Creating good habits

TeshaRamer · August 2020

What non food or exercise habits would you suggest for others working on good health?
Example: Going to bed earlier..
Trying to create good habits across the board lol Thanks!

hbarraclough · August 2020

Kinda exercise related, but moving more in general. I run 5k 5x per week and lift 2x per week but most of my exercise calories that get added into mfp from my Fitbit come from me just generally pottering around. Walking to the shop instead of driving, cleaning the house, jogging upstairs, taking stairs instead of lifts, always offering to be the one to fetch tea / coffee at work, walking to another office to speak to someone instead of emailing, taking out the bins, etc etc. It's what I always advise people who want to get fitter but hate "exercise". Which is how I used to be

KrissDotCom · August 2020

Forgive yourself.

It is way too easy to put yourself down during a weightloss journey, because your expectations of yourself are too high, while it's nice to raise the bar and aim for better, you can't forget you're human and not every day is going to hit or exceed the high bar you set for yourself.

zebasschick · August 2020

i'm not sure about going to be earlier - that depends on your schedule - but i'm 100% for getting more sleep!

a good habit to get into, and one i have found challenging in the past, is to make changes gradually.

our bodies are not designed for sudden changes like all at once dropping your daily calories from 2400 to 1200 or going from fully sendentary to walking 10 miles a day or lifting very heavy. our bodies are designed to adapt over time, so a little patience leads to less or no injuries, no weakness or pushing your body to make muscle repairs beyond its abilities.

Slowfaster · August 2020

I didn't manage to make exercise a daily habit until I started doing it first thing in the morning. Waiting until later in the day just caused me to think up excuses not to do it.

springlering62 · August 2020

Logging the full day first thing in the morning (or even the evening before). It gives you a plan, and you have more freedom to tinker with it if something comes up.

Make walking a habit. I’ve done the route to and from the park so often that it no longer feels like 2.75 miles. It’s more like,”oh, I’m already here? That’s a third of the way. That was fast.” Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt, it breeds comfort and habit and just makes it seem so much more less a chore if it’s just automatically part of my day.

Make a weekly shopping list. And stick to it. For oh, so many reasons.

hipari · August 2020

Probably not what you want to hear, but.... don't collect habits to your tracker, at least not more than 3-5. Stick to those until you no longer think about them, and only then add more. Changing your habits is surprisingly hard, and it's better to actually change a few than stress (and fail) about many.

MeganD1704 · August 2020

I dont really have a suggestion beside move more- but I would suggest these podcasts if you are into them:

Shaun T's Trust and Believe Podcast:
Episode 216- 12 Ways to Stay Committed all Year <- this one is fab for habits/goals. Its really about only committing to one thing a month and why that is so important- just as @hipari mentioned above.
Episode 222- How to Mentally Get Through a Tough Workout
Episode 214: Three things to do after your workout for success <- listen to this one after 216

Now- I know Shaun T is beachbody- but he only references his workouts during this and doesnt push sales during the podcast minus his podcast sponsor(s) or I wouldn't recommend it. I do love Shaun T though! Its also free on Apple Podcasts anyways.

I found these podcasts really really helpful on how to improve things and setting my fitness related goals/habits in a simple way. I often find things are overwhelming when I come back to fitness.

NovusDies · August 2020

There are many to try and use here:

https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10610953/neat-improvement-strategies-to-improve-weight-loss/p1

Changing habits though can be easy or very difficult depending on the habit and how it fits your day and your personality. Do not believe the 21 day rule either. Something can become an instant habit or never fully form despite 21 days of consistent repetition.

A good book to read is Atomic Habits by James Clear. You will need to ignore the fact that he refers to some food as "junk" food and probably the extreme example of accountability he gives later in the book though.

mylittlerainbow · August 2020

Well, I don't know if these are habits or just daily recurring behaviors that I assign to myself, but I have to read a certain text every day, I have to meditate every day, I have to work out every day, etc. And I make myself do them first thing in the morning - as in, "You can't eat breakfast until you..." Getting them over with works plus makes me feel good about myself and ready to tackle everything else.

AnnPT77 · August 2020

Stress management, in various forms. Means different things to different people. It can be done via therapy (avoiding imposing extra, unproductive stress on yourself), prayer, meditation, not putting up with bad treatment by other people, simplifying life in congenial ways, journaling, aromatherapy bubble baths, charitable acts, and more.

The important part is reducing stress sources where possible, and figuring out what works for you to reduce the negative impacts of stress that you can't eliminate from your life.

ReenieHJ · August 2020

Find joy in each and every single day, no matter where you're at in your healthy living journey.
Don't let your weight define who you are.
Be as much of a friend to yourself as you are to your friends.
Eat for fuel first, with a little enjoyment thrown in.

In other words, go easy on the empty calories.
Drink enough water to stay hydrated.
Take care of your mental health as well as your physical health.
Don't believe *everything* you read or hear. (except of course you need to believe 99% of what people on MFP say.

Take a slow easy journey into a healthier lifestyle, it'll stay with you longer.

JMO

age_is_just_a_number · August 2020

1) Make 1 sustainable change. Then track and monitor. Then once that change becomes normal for you — say 3-4 weeks later, make another sustainable change.

2) weights and measures and photos. Do them at least monthly. This tracks progress.

3) stop smoking.

4) stop drinking alcohol.

5) drink water throughout the day.

6) be kind to yourself.

7) enjoy life. This is not about depriving yourself but rather about living your best life

8) educate yourself. Read about fitness, nutrition, wellness.

9) meditate or be mindful during the day. When eating think about the taste and texture and smell. Really experience every part of your day.

Jacq_qui · August 2020

agree about getting more sleep!

Something for stress reduction, whatever flavour works for you

Spend less time on social media/tv/news - and more time doing the things I love.

Drink plenty of water - I don't like to waste a lot of calories on drin ks

Know what you are eating - sounds simple, but until I had kids who developed food allergies I had never even read the back of packets of the stuff I ate. Now I look at it and think 'why does this bread have 25 ingredients in - when I make my own, it has 3!" If I don't know what something is or it has 100s of unpronounceable things in it, then I can probably choose something better. (That doesn't mean to say I'm eating low calorie, vegan, organic food, may I add - I still eat crap, but at least when I do, I've chosen to do so!)

Creating good habits

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