Changing habits: how to create healthier new ones
One of my favourite motivational quotes that applies perfectly to habit change is:
“if you want something you’ve never had, you’ve got to do something you’ve never done”
It’s simple, and true. You have to be prepared to get a little bit uncomfortable if you want any kind of change
How we go about making changes and creating new habits, however, is the key to success or failure.
Start by changing the way you think about weight loss and healthy eating
Research shows that a large percentage of people attempting to lose weight on their own fail. The biggest reason for this is thinking that you need to change everything all at once, the all or nothing approach.
The traditional “diet” process just doesn’t work, it’s a broken, outdated idea. I mean, think about it, how can drastically changing your lifestyle for a short period of time, and then going back to your old habits, do you any good in the long run?
Yet many of us have been doing just that, over and over again, for years and years. It’s crazy when you really think about it!
Making changes to the way you eat and exercise, slowly, over time is the best way to lose weight, and improve your health.
That’s why the Wendy’s Way philosophy is to take it slowly and change just one or two habits at a time.
It does require patience, along with changing the way you think about weight loss. It also means you’ll get to your goal more slowly than you’d probably like to.
But if that’s the difference between actually reaching your goal and failing, over and over again, I know which one I prefer, how about you?
The most important change needs to occur in your mindset.
As the quote in the image above says, if you want to succeed at losing weight, you have to start by changing your definition of the word “diet.”
Forget thinking about diet and change as short-term or temporary. Let’s use the true definition of the word diet instead: the kinds of food that a person or community habitually eats.
You’ll never lose weight and keep it off until you permanently change your diet, (and your lifestyle), one habit at a time.
That’s a simple fact. I’m not saying that it’s easy to do, but it’s the truth.
Just ask anyone who’s fit and healthy, they maintain it by living a healthy lifestyle. And they’ll tell you that it took time to discover what works best for them, because everyone’s different.
That it’s not always easy.
That it does take effort.
That it’s about choosing compromise over excess or extremes.
That you will have slip-ups, because you’re human and perfection is a myth.
Most fit and healthy people will tell you that ultimately, they choose a healthy lifestyle, because it’s better than the alternative.
You simply need to decide that you want look after yourself, make it a priority, and take responsibility for your health and wellbeing.
JUST. LIKE. THAT.
I’ve got lots more tips and ideas to help you in my series that deals with the excuses people make for not being healthy.
Each post will give you actionable steps you can take to combat common beliefs such as “I don’t have time” and “I’ll have to give up my favourite foods.” Start here with PART 1.
Read this post if you wanna know why I say COUNTING CALORIES IS A WASTE OF TIME
And you should also check out these 9 SIMPLE TRUTHS ABOUT DIETING.
So are you ready to make some lasting changes? Try this simple challenge for starters
It’s all up to you. Do you want to continue jumping from diet to diet, with each new popular fad? Or is it time to start making some real healthy changes?
Take my simple challenge: choose just one of the habits listed, and do it consistently for two weeks before moving onto another one.
Listed below are ten simple healthy habits that you can easily implement into your daily routine. You only need to choose one.
Remember, change needs to be slow and steady to be successful.
Choose just one that you think you can easily do every day for the next two weeks.
Then ask yourself this question: on a scale of 1-10, how confident am I that I can do this every day for the next 14 days?
Be honest with yourself. Your answer should be a 9 or 10.
If it’s less than a 9, then either choose a different habit, or modify it until you’re confident you can easily do it every day.
HABIT LIST
1. Eat a serving of protein with every meal.
2. Be physically active: can be anything from incidental exercise to a set workout.
3. Eat at least four servings of vegetables.
4. Drink at least one litre of water.
5. Eat two servings of fruit.
6. Sleep at least 7-8 hours.
7. Eat slowly and stop when you feel full, whether or not there is still food on your plate.
8. Replace sugary drinks with water or tea.
9. Get up and stretch or foam roll for five minutes, twice during the day.
10. Choose a positive affirmation to repeat to yourself every day.
And I want to know how you go!
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