How to Build Better Habits

It’s that time of year again! The holidays are over and after a sugar binge that would make Buddy the Elf proud, some of us may be feeling a little guilty. The non-stop marathon of all the rich, fatty, sugary food you can eat from Halloween to New Year’s has taken its toll on your body, health and probably self esteem. Cue all the “New year’s resolutions.”

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Lose weight. Eat less. Exercise more.

Lofty and well-intentioned goals, to be sure, but kind of vague. They tell you what you want to accomplish, but not so much how to do it.

You want to know the best way to get started towards those goals? Start building better habits. Whether you write a list and tape it to your mirror, or use a program like Noom, you need goals that are focused on individual habits.

How, you ask?

1. Start small.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint.” Yes, I know that’s an old cliche, but I couldn’t help myself! You want this to be a long-term habit and overwhelming yourself is just going to set yourself up for failure. Saying “I’m gonna give up carbs, work out an hour every day and only eat salads and lean protein!” sounds great on the surface. But unless you have a will of iron (and kudos to you if you do!) those goals are too much at once. They will only lead to frustration and failure.

A better approach is to just pick one or two small things to start. For example, one of my goals is to drink more water. It can be easy to forget to drink enough water every day. But there are so many benefits to drinking water, I really feel is it one of the easiest and least intrusive changes you can make to your daily routine. And it’s also free or at least very cheap.

Another goal I have is to start doing my kettlebell workout 3 times a week. I like this 3-in-1 kettlebell and it comes with an easy-to-follow workout dvd. If I do the the warm up, cool down and one of the 3 regular workouts, that’s about 20-25 minutes of exercise, which is a good place to start if you haven’t been doing much.

2. Consistency is key.

You’ve probably heard it takes 21 days to make a new habit (or break an old one). However, studies show it actually takes more like 2 months, on average, and can take up to several months. And the longer you’ve had the habit, the longer it will take to break it. And you will need to replace the bad habit with a better one. If you eat because you’re “bored” or stressed, you need to find another outlet to replace the eating.

3. Be accountable.

This is probably the thing I struggle with the most. Keeping yourself accountable is important to staying on track. We all have that one friend who posts all their healthy meals on Facebook or Instagram, and gives daily or weekly updates of their weight loss progress. They aren’t doing this to annoy you, or simply to brag (probably). They’re doing it to help themselves be accountable. If they’ve got an audience, it puts more pressure on them to stay on track. You don’t have to post on Facebook, but you could find an accountability partner. If you sign up for Noom, you get a goal specialist to work with you one-on-one, and to help keep you motivated.

Noom uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that helps users identify potential triggers and motivations behind their unhealthy habits. This helps users gain a better understanding of where they struggle and where they can make positive change.

Noom coaches help users focus on mindful choices, mindful eating, intention, and attention. By changing poor habits into better habits, users are more likely to have positive long-term results.

Noom offers a two-week trial, so you can try it out! I like their approach of building good habits, setting realistic goals, and helping you achieve them. There are lots of healthy recipes and you get a one on one coach to help you.

What kind of healthy goals are you setting for 2020?