I have the privilege to be a guest on Wednesday mornings at 11:40 am on AM 1240 WJON, and get to chat with Kelly Cordes. I have a regular spot on Wednesdays so please be sure to listen, we have a lot of fun while I give some healthy fit tips for the week.
On this past weeks show, I spoke about about keeping that drive and motivation through January that will get you through whole year. We are talking about creating good habits with healthy eating, exercise and a healthy mentality.
Every habit has 3 components, known as the “habit loop”:
1st –there’s a cue which triggers the habit to start and makes your brain go into autopilot mode. You just do it.
2nd -then the behavior itself-the action you put with it.
3rd- the reward, which is how the brain learns to remember and crave this pattern. The reward is the feelings of the endorphin’s from the workout, the energy you get from the nutrition and the happy you feel after you accomplish your goal that day. You can also reward yourself by buying yourself a new shirt or go to movie. Some of my clients will put in 1 dollar for every workout they do and at the end of month they will buy a new shirt or pants or 30-minute massage.
If your resolution is to lose weight and the activity you’ve decided on is to exercise 2-5 days a week, you will need cues and rewards to get that action to become habit.
Your cue can be a time of day–will you go to the gym at 6:30 a.m. before heading to work? and also a reminder–your gym clothes are out so you can easily put them on. When you actually go out for a run, you need to trick your brain into liking the activity by offering it a reward. AKA: The feeling of energy you get back, a nice hot shower, what your stress level will be lower because of the endorphin’s.
“You have to give yourself a reward that is actually, at some point, going to inspire a craving, and to help your brain associate this behavior with something it enjoys” If you work out for 5 days that week, if that was your goal. Reward yourself with a new shirt or an hour of reading (if you are mom and need a break–this is mine:) ) .
Since we are in the middle of January, this is the time when were you really need to bunker down on those goals. Beginning of February there always a drop in gym and more people throwing in the towel because they were not seeing any progress. But DON’T give up, you still can reach your goals!
I have 5 tips that will help keep those goals in sight. My goal, is to help you keep your healthy lifestyle consistent. Consistency always wins the race.
1. Be specific with your goals: If your resolution is to “lose weight,” “eat healthier,” or “exercise more,” you haven’t really laid out how exactly you’re going to get where you want to go. If you want to actually accomplish something, make sure your resolution focuses on the “how” you’re going to get somewhere, not where you hope to go.
Like I said last weeks radio show, making steps to get to your goals—whether it is weekly, monthly, or year goals. It is the action steps will help you accomplish them.
Example: Week 1–I will workout 3 days a week and make sure to eat a healthy breakfast this week. Week 2–Workout 4 days a week, and eat a healthy breakfast and include protein with my 3 to 4 meals.
The way I do my goals is that I have a daily check-list of goals I want to accomplish and also weekly ones too. I have it on a check list so I can check them off as I go and see what I have already accomplished.
Tip: Try to do the do the goal I least like right away so I have no excuses.
2. Be Real with yourself: If you’re a busy working parent with 12 hour work days and three kids to get out the door every morning, do you really think heading down to your basement gym at 4:30 a.m. is going to last? Be realistic with your goals and better to err on the side of easy than bite off way more than you can chew.
Tip: Schedule your workouts in like an appointment in your planner, do what you can. Don’t think you NEED an hour to get a workout in, all or nothing mentality will hurt you more than help. I used to be that way. It can play mind games with you.
3. Patience: Healthy living isn’t a race with a finish line, instead it’s a never-ending marathon, and studies on habit formation suggest it may take the better part of a year to truly forge a new one. Slow and steady definitely wins this race whereby small steps will eventually get you a long distance, while a January flying leap is likely to only land you on your face. You have the whole year to get your goals you want, one thing is don’t rush the starting line you will tucker out too fast.
4. Being too hard on yourself. I hear this a lot from clients, “What’s wrong with me?” or, “Why do I always give up?”
Instead ask yourself, “What can I do today that will help get me back on track, even if just a little bit?” If you ate out and got off track with your nutrition, just get back in the game after and eat healthy the rest of the day. One meal is not going to make you gain 5 lbs.
Tip: Be kind to yourself, when you practice being kind, you will find it easier to get back on track.
” Brush yourself off, pick yourself up Buttercup”
Instead of looking to the future and getting frustrated on how far you have to go. Think back to what you have done already, and be PROUD of yourself! Little steps should be celebrated, so go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back!
5. Anticipate obstacles. There will be road bumps along the way. Your child might be sick, which happened to me last couple weeks. But I still made it important to get the workout in, I woke up early and my hubby took over for that hour and then I took over.
Tip: If you are single parent, try to get small workouts in while they are sleeping. You can do all kinds of exercises in a small room!
If you are not sure where to start on any New Years resolutions; you can try out one, two or all of these for this year:
-Create a daily self-check-list and let it be the motivation. Post-its and check the tasks off and feel great about getting much needed things done!
-Take 10-20 minutes to start your workout routine; once you are there you can add time and intensity.
-Go one day a week without sweets, eat fruit instead.
-Chose water or decaf tea instead of caffeinated coffee or drinks a couple days a week. Add lemon, lime or cucumber to make your water a little more flavorful.
-Embrace you brilliance. Write down 10 things you do really well and revel in it.
-Go for a walk or play an active game with your kids at home after dinner. We get outside even in the cold, put on our winter wear and have fun in the snow with the my little one.
-Add an extra serving of leafy greens to your dinner daily, kale is a yummy alternative to spinach. I will make kale chips in the oven and you can’t even tell you are eating greens!
-Stretch out for 10-15 minutes at night before bed, it will relax you and also relieve any tight muscles from your workout or sitting at your desk. My favorite is the foam roller and I will stretch and roll on that for 10 minutes at night and feel so relaxed it is like a deep tissue message.
Last tip: And one last tiny little secret – you don’t need to wait until New Year’s to decide to make positive and healthful changes in your life. Any old day can be the start of a brand new year.
Here is the radio show from 1/15/14 about rewarding yourself for small accomplishments. It is a great way for you to stay on track with your health and weight loss goals in 2014. Dayna Deters, Fitness Expert, discusses “The Habit Loop.”
You watch the video of Dayna Deters featured on IT MATTERS…WITH KELLY CORDES, on AM 1240 WJON.