Habits, rather than motivation, are what really get us to our long term goals. What habits have you successfully changed to become healthier long term? Which ones are you still working on? Is there any advice you'd like to ask from or give to our fellow members?

For myself, the two biggest good habit changes were 1) not conflating rest with eating. I had to train myself to be able to lay around for physical and mental rest without wanting to eat at the same time. And 2) eating high protein and more vegetables. I've mostly been able to do this because I started meal prepping more. My advice to others would be to make small changes and stack habits. My question for you all is, do you have any advice for being flexible with new habits when stuff hits the fan, vs returning to old ones?

@four_bumblebees Thank you for your topic.

What habits have you successfully changed to become healthier long term?

My first instinct was that I don't think I have any. That is the "all or nothing" thought. I weigh & check BP first thing in the morning, followed by lemon water. Then I used to do exercise right after that. I am having trouble with my knees, so the exercises are being thrown to the side, and struggling to keep the habit. I am very frustrated with that. I am also very good at planning out time blocks for duties and fun (bike rides, walks, paddle boarding, swimming.) Mostly outdoor stuff. When it is raining, I come up clueless on fun things, but trying to do videos (maybe a Zumba or rebounder).

Which ones are you still working on? Not to be frustrated with my struggles above. I would also like to meal plan more veggies. I either get full or decide they aren't appealing. I am trying to eat them first and not have them made ahead of time. I also set alarms so mealtime doesn't surprise me when I am starving.

Is there any advice you'd like to ask from or give to our fellow members? I am very frustrated with my knees. They are preventing me from doing exercises I really like. I am trying to gently strengthen them, and I am thankful that they aren't worse. I struggle to find modifications or replacement exercises that will help build and not tear them down. I think my plan is to focus on knee strengthening exercises as exercise snacks and do Pilates for 15 minutes the best I can during my normal exercise time. I welcome any insight or suggestions for this situation. Thank you.

Yes - meditations today

Yes - within budget

Yes - tracked

Pass days: 2/3 remaining

Healthy habits: agree with comment about adding protein and vegetables and preferably brown grains instead of white ones. That’s something that feels very well embedded to me now. I also agree I’m probably someone who does better when my habit is to abstain rather than be flexible/moderation, but once I’ve given myself a chance to “reset” and establish a new healthy pattern then I find it easier to be more flexible in my food choices.

✅✅✅ 3️⃣ pass days left

I have a fairly varied 3 week meal plan, and weigh/measure portions. We have set favourite meals, but there is scope to improvise. I don’t have forbidden foods, but I choose to eat food which nourishes in sensible amounts. As others have said, we are adults and what we eat is always a choice.

Re exercise: I also have knee problems, but I have no difficulty finding appropriate exercise on YouTube. Chair exercise videos are abundant, and can be quite strenuous.

I recommend short sessions, say 10 minutes, so as not to over tax the joints.

Saturday June 7

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1️⃣/3️⃣

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New month! Yay! 
Happy June Everyone!

✅ exercise 20+ min 
✅ within calories 
✅ track all
2️⃣ Pass days used

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Yes x3. A few short walks and full body strength. 0 pass days.
At least 20 minutes of exercise is an established habit. As well as prioritizing protein. I’m still working on craving sweets after lunch!

1. Did I exercise for at least 20 minutes? Yes
2. Did I stay within my calorie budget for the day? No
3. Did I keep track of all the calories I ate or drank? Yes
4. Pass days: 7

What habits have you successfully changed to become healthier long term?
Weighing my food and tracking religiously.
Not beating myself up when I slip.
Changing my mindset to strive for functional fitness by maintaining an active lifestyle (as opposed to feeling like I have to “exercise” to be fit.)

Which ones are you still working on?
Boredom eating, which is, I guess, a form of emotional eating, so I was quite interested in the book you spoke of @ptitejeanne. I am going to see if my library can track it down for me!

Is there any advice you'd like to ask from or give to our fellow members?
To give: Find what works for you. Experiment with different approaches. Abstinence works for some, flexibility works for others. 80/20 works for still others. There are as many different approaches to a healthy lifestyle as there are people trying to achieve the same.
When you slip up, give yourself some grace, but begin anew immediately. Don’t tell yourself that you will get back on track tomorrow. Start from now.

@Learningmoments I am sorry to hear about you knees making it so difficult for you to do the activities you love! How about some gentle hooping? I know that is a passion of yours, and it might be doable without putting too much stress on your knees.

Yes to all three today. 1 pass day used.

My question for you all is, do you have any advice for being flexible with new habits when stuff hits the fan, vs returning to old ones?

@four_bumblebees Proper prior planning prevents poor performance 😎 In all seriousness, stuff will always hit the fan at random times. What helped me respond better was to plan ahead for emergencies. It's easier to sit down ahead of time and think, how will I feed myself if I don't have access to a kitchen for a week? Or: what forms of exercise can I do if I have to skip my favorite/regular activities for a while? For example, I now keep a rotating batch of "leftover" meals in the freezer. Everything is weighed, labeled with a date, and ready to enter into my food log. When things get super hectic, I know I have a few days' worth of healthy food to fall back on, until I can catch my breath and cook again; and I can continue tracking throughout, because the recipe is already in my food database. I also found some forms of gentle exercise I can switch to in case of injury. This is all part of my "no excuses" philosophy. I'm not perfect all the time, far from it — but I always aim to stick to my routines, because I know this is so much better for me in the long run.

@four_bumblebees I slowly implemented all the healthy habits that keep me fit and healthy over a number of years and not a hair upon my head wants to change any of them. When things get difficult, that's the worst time for me to get 'flexible': too risky. Sure, missing a day or so of exercice, forgetting to track, eating the wrong stuff, no problem, but I need to get back on track as quickly as possible. Keep planning and prepping, I've got meals in my freezer for difficult days ..

@Learningmoments re Knees: both my knees got smashed in a car crash 25 years ago. I slowly, through gradually increasing exercice, became able to walk and hike unlimited distances, bike, do Yoga, play tennis, do aerobics etc. but had to accept I'd never run again and could only do old-lady skiing. Now, 25 years later, I got osteo-arthritis in both knees, but mostly the right, most damaged knee. Weightloss was essentiel, and with slow, gentle exercice over more than a year I can now walk semi-endlessly on mostly flat surfaces, use an electric bike, do Pilates class four times a week, swim etc. My initial exercises were chair bound: lifting and holding up my legs for a bit, then longer, then with kilo bags or sugar stuffed in oven gloves, walk a littlemotre every day, but you can just check YouTube for knee-strengthening exercises. Time and patience, little by little and lose any excess weight: my knees are much happier not carrying the 20 kg I lost…

@Learningmoments Sorry to hear about your knees! I am biased but my advice would be to visit your friendly local PT :) I can't give personal advice online but in general with knee pain, if there are no comorbidities, hip strengthening often helps a lot.