Are you trying to outrun a bad diet?

Eating a banana after this won’t cancel it out either, Nikki…

Are you trying to outrun a bad diet in pursuit of your goals?

I used to eat a banana after I ate a bowl of ice cream.

I was young and didn't have a really good concept of nutrition, but I figured that by eating something good after eating something not so good, I would make up for eating the not-so-good more than if I just had the bowl of ice cream and let it be.

(I don't entirely blame myself for this theory, by the way. My Gramsie, God bless her, used to offer me ice cream when I was little and then, after I had already enthusastically said yes, she would insist on mushing up canteloupe into it to make it healthier. I asked if I could just eat the canteloupe and then eat the ice cream, but she said no. Even though I found the combination repellant, I ate it. Because it was the only way to get the ice cream. Anyway.)

Later in life, I got into bodybuilding for a period of time.

In the gym (where I was pretty much every day of the week, sometimes twice a day), I would hear the trainers use the expression, "you can't outrun a bad diet."

What they meant was, it doesn't matter how hard you work in the gym: if your diet isn't in order to start with, you cannot, will not get the results you want.

Essentially, it didn’t matter how many miles I ran, or how many bananas I ate, after eating the bowl of ice cream. It mattered that my main diet was ice cream!

If you don't have a strong, good, healthy foundation, it doesn't matter how hard you work. You will not get the results you want.

If you don't have a strong, good, healthy foundation, it doesn't matter how hard you work. You will not get the results you want.

The pillars that make up a good foundation may be slightly different for you than for me, but for most of us they're going to include things like:

- Regularly (read: more often than not) getting a good night's rest and getting enough sleep
- Regularly getting the nutrients we need to fuel our bodies and minds
- Regularly getting the exercise we need to keep our hearts and bodies healthy
- Getting proper treatment for any injury or trauma, whether physical or emotional

Now, if you're like me, just this list may seem daunting.

Here's where I want to clarify: having a GOOD diet, having a STRONG foundation, does not mean having a PERFECT ONE.

You don't need to have a PERFECT diet in order to start running. You don't need to have a PERFECT foundation in order to start building.

You just need to make sure you don't have a BAD one.

If the foundation is bad, it doesn't matter what you build on it - it will crumble.

How is your foundation?? How is your "diet"? Are you trying to do more when what you really need is to reinforce the basics?

Join me in my latest episode of #SpanishSaturday, my bilingual life and language coaching series, to continue the conversation and take a good look at the foundation you're trying to build on this week.

Your life & language coach,

P.S. - If you could use a “personal trainer” for to build a strong, healthy foundation, reach out to me for a free discovery call. Let’s chat about how coaching can support you in creating a good diet for your mind and life.

Are you ready to stop trying to outrun a bad diet? Join me to focus on your foundation first in my latest episode of #SpanishSaturday.