Hinder or Help?

Dear Aspen reader,

Planning for change and creating a lifestyle of wellness is not complete without considering the barriers towards goal achievement that might be lurking around the next corner. I know, it’s not fun to talk about failing or lacking follow through, but it’s smart to plan for these barriers before running into them at full speed. 

As you move into a season of creating clarity in food and/or fitness practices, what barriers can you anticipate? Considering both internal and external factors, how might you handle these roadblocks?  

A few obstacles that I often find myself facing are: carving out adequate time to accomplish my goal and staying motivated when my schedule changes.

Time is something that can quickly pass us by. With all of the events for school, meetings for work and other extracurricular activities, it’s easy for physical fitness and healthy meal planning to get pushed aside. I’ve learned that making health a priority is the first step in giving a needed push to build time into my schedule for healthier practices. Sometimes that means heading to a local farmers market for fruits and vegetables, but other times it looks like a brown box delivered on my front doorstep with all the ingredients for a balanced meal. As long as I’m determined to eat healthy, I’ve found ways around the barriers to not having the adequate time to grocery shop or prepare a unique meal each night.

When it comes to staying motivated for wellness, where do you fall on the spectrum? For wives like me, military spouses who face a lot of transition, motivation for eating healthy and exercising can fly out the window while trying to maintain some semblance of order during PCS (permanent change of station) seasons. While they offer on-base provisions for exercise that provide some continuity, often times I find that “so and so’s fitness class was better/different/more enjoyable”. Or face a bit of intimidation trying to re-enroll (once again) into the gym’s automated system for checkin, all while holding up the line or scanning the wrong barcode on my military ID. Barriers to healthy eating are inevitable. Whether due to travel cross country and needing a quick meal from a rest stop or awaiting the delivery of kitchenware that was stowed away weeks ago, I have to be flexible with eating habits.

All that to say, barriers are real, but can be overcome! This past move, my husband and I made sure to pack exercise bands so we could continue on our regimen, even in the hotel rooms or during our stays with friends and family. We made conscious choices to eat as many vegetables as we could while eating out; even if it was a salad from a drive-thru. And fortunately we are surrounded by friends and family who support us, cooking us healthy and tasty meals while we transitioned from one side of the nation to the other.

As next steps, please consider what specific barriers you might face as you journey towards healthier habits. Create a list of motivators and factors that could help to increase your success with health and wellness. Staying internally motivated takes a bit of work– that’s why we need to find support from a community and other resources. When you anticipate potential barriers to your wellness routines, they’ll lose the ability to deter you from creating a lifestyle of wellness.

In health,

Alecia

“When you anticipate potential barriers to your wellness routines, they’ll lose the ability to deter you from creating a lifestyle of wellness.”