Anyone else have trouble forming habits? Habit friends?

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Spiegelchan
Spiegelchan Posts: 78 Member
in Motivation and Support
I just started C25K yesterday :) I did day one yesterday, and day two today, and I'll do day 3 tomorrow, because it's currently mentally but not physically challenging. (I'll start adding rest days when I start getting sore) The problem, though.

I can never get into a habit for more than three or four days. Like, the 30 day challenges, or if I sign up for a yoga class, or whatever, always I do three or four days and then fall off the bandwagon, I guess when the novelty wears off. Sometimes I've been able to push it to a week, but never more.

How do you guys get over this hump, between the first week and, say, the fourth, when the habit is formed? What can I do to prepare, if I'm expecting the difficulty?

I'm planning to skip Friday, because I know circumstances will make it difficult to run and if I plan to try anyway, and then end up not doing so, I'm just going to get discouraged and use it as an excuse to stop. But I'm not sure if, after taking a break, I'll be able to recommit on Saturday. Especially since I think the weather is supposed to be poor. So I'm nervous about that /:

Do you have any advice? Do you want to add me and try to stick to habits together? :)

Replies

  • Zhatan
    Zhatan Posts: 45 Member
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    I have given up on habits.
    I realized that all you really need to loose weight and get fit is discipline.
    Just decide to do something and then do it. Don't allow yourself any excuses.
  • CaitG0902
    CaitG0902 Posts: 10 Member
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    I'm right there with you! I will totally kick butt for a few days, maybe even a few weeks if I'm real lucky, and then bam! Face plant right of that nasty little bandwagon. That goes for my eating and my exercise. For me, I think it has a little bit to do with need for instant gratification...especially with food. And we all know this journey is anything but instant gratification.

    Wish I had some wise words of wisdom to share with you, but I'm still trying to figure it out, too. Feel free to add me though...maybe we can help eachother out.

    Good luck!
  • 92joann
    92joann Posts: 67 Member
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    Install the app Fabulous. Seriously.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Zhatan wrote: »
    I have given up on habits.
    I realized that all you really need to loose weight and get fit is discipline.
    Just decide to do something and then do it. Don't allow yourself any excuses.

    Complete opposite. I have no discipline, so I rely on good habits. It's become a habit for me to get up at 5:45, lift, run, prep lunch, walk dog, eat breakfast and go to work. Come home, prep dinner, walk, eat, brush teeth and go to bed at 9. Not super exciting, but it works for me.
  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,464 Member
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    Working with a trainer did a lot to get me in the habit. I had to show up regardless of how I felt. Although I no longer have a trainer, it's now easier for me just to do the workout than to come up with a "valid" excuse.
  • PixelPuff
    PixelPuff Posts: 901 Member
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    I'm terrible at forming habits. Unfortunately, once a habit is formed, it is extremely hard for me to get away from it.
  • kittikatkitty
    kittikatkitty Posts: 12 Member
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    I too started the c25k, I finished week 3 but my body is taking a toll. I stopped. I hate getting old.

    But I will just find something different. I was proud when I was doing the c35k.

    But we need to find out mojo! We can do this.
  • airickann
    airickann Posts: 6 Member
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    I have found that having apps on my phone that create money for me doing what I need to do holds me a bit more accountable. I'm very money motivated. Apps Such as:

    Achievemint: http://tinyurl.com/y9benfov
    Get paid for connecting myfitness pal app. $10 for every 10,000 points and all you do is what you're already doing.

    Stepbet: http://step.bet/s5ah/8kjqaJ0zeF
    you put your own money on the line in a 6 week challenge to get all your steps in 5 or 6 days a week. Then the whole group splits the pot at the end for everyone who made it all 6 weeks.

    I just started Sweatcoin: https://sweatco.in/hi/erica738728
    It pays you for walking outside with your phone. I'm on day three and have almost $10 already. It pays in gift cards and other little things you can purchase through the app, but free money is free money.

    I'm certainly money motivated!!

    Not sure if any of this helps you or not, but it works to keep me motivated. In 8 weeks I've lost 13 lbs and almost 20 inches.
  • Momoyafah
    Momoyafah Posts: 29 Member
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    I find getting some friends to work out with can really help me. But im the same- ill hit it hard for a few days and then over do it and burn myself out. Feel free to add me if youd like some habit buddies
  • Kullerva
    Kullerva Posts: 1,114 Member
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    Habitica is what I use for my weight loss habits, and all habits really. It's free, customizable, and gives you instant rewards (and punishments) to reinforce task adherence. (I'm good at forming habits, though. As a poster said above, once it's a habit, it's automatic and darn near effortless.) I think you're also describing too-much-change-too-fast syndrome.

