In this episode, I get real about the excuses we all make to skip out on our health habits, and WHY it happens. We're tackling the tough topic of how easy it is to let external factors like a sudden downpour or a move to a new job throw a wrench in our wellness routines. Through my own stories and struggles, you'll hear how a shift from external to internal motivation made all the difference for me, and I'll be sharing the strategies that keep me committed to my health goals, come rain or shine.
We all know that sticking to our fitness and well-being goals can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. In this candid conversation, I open up about those moments when I've battled the urge to bail on the gym because of a little bad weather. Inspired by the unwavering dedication I've seen in others, I've realized the power of making health habits a core part of our identity, not just something we do when conditions are perfect. You'll get an insider's look at how to honor the promises we make to ourselves and find inventive ways to maintain momentum towards our health objectives. So join me for an empowering chat that might just redefine the way you view your personal wellness journey.
In this episode, I get real about the excuses we all make to skip out on our health habits, and WHY it happens. We're tackling the tough topic of how easy it is to let external factors like a sudden downpour or a move to a new job throw a wrench in our wellness routines. Through my own stories and struggles, you'll hear how a shift from external to internal motivation made all the difference for me, and I'll be sharing the strategies that keep me committed to my health goals, come rain or shine.
We all know that sticking to our fitness and well-being goals can sometimes feel like an uphill battle. In this candid conversation, I open up about those moments when I've battled the urge to bail on the gym because of a little bad weather. Inspired by the unwavering dedication I've seen in others, I've realized the power of making health habits a core part of our identity, not just something we do when conditions are perfect. You'll get an insider's look at how to honor the promises we make to ourselves and find inventive ways to maintain momentum towards our health objectives. So join me for an empowering chat that might just redefine the way you view your personal wellness journey.
I am your host, naomi Jerez, your Bronx race, dominicana wife, mother of two new BFF and food and holistic health coach. I went from living a surface level healthy life to learning firsthand how to live my best life, rooted in wellness, and get my status back. Whether you're a wellness enthusiast, a food lover or simply curious about creating a healthier, more vibrant life, this podcast is your guide. We're going to dive deep into topics that will inspire you to make positive changes and elevate not only your well-being but those of generations before and after you. Stay tuned for exciting conversations, expert interviews and a whole lot of inspiration that will lead to action. Welcome to the Wealthy, wellthy Generation Podcast with me, your host, naomi Jerez. Hola friends, welcome back to Wealthy Generation Podcast WELLTHY.
Speaker 1:
Today I am going to tell you why it's so hard for you to stick with your health habits. I'm sure you're dying to know and this is something I continuously I have to coach my every single one of my clients on, and it comes up often because we don't even notice that we're doing it. And it's also something that I had to work on in my own health and wellness journey seven years ago and that really changed the game for me when I realized what was holding me back from remaining consistent with the habits I was creating. If let's start off with this, these habits are sustainable in the first place, and the reason why you have a hard time sticking to your health habits or you can't you feel like you can stick with them for a very long time is because you tie them to outside sources. Now, what do I mean by that? And the opposite of that is you are not tying your habits to what's inside of you, and I know you're probably sick and tired of hearing people say, like, oh, the answer is within you. The answer is within you, because I was one of those people as well, where I'm like just tell me what it is, don't tell me is inside of me. Like I can't search in there.
