Setting Good Habits
Let’s be real - we all have bad habits, and many of them have been with us for years!!
Some of them were actually set up during our childhood. How often do we give our children a “treat” when they are upset or hurt themselves? Is that the reason you look for comfort food when you are stressed or upset? Do you crave food or sweets around 3pm? Does that mimic when you arrived home from school and sat down to a “treat”?
The good news is that old habits can be changed or even stopped. I suggest there are 3 ways to overcome habits that have been with you for a long time that are stopping you from reaching your health goals.
Go cold turkey - stop it completely. For example, if you eat chocolate in front of the TV every night, then stop it completely - don’t buy it and don’t eat it. But this can be quite difficult for many people.
Reduce the habit - have less each day until you have been able to eliminate it, so using the chocolate example, if you were eating a whole chocolate bar every night, start having half a bar each night, then half a bar every second night, then a smaller piece every second night, then every third night, and continue until you are only having a small piece once a week (that is your treat)
Change the habit - this is the one I like, as habits are hard to eliminate, but you can alter what you have for that habit. So using the chocolate example again, instead of having a chocolate bar every night, swap it for something sweet and healthy instead. Have an apple or a punnet of strawberries every night. That way you are still getting the sweetness you are craving, but you are also getting nutrients and vitamins and a lot less fat and calories. You can also reduce the new healthier habit using step 2 above.
What habit has been holding you back? Do you see a pattern from your childhood as to why you continue this habit now? Are you setting your children up with the same habits? Make the change now and watch the improvement in your health and that of your family too.