Robyn Spurr

Personal Health and Weight Loss Coaching For Women

Simplify

By

Digging Deep: Finding Your Why Before Tackling Change

Change is hard. We all know it. Whether it’s starting a new fitness routine, revamping your diet, or finally decluttering the “everything” drawer, the journey can feel daunting before you even begin. That’s why before diving headfirst into any transformation, it’s crucial to pause and dig into your deeper motivations.

This isn’t about checking off a to-do list; it’s about understanding why this change matters to you on a personal level. Trust me, knowing your why can be the difference between giving up after two weeks and pushing through even when Netflix and the couch are calling your name.

Ask Yourself These Game-Changing Questions:

  1. What about this change is important to me?
    This is where you zoom out and look at the big picture. Is it about living longer, feeling more confident, or setting an example for your kids?
  2. How serious or pressing is this for me?
    Get real with yourself. Is this something you want to tackle eventually, or is it a “right now” situation?
  3. Why not keep doing what I’m already doing?
    This one stings a little, but it’s worth asking. If the status quo is fine, maybe change isn’t actually needed. But if you feel the pang of discomfort here, pay attention—it’s a clue that change is worth it.

The 5 Whys: Motivation Mining 101

One of my favorite tools for getting to the heart of the matter is an exercise called The 5 Whys. It’s simple but powerful:

  • Start with a goal or problem, and ask yourself “Why?”
  • Once you’ve answered, ask “Why?” again.
  • Repeat five times.

By the fifth “why,” you’ll likely uncover the deeper emotional or practical reason driving your desire to change. It’s like peeling back layers of an onion—but without the tears.

For example:

  • Goal: I want to lose weight.
  • Why? Because I want to feel better.
  • Why? Because I’m tired of feeling sluggish.
  • Why? Because it’s making it harder to play with my kids.
  • Why? Because I want to be a present and active parent.
  • Why? Because family means everything to me.

See how much richer and more motivating that final answer feels?

The Bottom Line

When you know why you’re doing something—and what’s at stake if you don’t—you’ll find that inner spark that keeps you moving forward, even on the hardest days. This isn’t just about crossing a finish line; it’s about building a life that feels aligned with your values and dreams.

So, grab a journal or sit down with your favorite cup of tea, and start digging. You might just surprise yourself with what you uncover.

What’s YOUR why?

💙 Robyn

Interested in a one-on-one health coaching relationship with me? It would be an honor to work with you if and when the time feels right.

To learn more about Personal Health Coaching click HERE. 

To schedule a Discovery Session click HERE

By

Hacking Instant Gratification: Strategies for Lasting Behavioral Change

Have you ever found wisdom in unexpected places? For this post, it came in the form of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory – a favorite from my childhood. Together with my best friend Jaimee, we practically memorized every line and melody.

Do you remember Veruca Salt?

🎶 Pink macaroons and a million balloons and performing baboons and – give it to me. NOW! 🎶

Veruca Salt embodies our primal inclination for instant gratification – a trait deeply ingrained in human nature. This impulse, honed over our evolutionary history, once ensured our survival.

Instant gratification, as a survival mechanism, played a crucial role in human evolution by ensuring immediate fulfillment of essential needs for survival. In the ancestral environment, resources such as food, water, and shelter were often scarce and unpredictable. Therefore, humans developed instincts to prioritize immediate rewards to satisfy these basic needs and increase their chances of survival.

While modern society provides abundant resources and opportunities, our instinctual drive for instant gratification remains deeply ingrained, influencing various aspects of our behavior and decision-making.

Our brains aren’t wired to prioritize long-term health; survival and instant satisfaction reign supreme. As Dan Harris eloquently put it, “We are not naturally inclined to do things like exercise or eat healthy or get enough sleep… because it’s not the mind that was bequeathed to us by millennia of evolution.”

Does this mean we’re destined for defeat? Should we abandon our pursuit of better health? Absolutely not. While we can’t change our brain’s wiring, we can alter our approach to behavioral change.

The primary reason we struggle to adopt lasting change is our penchant for giving up too soon. We crave immediate results, unwilling to endure the journey of transformation. But let’s pause and ponder: What’s the rush?

Let’s say you’re 40 years old and it takes you three years to build several healthier habits into your life. Would you do it? If you live until 85, that’s 42 years of healthier living!

