9 Ways we give away our nutritional power and how to stop it!
Weight loss and healthy living require us to improve our bodies as well as our minds. Most of the time if we’re struggling with weight loss, we’re really struggling with a mental roadblock. In most cases, we struggle because we give away our nutritional power or energy and don’t fight for what we need!
The real problem is that we don’t realize that we’re giving away our power! These traits are engrained in us and are part of our personalities or belief systems so we don’t realize that we’re doing it until it’s brought to our attention.
As you go through these 9 ways we give up our nutritional power, I want you to take a look at yourself and ask if this trait is serving you or hurting you. If it’s not helping you reach your goal, then it’s time to make a change. It’s time to create a habit or trait that will help you reach your goals!
I’ll also give you some tips to help you change this habit so that you can overcome it and be in control of your nutrition.
1. You avoid speaking up when something is wrong
If you don’t like confrontation, then you probably avoid speaking up when something is wrong or when you’re unhappy with something. This small avoidance is detrimental to your health!
I see people avoid speaking up when it might inconvenience someone else. For example, if you’re out to eat and you order toast with butter on the side and the toast comes out buttered, you accept it instead of speaking up and asking for it to be fixed.
It seems small, but in moments like this, you’re allowing your goals to be thrown off because you prioritize either inconveniencing someone or creating conflict over your own nutritional needs.
In order to break the cycle, you have to speak up for yourself! Start small and work your way up to bigger matters. In the end, it’s better for your physical and mental health to be your own advocate.
2. You wait for permission from others
We usually learn this trait when we’re kids. We want to be part of the in-group or we want approval from someone, so we wait and wait and wait for permission from others to make a move.
The problem here is that you know what you want, but you don’t want to take a step towards it until you get the OK from someone else.
Let me tell you, mama, you don’t need their permission! It’s ok to do something you want to do even if it’s not popular or if no one seems to support you! Your life is meant to make you happy, not someone else.
If you’re ready to break this cycle, use this mantra, “Other people’s opinions don’t stop me.” Say it every day. Say it when there is a decision you want to make but feel stuck worrying about what everyone else thinks. Soon enough you’ll shape a new belief and you won’t worry about getting permission to make your own decisions!
3. You put off making a decision
We use this tactic to avoid ruffling anyone’s feathers. If we procrastinate giving our opinion or avoid making a suggestion at all we can put the blame on others instead of taking ownership for our own nutrition.
The best way to describe this is the classic, “what do you want to eat?” question. If someone invites you out to eat and you don’t contribute to deciding where to eat, you think you’ve avoided confrontation, but all you’ve really done is hurt yourself.
In order to change this behavior, you need to learn to make a decision that benefits you! Don’t worry about what others think or need, make a decision for yourself, and then let other people worry about themselves! If your decision doesn’t work for them, they will say something! You don’t have to carry the weight of your needs and their needs.
4. You let someone else choose for you
We will never get to where we want to go if we live with someone else’s choices. If there are adventures you want to go on or things you want to do but you are waiting for someone else to tell you when or how to do those things, you’ll never get there!
This is a lot like number 2, You wait for permission from others. You are afraid to make the wrong move so you wait until someone else tells you what to do.
Instead of waiting around for someone to decide what is a good or bad idea for you, you need to be brave and make the choice for yourself! When you begin to take ownership for your life, you will be able to live the life you want instead of the life someone else wants for you and that alone will make you so much happier!
5. You ignore your intuition
When we ignore our intuition we aren’t the person who we need to be. We become the person other people need us to be. Denying our thoughts, beliefs and needs destroys us!
Maybe there is someone in your life that you know isn’t good for you. It could be a friend, family member or even someone you follow on social media. Whoever it is, makes you feel bad about yourself and you know that you need to distance yourself. If you ignore this and stick around you end up hurting yourself!
Don’t ignore your intuition! It’s there for a reason and the more you listen to it the better off you’ll be. This even applies to food! If you know you can’t resist ice cream but you always have in the freezer, you’ll never accomplish your goals. Listen to your intuition and don’t buy the ice cream!
Deep down you know what you need and don’t need and your intuition is there to help you make choices that serve you!
6. You see yourself as the victim
If you always feel like things are happening to you instead of for you, then you’re probably seeing yourself as the victim. I have struggled with this mentality and I see so many other women struggle with it as well!
When you see yourself as the victim you say, “It’s easy for other women to lose weight, but I just can’t do it.” You feel like the world or even your own body is out to get you and keep you from happiness.
The truth is that you aren’t the victim! You might be scared and your mind is looking for ways to keep you “safe.” If you find yourself pointing the finger at someone else, look within and see what is scaring you! When you choose to stop playing the victim and give yourself the power to change, you’ll find you’re capable of amazing things!
7. You put off action until things seem “perfect”
Where are my Type A mamas at? We are always waiting for the perfect time to start our nutritional journey. We have a list of things that have to happen before we get started. Maybe you’re waiting until you’re done having babies, until you start working out or until you don’t have a holiday, birthday, anniversary or BBQ party to go to before you start working on your nutrition!
But we all know that there is no perfect time! We will be waiting around forever if we don’t just start. Life is going to be happening all the time and you can either let your nutrition be a part of your life or you can let it run wild and be always be unhappy with yourself.
I know hard it is to just dive in, but that’s what you need to do if you’re being held back by the need to be perfect. Plus, when you choose the right nutritional plan it will work into your life. You don’t have to choose between having a life and eating well. This is a topic we cover in my Macros Made Easy program!
8. You put others’ needs before your own
We are all martyr mamas! We will put everyone’s needs before our own. We constantly sacrifice our own health to make sure that everyone else is happy.
But the truth is, when you take care of yourself first, you actually show up better for everyone else. When you prioritize your own nutrition you aren’t taking resources away from your kids. You’re serving them by making sure their mama is around for as long as she can be. You are also able to teach your kids how to keep themselves healthy.
Your needs are just as important as your kids’, your husband’s or your sister’s needs. You have to let yourself be a priority so that you can take care of everyone else in your life.
Start making changes to this mindset, by asking yourself what you need and then doing it! If you need to eat chicken and veggies instead of eating pizza, then tell your kids no to pizza tonight and make the chicken! They will be better off for it and so will you!
9. You keep playing small
Deep down, you know that you were meant for more. You have a purpose that is big and audacious and meaningful! But, when you play small, you keep yourself from doing the things you know you were meant to do.
Food is the fuel we use to accomplish those big dreams and ambitions and if you don’t use your food to power your dreams, then you’re playing small. Maybe you’re scared. Maybe you’re a little lost. Whatever is holding you back from playing big is anchored in your nutrition.
Allow yourself to dream bigger. You deserve the life you want. In fact, you deserve to look and feel good! Let your nutrition be something that builds you up instead of tearing you down.
If you’re anything like me, you’re going to relate to more than just one of these! Honestly, I do eight of the nine! Now that we are aware of what we’re doing we can assess how to change by asking ourselves questions.
What are my power leaks?
How are they draining me?
What boundaries do I need to put in place to change?
What responses do I need to have prepared to stay strong?
Once you are aware of how you’re giving your power away and set up strategies to combat the power leaks, you’ll be able to make changes. That’s when you’ll see progress towards your goals!
If you need help navigating your nutritional journey and taking back your nutritional power, then let me help you! Schedule a free discovery call with me to discuss how I can be your personal support system!
