How to Easily Change a Habit

When we think about personal change we think big. Big goals should inspire big changes. Things like “I am never eating junk food again.” “I am going to go to the gym every morning or run every day.” “I will turn off my devices and go to bed early.”

We do this because what we really want is to look and feel good. “I want to fit into my clothes, feel fit and energetic.”

However, more often than not, we discount the small easy steps and jump right into the most difficult changes and mostly with predictable results.

Nothing happens.

After a few days, or if we are really committed a few weeks, we are too tired, sore, or sick of all the effort. So we stop.

If you really want to change what is the easiest thing you can do? Even easier. So easy you can’t not do it.

That is where to start. 

My favourite word in fitness is consistency. To be consistent a habit needs to be easy to start.

Think about what you want to achieve. Is it to lose a few pounds so you go on an extremely difficult diet? After a couple of weeks and a few pounds you give in to temptation and that is it. Back to your old habits. Typically gaining all the weight back and then some, to feel like a failure.

Not much fun and definitely not very motivating to stick with it.

What if you started smaller, really small, by switching your 3:00 cookie for an apple? 

It seems so small. I need to punish myself to get the benefits.

No, what you need are some new super easy habits.

If you eat a cookie every day at 3:00 on workdays that means more salt, sugar, fat and more calories. A typical coffee shop cookie is about 300 calories that have 108 calories of fat, with 63 of those being from saturated fat and 80 calories from sugar.

Compare that with an apple.

A medium apple has less than 100 calories, no sodium, no fat, mostly carbohydrates and fibre.

Now multiply that habit

A cookie every day is 1500 calories a week versus an apple at 500 calories. A small habit change that will lead to a significant difference. Not only does the apple contain fewer calories, but it also has more nutrients and 1000 calories less per week adds up to about 50,000 fewer calories over a year, assuming you are only eating the cookies 50 weeks of the year.

A difference of almost 15 pounds in body weight.

Small changes add up.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla