Robyn Spurr

Personal Health and Weight Loss Coaching For Women

Self Care

By

No Cure For Being Human

Did you know that suffering and flourishing can occur together?

It doesn’t have to be one or the other. It simply CAN’T be one or the other. If you are a human being living on this Earth, you are faced with the delightful, the horrible, the beautiful, the worrying, and the hilarious – sometimes in the space of a single day (or, let’s be honest, a single hour).

I recently finished the ever so witty Kate Bowler’s, “No Cure for Being Human.”

She says life is…

…beautiful and terrible, full of hope and despair and everything in between – and there’s no cure for being human.

Yes indeed, Kate. Yes, indeed.

And then there’s this truth bomb…

Everybody pretends that you die only once. But that’s not true. You can die a thousand possible futures in the course of a single, stupid life.

We all face periods of hardship, uncertainty, and transition. So how do we navigate the churning waters of life when it feels like we’re being tossed around like a rowboat in a hurricane?

Focus on what you CAN control.

I know. I know. You’ve heard this one before.

There is so much we can’t control.

This feels really scary sometimes. We desperately want to know what’s going to happen in the future. (Preferably, that everything will be okay.) It can be really easy to spiral into a frenzy of uncertainty, panic, and/or frustration over stuff we have zero control over. Yet we often have more control than we realize.

There are factors and elements that we CAN control in healthy and productive ways. We can show up for those things, own them, and take an active part in shaping them.

Focusing on those things that we can control can help us feel calmer and more capable of carrying on.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by what seems like uncontrollable chaos around you, try this exercise…

First, validate your struggle. You’re not “wrong” for feeling overwhelmed – there’s a lot going on, and much of it is out of your control.

Next, explore what you have control over. 

For example:

  • Moving your body (using whatever means you have access to right now, even if that means simply going on a walk)
  • Managing your mindset and attitude, or the story you’re telling about what things mean
  • Getting adequate rest (by prioritizing naps or getting to bed on time)
  • What information you allow in your mental space, and what sources it comes from
  • Connecting with people you care about
  • Helping those in need

Consciously commit to focusing on and acting on the things in your control, rather than the ones beyond your total control. And – take a moment to grieve the loss of control if you need to. It’s hard to come to terms with the fact that much of the world operates without us as general manager.

Big virtual hugs to anyone going through a hard time right now. The most “wonderful” time of the year can sometimes be the most difficult.

💙 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

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

Unexpected Detours

Sometimes life does not go as planned.

Sometimes you’re cruising down the road to one destination and you slam right into a DETOUR sign.

I was working hard to build up my fitness this summer. Hiking steeper and longer trails in order to prepare for a 14er in September.

There is no variety of exercise I love more than hiking. Even though I’ve had three foot surgeries and my foot and ankle surgeon told me to “find another hobby” two years ago.

Can you say stubborn?

Two weeks ago, I suffered another foot injury.

#$!@%#@!!!

Injuries happen. Life doesn’t always go the way we want it to go.

And – we cannot let that stop us from living our lives.

We can wallow in self-pity. Which, in all honesty, I have chosen from time to time over the past few weeks. Or we can make the most out of the detour.

Today I made a list of all the things I can still do + enjoy.

Sometimes a detour can be a gift (in disguise).

Plan A might have to go back on the shelf, but that shouldn’t stop us from making plans entirely.

Pivot.

Heal.

Trust the process.

Adapt to the curve balls life throws at us.

Redefine what is on the finish line.

💙 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

Meet Yourself Where You Are

Tom Petty’s Wildflowers has been my favorite song for much of my adult life.

You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

You belong with your love on your arm

You belong somewhere you feel free.

Nature is my happy place. I can breathe. Unwind. Create. Feel at peace in mind and body.

Route 3 loomed above my childhood home. A major highway in New Jersey that will lead you to the Lincoln Tunnel – and ultimately, New York City.

The weed infested hillside next to the Route 3 offramp was my sacred space as a child. A place to collect ladybugs. To pretend I was on safari. To find stillness.

When my then boyfriend, now husband, asked me to move to Colorado in 1998, I didn’t hesitate for a second.

Three weeks ago, almost 25 years after moving to Colorado – my husband and I planted ourselves in the quirky little mountain town of Salida, Colorado.

I am surrounded by wildflowers and antelope and mountains and sky.

What is the point of all of this?

Behavior change is a result of habits, mindset, and environment.

Environment: the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.

Our environment is more than where we live. Everything you see, hear, smell, taste, and touch is part of your environment. 

Our environment matters – and our environment changes frequently.

Last year at this time, I was getting ready to fly to New Jersey to take care of my sweet Mama for two weeks. It was my fourth trip of the year. My environment was drastically different than it is today – and so were my expectations of myself.

I see my clients frequently falling into the trap of attaching to a time in their life when they were crushing it.

Why can’t I eat the way I did then?

Why can’t I exercise the way I did then?

Why don’t I feel as motivated?

Why does it feel so hard?

I can pretty much guarantee this line of questioning will lead to giving up. Every single time.

Behavior change is fluid. Dynamic. Stop comparing yourself to that time when life was easier and breezier.

One of my clients recently suffered a concussion after being rear ended by a semi. She was feeling disappointed in herself for not being where she was pre-accident.

Here’s what I told her…

Let go of pre-accident you. Be right here in this moment. You know what you’re capable of when everything is going great. Except life doesn’t always let us hang out in that space for long. Let’s make the most of where you are now. It’ll look different than before the accident. And that is OKAY.

I asked her to begin texting me with every win. Nothing was too small to celebrate. We shifted her habits to be more in line with what was possible as she continued to recover. We celebrated the fact that she only gained 2 pounds when it could have been more.

When my sweet Mama passed last August, I had gained a total of 6 pounds since her cancer diagnosis – and I considered that to be a monumental victory. There was no shame. No harsh judgement. Just compassion for myself and what I had been through. The weight is gone now and I am certain I would have gained more + had a more difficult time losing it if I was beating myself up the whole time the scale was going up.

Be gentle with yourself + meet yourself where you are, Chickadee.

💙 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.