Why Gazing At A Biscuit Can Help You Achieve Your Health Goals!

By Doug Bennett with special guest Tiffany Manbodh

Lack of clarity on why you want what you want is often one of the key factors that gets in the way of achieving your goals.

Without the emotional drive to pursue a goal, you’re likely to feel demotivated and reluctant to invest time or effort.

Digging deep into your “why” is a passion for American Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Tiffany Manbodh. Tiffany supports entrepreneurs to reach their health and wellness goals so that they can feel less stressed and have the energy they need to thrive in life and business.

You can hear our full conversation on the Goals Do Come True podcast.

One of my long-term goals has been to get fit and eat more healthily. In autumn, I enjoyed completing the Three Peaks Challenge (climbing the highest mountains in Scotland, England and Wales in what turned out to be horizontal rain), but I’m also rather partial to roast potatoes and some of the “naughtier” types of foods.

In this blog, we’re going to explore simple ways to help you move towards your health goals and explain why slowing down can help you build momentum.

Why your “why” matters

I was keen to find out Tiffany’s strategy to help people accelerate their goal success.

Tiffany: “I need to understand what their goals are and why they are important to them because that really helps me motivate and get them into the mindset of knowing why they’re doing what they’re doing. No one is going to do something without strong motivation. If someone wants to lose weight, they need to be specific about how much so that we can measure it. We also need to be clear on what they think losing weight will do for them. Will they have elevated confidence? Do they think it will lead to deeper intimacy with their partner?

I provide a lot of accountability for my clients so they feel loved and cared for and know that I am there to guide them along because there will be times where they “mess up”. Nothing is perfect, but I teach my clients to give grace and compassion to themselves because they can always recommit to their goals in the next day, the next hour or the next minute.”

Tiffany’s idea that you can always wipe the slate clean and start again is inspiring; it’s all too easy to feel that you’ve failed or sabotaged your goal when in reality it’s just a tiny blip on the horizon.

We know that it’s human nature to want to move away from pain and towards pleasure, but for some people that also means eating what feels and tastes good in the moment without giving much thought to the longer term implications.

Why slowing down can accelerate progress

Tiffany has an accommodating approach when it comes to eating a little of what you fancy.

Tiffany: “If you’re the type of person who likes to eat lots of processed or junk food, your taste buds will crave more of that. When you restrict or deny yourself those foods, you start to obsess about them more, which might lead to overeating or bingeing later. I teach people to eat mindfully: it’s a way of eating that brings unconditional presence so that you fully engage through your five senses.

If you want to eat a cookie, put it in front of you; look at it and observe the colour, break it and observe the texture, smell it. When you eat it slowly and really take the time to enjoy it, it’s transformational! It helps you be present. Eating mindfully also requires you to eliminate distractions: no phone, no TV. Learn how to cultivate unconditional presence.”

One of the things I particularly loved about Tiffany’s approach to becoming more healthy is that her whole strategy is set up so that you naturally begin to want to make better choices and eat more healthily. Similarly, when we set goals for ourselves we don’t tend to clear the decks and only focus on one thing; we can introduce little steps that gather momentum over time.

Tiffany: “Even if you introduce one carrot per day into a regime of burgers and chips, your diet will slowly and steadily improve because you will start to automatically crave more nutritious foods. Integrating whole foods into your diet is a really great way to help lose weight. The more fruits and vegetables you eat, the more gracefully you’ll age!”

Golden nuggets (not the breaded kind)

If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while, you’ll know that I love to share a golden nugget from my goal-setting guests. Tiffany was kind enough to share two!

Tiffany: “Set goals that scare you. Your goals should be bigger than you think you can accomplish because they will create space for growth. In reality, nothing is impossible; your brain will figure out the fastest way to get you there if you combine your goal with aligned action. If you can think it in your mind, it’s already possible.

And my second nugget would be to stay true to yourself. Remain in your authentic truth; you don’t need to pretend to be anyone else. You are already magic.”

In my experience, being authentic is one of the best ways to grow your business and live a happy life. Years ago when I was attending important events, my friends or colleagues would tell me to be “less Doug” because they wanted to make sure I impressed the other people in the room, but by being “more Doug”, those people got to know me and could gauge if they wanted to work with me or not. 

I hope you’ve found this blog insightful and can recognise just how easy it is to start to take small steps towards a bigger goal, knowing that they will make a difference over time. 

If you’d love professional support to achieve your life and business goals, get in touch via doug@dougbennett.co.uk and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Right now, I’m off to find a carrot!