Trusting the process
If you're anything like me, you want to control every part of your life and if you can't, it feels like you got served a big piece of humble pie (I'm from the south, do they say that anywhere else?)
Having a baby has challenged that mindset for me in all the ways. One of the biggest challenges we've faced so far with little man is reflux issues. Since he was two months old, he has struggled with massive amounts of spit up. We have been on a journey to figure out what the root cause is because I just won't buy it when doctors tell me it's normal and he will grow out of it. Something has to be causing it. (Which is kinda my philosophy with fitness too. I've never accepted the “it's just because I'm old” or “oh you're just prone to throwing your back out”. No. I believe if you got yourself into pain, you can get yourself out of it. It is just going to take time and you have to address the root cause.)
In the process of navigating his reflux, we've been addressing my diet thinking that his reflux could be caused from food sensitives passing through my breastmilk. Every week I found us saying “Oh maybe it's this food.” And I would cut out a new food. But we wouldn't see any results. This became a new pattern - each flare up, I would find a new food to cut out to the point that my supply was starting to dip because I felt like I couldn't eat anything without him having a reaction.
We finally calmed ourselves and realized we needed to stick to a plan long enough to see if there were true changes. I have already cut out a lot in my diet but after meeting with a cranial-sacral chiropractor, it was suggested that we cut out all grains. So I started with that journey (yes I did cry that I wouldn't be eating bread- if you know me, you know I love croissants… and all bread really.) For three days after our appointment and the elimination of all grains, Axel was still throwing up. And it seemed worse than before. We wanted to throw in the towel to the point that my husband said “Let's just give him formula tomorrow.” (don't worry, we are still married).
We calmly reminded ourselves that we had to stick with a plan long enough to see if it truly made a difference. We've been told it can take weeks for food allergies/sensitivities to clear out of a baby's gut. In our frustration, we wanted to keep trying something new because in our brains the thing we were doing clearly wasn't working. But in reality, we just have to give it time, trust the process, and see if there are any true results once we stick to one thing for more than a few days.
Why, am I telling you all this? Because it reminds me of how clients approach diets and fitness. “I didn't see any change in my body after committing to the gym for a month so I gave up.” (no one says this out loud, but they do it in action).
When our clients come to us for nutrition coaching, we have to have a big talk in the beginning and let them know they may gain a little weight at first, but then the body catches up to the plan, and change starts to happen. Unfortunately, we've had a few clients abandon the process and go back to their known (but usually failed) ways of losing weight because they aren't seeing the results they want right away. Our clients who have stuck through that three month growing process for nutrition coaching, see change and really start to feel like their metabolism is working with them again and not against them.
When we feel like we are seeing the opposite of what we hope for - the opposite result of what we are working so hard for - we want to give up. We tend to jump ship and never trust the process long enough to get real results on the other side. It's painful being in process and not seeing the outcome you want. I'm experiencing it right now as I keep changing my diet around (knowing better) and watching my son throw up. There's nothing I want more than solutions and for him to be doing better! (for my concerned mamas out there, he is gaining weight and he is happy most of the time… we just know he shouldn't throw up with this frequency and want more for him).
My encouragement to you is to pick a plan and stick with it. Even when you don't see the results you want right away. It all takes time. It took time to grow the baby, it's going to take time to recover from it. You developed that chronic back pain over time, it's going to take time to heal from it. You put on the weight gradually, it's going to take time to lose it.
In a world full of quick fixes, choose to trust the process.
If you need help navigating what your process should be, guess what? We are here for you! This is our specialty - creating a plan and process for the results you want… and then helping you stick to it.
So whether you need some guidance with workouts (we offer personal training as well as online programming with check ins) or nutrition coaching (our nutrition coach is unlike any other… I feel like my metabolism got healed), we are here for you! Let's chat more.