January 2, 2025 • 32 mins
Do you feel like you’ve mastered the art of setting New Year’s resolutions but struggle to see them through? Then you're like most of us! In this episode, Aimee provides strategies to prevent your goals from fizzling by February—and teaches you to flip the script to stay consistent, even when life throws chaos your way.
🔑 What You’ll Learn:
- The real secret to creating goals that align with who you are—and who you’re becoming.
- Why aiming for “good enough” 80% of the time beats nailing it 100%.
- How to turn your aspirations into achievable, actionable steps.
- The power of planning for obstacles before they derail you.
💬 "If your goal isn’t tied to who you’re becoming, abandoning it will feel easier than sticking with it. But when it’s connected to your values, giving up becomes unthinkable."
Whether you’re aiming to eat more veggies, run a marathon, lose weight or reduce your blood sugar, this episode is packed with strategies to keep you on track and motivated. Because success isn’t about perfection—it’s about progress.
🎧 Listen now and let’s make 2025 the year your goals stick for good!
00:59 Setting Realistic New Year Goals
03:14 Finding Your Motivation
08:21 Overcoming Obstacles
11:40 Breaking Down Goals into Manageable Steps
15:01 The Importance of Flexibility
24:36 Acknowledging Success and Progress
Resources:
Newsletter sign up for recipes, upcoming groups and more
Complimentary 15 min call
Beyond SMART Goals: Creating Habits that Last
Beyond SMART Goals: Creating External Frameworks to Achieve Your Intentions
CHAT ME UP: let me know what's on your mind by texting here!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey Rebels, welcome toBlasphemous Nutrition.
Consider this podcast yourpantry full of clarity,
perspective, and the nuanceneeded to counter the
superficial health advice sofreely given on the internet.
I'm Amy, the unapologeticallycandid host of Blasphemous
Nutrition and a double degreednutritionist with 20 years
experience.
(00:22):
I'm here to share a more nuancedtake.
On living and eating well tosustain and recover your health.
If you've found most healthadvice to be so generic as to be
meaningless, We're so extremethat it's unrealistic, and you
don't mind the occasional Fbomb.
You've come to the right place.
From dissecting the latestnutrition trends to breaking
(00:43):
down published research andsharing my own clinical
experiences, I'm on a mission tofoster clarity amidst all the
confusion and empower you tohave the help you need to live a
life you love.
Now let's get started.
MacBook Air Microphone (01:00):
Happy new year and welcome to
Blasphemous nutrition.
I'm your host, Aimee.
And today, I want to talk abouthow to make goals that you will
not abandon by February 1st.
It's that time of your, whenpeople begin a new.
Whether or not you make goals orresolutions for the new year.
(01:21):
Most of us can't help, but takethis moment in time to reflect
on the past year And think aheadto the coming one.
And inevitably we have thoughtsand ideas on what we want to be
different.
So, if you're listening to thisepisode, you have likely gone
beyond just thinking about thisand dismissing it.
(01:44):
But perhaps like most of usyou've never really been good.
Uh, achieving the broad sweepinggoals that many people make this
year.
To finally quit sugar, to startgoing to the gym four times a
week.
To train for a half marathon, ormaybe add more fruit and
vegetables to your diet.
(02:04):
Maybe the first two weeks of theyear go off well, or even
better.
You find a six week fitnesschallenge or use a whole 30 to
jumpstart your efforts.
Half expecting, but mostlyhoping that the momentum of say
the first 10% of this year isgoing to somehow.
Be enough to carry you throughthe next 90%, but life doesn't
(02:30):
really work like that.
Does it?
There are interruptions andobstacles and unforeseen chaos
that inevitably makes it nearimpossible to meet a longterm
goal, unless you either have anadaptable, evolving plan in
place, or you have a hell of alot of support from others
(02:53):
around you.
So today, I want to talk abouthow to increase your motivation
to stick with it when the goinggets tough and how to create an
adaptable, flexible plan tonavigate the unexpected as best
you can without giving up andthrowing in the towel.
(03:14):
The first thing to consider iswhy.
Why are you wanting to make achange in the first place?
Perhaps the most important stepfor any of this is to have a
clear, strong purpose inachieving that goal.
If you want to run a halfmarathon this year, determine
(03:35):
why that's important.
What is that going to give you,aside from feeling like a
badass.
What does feeling like a bad-assgive you?
Maybe it's a sense of refusingto age like your parents did.
Maybe it's to reestablish theconsistency for physical
(03:55):
activity that you used to havein college.
But let's say you have a goal,like a half marathon and you
achieve it.
Then what.
Well, if the goal isn't tied toa deeper value or a sense of
personal integrity, for example,I value fitness as part of my
lifestyle, because it keeps mestrong.
(04:16):
It improves my mood and itallows me to do all of the
things I want to do in my life.
If you don't have that deepervalue or sense of personal
integrity, your goal will likelynot withstand the storms and
obstacles ahead of you.
And then you have nowhere to goafter it is achieved or you're
more likely not to achieve it inthe first place.
(04:39):
You have to tie your goal to avalue inherent in either who you
are today or who you are growinginto, who you are becoming.
The integration of oneself intoan aspiration or a goal makes
abandoning it far more painfulthan keeping at it and pushing
(05:02):
through and continuing to workfor that goal, even when it
feels like life is workingagainst you.
Now, if that goal is tied to whoyou are becoming or who you
really wish to be in the worldrather than how you see yourself
today.
You likely will need moresupport and reinforcement of
(05:25):
integrating that value.
Reminding yourself in numerousways and different ways, what
becoming this person means toyou and staying connected to how
much that intention means to youis essential.
And here I find inspirationalautobiographies or movies about
(05:48):
people who overcome the odds andachieve great changes, such as,
you know, rags to riches storiesor overcoming a debilitating
injury to resume a sport, orthose who have come back from
disease to regain health,personal stories of special
Olympians.
