4 TIPS TO BUILD NEW HABITS
We live in a world full of information - literally called the information age.
We know what to do, but why don’t we do it?
Sometimes there is too much information, or even misinformation. Yet, when we know the fundamentals, the biggest bang for buck behaviours that are aligned with our goals and the person we want to be, we don’t do it.
One of the reasons is due to our habits.
We are trying to undo years of actions and behaviours that have been practiced over and over again until they become habits.
Our lives are essentially a sum of our habits. Our body composition, our happiness, our bank account, our successes. All a sum of our habits. We are what we repeatedly do. If we can change our habits, we can ultimately change our lives.
Today we are going to go through some strategies to help build new habits that are aligned with your desired identity - the person you wish to become.
Keep this thought in the back of your mind as you read this and even afterwards.
BIG DREAM, SMALL STEPS
Building habits is not based on a time domain. It is about getting successful reps in. How many times your practice that behaviour
So here are the 4 tips on how to help BUILD NEW HABITS and getting those successful reps in.
1. MAKE IT EASY
When Chinese weight-lifters first start learning their skill, they spend 12 months on a PVC pipe and 6 months on an empty barbell. Arguably the best in the world, spend 18 months practicing a new skill the easiest possible way to ensure the movement patterns become engrained, become a habit. That is how they get the successful reps in. If they added weight too early, their form may have faltered and the amount of good form successful reps would be reduced.
In nutrition we can MAKE IT EASY in 2 ways.
Create an environment where making the right choice is easy. We want to remove the barriers of practicing a desired behaviour whilst also making it more difficult to practice old behaviours.
Make it easy to make Protein and NDFs your first choice by having them visible and easy to consume. Have a variety of Protein sources available in your fridge, freezer and pantry. Keep fresh and frozen fruits and veggies in an easily accessible area whilst reducing the ease at which you can choose more indulgent, processed, calorie dense items.
The next is to cook and prepare meals within your skill level. When I first started my nutrition journey, I began with Kangaroo burger patties, frozen veggies, tins of tuna and microwave rice. I built the habits of making healthier choices that were aligned with my goals and then build upon that skill.
Look for No Prep or Easy Prep options that don’t require much time or effort so it is easy to get started.
A new habit shouldn’t feel like a challenge at the start. It should feel easy.
2. MAKE IT OBVIOUS, MAKE A PLAN - IMPLEMENTATION INTENTIONS
We all have goals but a common misconception is that we lack motivation. What we actually lack is a plan.
Studies have been done where people who actually wrote down a plan of when and where they intended to practice a new behaviour such as exercise we more likely to follow through with that intention when compared to groups who simply said they wanted to exercise more.
This is known as an “Implementation Intention” and they are effective for sticking to goals in numerous studies. They increase the odds of sticking to a new behaviour such as studying, exercising, recycling, quitting smoking, going to bed earlier, etc.
People who make a specific plan for when and where they will perform a new habit are more likely to follow through. Often we are too vague with our goals and intentions. “I want to exercise more” or “I want to eat healthier”, but we never say where or when these habits will happen OR even what we intend to do.
This process creates CLARITY in the actions you intend to implement.
Here is an example.
I will [BEHAVIOUR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION]
I wanted to start reading more and be on my phone less to start the day so mine was.
I will READ MY BOOK at 530am in the LOUNGEROOM, after I shower every morning.
Want to get to the gym more?
I will GO TO THE GYM at 5pm at CROSSFIT GEO.
Want to meditate?
I will MEDITATE at 8pm in my BEDROOM
For your nutrition, writing a plan of what you intend to eat can be how you implement this strategy.
Want to add more PROTEIN to your diet?
I will add PROTEIN POWDER to my Oats and Berries for BREAKFAST at 8am.
I will eat CHICKEN with Rice and Veggies for LUNCH at 12pm.
I will eat YOGURT and Fruit for my SNACK at 4pm
I will eat FISH with Salad for my DINNER at 8pm.
If you don’t plan out your actions, you rely on willpower or motivation but if you plan out when and where you will practice your desired behaviours, your goal has become real.
3. MAKE IT ATTRACTIVE - FUN GETS IT DONE
Let’s be honest, if good habits were fun you’d already be doing them. When we find a task boring or monotonous, we may not want to practice it but we know that we need to practice them to get the successful reps in to form new habits. And, healthy nutrition habits are perceived to be pretty boring - meal prep, shopping, boring meals - but that doesn’t have to be the case.
There was an engineer who loved Netflix and wanted to exercise more, so he created an exercise bike that was powered Netflix if he cycled at a certain speed.
What we can learn from this is that if we combine the fun stuff with the not so fun stuff, the latter is more likely to be completed.
This is known as “Temptation Bundling”.
Pairing an action you want to do with an action that you need to do.
Pair something you love with a habit you want to build and you may find yourself doing it more, and even enjoying it. When we enjoy things, we do them more often - successful reps!
Personally I love music and podcasts. For me I like to pair that with my more boring tasks like cooking or shopping.
How do you create a temptation bundle?
Create 2 columns.
In the first column, write down a list of pleasures and temptations you enjoy doing.
In the second, write a list of tasks and behaviours that you should be doing, that you want to start doing that are aligned with your desired identity - but you often procrastinate.
Then, pair them up.
Eg. Taking your headphones to listen to music while doing the shopping
Listening to music/podcasts/audio-books while walking to get your step ups
Watching Netflix while chopping the veggies or cooking dinner.
You’re more likely to find a behaviour attractive if you get to do one of your favourite things at the same time.
4. MAKE IT SATISFYING
The cardinal rule of behaviour change.
What is immediately rewarded is repeated, what is immediately punished is avoided.
Reward yourself immediately after completing a new habits. “If the puppy does a trick, it gets a treat” - yes you are a puppy in the metaphor.
And no, we aren’t saying to have some chocolate after you eat some Protein and NDFs.
Our goals are delayed rewards that obviously take time, so we need an immediate reward to stay on track. We need some reinforcement to keep practicing the healthy eating behaviours.
With nutrition, we can increase the satisfaction of a meal by making it taste good. WHAT? A healthy meal that tastes good? It can’t be true! But it is!! Using flavours, herbs, spices, seasonings, and low calorie sauces can reward us to make this a repeated behaviour while in the background our delayed reward of health and body composition are accumulating.
In SUMMARY
Make It Easy: Cook at your skill level, Control your environment
Make It Obvious: Make a Plan in advance
Make It Attractive: Bundle fun stuff with new habits.
Make It Satisfying: Reward yourself with flavoursome goal aligned foods.
As previously mentioned, there is no shortage of nutrition information out there. It is important then that we find a way to apply it to our lives that is easy, obvious, attractive and satisfying to ensure we enjoy the process and get the successful reps in to form these habits that ultimately shape our lives.
At FNC, you get the nutrition education - the knowledge needed to get you towards your goals.
You also get the guidance and the tools of how to implement the knowledge.
Plus you get the support of the FNC Coaches and the FNC community.
If you would like to learn more about our services, our education program, our community, contact us today by clicking the link below.
Knowledge without action is wastefulness and action without knowledge is foolishness.
REFERENCES:
Atomic Habits by James Clear