Why do you want to make a body composition change? Understanding your feelings and deepest wants is an essential part of lasting change. Diving into your emotions allows you to set intentional boundaries, stick to your realistic goals, and commit to a long-term, sustainable body composition goal.   Key Steps in Setting Realistic Body Composition Goals Understand your unique body type Set realistic goals with slow, sustainable changes Dive into your non-negotiables Commit to a new nutrition strategy for at least 18 months   The Four Quadrants of Emotion Let’s start by continuing our conversation about the four quadrants of emotions. Anger is important for you to learn not only to recognize but to understand why you’re feeling angry. Anger normally occurs when one of our boundaries is breached or pushed. That’s why we have to set intentional boundaries. Knowing exactly where your boundaries are and why you have them helps you better manage your expectations and anger response. It also allows you to communicate your boundaries with others. I also want you to sit with, recognize, and understand your emotions and feelings, even when they’re uncomfortable. There is so much power in this process. And, really, dealing with what you’re feeling in the moment is much better than pushing the emotions aside or avoiding them in another way.   How to Make Body Composition Changes Making big body composition changes comes down to a few things. Knowing and understanding your unique body type, first and foremost. Then set realistic, sustainable goals that you work towards slowly over time. Lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. You also need to go deep into your why. Why do you want to make this change? Committing to your change requires you to be clear on your non-negotiables – and deciding not to eat something, for example, will be much easier if you’re coming from an empowered position and not relying on willpower. What is your reason why? Let me know in the comments on the episode page.   In This Episode  Why you feel anger [2:00] How to set intentional boundaries [3:00] The relationship between empowered and rebellious [5:30] What power there is in recognizing the emotions you’re feeling [7:30] Why you have to face what you’re dealing with right now [10:30] The importance of slow, sustainable changes [15:30] Why your body type is so important [16:00]   Quotes “Willpower is very interesting. You use willpower when your feeling doesn’t align with the result that you want.” [4:05] “The only reason why we avoid things is because we want to avoid the negative emotion. The reason why we want to pursue unrealistic goals is because we think that the goal we achieve is going to make us feel so much better than pushing the emotions aside or avoiding them in another.” [10:44] “What is your reason why? Why do you want better body acceptance? Probably because you really don’t like how you feel when you don’t. That sounds like a pretty good reason to me. Also, what is the cost if you don’t pursue the journey of body acceptance?” [20:30]   Resources Mentioned Check out the full episode page here Find Life Coaching for Women Physicians Online Follow Dr. Ali Novitsky on Facebook | Instagram  Subscribe to Life Coaching for Women Physicians on Apple Podcasts Podcast production by the team at Counterweight Creative   Related Episodes  Episode 134: So Much More Than Weight Loss Part 1 Episode 135: So Much More Than Weight Loss Part 2 Episode 129: So Much More Than Weight Loss Part 1