The "Why"

For two decades, I served as a dedicated police officer for the City of Missoula. Throughout this period, a significant portion of my tenure was dedicated to detective work and investigations. I found great satisfaction in conducting interviews and uncovering the motivations behind criminal activities. Often, the answers to questions such as what, where, who, and how were either readily apparent or revealed through meticulous evidence gathering. The majority of the interview phase of the investigation was primarily focused on uncovering the underlying motivations behind a crime. Human beings are inherently emotional creatures, a trait that can have both positive and negative implications. At times, these emotions can escalate to a point where individuals may engage in actions that are out of character for them. Factors such as mental health, illicit substances, and alcohol consumption can significantly influence these emotional states. Skillful interviewers are adept at delving deep into an individual's psyche to ascertain the root causes behind their actions. In certain instances, the interviewee themselves may not be fully aware of the motivations driving their behavior.

Following my retirement and the establishment of Healthspan Fitness and Nutrition, I applied my interview skills to effectively assist my clients. Frequently, I would initiate consultations with the question, "How may I assist you today?" Often, the response would be a simple, "I want to lose weight." While this initial goal is a good starting point, I have discovered that delving deeper to understand the underlying "WHY" enables me to identify diverse strategies to motivate and sustain client engagement. The underlying motivation varies among individuals. For instance, is the individual aiming to shed weight for an upcoming wedding or event, or are they at risk of developing diabetes and need to lose weight to prevent it? These scenarios represent distinct cases, each requiring a unique approach in terms of training, nutritional guidance, and potentially medical fitness interventions.

Before starting any new fitness or nutrition program I ask that you find your "WHY". So many people walk into a gym or fitness studio without defining their why or they try to start some new diet fad that will be difficult to follow. Many times they will find some in shape fitness influencer or famous person that did a workout program to get ready for a movie. They think that if I do this I'll look like this person! Piece of cake! I did this for years before joining the police department and during my time as an officer. This lack of defining my WHY really negatively affected me while I was an officer. That is a different blog for a different time!

So many people start off thinking, "I need to lose weight." Ask yourself why? Is it because you can't fit into your clothes anymore? Is it because a number on a scale seems to be increasing each week? Or is it something more serious like your provider has told you that your blood pressure is high, your glucose reading his high, and your cholesterol is reaching dangerous levels.

After really digging deep into yourself and finding out the "WHY" you can set short term and long term goals! This is where a nutritional coach and/or a personal trainer can really help you. Here at Healthspan Fitness and Nutrition we find out the why and then create programs and plans to help reach the short term and long term goals for nutrition and training. We can draw blood and order labs to really help find out what is going on inside your body. We can also possibly prescribe medications such as semaglutide to help curb your appetite and help change your behaviors. Maybe this is a hormone issue and we can help treat that as well with various medications and procedures.

The "WHY" also needs to keep being addressed through a program. Write it down on a piece of paper, journal or take a note on your phone so you can reference the WHY. Getting healthy can be difficult at times and you may want to give up, but looking at your WHY can really help you push through those moments! Never be afraid to change or refine your WHY as well. Some of our clients started their WHY because they wanted to lose weight but then found out the once they reached their goals they wanted to add more muscle and focus on a different WHY. This is great but we always recommend keeping the original WHY somewhere so they can look back on their progress. What is your WHY?

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