Delayed Gratification

​We live in a world of instant gratification.

Amazon is a "prime" (hah, get it?) example of it. You can basically order anything you want and get it within the next hour or at least within two days. Think of how you feel when your order is postponed or if you order from somewhere else and it takes several days or (OMG) how about several months (especially during COVID-19 times)?! We want it NOW!

With technological advancements in this day and age, it seems like if you can't get something almost instantly, it isn't even worth it, right? Wrong!

I'm not saying instant gratification is bad, but delayed gratification can be even better. Now, this applies to a lot of things in life but I am going to direct it specifically towards living a healthier lifestyle.

What is instant gratification in the health and wellness field? Maybe it's something like "lose 10 pounds in one week with this diet", "run a couch to 5k in one month" or "take this supplement and sleep better overnight".

While in reality, sure those things all might SOUND nice, let's dive deeper into what happens when you give in to those instant gratifications and what you can do instead.

​1. To lose 10 pounds in one week maybe your diet calls for you to only eat protein and some vegetables, no carbs, no fruit, no sweets, no dairy, no juice, no alcohol and not enough calories. Ignoring the fact that you most likely will mainly lose water weight - sure, the idea of 10 pounds in a week SOUNDS great. Only one week of hard work and then you get the benefits of being 10 pounds skinnier, right? Nope. Either you won't even be able to make it through the entire week without "cheating" OR you do it (miserably), lose the weight and then go back to your normal way of eating and end up gaining even more weight than you tried to lose in the first place because that diet is not sustainable.

• Instead, you could take your time and slightly alter how you are eating (maybe add some more veggies and fruit, focus on complex carbs instead of simple (quinoa vs white rice), and drink more water than soda. Because these are small, sustainable steps and you aren't completely trying to change every habit and behavior you built up over the last 30 years, you WILL be successful in making these changes and can slowly build on that success over time - resulting in not only the results you desire, but an overall healthy relationship with food and approach to life. You don't have to avoid social situations that involve food because you now know how to handle them and can find your own balance.

2. Running a couch to 5k in one month seems cool because you only have to put in the work for one month and then you can run the race. You can do anything for one month. You go from nothing to running several times a week and you get super pumped for the race (which is great) - BUT because you didn't build upon a base, your body is feeling worn out, you aren't fueling and recovering properly and when you make it to race day - you get injured because you are not properly trained. One month is not enough time (for most people who aren't doing anything prior to beginning).

• If you knew you wanted to run a 5k, why did you wait until the last month to start training? Is it because anything longer than a month seemed too long? Because you just wanted to hurry up and be able to run the race quickly, without taking that much time? Depending on where you are at with your fitness level, maybe a 3 month program (at minimum) would be the best place to start. You follow a plan that slowly builds up your base two to three times a week and can add on from there depending on how you feel. By adding in recovery days and taking the time to fuel your body after each workout, you feel great and make it to your race with a great performance!

3. You start taking a random supplement that you didn't research and doesn't have much science to back it up. It knocks you out at night pretty quickly. You go to sleep but still don't feel energized when you wake up. You want a solution now though so you keep taking the pills because it gets you to sleep. You never think that your nightcap while watching TV and scrolling social media on your phone has anything to do with it. You still feel tired and you are starting to experience some side effects from the pills.

• Wouldn't you rather take the time to see what is causing your sleep issues? Maybe you do need medicine but go to a trusted doctor or therapist first AND try natural remedies before popping random supplements. You take out your nightcap and replace it with a cup of tea while reading a book instead of watching TV and scrolling through your phone and within a few weeks your circadian rhythm has been reset and you are sleeping like a baby. You actually feel refreshed every day!

While wanting to make changes to your lifestyle and health is fantastic, there are safer, better ways to do it than ANYTHING that promises instant gratification. These behaviors and habits you have developed throughout your ENTIRE life, are not going to go away in one week. There is no shortcut. You have to put in the work. The harder you work for something, the greater you'll feel when you achieve it. I also have to emphasize, putting in the work does not mean you have to do everything perfectly. There will be lapses and relapses and ups and downs along the way and that is 100% okay. Slow and steady is the way to go to make lasting changes. Nothing good happens overnight (normally). Stop trying to do everything so fast. "Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome." ~Arthur Ashe

Put in the work even if you can't see or feel the results yet. You will, and it will be worth it.

Think of your body as a 401K. The veggies you eat and activity you do each day is like depositing money from each paycheck into your account. When you are young, it might not seem to make that much of a difference, but as you continue to do it over time, you are building up bigger and better habits that will work to keep you safe and sound in the future. You would hate to wait until you are 50 to find out you have nothing to keep you going. It is impossible to catch up at that point. Wouldn't you rather look back and see how those small changes you made throughout your life added up to create vibrant results when the time came and it really mattered?

Invest in yourself. Don't sell yourself short. Your reward will come. Trust in the method.

If you are done with quick fixes, contact me for lasting results.