After a difficult 2021, many of us are entering 2022 with a sense of trepidation (hello, Omicron) but also hope — surely, surely this year will be a better one.
With that in mind, it can help to think about setting intentions for our personal wellbeing. And no, we aren’t talking weight loss goals. For a little inspiration, we asked three experts in the mind, fitness and nutrition realms to share a health habit they will be focusing on in 2022, and offer advice on how to adopt it in our own lives.
Ben Crowe
Mindset coach
Mindset coach Ben Crowe recommends people develop their own “mojo mantra”.Credit:Eddie Jim
We are the stories we tell ourselves, so a simple mindset habit I wish for the world in 2022 is learning how to hold our ground and own our story.
In any situation we subconsciously tell ourselves either “I’m enough” or “I’m not enough”. If we tell ourselves “I’m not enough”, we inadvertently create a vertical relationship between ourselves and whoever we’re with, putting ourselves either below or above the other person.
The antidote to this is horizontal relationships, where everyone is equal. When we are “enough” we don’t compare or judge ourselves as better or worse, and can accept and even celebrate (rather than berate) ourselves.
A mojo mantra (also called a courage mantra) can help us do this. It helps to cement your sense of self and can be as simple as three words. To find yours, start by answering three questions:
A mantra could be as simple as “I’m imperfect but I’m worthy”. Or “I’m a warrior not a worrier”.
Cathy Freeman’s mantra at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 was “Do what I know”. The mantra of Michelle Payne, the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup, was “Let’s do this”, and as she looked up to the heavens she asked her mum and sister: “Stay with me.”
Mantras don’t have to be overly serious. The mantra I used most during 2021 lockdowns was “You can’t make this shit up”, which always made me smile.
My favourite mantra was Emily Seebohm’s, who I worked with in 2019, leading up to the Tokyo Olympics. She would write three words: “I am enough.” These three words can change your life.
Lyndi Cohen
Dietitian also known as @nude_nutritionist
Dietitian Lyndi Cohen doesn’t believe in living a life bound by strict diets and nutrition nonsense.Credit:Anna Kucera
Food guilt and body hate have ruined many of my holidays. I’d worry about wearing a swimsuit and I’d lie in bed anxiously planning how I’d lose weight when I got back home. But since I quit dieting and all the nutrition nonsense that comes with it, I’m proud to say my flighty confidence has morphed into “unconditional confidence”, something much deeper.
Rather than starting a new diet or giving up sugar in 2022, what’d happen if we instead resolved to give up food guilt and body hate?
Interestingly, guilt and beating ourselves up doesn’t actually help us eat healthier or less. In fact, forbidding ourselves from eating foods like chocolate or pasta is linked with increased cravings and a greater likelihood of overeating. Plus, research shows giving yourself a hard time about your body may cause you to exercise less in the long term and may be linked with binge eating.
When I was a dieter, I was either eating sad salads or ice cream straight from the tub. I was all-or-nothing. Denying myself chocolate only led to binge-eating Nutella straight from the jar.
We often think we need to punish ourselves to be healthier (further adding to our already overwhelming to-do list), but what if practising self-compassion can actually help us be healthier?
This can include:
- Making healthy food that’s truly enjoyable and not boring, sad or bland. Diet culture has made some people fear perfectly healthy things like salad dressing. I’m telling you, nobody struggles with their weight because they consume too much salad dressing. Most of us don’t eat enough vegetables. So if adding a bit of dressing, with its sugar or fat, helps you eat more salad (and enjoy it), that’s wonderful.
- Even if I were to lose weight following a diet like Keto or Atkins, I know that any weight I’d lose would just be regained – plus more – because it’s not something I can stick to. I’m a big fan of ‘crowding’ in more healthy ingredients without creating lists of forbidden foods. Plus, I don’t know about you but I’m not interested in a life without pasta.
- Repeat the phrase: “I am always allowed to eat. Nothing is off-limits.” If going on a diet only results in you devouring the kitchen, then recite these words. When you trust that food is always allowed, instead of losing control around food, you might be surprised to find the opposite happens.
2021 was a binfire of a year but my relationship with food and my body doesn’t have to be in 2022. Instead of counting almonds or macros, I’ll be counting happy memories.
Cam Falloon
Founder of Body Fit Training
Body Fit Training founder Cam Falloon says surgery taught him to rethink his attitude to fitness.
The year 2021 was a strange one for all of us. Mine was made even stranger when I had to have appendix and hernia surgery, closely followed by epidural and cortisone injections into my spine. Looking after me is key for this year.
It’s easy to get caught up in work, family or other obligations and while I exercise regularly, my focus for 2022 is going to be consistency with the basics: to do positive activities for my mind and body but release the expectation (my expectation) of what this should look like; to just move as opposed to needing what I perceived was a “valuable”, body-thrashing workout.
After my medical procedures, I was ordered to restrict my activity for six weeks. The day after surgery I went for a walk. Slow and not far, but I committed to doing it and did so several times a day in small bites. I trained myself to understand that while it wasn’t what I would usually accept, it was still hugely beneficial.
It’s also easy to find reasons not to make a planned, gruelling 60-minute workout. But I can always find the time to walk or stretch at home for 30 minutes.
So how do you achieve this? I am still working on this myself, but here’s what I’m doing:
- Make the activities a priority. Put them in your diary like you would with any other appointment, so you’ve blocked out that time.
- Make it fun. Exercise should be enjoyed or at least mindful. Give yourself that window to shut off the work thoughts and the daily buzz, and make some space for yourself. Focus on your breathing, how the movement feels and just letting things be.
- Change your mindset around expectations. This is a really hard one to practise. Too many of us set high expectations and then either give up on our goal or are not satisfied with the outcome. Resetting your expectations and changing your internal voice is so important for longer-term happiness. So when that voice pipes up saying “you need to do more”, you can listen, but then kindly respond “Not today!”
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