Use Environmental Cues As Motivation
Environmental cues influence bad behavior as much as they influence good behavior. The trick is to set up cues that influence the behavior that you desire so that you’re in control of your environment and not the other way around. If you prefer to workout in the morning, lay out your workout clothes where you will see them first thing in the morning. If you exercise after work, pack your bag and put it with your work things the night before. Put your workout videos or workout equipment in a room that you spend a lot of time in.
If you decide you need to eat more fruit, make a list of what to buy and display it on your kitchen counter so that’s the first thing you see when you go in your kitchen. If your co-workers often snack on junk and you feel pressured to join in, keep your own healthy snacks handy. If you tend to devour an entire bag of chips just because it’s open designate a snack bowl that you can fill with one serving then put the bag away. If you feel that you will cave in to off limit foods at a family gathering ask if you can bring a healthy dish or eat before you go. Think about all the external cues that tend to sway you in the wrong direction and come up with new cues that will trigger the right behavior.
Have A Plan
Planning can include setting goals that you want to accomplish in 6 month or next week. This means getting out a planner or sitting at your computer and writing down specific tasks that you want to accomplish. The first week you may want to do diet research and check out gyms or workout videos to see what appeals to you. Make it a point to find something by that week. The following week you can schedule two days of exercise in your planner when it’s most convenient for you. Making an appointment on paper is often all you need to get with the program. The following week you can make a list of groceries that you will need for you new and improved healthy diet, making sure to look through healthy recipe magazines or cookbooks for ideas. Then clean out your fridge and pantry of junk, shop for groceries, and plan another day of exercise for the following week. Write all this stuff down ahead of time then look at your calendar each week to see what needs to be done. Approach it like you do your projects at work, your kids going back to school, or helping with a wedding. Each week there’s things that need to be done in order to accomplish the big goal.
Have A Backup Plan
So what happens when things come up and you don’t follow the plan? Usually most people feel like they failed or they cheated and they just throw their plan out the window and go back to their bad habits. The problem is that it’s never the perfect time to lose weight and there will always be obstacles so you need to come up with options to help you through those busy and stressful times. For example, if you’ve been working long hours and don’t have time for those 2 hour long spinning classes you scheduled then break it up into smaller segments. Go for a 10 minute walk around your block during your lunch break and after dinner every day until you have time to go back to the gym. You can also reschedule a couple of activities for the weekend and make it a date with a friend, partner, or your kids. You can still burn lots of calories without spending hours jogging or in the gym.
Having a backup plan can also be a lifesaver when you’re trying to eat right because it gives you a certain amount of flexibility and freedom while still keeping you on track. Plan for two cheat meals each week and use them for emergencies like the office party, an unexpected outing with friends, or family gathering. This way you can enjoy your indulgences then reward yourself by making your next meal a super healthy one. View cheating as an opportunity to stay on your healthy diet and not as an excuse to forget your diet. It’s a bit of reverse psychology that really works. Another great strategy is to look up 10 different restaurants near your office and home that offer healthy fare for those times when you’re out of groceries, are too tired or busy to cook, or just feel like eating out. It doesn’t take much work to come up with backup options that will keep you on track and in control.
Lose weight and stay on track with healthy habits for life with tips from: The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
