Are your habits healthy?
It is only in the past few years that I have started to think about my habits and actually become quite fascinated with forming good habits and breaking unhealthy/self sabotaging habits. Through analysis of my own habits and research I have found these are crucial to enjoying a healthy lifestyle or not as the case maybe.
We generally default to the habits we form in early years, those that we observe everyday in childhood. We then beat ourselves up for not being able to break unhealthy habits that we have been following for 20 or more years! As a species we can be extremely tough on ourselves and if we are not able to stick to a diet or exercise plan, then outwardly we may make an excuse but inwardly feel useless, and label ourselves as undisciplined, weak, lazy and so the list goes on. Forgive me for the generalisation that was maybe just me.
Charles Duhigg explains in his book ‘The Power of Habit: why we do the things we do’, that an understanding of the nature of habits and the triggers associated with each one, allows us to practice new routines in order to form new habits. This has been my experience in forming healthy habits not only for eating and exercise, but also for problem solving, thinking positively and many other factors which are important in leading a life full of Joie de vivre.
After years of trial and error and self punishment (I am not even joking!) I have come to realise that making the smallest of changes gradually is the best approach to breaking a bad habit or forming a new healthy habit or doing both. As a society we want everything to be quick and happen now, one of the main reasons diets did not work for me was that I wanted to lose lots of weight by next week, and if it did not happen then I gave up. Does this sound familiar?
It is the small things you do every day on a consistent basis that will make the big differences. You have the choice to eat the extra chocolate biscuit every day for 1 year gaining 6 pound in weight, or you have the choice to reduce your daily intake by 60 calories (same amount as the biscuit) in a year and lose the 6 pound. This is just a small example and of course this can be magnified. Think about this and examine your day, you do not have to starve yourself to attain your goals, but if you are willing to make one small change each day in 30 days you will notice a difference.
30 day habit challenge
It has been proven that it takes between 21 and 30 days to form a new habit, are you willing to give it a try? We would love you to pick a habit from the ideas below or think of another habit that will improve your life in some way. Please comment on your progress or feel free to contact us ak.joiedevivre@gmail.com for any support we can give. It helps to declare your habit challenge to make it feel like an actual commitment, so feel free to declare it on our blog. It is exciting setting your self a challenge so enjoy it!
- Do you take sugar in tea/coffee? If you do aim to reduce the amount each day for 30 days e.g. 2 sugars - reduce to 1.5, 1 sugar reduce to half or if this is too difficult at first reduce to three quarters.
- Do you sleep less than 7 hours each night? This is detrimental to your state of mind and preventing an enjoyment life. If this is a life choice and you generally have 6 hours for example, aim to go to bed an hour earlier for the 30 days. It helps to have a routine at bedtime and avoid too much TV.
- Do you exercise? If you have been unable to start a routine exercise plan, commit to walk/run ten minutes each day (preferably at the same time every day e.g. after dinner or every morning before breakfast)
- Have you been through a tough time or find it difficult to think positive? Commit to spending 5 minutes when you wake up and another 5 minutes at bedtime to list as many things you are grateful for e.g. the sun is shining etc.
- Do you skip breakfast? - There are conflicting views on wether eating breakfast affects your health or weight, but I find that a healthy breakfast is a wonderful way to kick start the day, and evidence shows that in general people within a healthy weight range do eat breakfast. Choose a breakfast from our free food plan (subscribe by entering your email below) and commit to eating even a very small serving every day for 30 days.
- Do you eat a sugary snack at a certain time each day (at slump o clock)? Try swapping the sugary snack for a healthy habit e.g. a little walk, a drink of water, a handful of nuts etc.
- Do you eat less than 3 servings of vegetables a day? Include one more serving of vegetables each day for 30 days(subscribe to the free food plan for ideas).
Enjoy life!
Lots of love
Kelly x
