Proven habit hacks to make sticking to your plan a piece of cake -

You know WHAT to do to get fitter, healthier and in shape..

Sensible stuff like…

Eat more veggies
Get adequate protein so that you don’t lose muscle
Cut down on optional extras
Move more
Exercise a couple of times per week
etc.

**Side note – If you are unsure about what steps you need to take for health and weight loss, you can read all about that HERE

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So if you know WHAT to do, why cant you get yourself to do it for more than a week or two?

It’s certainly not because you are uneducated or have no will-power.

Its because you can’t change your habits long term.

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Discover these proven habit hacks to make sticking to your plan a piece of cake

(pun intended)

1) Changing your environment is MUCH easier than relying on will-power.

How much will power would you need to give up chocolate or wine (or whatever) if you were stranded on a dessert island?

No chocolate available = no will power needed to avoid it.

Clean out your cupboards, fridge, car, workplace of any items that you know will not help you on this journey.

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2) Focus on ONE habit change at a time

Master that until it runs almost on auto-pilot before including another habit change

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3) Piggyback habits with something you already do.

Whether you are aware of it or not, you already have so many habits in place. Brushing your teeth, taking a shower, the route you drive to work. Use those auto-pilot habits to your advantage and link a new (good) habit to them.

Example – stand up and move every time you are on the phone, or do 10 squats after you clean your teeth.

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4) View the changes as an experiment.

Be curious, be open. You cannot fail an experiment, you can only learn from it.

When you view the changes as hard and fast rules that you MUST obey, you are much more likely to rebel against them. You are in charge here. You get to decide how you are going to live your life and treat your body.

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5) Wherever possible focus on adding a habit rather than quitting one.

Focus on adding veggies with most meals and prioritise eating those, instead of focusing on reducing the starchy carbohydrate portion of your meal

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6) Make the habit and easy and enjoyable as possible

Even if its not even close to perfect. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.

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7) Get as specific and personalised as possible.

Example –

I will eat more veggies and fruit this week = Too vague.

I will eat an apple with breakfast. I will take a packet of steam fresh frozen veg to work with me for lunch. I will have packet salads in the fridge to add with dinner = More specific = Much more chance of success.

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8) Get rid of the all or nothing mindset.

Congratulate yourself when you stick to the habit change. Learn something if you don’t. Progress not Perfection

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9) Don’t try to quit a bad habit.

Instead replace it with something else. The habit is there to serve you in some way

Eg – you drink wine at the end of the day to de-stress. If you eliminate the wine, the problem of dealing with your stress is still there.

For best results you should..

Determine what purpose the habit is serving
Come up with an alternative solution that addresses that specific problem

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10) Tell someone close to you about your plans so they can help you out.

Example – tell your co-worker that you will be eating a big serve of vegetables or salad with lunch each day. She might give you a gentle reminder if need it.

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11) Learning something about yourself is just as important as sticking to the actual habit.

Example – you ordered home delivery pizza and skipped the added salad on Friday night because you were exhausted.

However you learnt why this happens and how to overcome this in the future.

This is considered a success, not a failure.

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12) Focus on a TODAY benefit, instead of a future benefit.

It turns out us humans are not very good at doing an activity NOW, in order to achieve a future result (who would have thought??)

You must place a today benefit on your action for best results.

Example of today / now focus = “I will feel so good (and proud) eating the yummy, crunchy salmon salad for lunch”

Example of future focus = “I should eat the salmon salad now so that I will achieve my goal of health and weight loss some time down the track.

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13) Use technology

Set reminders on your phone and / or computer. Here are some that I like…

What habit am I working on today?
I am getting fitter, healthier and leaner everyday (More positive affirmations can be found HERE)
How long since you last stood up and moved?

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Chriss Tinslay has been a fitness and weight loss coach for over 20 years.

She coaches regular people how to reach and maintain their healthy, happy weight and shape by making one small simple habit change at a time.

Chriss doesn’t believe in strict diets, excessive exercise or ALL or NOTHING approaches. She believes in making slow and sustainable progress for long term success.

She runs 4 Week Fat Flush – a revolutionary new coaching program that teaches you how to listen and trust in your own body and internal voice again.

When Chriss is not teaching fitness and weight loss, you can find her hanging out with her family and dog Timmy, listening to 80’s music or laughing out loud to Kath n Kim re-runs.