By Emily Kohler, Dietetic Intern As a student of the nutrition world, I’ve seen people set themselves up for failure too often. I am not excluded from this grouping. No one wants to fail and no one consciously sets themselves up for failure, so why is it such a health epidemic? In my opinion, I believe the problem is this: when humans decide they are ready to implement a change, they adopt the philosophy of “more is more.” To explain, I will provide an example from my own life. Many years ago, I decided to exercise consistently. I knew exercise would get me to that place I wanted to be physically and looked at my goal thinking, “if 1 day of exercise were beneficial, wouldn’t 5 days be best?” Wouldn’t I see my results faster? WRONG. My results were frustration when I missed a day because I couldn’t sustain consistency. If your goal is not sustainable, it is easier to give up when your expectations and reality do not match.
Have you ever realized your life is one big habit? As adults, we are spending each day inside of our routines and habits. Each day there are actions and thoughts that take place on a regular basis, and each day that we participate in them we are solidifying them in our lives as habits. Therefore, there is less room for things we rarely do. Another example: if I have been accustomed to convenience foods for years and ignoring food labels, solidifying that habit for years, won’t it be a huge adjustment when I begin choosing and preparing healthful foods? Spoiler alert: the answer is yes. Change can be stressful for a reason; it’s because we are creating a detour in the hamster wheel of our lives- it’s difficult to navigate this 1 day let alone everyday. Making space in our routine for more routines-- without the crash and burn: Depending on whom you’re asking, you’ll be told that it takes 21-30 days to form a habit, i.e. repeated behavior for 21-30 days. The beautiful thing about this number is that there is hope to change your life in a month or less! The bad thing is that forming a habit means you are breaking a habit somewhere else in your 24-hour day. Not to fear. Here is how to set appropriate goals and form a new, positive and progressive habit.
In general I would look at your health goal and break it into smaller goals. Pick one section and put it into place. After a month or two of consistency, move on to adding the next section.
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