Here’s the winning formula for hacking our inclination towards instant gratification:

1. Focus on one habit at a time – simplicity is key.

2. Persist until it becomes second nature, regardless of the timeline.

3. Embrace the journey – find joy in progress and resilience in setbacks.

Just as we cheer on toddlers learning to walk, let’s extend the same compassion to ourselves on our health journey.

💙 Robyn

Interested in a one-on-one health coaching relationship with me? It would be an honor to work with you if and when the time feels right.

To learn more about Personal Health Coaching click HERE. 

To schedule a Discovery Session click HERE

By

The Art of Eating Well

Too many of us fall into the trap of eating in ways that are either excessively permissive or overly strict.

A bottle of wine and four slices of pizza for dinner on Tuesday followed by skipping lunch and an hour of treadmill “punishment” on Wednesday.

A weekend free for all and a week of low carb repentance.  

Whole30 October + eat ALL THE THINGS November.

These approaches are neither sustainable or particularly enjoyable.

Lasting change requires an unwinding of the all or nothing approach to eating. Healthy eating doesn’t mean every meal has to be “perfect” (which is impossible anyway). It looks a bit more like 80/20. Which seems like a simple concept, but can be difficult to implement if you’ve practiced being either “on” or “off” a diet for any length of time. One “slip up” means the whole day is ruined. So you might as well finish off the ice cream in the freezer, right?

If this resonates (and you are NOT alone), try to start thinking of feeding yourself as a good parent feeds a child.

With love.

With limits.

Without drama – or harsh punishment.

Eating well is a skill you can learn (at any age). It requires saying goodbye to other people’s diet rules and coming up with a set of guidelines that make sense for you. It requires patience and self-compassion. It requires trying different foods and acquiring a taste for items that may not have been a regular part of your diet in the past (like veggies or coffee without caramel syrup and whip).

It requires SLOWING down and thoughtfully building in healthier habits while gently unwinding the unhelpful ones.

But we live in an instant gratification world. We want to lose 50 pounds yesterday. So we’re easily wooed by extreme diet after extreme diet, instead of slowly + steadily shifting our palate and habits.

We become skilled at being on a diet – or being off a diet. And that is not a recipe for sustained success.

You can and will change your habits, your weight, and your relationship with food for good if you give it enough time.

The word health originally meant “whole” or complete. To be healthy was to be sound of body and mind. Many of us – whether we diet or not – have a relationship with food that is broken. But it’s never too late to pick up the pieces and put them back together.

💙 Robyn

Interested in a one-on-one coaching relationship with me? It would be an honor to work with you if and when the time feels right.

To learn more about Personal Health Coaching click HERE. 

To schedule a Discovery Session click HERE.

By

It Is Okay

This has been an incredibly difficult, stressful, and uncertain year. While 2021 looks like it will be brighter (thank you scientists), we’re still in the thick of it.

I’ve personally struggled with feeling like I should be doing more. Doing better. Maybe you can relate.

A few weeks ago, I had a little chat with myself that went something like this…

Please don’t be so hard on yourself Robyn. It’s okay to rest. It’s okay to feel worn down during a year like this. Take it slow. Take care of yourself. Don’t feel guilty about it.

With that, I want to share some thoughts as we begin mile 26 of the 2020 marathon…

  • It is okay to silence your phone
  • It is okay to read an email or text and not reply immediately 
  • It is okay to take a break from social media for a day, or a week – or forever
  • It is okay to block, or unfollow, or unsubscribe from things that stress you out
  • It is okay to prioritize your health above all else 
  • It is okay to say no
  • It is okay to REST
  • It is okay to spend hours each day working on jigsaw puzzles 

That last one. I am now unapologetically ADDICTED to puzzles after getting one as a gift from a friend a few months ago. Working on it quiets the mind chatter + relieves stress + inspires a sense of accomplishment. They’re also a brilliant alternative to screen time + a way to connect with family.

If you’re feeling worn down or uninspired or defeated, please know that you’re not alone. This year has been downright brutal. Please take care of YOU – without a side of guilt.

💙 Robyn

Interested in a one-on-one coaching relationship with me? It would be an honor to work with you if and when the time feels right.

To learn more about Personal Health Coaching click HERE. 

To schedule a Discovery Session click HERE.