Is This Habit Keeping You From Your Weight Loss Goal?

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IS THIS OLD HABIT KEEPING YOU FROM YOUR GOAL?

Is this old habit keeping you from reaching your weight loss goal?

Habit: (n) An automatic reaction to a specific situation (Oxford Living Dictionary)

Did you know that over half the time you are awake, your behavior and actions are automatic? Think about your routine in the day: Wake up, make coffee, drink coffee, make breakfast, eat breakfast, brush teeth, get dressed, go to work…. All of these are automatic. Even the simple procedure of buttoning up your shirt is an automatic behavior.

Some habits are good habits (like buttoning up your shirt or brushing your teeth every day), but some habits can actually keep you from reaching your goals. 

We may not always choose our habits, but if you are trying to achieve certain goals in our life and haven’t had any luck succeeding – then it can be helpful to check whether your old habits are keeping you from achieving those goals.

(This post is an adaptation from my book The Beautiful Body Guide)

THAT LITTLE HABIT CAN HAVE A BIG EFFECT

These habits may appear to be unimportant, but they could actually be the very thing standing between you and the very things your are wanting to accomplish.

It can be helpful to understand what your habits are and why you have those habits.

HOW THESE HABITS START

For example, if I had grown up with parents who treated me to a chocolate every time I did something right, using positive reinforcement to encourage me to do simple tasks such as household chores and homework, then eating chocolate as a reward would become my habit.

As an adult, every time that I do something right (even small tasks such as chores and work) I feel like I should be rewarded with a chocolate. Because I have grown up eating chocolate everyday, I cannot imagine living a single day without eating it – and I often make jokes about how I’m a chocaholic.

Every week when I go grocery shopping I stock up on all of my favorite kinds of chocolate and whenever I feel that I have done something right I reward myself with a chocolate. I reward myself to a delicious chocolate when I get home from work each day and I even reward myself with a chocolate after a workout – because if I do something right I believe that I must be rewarded with a chocolate. 

This is my habit, but what I do not realize is that it was a learned habit – and this learned habit is keeping me from achieving my health, weight-loss and body goals. I truly believe that I was born with a tendency to be a chocaholic and don’t believe this can be changed. I also believe that I am someone who cannot lose weight and I blame my body for it.

But what I don’t realize is that I am sabotaging my efforts and any attempts at a healthier lifestyle with chocolate – because every time I exercise or eat a healthy meal, I reward my good efforts with a chocolate. The huge amount of extra calories that I am consuming every day from chocolate keeps me from losing weight, toning up and achieving my body goals.

However, it is totally possible to change any habit – even a habit that we have had our entire lives. Sometimes we just need to break a habit.

CHANGE YOUR HABIT, CHANGE YOUR LIFE

Our habits can define who we are and can also impact the way that we think about and define ourselves.

How do you change a habit that is sabotaging your goals?

THE SAME OLD HABIT LOOP

Every habit has a cycle. This cycle is known as a habit loop, which is simply a neurological loop that governs our actions.

I might believe that I am a chocaholic to the core, and that can never be changed. But what I may fail to understand is that if I just change the loop then I will be able to change the habit – and subsequently can be freed from my chocolate addiction.

Once I am freed from this habit, I will be able to achieve my health, weight-loss and body goals.

EXAMPLE ONE

BREAKDOWN OF THE HABIT LOOP:

Cue: Whenever I am working hard at something or am doing something right, I begin to crave a chocolate. I know that once I have completed my task I will be able to sink my teeth into a creamy piece of delicious chocolate as my reward.

Routine: Whenever I am finished completing a task, a good deed or any hard work, I walk over to my chocolate stash in the cupboard and pick out a chocolate that I want to eat.

Reward: When I take a bite of my creamy, rich, delicious chocolate I am comforted and feel completely satisfied with my reward. It makes any hard work feel worth it.

Over time, this chain of events – do something good, choose a chocolate, feel satisfied from eating a chocolate – became encoded into my brain. In order to change this routine, I need to take personal responsibility and use discipline to create a new habit loop.

EXAMPLE TWO

BREAKDOWN OF THE HABIT LOOP:

Cue: Whenever I am working hard at something or am doing something right, I begin to crave a chocolate.

Routine: Whenever I am finished completing a task, a good deed or any hard work, instead of walking over to my chocolate stash in the cupboard and picking out a chocolate that I want to eat, I choose another reward that is not food related. I love to go hiking, play tennis, watch movies, read books and watch series – and so I pick one of these instead of the chocolate.

Reward: When I sit down with a good book, with a good movie or an episode of my favorite series I am comforted and feel completely satisfied with my reward. It makes any hard work feel worth it. I also feel satisfied and empowered whenever I choose a reward that helps me to achieve my goals (weight-loss and health) such as going for a short hike or playing a match of tennis with friends.

I still received rewards for doing the good deeds and hard work, even though they were different rewards from what I was used to and it took some time for me to adapt to this new pattern – but I got the ultimate reward of being able to lose weight, become healthier and feel more confident in my body… just because I changed that one habit.

YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR HABITS

Remember that all habits can be changed, no matter how long they have been around. Also remember that all habits can be chosen – and every time you are choosing to keep an old habit you are still making a choice. 

Do you have any habits that have snuck up on you that are keeping you from your health, fitness, weight-loss and body goals? Try to identify these habits if you have any, and think about ways that you can change your habit loop – your cue, routine and reward.

TOP TIP – Write your answers down on a piece of paper and keep them in a safe place for future reference.

YOUR HABITS DON’T DEFINE YOU

Your habits may appear to be unimportant but they can actually be a pretty big deal. Your habits can define who you are and can also impact the way that you think about and define yourself.

All you need to do to succeed is identify that ONE habit that is keeping you from your goals, and change that habit!

Remember: sometimes the best way to get rid of an existing habit is to create a new habit. 

Liezl Jayne XO

(This post is an adaptation from my book The Beautiful Body Guide)

Photos by Ross Charnock and Liezl Jayne Strydom – for liezljayne.com