Speaker 1:
So what do I mean exactly by your time, your health habits, to things outside of you? I mean that we determine whether we're going to complete an action or a habit that we have set for ourselves, whether that's, let's say, in making a meal, choosing a specific thing to order when we are ordering out, getting takeout or eating food at a restaurant, showing up to a gym class or doing workouts at home or any sort of those circumstances right, and we can go on and on, because you know, I really do holistic health coaching, so it can be like setting boundaries with another person, ways of managing your stress, and things like that, but the most common examples is like showing up, let's say, showing up to the gym. It's because we tie them to outside sources. So by that, again, I mean you determine whether you're going to show up or not based on the weather. Now, okay, if the weather is like really bad, where they have like warnings out and there's like a tornado or a hurricane, or like everything's turned into ice and there's tons of snow, then okay, yes, the weather is. If it's like If it's going to be impacting your safety, then yes, it makes sense. However, we make the weather an excuse of whether we leave the house or not to go to the gym, or even if we go, if we do an at-home workout or you're doing a class or something like that to the weather, like it's too cold outside or it's raining or it's too sunny, like whatever the excuse is. I remember in the very beginning of my journey, I would text the group instructor, the trainer, and be like you know, there's like some snow flurries outside, are you still having class? And he would be like, yeah, like why wouldn't I have class? Or it's like negative five degrees outside, are you still having class? And he would be like, yeah, like I think he was starting to get annoyed with me of how many times I texted him of whether he was going to host class or not due to the weather. So that's one example. Another example is your location, and I have a personal examples of all of these things.
Speaker 1:
By the way, when I had my first son, I used to work right next to a gym, a New York sports club, and I figured out that I can go work out during lunchtime at the gym for 30 minutes and then take the other 30 minutes to shower and redo my makeup and all that and get back to work. And I felt amazing. I actually realized that after I came back to work, I was able to focus better. I was so re-energized. I didn't feel that 3 pm slump where you need another cup of coffee. I was just super alert and focused and I was able to finish my work a lot faster and without nodding off Right. However, I moved jobs and I and I physically moved buildings and locations and there was not a gym nearby, where, across the street, where I could go during lunchtime and get my workout in, and my job was a little bit different, so I didn't really have the time anymore. So I didn't so far. So what happened? I stopped going to the gym altogether because I was relating and making going to the gym having to do with my job. I was relating and going to the gym having to do with the weather outside.
Speaker 1:
So oftentimes, when we're, when we really want to make these habit changes and we want to take different action, what happens most of the time is that we tie it to these outside source and then we make we make that mean that we can't do it Right, and it's like, oh, my mom made this food, so I couldn't say, no, oh, I was going to this family members house and that's all they had and I felt like I had to eat. It's like, oh, I was too tired and maybe you were and maybe you did need rest. But I want you to know the difference in your brain when it's your brain really stopping you from taking an action because, like, because of the lowest hanging fruit Circumstance that can possibly happen, whether that's changing jobs, whether that's the schedule changing where you're going, whether that's like, like it can be anything. And I want you to think about that for yourself. Like, how many times have you've tried to make a change? And I don't only want you to think about exercising. You can bring in other things, too that you've tried to do, whether that's going to sleep earlier, whether that's waking up earlier to do your morning routine, whether that's setting a specific boundary with somebody, whether that's making yourself food, whether, versus taking getting takeout. So what are the things that are getting in the way from you completing these tasks that you hold onto so tight? And you're like, oh look, look at this low hanging fruit excuse right here, like this is exactly what I'm going to grab onto. That's outside of me and because that's the circumstance that's presented to me, then, all of a sudden, I changed the action and the habit that I'm going to take. So what does it actually look like for you to complete habits and actions for your wellness that are not tied to outside sources and they're directly tied to you and you're and who you are? And this goes back to I believe it was the first or second episode of wealthy generation where you decide who you want to become.
Speaker 1:
And this is why it was one of the very first episodes of deciding who you want to become, because the difference would have been, let's say, in the example of my job and the gym being across the street and then me moving jobs is that my identity was, oh, there is a gym across the street and because it's so convenient and the gym is right there, then I go to the gym instead of being I Naomi go to the gym once a week or twice a week and I figure out or I work out I exercise once or twice a week and I figure out how that's going to happen. Now, during that year that I was able to go across street to New York Sports Club, then that was how it was gonna happen and that was great and that's how I made it happen. My identity keeps being that I exercise once or twice a week and I figure out how it happens. If that would have been my identity and how I processed information during that time, when I ended up moving jobs and and going somewhere else and not having the ability to go jury lunchtime to work out anymore, my question to myself would have been okay. That's not how you're going to complete the task of Naomi works out once or twice a week. So how else are we going to fill this spot of my identity with another solution? So I didn't even consider a different solution when my identity was completely or my actions were completely tied to the fact that I was not what, that my job was close to the gym. If my identity would have been I work out once or twice a week, then I would have immediately asked myself that question of how am I gonna solve for this problem? But you don't even give your this yourself the space to ask yourself that question when you tie it to an outside source, because once that outside source or circumstance changes, then it also ends your habit and action towards your wellness, and that's what you don't want to happen. You always want to leave space and curiosity as to how you solve the problem to what's important to you, because this is what we do in every other part of our lives, where if you get laid off or you quit your job, then you find a way to have a new job or you find a way to like get income in. You try and find a solution to making money making more money and having a more enjoyable job. Like you find solutions for these things, so it's the same thing for your health and wellness. So what I would have done is ask myself how, how am I gonna fill this spot? And I would have explored other solutions. Maybe that was working out after work. If that didn't work out, maybe it would have been working out one day during the weekend. Now, would have that been different? And another learning curve absolutely that. That is what actually happens.
