Hello, and welcome to this weeks edition of Wellness Goals Weekly, your space for support, inspiration, and practical steps to help you feel your best, from The Wellness Studio 

Do you ever feel like a bit of a “broken record”?

I hear this phrase a lot in my coaching sessions, especially at this time of year. By mid-to-late January, that fresh new-year energy often starts to fade.

You told yourself, “This time will be different.” You’ve done the’ new you’ food shop, downloaded the apps, and perhaps even purchased a lovely new planner or gym set. For a week or two, you’re unstoppable. You’re journaling, meditating, tracking, going to the gym every day, and drinking your recommended amount of water each day.

But then, life gets in the way. Maybe you have a stressful day at work, a bad night’s sleep, or you just feel exhausted, and everything falls apart. Suddenly, you stop doing those healthy habits. Guilt sets in, and you start to think you just don’t have enough willpower.

If this sounds familiar, I want you to take a deep breath. You are not broken, you are not lazy, and you are certainly not alone.

Struggling to keep healthy habits usually isn’t about ability; it’s often about the approach. We try to change everything at once and hope for quick results. When we don’t feel completely different by the end of January, we end up feeling discouraged.

Today, I want to help you break out of that tiring cycle. We’ll look at why the “all or nothing” approach doesn’t work and how you can move forward by working with your mind and body, not against them.

Why “All or Nothing” Leaves You with Nothing

We love a good transformation story. We want those “before and after” photos in “just six weeks”. So, when we focus on improving our wellness, we often try to do everything at once and hope something works.

You might try journaling, tracking habits, meditating, and even running a 10K all in one week. At first, it feels productive and like you’re in control. But in reality, burnout often follows.

When you try to change everything at once, you depend a lot on willpower. But willpower doesn’t last forever. It’s like a battery. If you use it all resisting a biscuit in the morning, pushing yourself to the gym in the afternoon, and forcing yourself to meditate at night, you’ll run out of energy.

As soon as stress shows up, a worry, a deadline, or family drama, your brain goes back to its old habits. That often means comfort eating or skipping your workout.

So, how do we fix this? We stop trying to sprint a marathon. We stop trying to do everything at once.

Step 1: Reframe Your Focus (Feelings Over Figures)

One of the biggest hurdles I see my wellness coaching clients face is an obsession with the number on the scale. When your primary motivation is “I need to lose weight,” you are operating from a place of lack. You are telling yourself that you aren’t good enough as you are right now.

This way of thinking creates pressure, which leads to stress. When you’re stressed, your body releases cortisol, making it even harder to find balance. It becomes a tough cycle to break.

Action Step:

Shift your focus from how you want to look to how you want to feel.

Close your eyes for a moment. Instead of imagining a number on a scale, imagine waking up in the morning feeling energised. Imagine running around with your children or grandchildren without getting breathless. Imagine feeling strong when you lift heavy shopping bags.

When you choose to feel energised and strong, a healthy lunch becomes fuel, not a punishment. A walk turns into a way to clear your mind, not just another task. This small change encourages self-compassion, which lasts much longer than self-criticism.

Step 2: The Magic of Micro-Habits

If you are a self-confessed “worrier" or someone who gets anxious about progress, large goals can be paralysing. “Run a marathon” is terrifying. “Put on running shoes” is manageable.

To stay consistent, make the habit so easy that you can do it even on your toughest days.

Action Step:

Pick just one thing to focus on this week. Not five things. One.

Maybe it’s drinking a glass of water before your coffee or doing five minutes of stretching. Use a habit tracker to notice your progress, not to judge yourself. Checking off that small task gives your brain a boost and makes you want to do it again.

Once that small habit feels natural, like brushing your teeth, you can add another layer. This is how you build a healthy lifestyle, step by step, instead of trying to do everything at once, brick by brick, rather than trying to build a mansion in a day.

Step 3: Investigating the "Why”

As an EFT practitioner, I often notice that habits are just symptoms, not the real issue. If you find yourself self-sabotaging, it’s rarely about discipline. Usually, that habit is helping you cope with something.

Perhaps it provides comfort when you feel lonely. Maybe it offers a distraction when you feel anxious. Or perhaps it’s the only treat you get in a day filled with obligations to others.

If we take away the coping habit without meeting the real need, we end up struggling. Sooner or later, we can’t keep it up.

Action Step:

Use journaling as a detective tool. When you feel the urge to break a promise to yourself, pause. Grab a notebook or your wellness planner and ask:

•  “What am I feeling right now?”
•  “What do I actually need?”

You might discover that you aren’t hungry for chocolate; you just need a break. Maybe you don’t need the crisps; you need to vent about a frustrating meeting. Once you identify what you really need, you can find a supportive way to meet it, like calling a friend, taking a warm bath, or doing a quick tapping (EFT) session to calm your nervous system.

Step 4: Celebrating ‘Non-Scale’ Victories

We are conditioned to look for quick results. When the scale hovers at the same number for two weeks, we throw our hands up and say, “It’s not working!”

But our bodies don’t work like vending machines. You don’t put a salad in and get an immediate weight drop. Your body takes time to adjust, heal, and change. If you only celebrate weight loss, you will spend most of your journey feeling unsuccessful and like you’re not making progress.

Action Step:

Redefine what progress looks like.

•  Did you have more energy this afternoon?
•  Did you sleep better?
•  Did you choose water over wine?
•  Did you speak kindly to yourself when you looked in the mirror?

These are big wins. They show that both your body and mind are changing. Write them down. When you look back after a month of “non-scale victories,” you’ll see how much progress you’ve really made.

Be Kind to the “Broken Record”

If there is one thing I want you to take away from this blog, it is this:

You cannot hate yourself into a version of yourself you love.

Shame doesn’t help you move forward. It drains your energy and keeps you stuck. If you slip up, have a tough week, or feel like you’ve lost your way, try to treat yourself as kindly as you would treat a friend.

You wouldn’t tell a friend she’s a failure for missing a gym session. You’d tell her, “It’s okay, you’ve got a lot on. Let’s just go for a walk tomorrow.”

As my dad says, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” Don’t ignore the good parts of your wellness journey, like small wins or progress, just because some things don’t go perfectly.

Be a friend to yourself. Wellness is a journey, not a finish line. It’s messy, it doesn’t always go in a straight line, and it’s different for everyone. Keep showing up, keep taking small steps, and remember that every day is a new chance to start again.

You’ve got this.

With belief in YOU and cheering you on to wellness success,

P.S. If you’re ready to start understanding the emotional "why” behind your habits, I’d love to help. Pop me a DM and let me know one small “micro-habit" you’re committing to this week. I’m right here in your corner.

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