How to build healthy habits that actually stick

How to create healthy habits is one of the most Googled questions and one subject people struggle the most. We live in a world overflowing with health, nutrition, and wellness information, the perils of unhealthy lifestyle choices are well known, yet the world seems to get sickier and sickier.

BECAUSE THE REAL PROBLEM IS “IMPLEMENTATION, not information

There is no amount of healthy “information” that will motivate you to use that expensive gym membership on a regular basis or change your eating habits. As humans, we are wired for instant gratification so we have the tendency to procrastinate. Remember that famous diet that we will start next Monday?

SO HOW DO YOU CREATE HABITS?

As a health coach my job is exactly that: help people “implement” that information and create healthier habits using the science of lasting behavior change. So, here I will reshare an article that I originally wrote for my bi-weekly LinkedIn newsletter. Feel free to join me on there.

what are habits?

They are like little “autopilots”, where you take your everyday actions in an automatic mode. This has the great advantage of saving loads of emotional and mental time and energy, leaving us free to focus on what really matters.

But when are habits are no longer functional to our life or well-being, we seek to change them or create new ones.

1. MAKE IT SIMPLE

In a world where we are all busy and easily disrupted by a constant flow of emails, notifications, and social media, it is really important to start with the easiest tasks, the ones where you have the least resistance.

The more complicated you make it the more you are likely to give up. For example, if you are trying to improve the way you eat, simply adding an extra portion of colorful veggies for dinner would be much more achievable than changing the whole diet tout court.

2. Do what is relevant to you

Aren’t you tired of wellness influencers telling you what to do? Have you tried some of those lists?

There are tons of actions that you can choose from, but the reality is that you can fit only a few ones in your current lifestyle. So it is imperative that you choose those more relevant for you.

For example. If you are a woman with high levels of stress, going on a long fasting cycle might be counterproductive and raise your cortisol levels, making it more difficult for you to lose weight.

Or if have a busy and fairly unpredictable life, making a plan to go to the gym three times a week, may be impossible to stick to in the long run, while booking only one weekly class and making it not negotiable, can become a real habit. Then you can just add some classes or natural movement at the weekend as you go along.

Working with a health coach can be beneficial in helping you narrow down what is right for you and for your unique #lifestyle and bio-individuality

3.Challenge your internal thoughts

We are in constant conversation with ourselves. The way we speak to ourselves influences our emotions and decision-making.

If you are used to putting everybody else needs before yours, you are not very likely to be consistent with your actions. Same way if you tried many times before to, let’s say go on a diet, without results, you are not very likely to stick to new routines, and you will easily give up, thinking that “nothing works for you”.

In these cases working with a coach or a mentor is fundamental to changing your #mindset and in finding the motivation to carry on.

4. Be consistent

Consistency is needed to create habits and to embed them deeply in our minds. Consistency, repetition, and time are needed to create new habits.

But if you have a slip-up, for example, you go out at the weekend and drink more than you planned to, not to worry. Avoid negative thinking and go back on the wagon.

Repetition and time, are the most important ingredients for habit formation.

Get clarity

Getting clarity with choosing your #goals and mastering your #mindset is crucial to establishing new habits. Talking to a friend, a mentor or a coach, can really make the difference between success and failure.

Create healthier habits with me

I can help you create healthier habits that work for you. Get in touch for a personalized package or book a complimentary 30-minute session with me.