    Here's how habits form: there is a trigger (event or situation) that causes a behavior (the habit), which in turn generates a reward (which encourages you to do it again). If you change too much at once and skimp on the reward, there's no incentive to repeat the behavior, is there?

    They say a habit takes a full sixty days of adherence to really "stick," but I'm usually fixed on whatever new thing I'm trying in about ten days. (And yes, it does vary by person.)
  • MidModJenn
    MidModJenn Posts: 216 Member
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    I highly recommend the book "Stick With It" -- it's all about how to break bad habits and helps you set up your own plan to tackle whatever bad habit you want to change. I read it a little over a month ago, and it's changed my life (and it's what got me onto MFP to begin with)... for the first time in my life I feel like I'm 100% in control of my eating.
  • meg_mindbody
    meg_mindbody Posts: 23 Member
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    This is my problem, too! If I really try I can stick to something for about a solid 2 weeks..and then I start feeling pretty good, and I let myself slip a little bit..and then I totally fall off the wagon. I don't know how I always allow this to happen, and it's like 2 weeks is the magical mark I can't get past. Feel free to add me and we can try to motivate one another!
  • KiraChristiansen
    KiraChristiansen Posts: 26 Member
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    I tend to be terrible at making habits too. Sometimes I just have to hit the mental 'refresh' button when I find myself slipping away from a good habit. I'm almost to the point that I've completed a modified version of C25K, and I'm super proud of myself- normally I would have thrown in the towel by now.

    Things I have found helpful:
    1. Letting go of a 'perfection' mentality. I now only allow myself to see it as 'failing' if I don't go back to the habit at all. This is what I mean by the 'refresh' button above. Some days I just need to not track my calories-as long as I get back to tracking again, I don't see this as a bad thing. Yes, it delays my weight loss, but I'm planning on being around anyway, so what's a few days, weeks or months here or there in the long term? Same goes for running- some days I need an unscheduled break, and if I just push through that need, the problem compounds itself.
    2. Have someone around who is better at habits than you are, but still flexible. My fiancé is this person for me. He decided to join me in running. I'm in better shape overall than he is, but he is much better at habits. The push for running is all on my shoulders-he won't decide to go without me, but he will definitely be ready to go if I am. This makes me less likely to skip, for some strange reason. Couldn't actually tell you the real reason.
    3. Reminders. On my phone, in a journal, on my computer. Being able to say 'I did that thing' officially to myself ends up being a great motivator-as long as I don't fall into the trap of perfectionism.
    4. For habits that are negating a current problem behavior- distraction. Part of the thing that finally got me eating fewer calories was that I was busy with school and sick- the last thing on my mind was that I wanted food. I then kept myself distracted enough during a break that I got comfortable enough eating fewer calories to get myself to do so while I was tracking as well- this was HUGE for me.
    5. Have a contingency plan. What happens when the rest of the world doesn't want to cooperate with this new habit that you are trying to build? How are you going to get back to the habit or maintain the habit? My fiancé, for all I love him, loves to decide to eat out on random nights, and loves big dinners. This often throws a wrench in my best-laid plans. I have gotten to the point where I adjust the rest of my day automatically to make sure that his spontaneity doesn't throw me off track, and I have suggestions of delicious healthy dinners in mind to counter with. We even managed to make a default weekly meal plan in case of the 'What do you want? I dunno. What do you want? I dunno.' process.

    It's still a huge work in progress, and it'll never be perfect, but it's much better than where I started from.
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,831 Member
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    Bad habits are easy to form. Good ones? Not so much. ;-)
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 701 Member
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    Spiegelchan wrote: »
    I can never get into a habit for more than three or four days. Like, the 30 day challenges, or if I sign up for a yoga class, or whatever, always I do three or four days and then fall off the bandwagon, I guess when the novelty wears off. Sometimes I've been able to push it to a week, but never more.

    How do you guys get over this hump, between the first week and, say, the fourth, when the habit is formed? What can I do to prepare, if I'm expecting the difficulty?

    You mean exercise habits? Well, I don't do the same thing every day for starters. Experiment to find exercises you actually enjoy, then alternate those. Maybe take a class once, rather than sign up for a long term class, and try several different classes. You might find something you want to do long term.

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