The Top 4 Reasons Why Mondays Bring the Most Messages

I hear from the most amount of people on Mondays. I started to study the trend of what they would share and what they were reaching out to me to change, so I could better understand why this was happening. There seemed to be a pattern emerging in their messages to me - though from various backgrounds, locations, age groups and levels of fitness. Mondays have become the New Year's Day of every week and here's my take on why this is happening based on what I hear.

1. Monday is a clear start line.

You can actually start to make a change ANY day, but Monday always seems clear and definitive to people. It sits at the beginning of a new week filled with hope and possibility that the changes she wants to see and feel can begin before the next weekend (Ahh, the weekend, this will lead to reason #2). I will often hear her say that she wants to use the week ahead to set up for success. She wants to schedule time for herself, learn the tools and go into the week with a positive mindset surrounding her actions.

2. The weekends are spiraling.

She is usually in between weekends away, birthday parties, company arriving, or general kids' sports schedule nightmare. Monday is her chance to breathe and think about what she wants for herself. In that pause, she realizes that she is on the go, but not GOING where she wants for her health. She comes up for air from the planning and the doing to reach out for help and can already feel the relief when I tell her she CAN make changes while doing all the things for all the people.

Want to use Monday to make a change? Email tracy@preppedandplanned.com

3. She is tired of waking up tired.

Monday has a reputation for being Fun Sunday's boring cousin. The routine and predictability starts again with her hearing that alarm and the deep exhale needed to rise up out of bed. She will share that she is tired of feeling like she needs to constantly fuel with caffeine to manage the week. Her food choices are catching up to her energy levels and she is feeling the changes. She will say how she is done waiting for another week of alarms to pass and ready to start taking action instead.

4. Someone shared hope.

This is what did it for me and I have heard it do the same for many other women. She came across something on the weekend - a social media post, a news story, a chat with a friend, an excerpt from a book (....or even a blog post) that inspires her to believe in the possibility that habits CAN change. She heard another "real life" woman share struggles that sounded familiar to her own or explain an approach to health that is working and could do the same for her busy life. She saw a friend who is feeling better and doing more and wants to feel the same way. Something spoke to her and sparked the idea that comfort is not the only option. She is feeling inspired by what she saw/read/heard, but is not quite sure how to make it work. But, she believes, that this Monday will be the one where she begins to change her life.

That Awkward Moment You Tell Someone You're a Health Coach

Any person asking: "So, what do you do for a living?"

Me: "I'm a health coach for women."

*person asking stares blankly*

And that is only the beginning.

It was easy to tell someone my job when I was a classroom teacher. It had a clear title that both of us could visualize and understand. Follow-up questions were typically that about subject, grade level, school and/or how many years I had been practicing the craft. Super simple convo and I felt proud to have it because I worked hard to become that teacher.

Then I wasn't in the classroom anymore. So, now who am I?

The initial element of awkwardness with my new response came from me. In the beginning, I was unsure of my ability to be this person for others and knew that it was out of character from my habits of the past. I feared that those that knew me would judge my mentorship thinking these actions were temporary and I feared those who just met me would assume I must not be qualified because I hadn't been practicing it very long.

Honestly, I would have thought the same thing.

I had never even heard of this job prior to starting my journey and didn't know much about what it looked like other than what I was seeing on Instagram. What I DID know was that I had transformed my routine, my habits, my mindset and my health by gaining control of portions and incorporating movement into my day. I was reading personal development books and, for the first time, did not want to sit on the sidelines of life anymore. I was more focused and mindful of my habits and feeling a new sense of gratitude for taking control of my health. I knew that the programs I used work, I knew that they were manageable for other busy ladies, and I knew I felt better using them. I also knew I wanted to teach other women how to overcome the same fears and excuses I had prior to starting. I knew I had the skills to teach, so why couldn't I learn more about this content with these new students and turn my accountability group into a classroom of trust and positivity mixed with real life? I did the work. I kept showing up for myself and those I mentored.

Person: "Oh, so you only sell shakes and take selfies?"

Me: "Not quite."

I went past just showing the products that work for me and took a deep dive into learning the process. I researched and found out there was an emerging community of health coaches who helped women build better habits. They met with clients in person or online via video chats to help them build plans and stay accountable. The American Council of Exercise defines the multi-faceted role of a health coach to include things like teaching "practical and effective strategies... to facilitate lifestyle change" and "...help others take charge of their health." BOOM! THAT is what I wanted to do because it changed my life and I knew it could change others too.

I got my certification to better teach the "why" behind my strategies and became a certified personal trainer, then received my certificate for health coaching. I learned that health coaching can increase success for women to achieve and keep their goals. There are many tools to choose from and ways to do it - I can share what works for me, but it's more important we find what works for her. As for the selfies, I meet so many women who can't find a single picture of themselves in recent years. My own son's first year of photos is missing his mother in many because I didn't want to be seen. I work with each woman to love who she sees in the mirror and put herself back in those pictures to capture the moments and stories of this chapter of her life.

Let's go back to the kind soul asking what I do. I don't blame her for one second when she stares blankly or takes what she sees on social media as the total definition. Many people are unaware a health coach exists - or how they could be the missing ingredient to less stress and more success with health.

Seeing as we are usually on a playground, in a store or out for drinks when this comes up - I don't get into the all the research or definitions - this is already turned more awkward than she expected when she asked. I tell her that I help busy women exercise, eat healthier & feel better. I tell her that I am just as focused on helping women gain confidence as I am with helping them lose weight.

