Habits, habit habits
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If you haven’t read Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg or Atomic Habits by James Clear, I highly recommend both. The concepts in both books relate to all aspects of life. I am writing today about how a few big ones can relate to exercise, fitness and weight loss goals.
Most of us set goals with no clear plan of how we are going to achieve them. I know! I have done it myself (one of the reasons I read both of these books) It is often inspiring to set big goals, like run a marathon, bike 50 miles, do unassisted pull ups or lose 10 percent of your body weight. These are awesome ambitious goals but are meaningless if we don’t have a plan of how to achieve our goals.
If I want to run a marathon for the first time but I only run once a week and don’t do much else, things are not looking so good for me! If I want to run this marathon, I would need to make changes in my training, which would require me to build new habits and even perhaps shed old habits that are not working. This can be said for any goal, whether it is weight loss or fitness gains. Losing old habits and forming new ones need to be a part of your goal planning process.
Ah, but building new habits is hard work and anyone who says that isn’t so is lying. Around New Year’s people talk about a magic 21 days that it takes for our resolutions to stick. Truthfully, sometimes it takes LONGER than 21 days. Here are some things to keep in mind when trying to establish a new habit, whether it is eating more vegetables daily, exercising consistently or adding strength training.
Make it NON negotiable. If you have a walk scheduled after breakfast, DO IT. If you have a strength training workout planned at 2pm that day, DO IT. Don’t let yourself push it to the next day or make an excuse for why you can’t do it. When we procrastinate, we allow ourselves to let the habit forming opportunities slide by. I am talking about those times when we just don’t really FEEL like doing it or when we prioritize something over that behavior we are trying to implement. (Not when we are legitimately sick). If you consider the behavior optional, it probably won’t happen.
SOMETHING is better than nothing. If you have been my client for any period of time, you have probably heard me say this before. So, you hit the snooze button and have a long day of work ahead and only have time for 20 minutes of the scheduled workout. DO IT ANYWAY. You were supposed to run 3 miles that afternoon but you feel tired. Go walk at least 20 minutes. You will probably start to jog at some point, but even if you don’t you will have kept the commitment to yourself to MOVE. Say at breakfast you skipped that side of berries you had planned and instead stop at Starbucks for a latte and a scone. Put that behind you and eat the healthy lunch you packed. This reinforces the habit and moves you toward your goal. AND you will feel better for it.
DON”T miss twice. You missed a workout or binged on the chips your coworker brought in. It happens. Don’t beat yourself up over it. But make sure the next day you don’t miss that workout and/or you get back on track with the food plan you have set out. Don’t let yourself slide on your habits two days in a row. The more you miss that workout and the more you let your eating plan slide, the more THAT negative behavior will be come the habit. And that’s not the habit we are going for.
Motivation will not always be there and if we only rely on motivation to reach your goals, we won’t be reaching many goals. When it is dark and 20 degrees out, motivation does not get me out the door for my run. It takes discipline and that discipline is created from building solid habits. So as you are reflecting on the year and looking in to goals for 2022, consider your habits and which ones you will need lose and which ones you will need to focus on to achieve your biggest goals. Then make a plan and make that goal happen. Reach out to me if you want helping building habits so you can reach the goals you have in mind.