Do you start a fitness or healthy eating program with the best intentions, only to waiver and crumble after a week or two? It’s a common problem. If you think your willpower is fragile and committing long-term is just too big a leap for you to take, think again.

One major factor in making the decision to eat healthfully or exercise at any given moment is the state of your blood sugar. I’ll discuss that next week. Today let’s shine a light on popular triggers that interfere with your plans to exectue on those healthy intentions. If you’re under the influence of one or, worse yet, several of these triggers at the critical intersection of “let’s go for it” and “oh, forget it”, it can be nearly impossible to follow through with your intended positive action.

Here are a few popular exercise obstacle triggers:

• Staying up too late when you plan to work out first thing in the morning
• Planning or talking about going out after work when you’re an evening exerciser
• Spending time with people who complain about feeling old, tired or constantly mention their aches and pains (or, really, any negative, draining themes)
• Spontaneous television and the internet activity – It’s fine to schedule this as long as you schedule exercise sessions as well, keeping those appointments consistently.

And here are some healthy eating sabotage triggers:

• Being around other people who eat sugary or fatty foods or eat or drink to excess as a way of celebrating or “blowing off steam”
• Keeping candy or pastries out where they can be easily seen throughout the day
• Eating a big meal quickly when you’re hungry (already have lower blood sugar) – It’s far better to drink water or tea, then eat some fruit or drink a little vegetable juice to curb your appetite, then eat veggies and some protein in stages over 15 – 30 minutes or more. You’ll train your body to moderate speed of ingestion, giving your blood sugar levels a chance to catch up and support your habit of regulating your choices more mindfully.

I used to have a sign up where I trained that said: Absorb, Accept, Apply.

Getting useful, practical guidance on these issues is the first step, to which most people have access. Many buy into the rationale behind a sound approach to fitness and clean eating once they know and understand the most important principles. But far fewer are able to apply these principles, and that’s where the rubber meets the road and the payoff of results can be found.

Recognizing and then removing these triggers could be the linchpin that makes your practice finally succeed.

Learn more about how to get and stay in great shape? Contact Dan at Tri Valley Trainer