Why is it so easy to form bad habits, but so hard to form good habits?
Well truth is, bad habits are usually things we allow to happen because they are so easy to form and maintain.
Things like, allowing ourselves to stop our movement and exercise regime – it is SO much easier to sit on the sofa and watch TV than get out of the house and have a walk or run, or put on a YouTube exercise video.
And when it comes to eating, it is much simpler to pop a pizza in the oven or order a takeaway than think about being in the kitchen cooking and then having to clean up afterwards.
Our mindset allows us to pick up these negative habits as they just make life easier. Which is why it can be really hard to break the cycle of these negative habits and change them into good habits.
But these habits don’t help us, in fact, they tend to hinder our health and well-being, and over the long term, can really be detrimental to not just our physical health, but our mental health too.
We know that by exercising, we will not only feel better physically, but will also feel better mentally too. The same can be said for eating habits, we know healthy, home-cooked food will make us feel better, but it just requires that little bit more effort.
So just how can we break the cycle of negative behaviours and form better habits?
We asked each of our experts to help us use the 30 days of September (about the time it takes for something to become habitual) to form healthier habits when it comes to food, movement and our mindset.
Here’s what they had to say.
Lesley – Diet
The best tip I can give to forming better habits is to make small changes and make them realistic.
When adopting a new habit, ask yourself, “Can I still see myself doing this in a years’ time?” If the answer is no, then rethink your plan and choose something you think you can sustain over a long period of time.
If you make your habit changes easy to fit in with your life, they are more likely to stick and therefore make change in your life.
Once you have decided what you would like to change to improve your health and weight, practice the new habit regularly and it will become the normal i.e. eating at the table try to eat all your meals there and it will begin to feel weird when you go to sit somewhere else to eat!
At The Slimming Clinic, we are always supporting small sustainable changes that don’t require you to dramatically upheave your life. We encourage you to take each step at a time and don’t try to change everything at once.
Once you feel you have got the new habit to stick, then you can try looking to implement another.
Also remember that some of our old habits come from childhood experience and they are deep routed so they may take a while to go.
If you feel like the habits aren’t sticking, have a think and address the barriers to the new habit and try to find solutions to the barriers, rather than allowing the barriers stopping you from forming your new, healthier habits.
Remember it can take time for new habits to stick and become normal practice so keep practicing and don’t expect to get it perfectly right straight away. But don’t give up either!
Andrea – Mindset
One of the best ways to form better habits is to have some time away from any distractions and re-evaluate where we are right now and where we want to be at some realistic point in the future.
We then ask ourselves the steps we would need to take to get there and challenge any bad habits we have developed along the way.
This year has certainly been like no other and whilst lockdown has given many of us time to think and perhaps re-evaluate future goals, it has left others developing bad habits, poor time management and a lack of focus.
So, if we find ourselves in the latter of these two groups, September is the perfect opportunity to get back on track with some well-deserved self-care and attention leaving our bad habits behind.
One of our biggest motivations in goal setting is to look at any wasted time due to procrastination or lack of direction. What have we achieved in the last few months and what are some of the small changes we can make now to get ourselves moving again?
September, for many, is when schools go back, the Summer holidays are over, and we have the opportunity to refocus.
So, get a date in the diary to firstly write down what has been happening for us over the past few months and any bad habits we wish to leave behind and then use the 30 days in September to work towards developing healthier habits again.
Remember to keep it bite size so, for example, if we find ourselves drinking more alcohol than we would like, snacking more than usual, a lack in exercise or avoiding any form of socialising amongst friends and family, use the days in September to begin cutting down or building up whatever it is to rid ourselves of those bad habits and feel more positive again.
If we focus each day in September on choosing some healthier, maintainable habits, it allows us to kick start a better routine for the future months.
Phil – Movement
Firstly, I like to look at what a habit is. A habit is described as a ‘recurrent, often unconscious, pattern of behaviour that is acquired through frequent repetition.’
For habits to form, you will have needed to have a certain pattern of behaviour for at least 30 days before it becomes an established.
When it comes to forming new, positive habits in movement, do not bite off more than you can chew and go too hard, to fast, as this can put you off exercise and movement altogether!
Start with small achievable tasks every day and build them up gently.
A good place to start is to look at tasks that you can do every day for the whole of September. It could be something as simple as doing 10 reps of air squats or 10 lunges on each leg. You may choose to have a few laps walking around your garden. Or, you might choose to follow a slow, gentle exercise video on the internet.
The key thing to moving more is just that – keep moving! As you become more comfortable in the activity you choose, push the boundaries a little more and try a little more.
The best thing I can say is to keep it consistent for the 30 days of September and see if it forms better habits by the end of the month!
Here’s to a successful September!
