Nov 17

Nov 17 Flip Your Script!

Hi, I'm Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the fairy tale, The Emperor Has No Clothes, where it took one bold person to admit reality, that the emperor was naked instead of wearing a suit of fabulous new clothing.

The script the masses were buying into was the suit was real instead of the truth. He was naked.

What does this have to do with wellness and wellness coaching? Well, let me take you back about five years or so to my life before adopting my current whole food plant-based eating plan, including no sugar, flour, alcohol, or caffeine.

For the five years before adopting my current lifestyle every January and June 1st, pretty much like clockwork, I would do a cleanse or a month-long diet if you want to be a bit less fancy. In the five months prior, my weight would creep up; I was drinking more coffee to make up for the more alcohol I was consuming. Right?! Alcohol at night leads to a disrupted night’s sleep, and then I’d have to drink more coffee to ‘make up for it.' It was a vicious cycle! I was eating too many desserts and fatty foods. My clothes were tight. I was sluggish and irritable.

OK, it’s time for a cleanse!

The cleanses involved three meals without snacks. I ate more vegan options limiting animal meat and eliminating dairy, sugar, processed food, alcohol, and I switched my caffeine to solely green tea or matcha. (Hmm, it looks almost like what I do now, doesn’t it?)

Days 1 through about five were always torture as I detoxed, and then I started to feel increasingly better and better. Energy soured, mood swings smoothed out and improved overall, sleep was more restorative. Wow, I even remembered my dreams! I felt strong mentally and physically. My skin glowed! My clothes were looser! I was on top of the world. Woohoo!

Yet, despite how fabulous I felt, I couldn’t wait to get back to my pre-cleanse way of eating. All the sugar and happy hours and lattes were my way to celebrate. They were waiting for me after the cleanse. That was the prize for what, at the time, I considered my hard work. (Well, now it's just what I eat. Ha! but back then, it was tough and grueling.)

Do you see the analogy? At the time, I didn't regard a restful night’s sleep, glowing skin, a slimmer body and feeling fantastic as the prize; instead, it was all the crap I consumed that made me bloated and sluggish in the first place. The emperor was bare-ass naked (excuse my language), and I was buying the whole untruth of his fabulous suit of clothing hook line and sinker.

It took me about five years to flip that script from the processed food, caffeine, and alcohol I was consuming was the treat to feeling fit and full of energy as the prize. That was a lot of cleanses over many, many years.

Can you relate to my story? Is there any part of your daily routine or self-care habits where you might need a script flip? Is there a naked emperor in your life? Be honest with me. I'm a coach. I've heard it all! 😉

Be honest, are you still confusing the after work out beer and chicken wings as a treat instead of the vitality, glow, and energy you receive from the workout itself?

Or maybe it's the late afternoon mocha you think you deserve , but you know it disrupts your sleep. So, what's the real treat, the caffeine and sugar bomb or waking up refreshed if you passed on the beverage?

For every ‘bad habit’ a part of you wants to change, there is an opportunity for you to look at your script and flip it. And I wouldn't say I like the term bad habit because this isn't about right and wrong, good, and bad, or being virtuous or sinning. This is simply about looking at what you consider the prize or the treat and asking yourself. Is that true? Or is this a ‘naked emperor situation?’

If your treat is negatively impacting your health mentally or physically, either short or long term, how can that be your prize?

Be truthful with yourself and flip your script. Am I saying this is easy? No! Look at how many years of diets and cleanses I went on before calling it quits to the insanity. You can too. Flip your script to live a life full of energy and vitality every day. The energizing workout, the invigorating hike, the vitamin-packed salad, the relaxing meditation or yoga class, that restorative night of sleep; they are the prizes, and you deserve them all!

I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic and National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, and thank you for reading this blog about the power of flipping your script. If you have any questions about this blog, health, wellness, or wellness coaching with me, please reach out via my website at lizmosercoaching.com.