habits

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aerochic42
aerochic42 Posts: 822 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
After two weeks of counting everything, I just stopped. I partly blame travel -eating different foods, never ending meetings which drain all energy, and partly blame laziness. How long does it take you to make a good habit and how long does it take to break bad ones. Most of the good habits that I want to start are really trying to replace bad habits, like exercising daily, avoiding the junk food, not brushing my teeth twice a day, not flossing regularly, monitoring food portions, etc. Do you have any suggestions for getting and sticking with new habits, while staying away from the bad?

thanks,
Aerochic42

Replies

  • Lozze
    Lozze Posts: 1,917 Member
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    Don't do it all at once. It sounds like you're trying to change everything right now and it's setting yourself up for failure. Pick one. Do that for three weeks. Add another new habit. Make sure you're continuing the first habit. Off the top of my head it's 21 days for the brain to register a new habit. Put clues to remind you. After brushing in the morning put your toothpaste on your pillow. It will remind you to go back and brush those teeth.
  • Pipergirl2
    Pipergirl2 Posts: 25
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    I have heard that it takes anywhere between 60-90 days to make something a "habit" Start small, just one thing on your list of things to change and go from there, eventually it will just become part of your routine. Small steps, but just keep going forward, you can do it!
  • hazelsmrf
    hazelsmrf Posts: 96 Member
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    The 21 days to start a new habit thing is bunk, it can be any number of days. An easy habit might take 2 weeks to form, and a hard habit (like... exercise every day etc) might take a year to become habit.

    This year I've decided that I want my life to be good things and effortless, so I'm forcing myself to live every day how I want myself to be able to live next year effortlessly. So this means that I push myself out of my comfort zone today, so that in a year it's no longer "out of my comfort zone" if that makes sense. I'll fake it till then!
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
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    After a lot of failed attempts, I've come to the conclusion that hoping something will become automatic in the form of a "habit" is simply wishful thinking. Selecting foods and exercising are complex decisions and actions; you have to be an active part of them.

    Things that we have a habit of doing are very simple. I brush my teeth in the morning out of habit, but it's triggered by the fact I have bad breath. Simple decision. If I want to eat something, I have to do some thinking and weighing of options. If I want to exercise, there are a lot of steps I have to take (getting dressed, putting on the right shoes, pulling my hair back, drinking/eating at the right time, etc.). Those things can't be boiled down to thoughtless actions because you have to do it on purpose.

    While eating right and exercising daily won't become a habit, the more you do it, the easier it gets. It won't become automatic, but it will stop being foreign and start being normal. You still have to make yourself do it, but it requires less effort and monitoring once you've got the process down, so you're more likely to make those decisions.
  • Fit_Fox88
    Fit_Fox88 Posts: 410 Member
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    I had the same problem.. then I decided that I have failed 3 out of the last 3 times I've tried to change my appearance. This time around I'm tired of failing and I'm tired of feeling uncomfortable because I don't look my best because I have to wear clothes that don't make me feel so self conscious. I jumped in January of this year thinking I was going to hit the gym 4-6 times a week and completely change my diet overnight. That failed. However, I started going to the gym 2-3 times a week and I am just now to the point where I feel like I am ready to go that 4-6 times a week. Just going a couple of times to start with will help you feel better then you can reassess after a few weeks and add another day for the next few weeks. As others have commented, start with one or two goals that you feel are most important and stick with those. Once you feel you have a pretty good handle on those habits, add another until you've completed your list.

    Trust me, it's hard. But once you start and stick with it you're going to feel great and you're going to feel proud of yourself because you had a plan, stuck with it and you're seeing results.
  • hazelsmrf
    hazelsmrf Posts: 96 Member
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    Habits don't only need to be simple things. It can be simple like brushing your teeth. But it can also be more complicated like, an hour long drive to work that you do every day that becomes habit. Meaning, you don't consciously have to think about every little thing about it, oh I have to turn here, oh I have to merge here... you just do it. It doesn't mean you're on autopilot and can't adjust, that you won't slam on the breaks if someone jumps in front of your car.

    I've been reading up on neuroplasticity, fascinating stuff!
  • hazelsmrf
    hazelsmrf Posts: 96 Member
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    And a habit can absolutely be something about eating or exercise.

    If every day you walk into the house after school or work and go looking for a snack, isn't that a habit? Maybe you look for a snack even if you're not hungry, that's habit eating. If every time you reached for food you took a second to think "Am I really hungry, or am I doing this out of habit", would that pause not become a habit? It would if you did it enough. I am now into the habit of changing into my workout clothes when my kids are eating their lunch. My lunch habit is... put the lunch on the table, then empty the dishwasher, wipe down the counters. Change into my workout clothes. Clear off the table. Put dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Put my son down for his nap. Jump on the treadmill. They all follow and they're all becoming habit for me. I don't need to really need to consciously push it anymore, I just do it.

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