Right.
These can be really helpful.
(06:09):
Because these people are human.
And so are we, so our sharedhumanity reminds us that it is
possible to achieve things whichmay feel impossible in the
moment.
Finding your own sources ofinspiration to be your north
star and keep you from fallingprey to your own fears and
(06:30):
doubts is so important and sohelpful.
Aside from autobiographies orbiographies of famous people who
have achieved insurmountableodds or inspiring movies about
people who overcome hugeobstacles.
even finding people around youwho are ahead of you on the
(06:50):
path, but have a similarbackstory can also be deeply
supportive.
And this is where something likea fitness community or a support
group can be an absolutelifeline.
Even if you aren't aiming tosay, be a first place finisher,
or you don't think that yourdiabetes could be put into
remission utilizing the storiesof those who have achieved more
(07:16):
than you expect for yourself orthat you think your body can do
can still carry you forward.
The question you ask yourselfmay not be, can I win first
place, but maybe it's.
Can I finish this at all?
Can I finish a half marathon?
Is that possible for me?
Is it even possible for me toget my blood levels from a
(07:38):
diabetic range to a pre-diabeticrange?
Or can I reduce my dose ofmedication through utilizing
lifestyle changes and maintainthat lower dose of medication?
This reminds me of somethingelse.
Shifting the goal from anexpectation of something that
(07:59):
you have to do to an experimentto see if it is something that
you can do or how far along youcan make an improvement can
reduce the pressure to perform.
And it also opens up your mindto creative problem solving when
the going gets tough.
Which it will.
(08:21):
And that leads me to my secondpoint, knowing your obstacles.
Maintaining a mindset ofcuriosity is essential to
maintaining resiliency in theface of adversity.
Once we panic, once we getangry, we shut down and our
creative juices dry up, and it'smuch, much more difficult to
(08:43):
think your way out of a problemwhen you are in a highly
emotional state.
So stepping into the new yearwith an idea in mind of how you
want to be at the end of theyear is the perfect opportunity
and the perfect time to seekknown obstacles.
(09:04):
And strategize how to overcomethem.
So first list out all the knownobstacles that you expect to
face; when your work schedulegets crazy, how are you going to
navigate your dietary needsinstead of relying on takeout?
If you only have 20 minutes toget dinner on the table, how can
you best meet your nutritiongoals within that timeframe?
(09:29):
If you get sick, how will youprevent it from permanently
derailing your workout plan forthe year?
What do you need to plan forwhen vacations or summer comes
and your daily routine changes.?
Even if you have a goal that youanticipate achieving before
summer, if it is something thatyou're aiming to maintain as
(09:53):
part of a longterm lifestylestrategy, you need to plan for
things like summer and thingslike vacation so that this
disruption in your routinedoesn't cause that goal or the
progress that you made toachieve that goal to be lost.
So before you begin.
Or today, if you've alreadybegun working on your goal.
(10:16):
Outline how you plan to navigatethe obstacles and set up
contingency plans for whenthings go haywire.
Who is going to watch the kids.
What else in your life can takea back seat while you hold onto
this goal as a life priority?
Maybe laundry doesn't get done.
Maybe you have to delegate sometasks to coworkers.
(10:39):
Or to your older kids so thatyou have the time that you need
to meal prep or get to the gymor go for that run.
And if you find yourself sayingthere is no way out and you have
no choices, then I want you toreframe the question.
If there was a way out.
(11:00):
What would it look like?
If I lived in a world wherethere was a choice, there was a
possibility, what could that be?
And then what is the closestthat you can get to that?
Write out your ideas and yourcontingency plans, because I
(11:20):
promise you in the moment,you're totally going to forget
about them.
So having them written down willnot only help you remember them
when the time comes, but it willgive you a resource to refer to
when your brain is in panicmode.
And those creativity juices havetemporarily dried up.
Number three, break your goaldown into the smallest of doable
(11:46):
chunks.
One of the things that happenswhen we set goals for the year
is we don't take the time.
To realize.
Ultimately what it will take tomaintain consistency and gain
momentum in achieving thesegoals.
(12:07):
So if you have a goal to eatmore produce this year, what
needs to happen?
Well, you need to have moreproduce in the house, first of
all.
And most of the time, there willprobably be some prep involved,
which requires time and thattime will need to be found and
allocated to the prepping of theproduce.
(12:28):
Right.
And you're going to also have tomake the time to eat it as well.
So what ultimately will it takefor all of these pieces to be
put in place?.
Here's some ideas with that goalof more produce on your plate.
First create a master list ofproduce that you just always
(12:50):
have on hand.
So for instance, every time wego to the grocery store, we pick
up the staples and I'm sure youdo too, but our staples always
include some produce (12:59):
bananas, oranges, broccoli, lettuce.
And if even getting to thegrocery store is a struggle for
you, see if you can haveregularly scheduled deliveries
of groceries to your home oryour workplace to save yourself
the time that is needed to goand shop for them.
(13:21):
When it comes to prep time, youcan save a lot of time by
purchasing precut veggies,bagged salad, greens, and single
serve, produce options.
Like.
Oranges or a bag of snap peaswhere there's really no prep
involved aside from perhapsmaybe washing some of the
vegetables before you eat them.
Keep some of these on yourmaster list of grocery items for
(13:44):
moments when you don't have timeto prep.
And don't wait until you don'thave the time to put it on your
master grocery list.
I have them in rotation all thetime.
And then when you don't havetime, they are already there and
you don't have to think aboutbringing them into the house.
But let's say all hell breaksloose, and it's just going to be
(14:07):
a meal out.
That's okay.
But where is the place where youcan find produce order from
there?