Speaker 1:
When I restarted my health and wellness journey and I was trying to find excuses in the weather. Now what I started to notice was when I would ask my trainer if he was canceling class and he would say no, and then I felt like guilty and that I had to show up because, because the class wasn't canceled. So I would go and I would see that all of the people that were normally there were there, no matter what the weather was. So I started to see what the mentality was of the people who were committed to their wellness in this way, whether, like showing up for this class, I would be like, wow, everybody's here, the class is still full with all of the regular people and I was like, if I want to be part of this crew, I need to change my identity of tying, moving my body to an outside source and bringing it back to. This is who I am and, unless it's interfering with my safety, I am going to show up anyway. And I want you to think about the areas in your life where this happens, where something goes not in the direction you expect. Your routine kind of gets messed up, it's not going as you planned, and then it's like, oh well, I guess I'm not going to do that today. Oh well, I guess it's going to have to be next time, when all the ducks align in a row perfectly for me to be able to do this task.
Speaker 1:
If you live your life in this way, in terms of your health and wellness, you will never build these habits as a lifestyle. It will always be based on diet, like mindset and culture, where it has an end to it, where it has a circumstance to it, instead of learning how to become that person who maybe, like one of my clients, says, eats one salad a day. That's her like. I eat one salad a day. I work out once or twice a week. I move my body the way it feels good at the moment, whether that's strength training, whether you go for a walk, whether that is that you go to a Zoom bar, whether you do an at home workout or things like that Then it starts to become different, because you get creative and you try and find a solution.
Speaker 1:
Recently, within the last year, I got up and this is who I've become now right Like, I work out at least two to three times a week. And that day I woke up, I got ready, I was going to the gym, to my class, and my son was not feeling well. He was like sitting on the couch and he was warm and he had this cough and I was like ugh, I'm going to feel terrible if I leave right now and he's feeling like this, like he really needs me at this moment, so I'm going to skip going to the gym and the workout. Hear this I'm going to skip going to the gym and that workout class. However, when my son was feeling better later on that day, I Decided that I was still going to get my workout in at home. Was it the ideal solution? No, did I really want to go to the class? Yes, do I get a different workout in at the gym? Absolutely, but that was not the point.
Speaker 1:
The point is keeping consistent with who I am Doing. Something is better than nothing. I am fortunate enough to have a few weights, a spin bike and a space as big as like a yoga mat to do something, and To me, that was still honoring myself, that was still being in line with my identity of a person who works out two to three times a week, and I was able to get it in at a time where it was more appropriate, because I had other Priorities and responsibilities at that time, which was taking care of my kid. So I hope that these this has served as enough examples for you and it has Opened up your mind as to how you can Tie whatever you're doing back to yourself.
Speaker 1:
Why is it important to you, for you To complete certain health and wellness tasks? What do they mean to you? How do you feel when you do them versus how do you feel when you don't do them? Because this is really important too. Part of the reason why I was able to stick to and create the person who I wanted to be and my identity based on these health and wellness habits was because I noticed how different, how good I felt when I ate a certain way, when I moved a certain way, when I went to bed at a certain time, when I drank certain things, when I didn't do certain things. All of that served as evidence Because I noticed how I felt.