This usually hits home with her.

Sometimes it causes her to explain why she isn't currently exercising or she starts to speak negatively about herself, her weight or her capabilities.

Person asking *holds up plate, cocktail, coffee drink, etc.*: "This is my cheat day."

I have come to realize that women too often assume another woman is going to judge - especially when you tell them that you coach women on health habits. But that's not me or my approach. I find a way to help steer the conversation away from anything negative about herself - I may not be her coach in that moment, but I will not participate in her beating herself up. This didn't happen when my response was that I was a teacher? But health and self-love have been a complex journey full of lots of emotions for many women...I get it.

I will always understand that life is crazy. I will always connect with the woman who is trying to be a "good mom" or "good wife" or "good ______" by spending less time/money/energy on what she wants for herself. I will always understand when she tells me that she feels stuck because this is the way it has always been. I will always be able to feel exactly what she means when she explains how she knows she needs to make a change, but doesn't know where to start. I will always know that was ME before I took the first step.

And if the conversation goes that deep, I will remind her that I am here to help her do just that. Make a change, feel a change, keep a change. THAT is my job. If you're expecting a judge, I'm not your girl.

I try to make it a teachable moment to share with more people about this resource that I know works to make lasting changes. The same way we seek help for anything else in our lives, we should not feel shame for asking for help with our health. I share this opportunity any chance I get so that women will know it is out there (whether she ever works with me or not) and that she doesn't need to walk the path alone as I assumed for so long. And then, maybe, she will share it with her sister, mom, friends, etc. the next time she hears someone that she loves is struggling to make health habits work.

Awkwardness often stems from something being hard to deal with, insecurities or feeling embarrassed. I don't ever want a woman to feel any of those ways about herself, her confidence or working with a health coach. I want her to feel supported, powerful and in control of her path.

THAT is my job. And I love it.

Nothing changes if nothing changes

I set my phone timer for 15 minutes to write this. Not because it isn't important. Not because I don't take it seriously. But because when I face a massive change I need to make - I get really "busy" and avoid taking the step. Fear of failure takes over and it's easier to do anything else. This is my first blog post on my own website and it feels like a big step - so I have been very "busy."

But, it has dawned on me that this isn't intended to be about me anymore. This is for you.

This is a chance to be a voice I know I needed to hear. There may be a woman who needs to know she is not the only one stuck between frustration and fear. And she needs to know there is a way to build the health habits she wants. This is intended to be a chance for other women to connect to a story that may feel like part of their own.

I stood in front of the mirror getting ready for a party. I had already been through every piece of clothing that could possibly work and nothing fit. I had been experiencing migraines for months and woke up each day already exhausted. I only drank coffee and waited until it was appropriate to pour wine. The past year had seen an unexpected leave from my classroom and I was now home caring for my young toddler who needed me every moment as we juggled everyday life and speech therapy.  I had also spent the year by my mother’s side for each twist and turn as she battled in beast-mode against breast cancer. She was fighting for her health and I felt less control over my own than ever. 

I wanted to keep giving to everyone else and felt I had to preserve the drops of energy that remained. I had not looked within for months and felt like we were in survival mode just making it from one day to the next. It wasn’t until I got ready for that party that I realized I needed to find some breath within for myself. I had been ignoring my habits in hopes that would make them untrue. I had no knowledge of how to do better or had no past health success to build my present change I now knew was necessary.

.  I was escaping pictures because I didn’t want to see me or acknowledge how I really felt.  The dust was settling, but nothing would change for me if I didn’t change my habits or mind. I didn’t know where to start, but I knew THIS feeling had to go. 

I signed up for an online accountability group full of strangers and promised myself to just be in the background - per usual. I started adding exercise to my day at home, so that I couldn’t use child care as an excuse. I started learning about how to change my plate and un-learning my habits and past misconceptions of what healthy must look like. I gave myself a month to test and see if I could really do this or if it would even work. The voices of the women in that group echoed in my mind. They shared their honest feelings of when they struggled and how good it felt when they succeeded. They faced challenges that I couldn’t even imagine. If they could try, so could I. 

I was surprised the plan worked. I was even more shocked at what it did for my mind. 

Those strangers actually gave me more inspiration than I had ever felt. I was finally gaining practical information that made sense for real life - and I wanted to keep learning more. My body immediately responded by feeling different. Better. It was like it was thanking me for finally paying attention to it instead of always concentrating on everyone else. I had feared that investing in health would cost me investing in others. The opposite happened. I was stronger and healthier to keep giving to them and living a life that felt good for me. It wasn’t about a number, it was about mindset. 

It became my mission to change the life of the woman who feels the same way I did. I know she’s scared of investing in herself. I know she thinks of the past and assumes it will repeat. I know she thinks she’s too busy right now. I know she is waiting for a "better time" that she deep down knows isn't actually coming. I know she is afraid of how change may impact others around her. I know she is stuck between the frustration and comfort of her current habits.

But I also know she may be hearing the whisper that something needs to change - or nothing will. 

I’m here to tell her that her life is ready for it. She is strong enough to do this and she doesn't need to find her way alone. I have continued to learn and grow to serve the women I coach, so that none of them have to stand in front of that mirror with that feeling anymore. I want to help her replace fear with excitement and frustration with power. I want to give to the givers. I want to hold the light for her while she does the work to gain more than she could ever lose.

To be honest, I went past the 15 minutes on my timer once I started writing. Sometimes, pushing ourselves to start is harder than the action itself. Set your timer. Take a deep breath. And start.