So many of us want to make a change and have the most amazing goals, best intentions, and the best plan – but unless your mindset matches – your plan will not be realized, and your goals will not be met.

When it comes to our fitness and nutrition, we have so many deep-rooted beliefs that often dictate the actions we take, (or lack of action). Even if we don’t feel happy and we truly want to make a change, those limiting beliefs can keep us stationary.

We get stuck and we don’t know why.

Most of the time, it’s a mindset shift that needs to happen – in the way we approach our goals and how we view ourselves.

We all have thought patterns from our own experiences… like how we grew up and how our families handled food and nutrition. One of the most difficult things to do is change that mindset.

Mindset is a way of thinking, a frame of mind.

Your mindset is your collection of thoughts and beliefs that shape your thought habits. And your thought habits affect how you think, what you feel, and what you do.

Your mind-set impacts how you make sense of the world, and how you make sense of you. This is different from perspective which is how you SEE the world. Perspective is not built on reality, but through a lens of your own experience. Mindset is how we THINK about these things. Our pasts influence both of these things.

How does all of this relate to, for example, your eating patterns?

Well, our perspective and mindsets around food will greatly impact what we eat. I see this commonly with clients and carbs. Carbs are still unmistakably thought of as evil. I hear clients say they’re low-carb all the time, or gluten-free, and when I ask why, they say because it’s healthier.

But this just isn’t true!

There is so much ambiguous information out there. Did you know most clients who work with me are actually UNDEREATING?! And they still are not happy with how they feel!

Carbs are not bad, they are good! Just like protein or fat, if you overconsume them you can gain weight, but they don't MAKE you gain weight. Carbs, (glucose), are actually your brain’s preferred fuel, and they help you synthesize protein and help with muscle recovery.

We have to re-train our brains on the way we think about carbs. It’s a mindset issue. Don’t let yourself be tricked by those labels with words like gluten-free!

Sometimes when we see something so often, over and over again, we take it as fact. Your perspective – or your experience around carbs and how you see them is built off your unique experience with them. How your family and friends eat them for instance. And this influences your mindset or how you think of them.

This mindset of “carbs are bad and make you fat” can make us feel restricted from certain foods. Then when we do enjoy carbs, we call it “cheating”. We don’t know how much we really consumed and start to feel out of control and guilty, begin restricting again and the cycle repeats.

So how do we make a change in our mindset that will ripple to behavioral changes that will stick!?

We need to look at how we approach and manage the process of change mentally. And that’s exactly what we’re going to explore now! In the past I asked the Core Fit Facebook group: “What is the biggest mental and/or mindset challenge you face when it comes to your fitness and nutrition?”

I got A LOT of responses. Why is it so much easier to come up with struggles and challenges than successes? It often comes down to our beliefs about ourselves and our abilities.

Tony Robbins says a belief is simply a feeling of certainty about something. For example, if you believe that you’re intelligent, all you’re really saying is, “I feel certain that I am intelligent.”

Your beliefs are held up by ideas. Think of it like a table. Beliefs are the tabletop. Ideas are the legs of the table. As you build up references and experiences, you add legs to your tabletop - aka ideas to your mind. The stronger your ideas are - the more they affect your beliefs. So, when your idea feels certain, it officially becomes a belief. Make sense?

Because of this, it is so important to take a look at our beliefs, sometimes challenge them and know what they are based from!

· Your beliefs shape your mindset.
· Your beliefs shape your attitude.

Your mindset and how you think about things directly impact your behaviors and the paths you choose to take or not take. Like choosing to start and keep up with a workout regimen, or just stay comfy on the couch with your favorite Netflix shows.

Let’s look at how to change your mindset so you can get unstuck and start making the changes you crave.

The only way to do this is to evaluate your positive and negative thought patterns. Look at your belief systems and patterns and see what limits you from reaching your goals.

Are you continually letting those negative thoughts in? Thoughts like:

There’s no point in starting a healthy eating plan because I’ll never stick to it.
I tend to self-sabotage before making good progress anyway.
I’ll never be happy with how I look.
I just don’t have enough time to keep up with healthy eating and working out.
I can’t fight my sweet tooth! It’s just too strong!