Maybe it's the Thai restauranton the corner that has a wicked
vegetable Curry, or you knowthat the deli across from your
workplace has a salad.
That'll get the job done.
Or maybe there is a Chipolte layor other sort of like quick
(14:29):
Mexican place that can make aburrito bowl and you can use
lettuce instead of rice as thebase of that bowl and get your
veggies in that way.
Make note of the places that dooffer options aligned with your
goals, write them down.
So you don't have to think aboutit when you are in a rush and
then lean on those optionsduring the times that you have
(14:53):
to.
And once you start looking forplaces which offer what you
need, you will start to findthem.
And this is a great segue intostep four.
Determining your optimal, yourgood.
And you're good enough.
Now, usually when we make goals,we are operating from a place of
(15:14):
what is optimal.
I want to eat five servings ofveggies a day.
Awesome.
That is a goal which willsignificantly improve your
health, your energy, reduceinflammation and dramatically
lower your disease risk.
But is it realistic for 365 daysthis year?
(15:36):
If your current baseline is oneto two servings of produce a
day, which is what mostAmericans, Brits, Kiwis and
Aussies get each day.
Then five a day, every day,probably isn't realistic.
Only 10 to 14% of thesepopulations actually get their
five servings of fruit andveggies a day.
(15:59):
So if this is the baseline foroptimal or what is best then
shooting for three is good andshooting for two is good enough.
Let your good enough be just alittle bit more than what your
current baseline is and let goodbe about halfway between good
enough and optimal.
(16:21):
This way, even if you've had ahellish year, your good enough
still puts you ahead of whereyou were last year and keeps the
goal at the forefront withoutthe demands of.
Optimal all the time.
To use this example from afitness perspective, let's say
(16:42):
you have a goal of exercisingfour times a week.
Maybe you want to do yoga fourtimes a week.
You want to lift weights fourtimes a week.
Or your aiming to run certainmileage or certain minutes each
week that you're going to breakup into four different runs.
If four is best and you arecurrently say exercising once a
(17:05):
week, then good would be threetimes a week, right.
Instead of the four.
And good enough would be one totwo times a week.
What you're aiming to do is tocreate a new baseline that is
slightly better.
Then your current baseline sothat at the end of this year,
(17:26):
you have still made progress.
Life is not a binary pass, failexam, nor should our goals be
so.
Gradients of success allow us toget through those unexpected
diversions without giving upentirely and allow progress to
(17:47):
continue to be made.
Even if that progress is lessideal than we really want it to
be.
Life is going to happen.
And the reality is that aperfect score is not needed to
be successful.
So number five is aim for goodenough or best 80% of the time.
(18:13):
Precision nutrition is an onlineweight loss and fitness program.
that asks for a year longcommitment.
And they have been, gosh,they've been around for.
I want to say at least 15 yearsand everything is done
exclusively online and there'scoaching and support and this
whole program.
Right.
(18:33):
But they have.
At this point, over a millionpeople who have gone through
their program and they havetaken the data from their
participants.
And discovered that even thosewho adhered to their nutrition
and fitness program, 50% of thetime.
Still lost five to 6% of theirtotal body weight after a year.
(18:57):
Even modest improvements, suchas this have real life benefits
for your joint health, for yourblood sugar levels and your
overall reduced risk of chronicdisease.
Those who are consistent 50 to80% of the time made even
greater progress.
Losing more weight, more inches.
(19:18):
And interestingly enough, theyobserved that the difference
between those who are rocking it55% of the time, versus those
who were rocking it 79% of thetime wasn't wildly dramatic.
But those with the greatesttransformation were adherent to
the program, 80 to 90% of thetime.
(19:40):
So aim for 80% instead of 100%as your gold star, a plus
metric, knowing that if you'reable to achieve the objectives
of your goal, 90% of the time ormore, you're basically just
getting extra credit.
And.
The reality is if you'reconsistent, even 50% of the time
(20:03):
this year, you will be muchbetter off for that effort.
Now this perspective is oftenreally hard to keep when you
have a big goal.
So let's say you want to lose 30pounds this year, but for
whatever reason, 2025 ends upbeing a Whopper and there's
loads of derailments andobstacles.
(20:25):
And come December 1st, you'veonly managed to lose six pounds.
That is still a success.
And if you don't think so, letme ask you this.
Do you want those six poundsback?
No.
Okay.
Then take the win.
Not only did you lose sixpounds, you've also learned a
(20:47):
lot about what works and whatdoesn't work in the face of
massive obstacles.
And you would take this intoyour 20 26 and continue working
at it.
No, if by November you're pissedoff and you're frustrated and
you refuse to take that win.
You're likely going to say thehell with it for the holidays
(21:08):
and just let yourself enjoy theholidays.
Regained those six pounds thatyou lost and then come January.
You will be even more pissed offat yourself.
So don't let imperfect progressbe the enemy of good enough.
If you are focused on all ornothing, you will end up with
(21:30):
nothing.
Number six.
It is crucial to keep the longgame in mind because things
often take longer than expected.
My father once told me that hewas always a decade behind
schedule when it came toachieving his career goals.
(21:53):
A decade.
Can you imagine?
But he never gave up.
He has never given up.
He is like one of the mostdoggedly determined and stubborn
humans.
I know.
And.
Because of this, he has achievedmore in his lifetime than he
(22:13):
ever could have conceived ofwhen he first immigrated to the
United States.
So plan for a year.
If, you know, you've got a goalthat you want to achieve in 2025
plan for the year.
But expect that it may take twoyears or more, especially for
any big, hairy, audacious goal.
(22:34):
Be it a half marathon, a fullmarathon.
Successfully putting a chronicdisease in remission or getting
off of medications or asignificant weight loss goal.
I mean, I'm assuming that youare planning on living and aging
anyway.
