You have to finish an important project in two hours, so
you head to the vending machine for a high-calorie treat.
You're stuck in traffic with an important meeting merely
minutes away, and you start biting your nails. You know
you should get to bed and get some sleep, but you can't
seem to pull yourself away from the television. Do any of
these scenarios sound familiar to you? If so, you are in
the throes of stress relieving bad habits.
Habits are reoccurring, probably unconscious patterns of
behavior. Everyone has habits. Positive habits provide
structure, stability, and security. Good habits include
healthy eating, exercising, journaling, or talking with a
friend can relieve stress. Negative habits can be
self-destructive, and have a negative pull on our
self-esteem and self-worth. Bad habits often include
stress eating to calm or alleviate stress.
Unfortunately bad habits serve a purpose in our lives.
They are unhealthy coping strategies that have an immediate
payoff. The short-term payoff includes alleviation of
stress, calm our nerves, and provide a distraction or
escape from a bothersome situation or feelings. The
long-term impacts are weight gain, unattractive nails, and
fatigue. When the long-term impacts interfere with your
life, you need to change your habit. You need to find
healthy coping strategies that provide the short-term
payoff you need.
Your awareness and desire to change a life interrupting
habit can be immediate. You make the decision that you are
tired of a certain habit or behavior and you are committed
to its replacement. Alternatively, you may have the desire
to change a bad habit and need a step-by-step plan. If
either of these happen to you, it's time to move forward
with your habit replacement.
Step 1: Name it! Define the habit. Before you can make
any change, you must identify for yourself the reason for
the habit. What is the payoff to you with the habit? Bad
habits usually serve a hidden purpose we don't recognize.
They can serve as a buffer for uncomfortable emotions or
even calm anxiety.
Step 2: Commit! Make a full commitment to changing this
habit. Arm yourself with inspiration to sustain
motivation. Motivation has levels. Prepare for those days
when motivation is low and you're tempted to resort back to
the bad habit. Whatever motivates and inspires you, make a
fall-back plan to use those tools when you need a jolt of
extra motivation in breaking the bad habit.
Step 3: Set short-term and long-term goals. Do you want to
lose weight? Do you want to lose 50 pounds? Break your
goal of losing 50 pounds into small increments that are
reasonable to accomplish. You don't want to become
overwhelmed. You aren't going to lose 50 pounds in two
months.
Step 4: Identify and eliminate your triggers. Is a certain
food item a problem for you? When you get home from work,
do you want to go into the kitchen and reach for that
comfort, calming-from-your-day food? If so, don't have
that trigger food in your house. Have healthy snack
alternatives readily available for you. Alternatively,
grab the family and take a walk to connect after you come
home. When quitting a bad habit, set up your surroundings
to support you.
Step 5: Get support. Ask for support from your family and
friends that are important to you. Changing a bad habit is
more successful if you have a support system in place. If
you want to lose weight, a very effective means of support
is to hire a weight loss coach. A weight loss coach can
provide support and customize a program to assist you in
changing your habits to support your goals.
Step 6: If you give up a bad habit that has provided you
with a payoff, you need to replace it with a positive one.
A good habit, like eating differently to lose weight,
exercising or using relaxation techniques, can help you
manage stress in a healthy way. If you want to cut back on
eating late at night, replace it with a hobby such as word
puzzles or counted cross-stitching to busy your hands.
Replacing a bad habit with a new, positive habit is
important to maximize your success. Before you know it,
the bad habit will no longer appeal to you and the positive
habit will be second nature and natural.
Step 7: Give yourself rewards. When you reach a weight
loss of 5 pounds, reward yourself with a new cd or download
on your MP3. For 10 pounds, buy a magazine subscription
that will support your new habit. For a larger weight loss
of 20 pounds, reward yourself with a new outfit or pair of
smaller jeans. You definitely deserve one as you keep to
your goals and replacing a bad habit with a new, positive
one. Remember to have your reward reflect your goal. For
losing weight, reward yourself with non-food rewards.
Step 8: Accept plateaus. Plateaus are part of the process.
Motivation is high at the beginning of changing a habit,
then plateaus and nothing seems to happen. You might even
want to return to the payoffs provided by the bad habit.
However, plateaus are our way of adjusting and becoming
accustomed to the new, positive habit. Your process will
continue steadily with possible plateaus of adjustment.
During a plateau, you can become discouraged and want to
quit because you're not making the progress you want. If
you expect this as a part of the transition, you'll be
prepared to stay with your goal.
Step 9: Give credit to yourself for your decision to change
a bad habit. Be kind to yourself. Having a bad habit isn't
a judgment about you as a person. It means that you've
created a bad habit that isn't working for you any longer.
It shows that you're aware of your desire to have a better
life and be happier by replacing the problematic habit.
Acknowledge your own personal growth.
Bad habits such as compulsive overeating have payoffs.
Recognize how a bad habit limits your life. Follow these
steps to ditch a bad habit and step up to habits that allow
you to reach your weight loss and maintain your weight loss
goal.
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Cathy Wilson is a weight loss life coach. Cathy lost 147
pounds six years ago. Her passion is helping clients
achieve their weight loss and life goals. Cathy works with
clients to create a weight loss life plan that is
customized to each client. Cathy is a member of the
International Coaching Federation, International
Association of Coaches, and Obesity Action Coalition.
Visit Cathy's website:
http://www.LoseWeightFindLife.com
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