Mini Mikkipedia - Taking ownership of your health habits

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Creators & Guests

Host

Mikki Williden

What is Mikkipedia?

Mikkipedia is an exploration in all things health, well being, fitness, food and nutrition. I sit down with scientists, doctors, professors, practitioners and people who have a wealth of experience and have a conversation that takes a deep dive into their area of expertise. I love translating science into a language that people understand, so while some of the conversations will be pretty in-depth, you will come away with some practical tips that can be instigated into your everyday life. I hope you enjoy the show!

00:06
Hey everyone, it's Mikki here. You're listening to Mini Mikkipedia on a Monday. And today I wanna chat about taking ownership of your body composition goals. And this is on the back of a couple of things. First of all, Monday's Matter Shreduary edition has officially finished. So the group of around 500 went through the last eight weeks and some people super amazing onto it.

00:36
and really nailed a lot of what they had to nail. Most importantly though, they nailed their mindset in that this wasn't an eight week sort of one and done. This is the beginning of something which hopefully they can continue to implement at whatever pace they need throughout the, I mean, ideally you'd want this to be part of your forever diet, right? So that's one thing. And of course there are people who, despite their best intentions, were unable to truly

01:06
make traction in the plan. And this is not at all to throw shade on those people because it wasn't from a lack of intention or wanting. But I feel like part of it is that they didn't really take ownership of it from the very beginning. And so that's what I want to talk about today. And this is also on the back of an Instagram post I saw last week that talked about the topic. And I just thought it would be really timely to sort of bring it up.

01:35
You know, we are in April now, a quarter of the year has gone, and with it are that three months to have made progress in your health and fitness goals. So if you are struggling and it's not because you don't have a plan, then potentially this is an area that could be really beneficial for you. Because one of the most common reasons that people fail or people don't achieve their

02:04
mindset right and I've talked a lot about mindset on this and I continue to talk about it because it's a fascinating area and it's definitely something that a lot of people struggle with and when it comes to losing weight, improving your body composition and just really feeling better, one of the most common reasons is we don't take ownership. In part it's because we've got this little safety net around us if you like whereby a lot of our

02:32
of habits and behaviors, they're comfortable, they're safe to us, and though they don't, they might not make us feel very good in general, and these are the things we want to change, ultimately these default behaviors have served us in the past, and to change them is pretty uncomfortable. So there's a real sort of safety element. And like I say, this is not to sort of cast dispersions on people who are unable to take ownership of the process themselves, but

03:00
If you think about it and just think through some of the things that I'm going to be talking about then perhaps you'll gain some insight into why you have yet to move beyond those initial sort of few weeks that you might have in place but then things start to become unstuck. And the thing is, is if you don't have ownership of the process, so if you outsource that, then you don't really believe that you have control or the power to change things.

03:28
And again, this is another narrative, right, that we reiterate in our head and we hold onto because it keeps us safe and it absolves us from taking that responsibility. And when we don't take responsibility, it does mean that we don't need to take action. For example, if your exercise regime is designed around always meeting someone to go for a run and then no one is available to run with you.

03:54
then suddenly it's not your responsibility that you're not getting fit and not getting in the training. It's because no one else is available to meet you. You know, so that's one example of how not taking ownership can leave us in this land of, well, it's not my fault. It's not my responsibility. Another one is relying on other people to do the food shopping for you, to make the meals that align with your health goals, to provide food options that fit in with your food options that you wanna be.

04:24
eating. All of these things, whilst they would all necessarily help you implement your plan, ultimately you're still relying on other people to do the work. And of course a good prime example of this is even purchasing a plan in the first place, like Mondays Matter. And some people feel that just by purchasing a plan, that's going to be the thing that's going to deliver the results. This might not be this conscious thought that's

04:51
going on in their mind, but something underneath, they feel like that's the action that they need to take. And it's almost like not a surprise, but then they realize that they actually do have to do a lot of the groundwork to be able to put these actions and behaviors in place to lose the weight. So if you don't take ownership yourself and really sort of dive into the process of what you need to do, then...

05:16
it's hard to have control over things which are actually in your control. And part of this is also things like with Monday's matter, for example, you get this huge workbook is huge, actually. It's a lot of information. And whilst I don't expect people to dive into it and absorb all of the information and be able to repeat verbatim, I do expect that people utilize it as the resource that it is.

05:45
same questions come up time and again from some people, it does make me question whether or not they've actually put in the time and invested the time in addition to the money to understanding more of the program. I feel like to take ownership of something does mean that you do need to get invested. You do need to do a lot of the groundwork that's involved. It's like anything, you know. If you sign up to a race, you immediately know you've got a distance that you have to run.

06:15
want to understand better the terrain so you do the right type of training for the terrain. You want to understand what's required in terms of mandatory gear and what time the race starts and things like that. Seldom is the person just going to turn up, not know any of this information and be successful. So I like to think about it in those kinds of terms. And you know, taking ownership doesn't mean that you have to do all of everything at once, but it's just, it can even be like taking small steps.