So keep at it regardless of howlong it takes.
(22:55):
And each month, each day you'llget closer and closer and better
and better at it.
If you lose 20 pounds this year,instead of your goal of 30
pounds, you are still so muchbetter off.
If you can maintain a 20 poundweight loss.
Rather than get frustrated atthe last stubborn 10 pounds that
aren't letting go.
(23:17):
And give up only to gain theweight back.
If your body keeps gettinginjured around the 10 mile mark
of your long runs.
And you know, maybe at the endof the day, you decide that
running that half marathon isjust not going to happen in 2025
or even 20 26, but you refocusand you start racing 10 Ks
(23:39):
instead, you're still able tostay in shape this way.
You can still.
Be connected and in alignmentwith the value that you hold of
being a fit person who exercisesconsistently, even if you're
unable to achieve the ultimatedream goal of the half marathon
(24:01):
or the full marathon.
And readjusting, if you need toand taking the progress that
you've made and counting it as awin still puts you in far more
alignment with your values andwho you want to be in this
world, then say gettingfrustrated and giving up
altogether.
That's not who you are.
(24:22):
That's not who you want to be.
If that was you, you would notbe listening to this podcast or
any of the other health andfitness podcasts that you
regularly listened to.
Number seven.
Finally, you must consciouslyacutely.
Deeply acknowledge what isworking and the successes that
(24:46):
you have to build efficacy andto build your internal
resilience.
This is key to keeping yourmotivation as well as your
momentum.
If you neglect to take thedopamine hit that you can derive
from your progress and instead,try and save it for the goal
(25:07):
achievement, you are at reallyhigh risk for giving up when it
gets hard.
If you don't acknowledge what isworking, then you won't have any
weapons to combat the itty bittyshitty committee when they get
all up in your head and theytell you that nothing ever
works.
And this is too hard and it'sfruitless to keep trying.
You already have skills andtools and strengths that you've
(25:31):
cultivated in your past attemptsat your health and fitness goals
and these tools and strengthsand skills will continue to
serve you.
Additionally, what you learnthis year, will add to that
skill set even if you fall shortof your overall goal.
(25:52):
All of these insights, all ofthese skills makes you more
resilient, better adept, andbetter equipped for your future
endeavors.
And that is a straight up win,my friend.
If you tend to get my opticallyfocused on the end result, and I
am deeply guilty of being one ofthose people.
(26:13):
And you skip the reward ofacknowledging the progress along
the way, which I have nowlearned not to do, set up
reminders in your calendar atleast once a month to assess
your wins.
I ended up needing to setcheck-ins.
Every single week to overcome mytendency to not acknowledge
(26:36):
progress as I was moving alongin some big long-term goals that
required a lot of strategy.
So don't let once a month beyour minimum, if anything, that
is your maximum time to takebetween assessing your progress
and your wins.
(26:56):
These monthly or weeklycheck-ins can also be a good
time to look and see if you needto pivot if some things aren't
working or to plan ahead forobstacles that you see coming in
the month that maybe you didn'tsee at the start of the year.
Take these moments andcongratulate yourself for the
(27:17):
effort that you have put in theprogress you have made,
especially the progress thatyou've made in habits.
You are building which you havefull control over.
Because sometimes theoverarching goals such as the
amount of weight lost or theincrease in.
Speed or distance or heavierweights lifted is not within our
(27:42):
full control.
So give yourself proper kudosfor what you have worked for.
And do it often.
And soon you'll realize howcapable you are of actually
making progress, as well asliving in alignment with your
values and improving yourhealth.
This is the way that we prove toourselves that we can become the
(28:07):
person that we are aspiring tobe, that we actually are the
person that we believe ourselvesto be, it's this regular
acknowledgement of our progressand our effort and really
building our brain to recognizeand acknowledging the ways that
(28:28):
we are making the effort.
So to recap.
In order to make this yearsgoals ones that can withstand
whatever 20, 25 has in store forus.
Be mindful of these seventhings.
Number one, know why the goal orintention or aspiration that you
(28:51):
are making is an essential partof who you are.
Or who you are becoming what isyour why?
And be very, very clear aboutthat.
Number two, be mindful and planfor the obstacles and the
pitfalls that you know arecoming so that you're better
(29:12):
able to weather them.
And so that you build the skillset to plan for obstacles and
pitfalls that you don't quiteyet know are coming your way.
Number three, break your goaldown into the smallest of tasks
to make them more achievable.
Number four.
(29:32):
Determine what your best effortis, what good effort is and what
is just going to be good enough.
Number five.
Aim for 80% at that good enoughlevel or better, but know that
even 50% adherence is stillprogress and will make a
(29:55):
difference.
Number six, keep the long gamein mind and expect that it may
take longer than any goal datethat you actually have in mind.
And finally number seven (30:06):
fully, acutely, viscerally acknowledge
your success.
And what is working for you oncea month or more often.
I do hope that this episode hashelped you become better
prepared and more resilient inachieving your aspirations this
(30:28):
year.
If you do find yourself stucknavigating some of the obstacles
that come your way.
Having a master strategist inyour corner to help you navigate
through the terrain can save youboth mental bandwidth and spare
you some of the decision fatiguethat comes with navigating
life's challenges when they areat odds with your health goals.
(30:50):
So, know I'm absolutely here tosupport you.
I have a good 30 years of toolsat my disposal to help you
navigate the path.
And you can reach out to me byclicking the link in the show
notes to schedule acomplimentary call or to get on
my newsletter list so that youare among the first to be
invited to upcoming groupprograms that will be offered
(31:12):
this spring.
And as always, if you have foundthis episode helpful please like
the podcast, rate the podcast oniTunes.
If you haven't already and shareit with anybody else that is
also making some big, hairy,audacious goals this year so
that they too can be bettersupported and more resilient and
(31:35):
achieving them.
