Deciding on a new habit and sticking with it.

 

Habits form pathways in our brain so when selecting a new habit we need to look at which habits are no longer suiting us and being aware of what triggers the behaviour in the first instance.

It’s all very well to know about our bad habits but actually changing them is rather challenging as it is often that we are more afraid of what we are losing than what we might potentially gain. We also have a tendency to forget about all the bumps along the way to forming new habits – illness, travel, work commitments or simply fatigue where ‘I can’t be bothered’. We also think we have much better self control than we actually do but sadly willpower is not the secret to success, habit formation works so plan for missteps. Many people trying to be successful at slimming can be too tough on themselves if they do stumble. It becomes an ‘all or nothing’ approach where self-criticism becomes the main focus. Self-criticism often results in emotional behaviour or seeking comfort from foods, followed by more criticism for folding.

When it comes to craving certain foods, what you have on hand is key – keep cakes, biscuits and chocolates ready and accessible and that’s what you will consume. Keep fruit, nuts, vegetables and good quality foods available and guess what you will eat?

Trigger – the ‘when’ of habits. Triggers that are effective need to be consistent, obvious, novel, form part of an existing habit, and be early in the day. Ineffective triggers are infrequent, intermittent, time based, require a reminder note or are memory based.

Routine – the ‘what’ of habits. This is the behaviour that forms the basis of the habit. An effective routine is easy to start, easy to do, small, supports you under all circumstances, forms sole focus (change one habit at a time), is about the process rather than the outcome, is within a stable context (everything else in life is normal).

Reward – the ‘why’ of habits. The payoff! The most interesting part of the reward is that it leaves a craving when the next trigger arrives. The reward needs to be intrinsic and give pleasure or avoid pain (can be equally rewarding). For example, eating good quality food to avoid hunger and provide satiety.

Set yourself a vision:

• The habit I want to make…
• I want this habit because…
• If I adopt this habit I will…
• When I do this behaviour I will feel better because…
• The first thing I will do is…
• The behaviour will be initiated when…

From ‘The How of Habits’ by Bri Williams

Your challenge for OCTOBER is to select one habit and complete the process above to put it into practice. Make yourself accountable and put your habit and your vision onto the facebook community so we can all read about what we are up to. For me…..I want to make the habit of eating dinner without having consumed snacks whilst cooking. I want this habit because I will enjoy eating a meal I have cooked without feeling overfull. If I adopt this habit I will not feel uncomfortable after dinner and feel better because I won’t put on excess weight. The behaviour will be initiated when I arrive home from work and begin to prepare the evening meal.