06:44
sort of towards that goal. And sometimes, and this is what this Instagram post sort of talks about, is that it's almost, it's a fear mechanism. It's the space between where you wanna be and where you are right now feels like such a vast distance that it's a scary place to sort of traverse. And so it's much easier to sort of stay in one place and not do anything than take small steps to get you there.

07:14
In part, well, in reality, it might not be, but it's just that you think that the steps you need to take aren't the small steps, they're these huge sort of leaps in terms of what you need to do. So the thing to do here with being able to take some ownership and to start having control is to take those small steps, is to start by reading a document, by looking at what's in week one of the plan, for example, outlining what you need to do for that week in order to be successful.

07:43
to do the food shopping, to do the food prep. Like these are the little actions and behaviors that will lead you to your ultimate goal. In addition to doing those small steps, you absolutely have to celebrate them when you do them, because whilst you might have it erroneously pegged as not that important and oh, these are just tiny and ridiculous that I'm even thinking, you know, how pleased I am about it, it's not tiny and it's not ridiculous and you do need to celebrate those things.

08:13
And another thing with taking ownership and what it looks like is you do start to be in control and feel in control even though the decisions you make might not be that easy. And so examples of this is taking ownership for how foods and quantities of food affect you. So if you are at someone's house, for example, and they serve you up something to eat, but you know that, you know, the portion they've served you is too big.

08:43
Taking ownership actually means leaving some food on the plate, you know, or ringing in advance to tell your friend what you're doing so they can help support you in your goal as well. So give them that opportunity to help support you, but take ownership too. Don't just show up and then just be resentful that someone has served you food that you'd rather not eat. When it comes to the quantities of food, it's putting in little things like potentially getting rid of the food on your plate.

09:11
before you start eating it. So, like put half a side to take home with you. For example, if you're at a restaurant, do that first and foremost, then it's sort of out of sight, out of mind. And it might not actually be that you are intolerant to certain foods or that the quantities of food make you feel unwell, but the serving size of the food might actually just not align with your goals. If you are trying to lose body fat, then you do need to eat less, then your body will burn.

09:41
So part of this does mean adjusting portion sizes. So potentially you're still enjoying the foods that you like, but you're just having this of them. And it's okay to feel a little bit ripped off if that's the case, but you do have to be real about it too. Understanding and owning the fact that having, you know, a family size packet of chips between three people, having a third of that might not suit your goals, but.

10:06
A handful can allow you to still enjoy some of these things without going overboard. And also remember this is about control and taking back control of your food decisions. And think of how good that feels when you're able to do that. Taking ownership also means understanding when you use food to soothe and trying to find some default other behaviors that you can do in the moment. And yes, this is a big topic and that absolutely takes time, but acknowledging emotional eating.

10:36
be it eating for boredom because you're upset or angry, or even that you're happy, and trying to use other means to feel better rather than food, and yet acknowledge that that's an issue for you. So these are other ways where you can start to take ownership and take control. Taking ownership of the moments when you're mindless, eating in front of the TV where you don't have that complete awareness of what you're doing, it's very easy to overeat there.

11:04
taking ownership of all your actions and inactions, and taking ownership of the consequences of all of these things. And again, it is, it's about the control that you do have and recognizing where that sits in your journey to achieving your diet and your nutrition health goals, essentially. And ultimately taking that control allows you to recognize that you...

11:31
can take charge of the decisions that you make in and around what you eat. And over time, this will build confidence. It will build more confidence in your own ability to actually successfully lose weight, because I know a lot of people out there believe that they just can't, regardless of what they do. And it'll also give you confidence to continue to make decisions that serve you rather than don't. Evidence builds confidence, essentially. So even if you start small and you continue to...

11:59
progress in these areas, it'll only have a positive and a favorable outcome. You also have to take some ownership of the type of person you are as well. You know, there are people out there that cannot eat things like cake or potato chips without absolutely losing control. And if this is you, then you need to understand that about yourself and make decisions which don't put you in the line of fire that then prevent you from sort of meeting your goal. And

12:28
There are people that need to be abstainers and they do need to avoid these foods because they will trigger you to eat more and more of them. And yet there are other people who do not have to be abstainers. They can be people who enjoy these foods sometimes and in fact having a little bit of something now and then allows them to feel satisfied and it will buffer their appetite for later on. So understanding yourself is a really big piece of this.

12:56
I hope that sort of helps you frame your diet and exercise decisions as things that can be within your control. Maybe not all of it. You know, obviously I'm aware that budgets and resources can prevent you from doing some things that you would really like to do or eat in a way that you'd really like to eat. But there is a lot that is in your control. And the more that you understand and recognize this, the...

13:26
easier it is to sort of progress towards your goals. Anyway, they're just some thoughts, but brief really, but that's all right. I'm not usually so brief. Got any questions about this? Hit me up on Instagram, threads and Twitter @mikkiwilliden, Facebook @mikkiwillidennutrition, head to my website mikkiwilliden.com. On the note of Monday's matter,

13:51
We will be kicking that off again in mid-May, which isn't that far away. So get yourself on the waitlist there as well. And you'll see a pop-up box to be able to do that. We talk a lot about this type of mindset stuff within the program. All right, team, have the best day. See you later.