Until next time, my healthy,heathens!.
If you have found some Nuggetsof Wisdom, make sure to
subscribe, rate, and shareBlasphemous Nutrition with those
you care about.
As you navigate the labyrinth ofhealth advice out there,
remember, health is a journey,not a dietary dictatorship.
Stay skeptical, stay daring, andchallenge the norms that no
(31:59):
longer serve you.
If you've got burning questionsor want to share your own flavor
of rebellion, slide into my DMs.
Your stories fuel me, and I lovehearing them.
Thanks again for tuning in toBlasphemous Nutrition.
Until next time, this is Amysigning off, reminding you that
truth is nuanced, and any dishcan be made better with a little
(32:21):
bit of sass.
Hey Rebels, welcome toBlasphemous Nutrition.
Consider this podcast yourpantry full of clarity,
perspective, and the nuanceneeded to counter the
superficial health advice sofreely given on the internet.
I'm Amy, the unapologeticallycandid host of Blasphemous
Nutrition and a double degreednutritionist with 20 years
experience.
(00:22):
I'm here to share a more nuancedtake.
On living and eating well tosustain and recover your health.
If you've found most healthadvice to be so generic as to be
meaningless, We're so extremethat it's unrealistic, and you
don't mind the occasional Fbomb.
You've come to the right place.
From dissecting the latestnutrition trends to breaking
(00:43):
down published research andsharing my own clinical
experiences, I'm on a mission tofoster clarity amidst all the
confusion and empower you tohave the help you need to live a
life you love.
Now let's get started.
MacBook Air Microphone (01:00):
Happy new year and welcome to
Blasphemous nutrition.
I'm your host, Aimee.
And today, I want to talk abouthow to make goals that you will
not abandon by February 1st.
It's that time of your, whenpeople begin a new.
Whether or not you make goals orresolutions for the new year.
(01:21):
Most of us can't help, but takethis moment in time to reflect
on the past year And think aheadto the coming one.
And inevitably we have thoughtsand ideas on what we want to be
different.
So, if you're listening to thisepisode, you have likely gone
beyond just thinking about thisand dismissing it.
(01:44):
But perhaps like most of usyou've never really been good.
Uh, achieving the broad sweepinggoals that many people make this
year.
To finally quit sugar, to startgoing to the gym four times a
week.
To train for a half marathon, ormaybe add more fruit and
vegetables to your diet.
(02:04):
Maybe the first two weeks of theyear go off well, or even
better.
You find a six week fitnesschallenge or use a whole 30 to
jumpstart your efforts.
Half expecting, but mostlyhoping that the momentum of say
the first 10% of this year isgoing to somehow.
Be enough to carry you throughthe next 90%, but life doesn't
(02:30):
really work like that.
Does it?
There are interruptions andobstacles and unforeseen chaos
that inevitably makes it nearimpossible to meet a longterm
goal, unless you either have anadaptable, evolving plan in
place, or you have a hell of alot of support from others
(02:53):
around you.
So today, I want to talk abouthow to increase your motivation
to stick with it when the goinggets tough and how to create an
adaptable, flexible plan tonavigate the unexpected as best
you can without giving up andthrowing in the towel.
(03:14):
The first thing to consider iswhy.
Why are you wanting to make achange in the first place?
Perhaps the most important stepfor any of this is to have a
clear, strong purpose inachieving that goal.
If you want to run a halfmarathon this year, determine
(03:35):
why that's important.
What is that going to give you,aside from feeling like a
badass.
What does feeling like a bad-assgive you?
Maybe it's a sense of refusingto age like your parents did.
Maybe it's to reestablish theconsistency for physical
(03:55):
activity that you used to havein college.
But let's say you have a goal,like a half marathon and you
achieve it.
Then what.
Well, if the goal isn't tied toa deeper value or a sense of
personal integrity, for example,I value fitness as part of my
lifestyle, because it keeps mestrong.
(04:16):
It improves my mood and itallows me to do all of the
things I want to do in my life.
If you don't have that deepervalue or sense of personal
integrity, your goal will likelynot withstand the storms and
obstacles ahead of you.
And then you have nowhere to goafter it is achieved or you're
more likely not to achieve it inthe first place.
(04:39):
You have to tie your goal to avalue inherent in either who you
are today or who you are growinginto, who you are becoming.
The integration of oneself intoan aspiration or a goal makes
abandoning it far more painfulthan keeping at it and pushing
(05:02):
through and continuing to workfor that goal, even when it
feels like life is workingagainst you.
Now, if that goal is tied to whoyou are becoming or who you
really wish to be in the worldrather than how you see yourself
today.
You likely will need moresupport and reinforcement of
(05:25):
integrating that value.
Reminding yourself in numerousways and different ways, what
becoming this person means toyou and staying connected to how
much that intention means to youis essential.
And here I find inspirationalautobiographies or movies about
(05:48):
people who overcome the odds andachieve great changes, such as,
you know, rags to riches storiesor overcoming a debilitating
injury to resume a sport, orthose who have come back from
disease to regain health,personal stories of special
Olympians.
Right.
These can be really helpful.
(06:09):
Because these people are human.
And so are we, so our sharedhumanity reminds us that it is
possible to achieve things whichmay feel impossible in the
moment.
Finding your own sources ofinspiration to be your north
star and keep you from fallingprey to your own fears and
(06:30):
doubts is so important and sohelpful.
Aside from autobiographies orbiographies of famous people who
have achieved insurmountableodds or inspiring movies about
people who overcome hugeobstacles.
even finding people around youwho are ahead of you on the
(06:50):
path, but have a similarbackstory can also be deeply
supportive.
And this is where something likea fitness community or a support
group can be an absolutelifeline.
