"I'm going to exercise every day!" "I'm going to quit junk food and eat clean starting tomorrow!" "This is the last cookie, I swear!" Does it sound familiar? If you're like most people, you probably failed to reach your fitness and weight loss goals countless times.
In fact, just eight percent of people achieve their New Year's goals, whether it's eating healthier, working out more often, or quitting smoking. Instead of feeling guilty and blaming yourself, take the steps to break old habits. Set realistic goals, come up with a plan, and make it happen.
Why Bad Habits Are Hard to Break
Bad habits, such as eating cookies after a meal or skipping exercise for days in a row, can stall your progress. Sometimes, they can ruin months of hard work. However, just because you've failed, it doesn't mean you should quit - nor should you keep feeling sorry for yourself. This will only make it harder to fix your mistakes and build good habits.
Any habit, good or bad, follow the same pattern, which involves three steps:
· Reminder
· Routine
· Reward
In the first phase, something triggers a change in your behavior. For example, you could be skipping a workout because you have guests. The next day, you're feeling too tired to hit the gym, so you skip exercise again. The third day, your boss asks you to work overtime.
These factors take you to the next stage where you carry out the habit. At this point, you're telling yourself that skipping a few workouts is perfectly fine. After all, you're not planning to become a world-class athlete. In the third phase, your brain determines whether or not this whole process is worth remembering.
Unless you put in the time and effort to resume your routine, your new habits will stick. According to experts, it takes about 66 days to form a new habit. If you keep postponing starting a diet or resuming your workouts, you'll eventually forget about them.
If we can help you get started with a new habit, you can get book a no cost strategy session to see what works best for you!
How to Change Your Habits for Good
Failure is a part of success. Sure, you might not have a perfect diet and exercise as often as you should, but you can always change that. It's in your power to quit bad habits and reach your goals. Motivation and willpower are essential.
Think of how much you want to lose those pesky pounds and get in shape. Remember why you started in the first place. The next time you want to eat an extra cooking, visualize the body you're after. Imagine yourself working hard in the gym - is that cookie really worth?
Don't advocate too much change at once. Set small goals to make the process easier. You might not be able to give up junk food overnight, but you can ditch the sugar this week, the fries next week, and soda the week after. Make one change at a time until it becomes a habit.
Not sure how to start a workout routine? Check out our 4 Step Guide to How to Start Exercising