Staying On Track

Two Keys to Success

I feel there are two keys to helping a client stay on track: first, motivation and second, habits.

“Motivation is What gets You Started”

It’s important to set realistic, obtainable goals or expectations about the amount of progress that can be made within a given time. If your overall goal is weight loss, then look at setting a goal of steady continuous change over fast results in a short time. This will help you be more compliant to the goal and prevent weight regain. Often times, people try to achieve too much too quickly. Rapid weight loss creates a gap between calories consumed and calories required to maintain energy levels. As a result, hunger increases and your metabolic rate can decrease leading to weight regain. The goal is to lose weight gradually enough that your body has time to adapt to the change and not fight the weight-loss process. Slow and steady wins the race!

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Another idea to keep in mind when setting goals is to remember and focus on what you can do and what will happen instead of letting the daunting thoughts about what you can’t do, must do, or can’t cloud your mind with negativity. It’s okay to start with small changes such as clearing the cabinets and fridge of “junk foods” before starting your healthy lifestyle journey, or starting with a brisk walk or light jog when thinking about getting physically active again.

Meeting goals requires motivation. Two things will drive motivation. One…whether you value the goal. Two…how much you believe you can achieve the goal. In order to achieve the goal you have written out, you have to believe it’s worth your effort. If you put in the effort, then you will most likely be successful.

“Habit is What keeps You Going”

As you know, habits are just practiced behaviors done subconsciously. For example, every night when you sit down to watch tv you find yourself eating a snack. Why? Because once you realized you were hungry when you started watching your favorite show after the kids went to bed, you went to check the fridge. We’ll refer to this as “the cue”. You grabbed the Blue Bell and made yourself a bowl. Yummy and satisfying, right? This is the “reward”. This is how we build habits. We feel the need to satisfy something therefore we fill the void with something to satisfy that need. Eventually, it becomes second nature.

How do we rewire the habits? First, identify the behavior you’re wanting to change. Next, recognize when the behavior occurs. In the above example, you’re wanting to stop eating ice cream every night while watching your favorite show before going to sleep. Then, you’ll need to replace the bad habit with a new one. For instance, understanding that you ate the ice cream because you’re hungry means that you can eat a pre-planned meal in place of it before you sit down to watch your show. Also, new habits don’t occur over night, so you’ll need to practice your new routine. Make a sticky note for the fridge that reminds you to eat your pre- planned meal before tv time instead of indulging in ice cream far too late in the day. Finally, be mindful that your new routine and habit is rewarding. Your sleep is better, you’re not feeling guilty for all the sugar right before sleep, and you’re noticing how confident you’ve become by incorporating a new, healthier habit into your daily routine.

Remember, the more you do something, the easier it becomes!
I’m looking forward to helping you get motivated and build healthy habits!

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