Even if you aren't aiming tosay, be a first place finisher,
or you don't think that yourdiabetes could be put into
remission utilizing the storiesof those who have achieved more
(07:16):
than you expect for yourself orthat you think your body can do
can still carry you forward.
The question you ask yourselfmay not be, can I win first
place, but maybe it's.
Can I finish this at all?
Can I finish a half marathon?
Is that possible for me?
Is it even possible for me toget my blood levels from a
(07:38):
diabetic range to a pre-diabeticrange?
Or can I reduce my dose ofmedication through utilizing
lifestyle changes and maintainthat lower dose of medication?
This reminds me of somethingelse.
Shifting the goal from anexpectation of something that
(07:59):
you have to do to an experimentto see if it is something that
you can do or how far along youcan make an improvement can
reduce the pressure to perform.
And it also opens up your mindto creative problem solving when
the going gets tough.
Which it will.
(08:21):
And that leads me to my secondpoint, knowing your obstacles.
Maintaining a mindset ofcuriosity is essential to
maintaining resiliency in theface of adversity.
Once we panic, once we getangry, we shut down and our
creative juices dry up, and it'smuch, much more difficult to
(08:43):
think your way out of a problemwhen you are in a highly
emotional state.
So stepping into the new yearwith an idea in mind of how you
want to be at the end of theyear is the perfect opportunity
and the perfect time to seekknown obstacles.
(09:04):
And strategize how to overcomethem.
So first list out all the knownobstacles that you expect to
face; when your work schedulegets crazy, how are you going to
navigate your dietary needsinstead of relying on takeout?
If you only have 20 minutes toget dinner on the table, how can
you best meet your nutritiongoals within that timeframe?
(09:29):
If you get sick, how will youprevent it from permanently
derailing your workout plan forthe year?
What do you need to plan forwhen vacations or summer comes
and your daily routine changes.?
Even if you have a goal that youanticipate achieving before
summer, if it is something thatyou're aiming to maintain as
(09:53):
part of a longterm lifestylestrategy, you need to plan for
things like summer and thingslike vacation so that this
disruption in your routinedoesn't cause that goal or the
progress that you made toachieve that goal to be lost.
So before you begin.
Or today, if you've alreadybegun working on your goal.
(10:16):
Outline how you plan to navigatethe obstacles and set up
contingency plans for whenthings go haywire.
Who is going to watch the kids.
What else in your life can takea back seat while you hold onto
this goal as a life priority?
Maybe laundry doesn't get done.
Maybe you have to delegate sometasks to coworkers.
(10:39):
Or to your older kids so thatyou have the time that you need
to meal prep or get to the gymor go for that run.
And if you find yourself sayingthere is no way out and you have
no choices, then I want you toreframe the question.
If there was a way out.
(11:00):
What would it look like?
If I lived in a world wherethere was a choice, there was a
possibility, what could that be?
And then what is the closestthat you can get to that?
Write out your ideas and yourcontingency plans, because I
(11:20):
promise you in the moment,you're totally going to forget
about them.
So having them written down willnot only help you remember them
when the time comes, but it willgive you a resource to refer to
when your brain is in panicmode.
And those creativity juices havetemporarily dried up.
Number three, break your goaldown into the smallest of doable
(11:46):
chunks.
One of the things that happenswhen we set goals for the year
is we don't take the time.
To realize.
Ultimately what it will take tomaintain consistency and gain
momentum in achieving thesegoals.
(12:07):
So if you have a goal to eatmore produce this year, what
needs to happen?
Well, you need to have moreproduce in the house, first of
all.
And most of the time, there willprobably be some prep involved,
which requires time and thattime will need to be found and
allocated to the prepping of theproduce.
(12:28):
Right.
And you're going to also have tomake the time to eat it as well.
So what ultimately will it takefor all of these pieces to be
put in place?.
Here's some ideas with that goalof more produce on your plate.
First create a master list ofproduce that you just always
(12:50):
have on hand.
So for instance, every time wego to the grocery store, we pick
up the staples and I'm sure youdo too, but our staples always
include some produce (12:59):
bananas, oranges, broccoli, lettuce.
And if even getting to thegrocery store is a struggle for
you, see if you can haveregularly scheduled deliveries
of groceries to your home oryour workplace to save yourself
the time that is needed to goand shop for them.
(13:21):
When it comes to prep time, youcan save a lot of time by
purchasing precut veggies,bagged salad, greens, and single
serve, produce options.
Like.
Oranges or a bag of snap peaswhere there's really no prep
involved aside from perhapsmaybe washing some of the
vegetables before you eat them.
Keep some of these on yourmaster list of grocery items for
(13:44):
moments when you don't have timeto prep.
And don't wait until you don'thave the time to put it on your
master grocery list.
I have them in rotation all thetime.
And then when you don't havetime, they are already there and
you don't have to think aboutbringing them into the house.
But let's say all hell breaksloose, and it's just going to be
(14:07):
a meal out.
That's okay.
But where is the place where youcan find produce order from
there?
Maybe it's the Thai restauranton the corner that has a wicked
vegetable Curry, or you knowthat the deli across from your
workplace has a salad.
That'll get the job done.
Or maybe there is a Chipolte layor other sort of like quick
(14:29):
Mexican place that can make aburrito bowl and you can use
lettuce instead of rice as thebase of that bowl and get your
veggies in that way.
Make note of the places that dooffer options aligned with your
goals, write them down.
So you don't have to think aboutit when you are in a rush and
then lean on those optionsduring the times that you have
(14:53):
to.
And once you start looking forplaces which offer what you
need, you will start to findthem.
And this is a great segue intostep four.
Determining your optimal, yourgood.
And you're good enough.
Now, usually when we make goals,we are operating from a place of
(15:14):
what is optimal.
