CREATING A PLAN FOR YOUR BARE MINIMUMS
Sometimes, life gets crazy.
Work, kids, family, house projects, holidays…life can get pretty chaotic, no matter the season. One time of year that can feel especially full, and maybe even overwhelming, is back-to-school season. Whether you are heading back to work after a summer break (thank you, teachers!), gearing up your kids for a new grade, or getting ready to navigate the change in seasons that early fall brings, it can be a chaotic time.
During the chaos, it seems like any small task can tip the scales from manageable to out of control. If cooking a meal seems hard and going to the gym feels like a herculean task, “extras” like folding the laundry and extra 15 minute walk seem impossible. And tracking your macros?!? Forget about it.
In these busy seasons, it can be tempting to push our goals to the bottom of the to-do list, where they may or may not get checked off (and let’s be honest, sometimes get transferred from to-do list to to-do list until they eventually just get left off). Or sometimes we don’t gradually let them go, we go into “fuck it” mode, where if we can’t make a single step of progress, we decide it’s not even worth it (does this all-or-nothing mentality sound like you?).
This is where we get it wrong: temporarily backing down from a specific goal or modifying a plan does not mean that your habits are completely erased. In fact, I’d argue, if we are choosing to build habits that cannot sustain us in tough times, then we might be focusing on building or strengthening the wrong habits.
In between the absolutes of complete perfection and giving up altogether (both of which are scary and frustrating places to be, which I attest to, firsthand) is a big, beautiful gray area. It’s an area that I like to get clients familiar with, because it can be a safe, familiar place, especially when life feels out of whack.
Enter: setting our bare minimums.
WHAT ARE BARE MINIMUMS?
Bare minimums are non-negotiables that you set around nutrition, movement, sleep, hydration, and alcohol, to name a few. Setting these helps us navigate days, nights, weeks, and months where optimal isn’t an option, for whatever reason.
They can be extremely helpful on a busy day, on vacation, in unfamiliar situations, or when you need to give yourself permission to not do quite as much.
They are really, really helpful in helping an “off” day not become an off week, or an off meal become an off day.
These don’t have to be set in stone, and can change during different seasons of life – in fact, they very likely will as your personal, professional, nutrition, or training goals change.
You may not be able to find 45 minutes to move your body; perhaps you can set aside 15 minutes to walk.
You might not have access to cook your own meals; maybe you can hold yourself accountable to having a protein source and vegetable on every plate.
Eight hours of sleep might not be obtainable; you could decide that all devices are off an hour before bed.
Your bare minimums are the things that you can control when you are surrounded by a day or week or month of things that feel uncontrollable. They answer the question, “what are the things that I can stick to, no matter what else is going on?”
EXAMPLES OF BARE MINIMUMS
Take a step back and think about which pieces of life feel hardest when life feels crazy. Is it spending too much time sitting at your desk when work is overwhelming? Is it drinking too much when you’re out with friends you haven’t seen in forever? Is it going days without a vegetable when you’re on vacation?
Thinking of these things that feel hard can help to build your list of bare minimums.
All of our “maximums” look different – what is optimal for me might not be best for you. Likewise, your bare minimums are meant to be personalized.
Some examples:
Eating three portions of fruits or vegetables daily
Walking for 15 minutes
Spending at least 10 minutes outside
Setting a 2-drink limit within a social setting
Having a protein source with each meal
Reading for 10 minutes before bed
This list is not exhaustive; there may be some items that speak to you and others that feel like they need to be tweaked to be applicable for you; still others might not even be on this list! Bare minimums are meant to be helpful to you. They are meant to feel attainable, even when shit is hitting the fan.
You might have the capacity to stick to one. You might choose to make three happen. This number, like the minimums themselves, are set by you.
We can’t go 100% all. the. time. Making your list of bare minimums helps to create habits that we can practice long-term, no matter how chaotic or calm our season of life is.
Life getting crazy is very real! For support in navigating your nutrition goals and creating sustainable habits for those busy seasons and beyond, read more about 1:1 Nutrition Coaching at Front Porch Nutrition here.