Speaker 1:
So, noticing how you feel when you do something versus when you don't do something helps you tie it back to yourself, honoring the person who you want to be and knowing that you can achieve that task, like, what excuse is getting in the way? And is that a good enough excuse To not do what you said you were going to do for yourself, like what? How are you gonna feel afterwards? And and, for example, to like bringing it back to the gym and and the weather and all that. What I realized was that, no matter how tired I was, no matter how bad the weather was outside, no matter how cold it was or any of those things, every time I went, I never regretted it, ever.
Speaker 1:
So I would say to myself Naomi, I know you're really tired right now. I know you really don't want to go. I know that you might be feeling Frustrated or whatever it is like. This feels really uncomfortable, because it wasn't exactly who I had become yet, but what I do know, from the few times you've gone and you felt this way, is that you never regret it. So instead of thinking of the hard, how hard it feels to do a specific habit or take a specific action, how resistant, how much resistance you have in the beginning because is new, because you are doing something new, and that always feels uncomfortable I want you to focus more on the few times you have accomplished this and you've taken that action. How do you feel after? And maybe you feel amazing. Maybe it feels really good. Maybe you have more mental clarity, you have more energy, you feel lighter in your body, you're able to sleep better, you're able to use the bathroom better.
Speaker 1:
These are the kinds of things I want you to pay attention to, not how hard it is in the beginning and why are you not doing it. Is it because an outside circumstance, or is it because a legitimate reason, like your kid is sick or something like that? And how are you gonna solve for that? So how can you make up for that? And sometimes that looks like skipping it all together that week, which is fine, but I want you to make a clear decision based on Not fact, but based on how you feel, what you're gonna be okay with, what type of excuses or not excuses you're making for yourself, and are you gonna beat yourself up over this decision afterwards? Because that happens to you make a decision and you know you're not being completely honest with yourself and truthful and then you're like man, I should have done it, I should have this, I should have that, I should have this. Don't shame yourself for it. Take it as information and then next time this decision comes up, you get to make a decision and take action from a place of a lot more information on yourself.
Speaker 1:
Okay, so I hope you like pause this, write these questions down, take them with you and keep them in your mind as you go along in your health and wellness journey, and what kind of actions you want to take. Who do you want to be so that you start to learn about yourself, you start to learn how you feel, instead of tying it to every single thing that happens outside of you, because you know that life be lifeing and you're not in the same exact routine day in, day out, for the entire year. There are many things that happen in our lives. There are many celebrations, there are many morning periods, there are vacations, there are hibernation periods. There are so many things that happen. So how do you continue to honor yourself and be who you want to live who you want to be living a life rooted in wellness and then you get to go from there, okay. So thank you so much for listening.
Speaker 1:
If you have found this helpful, please go ahead, share it with a friend. Go ahead and rate and review the podcast. I would really, really, really really appreciate it. And, as always, if you know, it is time for you to get support around your health and wellness. You want to really learn how to take care of yourself holistically and how to use food to heal your body. I am happy to support you and I invite you to book consultation. I'll speak to you next week. Bye, thank you so much for tuning into another episode of Wealthy Generation Podcasts. Your time and attention mean the world to me and I'm truly grateful for your support. Come and join my community over on social media by following me on Instagram at NaomiHiddes, where you'll have access to real-time healthy inspo and see what I'm up to in my own wellness journey on the DLE. I invite you to keep elevating and evolving your holistic health journey.
Speaker 1:
By subscribing to my newsletter at NaomiHiddescom, you'll receive exclusive content, valuable resources and juicy stories straight to your inbox. But here's the best part you have the power to spread the WELL wealth. Share this episode with a human who could benefit from this topic. Together, we can create wealthy generations. I will be back with another exciting episode next week, so make sure to subscribe to Wealthy, wellthy Generation Podcasts on your favorite platform so you always make time for your wellness. By the way, remember I am a certified integrative nutrition health coach. I am not a medical professional. This content should be listened to for informational and educational purposes only. None of it should be considered medical advice. Always reach out to a medical professional for your health care needs. Peace out.