I want to eat five servings ofveggies a day.
Awesome.
That is a goal which willsignificantly improve your
health, your energy, reduceinflammation and dramatically
lower your disease risk.
But is it realistic for 365 daysthis year?
(15:36):
If your current baseline is oneto two servings of produce a
day, which is what mostAmericans, Brits, Kiwis and
Aussies get each day.
Then five a day, every day,probably isn't realistic.
Only 10 to 14% of thesepopulations actually get their
five servings of fruit andveggies a day.
(15:59):
So if this is the baseline foroptimal or what is best then
shooting for three is good andshooting for two is good enough.
Let your good enough be just alittle bit more than what your
current baseline is and let goodbe about halfway between good
enough and optimal.
(16:21):
This way, even if you've had ahellish year, your good enough
still puts you ahead of whereyou were last year and keeps the
goal at the forefront withoutthe demands of.
Optimal all the time.
To use this example from afitness perspective, let's say
(16:42):
you have a goal of exercisingfour times a week.
Maybe you want to do yoga fourtimes a week.
You want to lift weights fourtimes a week.
Or your aiming to run certainmileage or certain minutes each
week that you're going to breakup into four different runs.
If four is best and you arecurrently say exercising once a
(17:05):
week, then good would be threetimes a week, right.
Instead of the four.
And good enough would be one totwo times a week.
What you're aiming to do is tocreate a new baseline that is
slightly better.
Then your current baseline sothat at the end of this year,
(17:26):
you have still made progress.
Life is not a binary pass, failexam, nor should our goals be
so.
Gradients of success allow us toget through those unexpected
diversions without giving upentirely and allow progress to
(17:47):
continue to be made.
Even if that progress is lessideal than we really want it to
be.
Life is going to happen.
And the reality is that aperfect score is not needed to
be successful.
So number five is aim for goodenough or best 80% of the time.
(18:13):
Precision nutrition is an onlineweight loss and fitness program.
that asks for a year longcommitment.
And they have been, gosh,they've been around for.
I want to say at least 15 yearsand everything is done
exclusively online and there'scoaching and support and this
whole program.
Right.
(18:33):
But they have.
At this point, over a millionpeople who have gone through
their program and they havetaken the data from their
participants.
And discovered that even thosewho adhered to their nutrition
and fitness program, 50% of thetime.
Still lost five to 6% of theirtotal body weight after a year.
(18:57):
Even modest improvements, suchas this have real life benefits
for your joint health, for yourblood sugar levels and your
overall reduced risk of chronicdisease.
Those who are consistent 50 to80% of the time made even
greater progress.
Losing more weight, more inches.
(19:18):
And interestingly enough, theyobserved that the difference
between those who are rocking it55% of the time, versus those
who were rocking it 79% of thetime wasn't wildly dramatic.
But those with the greatesttransformation were adherent to
the program, 80 to 90% of thetime.
(19:40):
So aim for 80% instead of 100%as your gold star, a plus
metric, knowing that if you'reable to achieve the objectives
of your goal, 90% of the time ormore, you're basically just
getting extra credit.
And.
The reality is if you'reconsistent, even 50% of the time
(20:03):
this year, you will be muchbetter off for that effort.
Now this perspective is oftenreally hard to keep when you
have a big goal.
So let's say you want to lose 30pounds this year, but for
whatever reason, 2025 ends upbeing a Whopper and there's
loads of derailments andobstacles.
(20:25):
And come December 1st, you'veonly managed to lose six pounds.
That is still a success.
And if you don't think so, letme ask you this.
Do you want those six poundsback?
No.
Okay.
Then take the win.
Not only did you lose sixpounds, you've also learned a
(20:47):
lot about what works and whatdoesn't work in the face of
massive obstacles.
And you would take this intoyour 20 26 and continue working
at it.
No, if by November you're pissedoff and you're frustrated and
you refuse to take that win.
You're likely going to say thehell with it for the holidays
(21:08):
and just let yourself enjoy theholidays.
Regained those six pounds thatyou lost and then come January.
You will be even more pissed offat yourself.
So don't let imperfect progressbe the enemy of good enough.
If you are focused on all ornothing, you will end up with
(21:30):
nothing.
Number six.
It is crucial to keep the longgame in mind because things
often take longer than expected.
My father once told me that hewas always a decade behind
schedule when it came toachieving his career goals.
(21:53):
A decade.
Can you imagine?
But he never gave up.
He has never given up.
He is like one of the mostdoggedly determined and stubborn
humans.
I know.
And.
Because of this, he has achievedmore in his lifetime than he
(22:13):
ever could have conceived ofwhen he first immigrated to the
United States.
So plan for a year.
If, you know, you've got a goalthat you want to achieve in 2025
plan for the year.
But expect that it may take twoyears or more, especially for
any big, hairy, audacious goal.
(22:34):
Be it a half marathon, a fullmarathon.
Successfully putting a chronicdisease in remission or getting
off of medications or asignificant weight loss goal.
I mean, I'm assuming that youare planning on living and aging
anyway.
So keep at it regardless of howlong it takes.
(22:55):
And each month, each day you'llget closer and closer and better
and better at it.
If you lose 20 pounds this year,instead of your goal of 30
pounds, you are still so muchbetter off.
If you can maintain a 20 poundweight loss.
Rather than get frustrated atthe last stubborn 10 pounds that
aren't letting go.
(23:17):
And give up only to gain theweight back.
If your body keeps gettinginjured around the 10 mile mark
of your long runs.
And you know, maybe at the endof the day, you decide that
running that half marathon isjust not going to happen in 2025
or even 20 26, but you refocusand you start racing 10 Ks
(23:39):
instead, you're still able tostay in shape this way.
You can still.
