) with some extra, healthy motivation.

This blog is a reflection of my motive for better nutrition; good health and great food. So welcome! I hope that by sharing my own reasons why , it will help keep you on-track towards your own health goals. I like keeping things fresh, positive and fun, because I believe that’s what eating should be. So here’s hoping you’ll join-in!

Oh and if you stop by, I’d love to know, so feel free to leave some ink behind!

Do you have a specific health goal?  Why is achieving it important to you? Do you ever lose sight of your motivation?