Breaking Bad Habits For Healthy Ones
Breaking Bad Habits For Healthy Ones
Since the outbreak of COVID19, most of us have had to shift gears and follow the “stay at home” mandate. As a result, many of us have experienced what is now being dubbed, “the quarantine 15” (as in weight gain)! We may have developed some poor eating habits due to stress, being more sedentary and just being at home with easy access to that frig and pantry. Are you exercising less? Sleeping a little less? Kids making you crazy? It’s been a fearful time to be sure.
In addition to the anxiety from the coronavirus, honestly we all have them-unhealthy habits! It seems as if it happens overnight and suddenly you find yourself stuck in poor choices which you know are negatively affecting your life and your health. I’ll have just three cigarettes a day, only eat junk food on the weekend (I can relate to this one!), not enough sleep, forgoing exercise, procrastinating about my medical appointments, being a couch potato, binge-watching The Food Network Channel (which also makes you wanna eat more junk food!) , biting your nails, too much caffeine, sodium, soda, alcohol, sugar- you name it. Whew! Habits can seem overwhelming and can be hard to break without a plan. Positive thinking and good intentions only go so far. What about motivation? Lots to contemplate, but ultimately how will change benefit my health and quality of life?
Here are some tried and true strategies to consider. Maybe a good place to “break it down” and formulate a positive plan to motivate you to take action.
Take Small Steps
Aim for a habit that you feel is more doable and pretty sure you can handle initially.
Substitute naturally flavored sparkling water in place of soda
Turn off the TV and take a 20 minute walk
Eat more fresh fruit instead of frozen yogurt (which contains a lot more sugar!)
Swap Bad for Good
Choose a new healthy habit to replace the old one-something you actually enjoy doing! They say it takes 2-3 months to accomplish real change, so give yourself some time to try something new.
If you hate doing cardio on the treadmill, ride your bike outside
Too much social media can be replaced with reading a book or meditating
If you feel stressed and can’t sleep, drink chamomile tea, listen to soft relaxing music
Track Your Progress
Keep a journal of your progress each day. If you’ve reached your goal, give yourself a small reward and celebrate your successes one by one. If not, try to identify how you can improve. What are the obstacles? What can I do differently? Think about what you might do better next week.
Build a Support System
Making a commitment for lasting change is difficult, so it’s important to build a support system of people who can help you. Include family and good friends in your plan, so when you’re feeling tempted or weak they can offer some encouragement and accountability. They may even get inspired to make some healthy changes as well!
Re-focus on the Benefits
Keep focused on the positive aspects of your plan to stay motivated.
If I don’t go out to eat as much, I will save money
When I get 8 hours of sleep I will have more energy
My risk of disease will decrease
If I reduce my sugar intake, I will lose weight
Taking a yoga class, will help me to relax and feel more balanced
Exercise
Exercise increases your overall health and your sense of well-being, which puts more pep in your step every day. It also has some direct stress-busting benefits. Physical activity helps bump up the production of your brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters called endorphins. It can also help you lose those extra few pounds you may have gained and give you the energy to be pro-active with changing those negative habits to healthier choices and a better fitness level.
Forgive Yourself
Don’t beat yourself up when you have setbacks. It’s perfectly normal. You can’t reach all your goals at once. If you find yourself slipping, use your support system, revisit your journal and remind yourself of how far you have come.
Before long, we will all be back to our “new normal” structured worlds and hopefully with a bit more optimism, and some of those bad habits exchanged for good ones!
“A habit cannot be tossed out the window; It must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time” -Mark Twain
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end” -Robin Sharma
“A change in bad habits, leads to a change in life” - Jenny Craig
And just for fun: “Change is inevitable-except from a vending machine” - Robert C. Gallagher
Source: WebMD Medical Reference reviewed by Tyler Wheeler MD on September 13, 2019