Be connected and in alignmentwith the value that you hold of
being a fit person who exercisesconsistently, even if you're
unable to achieve the ultimatedream goal of the half marathon
(24:01):
or the full marathon.
And readjusting, if you need toand taking the progress that
you've made and counting it as awin still puts you in far more
alignment with your values andwho you want to be in this
world, then say gettingfrustrated and giving up
altogether.
That's not who you are.
(24:22):
That's not who you want to be.
If that was you, you would notbe listening to this podcast or
any of the other health andfitness podcasts that you
regularly listened to.
Number seven.
Finally, you must consciouslyacutely.
Deeply acknowledge what isworking and the successes that
(24:46):
you have to build efficacy andto build your internal
resilience.
This is key to keeping yourmotivation as well as your
momentum.
If you neglect to take thedopamine hit that you can derive
from your progress and instead,try and save it for the goal
(25:07):
achievement, you are at reallyhigh risk for giving up when it
gets hard.
If you don't acknowledge what isworking, then you won't have any
weapons to combat the itty bittyshitty committee when they get
all up in your head and theytell you that nothing ever
works.
And this is too hard and it'sfruitless to keep trying.
You already have skills andtools and strengths that you've
(25:31):
cultivated in your past attemptsat your health and fitness goals
and these tools and strengthsand skills will continue to
serve you.
Additionally, what you learnthis year, will add to that
skill set even if you fall shortof your overall goal.
(25:52):
All of these insights, all ofthese skills makes you more
resilient, better adept, andbetter equipped for your future
endeavors.
And that is a straight up win,my friend.
If you tend to get my opticallyfocused on the end result, and I
am deeply guilty of being one ofthose people.
(26:13):
And you skip the reward ofacknowledging the progress along
the way, which I have nowlearned not to do, set up
reminders in your calendar atleast once a month to assess
your wins.
I ended up needing to setcheck-ins.
Every single week to overcome mytendency to not acknowledge
(26:36):
progress as I was moving alongin some big long-term goals that
required a lot of strategy.
So don't let once a month beyour minimum, if anything, that
is your maximum time to takebetween assessing your progress
and your wins.
(26:56):
These monthly or weeklycheck-ins can also be a good
time to look and see if you needto pivot if some things aren't
working or to plan ahead forobstacles that you see coming in
the month that maybe you didn'tsee at the start of the year.
Take these moments andcongratulate yourself for the
(27:17):
effort that you have put in theprogress you have made,
especially the progress thatyou've made in habits.
You are building which you havefull control over.
Because sometimes theoverarching goals such as the
amount of weight lost or theincrease in.
Speed or distance or heavierweights lifted is not within our
(27:42):
full control.
So give yourself proper kudosfor what you have worked for.
And do it often.
And soon you'll realize howcapable you are of actually
making progress, as well asliving in alignment with your
values and improving yourhealth.
This is the way that we prove toourselves that we can become the
(28:07):
person that we are aspiring tobe, that we actually are the
person that we believe ourselvesto be, it's this regular
acknowledgement of our progressand our effort and really
building our brain to recognizeand acknowledging the ways that
(28:28):
we are making the effort.
So to recap.
In order to make this yearsgoals ones that can withstand
whatever 20, 25 has in store forus.
Be mindful of these seventhings.
Number one, know why the goal orintention or aspiration that you
(28:51):
are making is an essential partof who you are.
Or who you are becoming what isyour why?
And be very, very clear aboutthat.
Number two, be mindful and planfor the obstacles and the
pitfalls that you know arecoming so that you're better
(29:12):
able to weather them.
And so that you build the skillset to plan for obstacles and
pitfalls that you don't quiteyet know are coming your way.
Number three, break your goaldown into the smallest of tasks
to make them more achievable.
Number four.
(29:32):
Determine what your best effortis, what good effort is and what
is just going to be good enough.
Number five.
Aim for 80% at that good enoughlevel or better, but know that
even 50% adherence is stillprogress and will make a
(29:55):
difference.
Number six, keep the long gamein mind and expect that it may
take longer than any goal datethat you actually have in mind.
And finally number seven (30:06):
fully, acutely, viscerally acknowledge
your success.
And what is working for you oncea month or more often.
I do hope that this episode hashelped you become better
prepared and more resilient inachieving your aspirations this
(30:28):
year.
If you do find yourself stucknavigating some of the obstacles
that come your way.
Having a master strategist inyour corner to help you navigate
through the terrain can save youboth mental bandwidth and spare
you some of the decision fatiguethat comes with navigating
life's challenges when they areat odds with your health goals.
(30:50):
So, know I'm absolutely here tosupport you.
I have a good 30 years of toolsat my disposal to help you
navigate the path.
And you can reach out to me byclicking the link in the show
notes to schedule acomplimentary call or to get on
my newsletter list so that youare among the first to be
invited to upcoming groupprograms that will be offered
(31:12):
this spring.
And as always, if you have foundthis episode helpful please like
the podcast, rate the podcast oniTunes.
If you haven't already and shareit with anybody else that is
also making some big, hairy,audacious goals this year so
that they too can be bettersupported and more resilient and
(31:35):
achieving them.
Until next time, my healthy,heathens!.
If you have found some Nuggetsof Wisdom, make sure to
subscribe, rate, and shareBlasphemous Nutrition with those
you care about.
As you navigate the labyrinth ofhealth advice out there,
remember, health is a journey,not a dietary dictatorship.
Stay skeptical, stay daring, andchallenge the norms that no
(31:59):
longer serve you.
If you've got burning questionsor want to share your own flavor
of rebellion, slide into my DMs.
Your stories fuel me, and I lovehearing them.
Thanks again for tuning in toBlasphemous Nutrition.
Until next time, this is Amysigning off, reminding you that
truth is nuanced, and any dishcan be made better with a little
(32:21):
bit of sass.
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