Your Path to a Healthy Lifestyle
You have good intentions. You know all the rules for living a healthy lifestyle. Eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits and veggies, manage your weight, get enough sleep, take your vitamins, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, etc.
Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
Yes, change can be hard. And, if putting your knowledge about living a healthy lifestyle into action sometimes feels impossible, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there’s hope. People successfully create big transformations by making small changes every day. And you can, too.
I did this back in January 2008 and by October 2008 I had dropped 50 lbs and have kept it off.
The answer is in the science of healthy habits. And you don’t have to start from scratch. You can use the habits you already have. Maybe even the one that drove you to this website blog post.
Your habits take over when your brain is on auto-pilot or not focused.
These automatic behaviors drive nearly half of your daily life. Just consider: did your routine this morning vary much from yesterday? Last week? Last year? We’re creatures of habit because it’s the most efficient way to get through the day.
When you eat things like chocolate or a piece of cheese, or show the brain new posts on social media, your brain is rewarded with things it likes. Neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) like dopamine are released in the brain, resulting in pleasurable sensations.
Dopamine is considered a key player in helping your brain establish automatic behaviors. Because your brain likes to feel good. This can happen in reverse when doesn’t feel so great, like when you’re stressed or sad, you will reach for a habit to make yourself feel better.
Eventually, your habits become as automatic as walking or scratching your nose. This is reflected in your biology.
This is why changing habits can be challenging. You have to pick a new path to reach your desired destination.
Let’s look at a few simple steps toward healthy habits.
You probably already have a health goal you want to achieve. Some of the most common goals are losing weight, exercising more, and eating healthier. All of those are lofty goals that may seem overwhelming. Aim for small changes that are manageable. Keep it simple by only focusing on one thing at a time. Each small success will add up to greater confidence in your ability to adopt other healthy habits. And over time, all those small changes could add up to a big transformation.
One of your existing habits may be a good place to start incorporating the new activity on which you want to focus. If you’re working to establish a fairly simple new habit, this probably won’t require too much effort.
Perhaps you want to drink more water. Take a look at your habitual routines and identify somewhere you could add this behavior. If you drink coffee first thing every morning, that might be a logical and easy place to add a little hydration. Try placing a glass in front of the coffee maker. This will prompt you to fill it up with water as you prepare your java. Then drink it while the coffee is brewing. Keep it up for several days and voila!—new habit. One other idea about getting more water is to flavor it with lemon, peppermint, or cucumber.
Changing other habits may take a little longer and entail what’s driving the cue. Maybe eating potato chips when you take a break from work is a habit you would like to break. Making a substitution to choosing something healthier, it can be crunchy, like almonds, or an apple. The chewing sensation is there but the calories are not. You can even prepare it ahead of time. The way I was able to keep with a habit was to be consistent with my choices. It had to be something I liked and it had to be easy. I chose almonds and a sliced apple each morning. I still frequently have this as a morning snack. You might even think about taking a walk around the neighborhood while enjoying those prepared apple slices and almonds. Before you know if you are replacing your less healthy habits with healthier ones. It’s all about one-step at a time. Remember, it’s about progress, not perfection. I hope that you enjoy this blog post. Stay tuned for what’s next.
Last Updated: by Brenda Howley
You & The Science of Healthy Habits
Your Path to a Healthy Lifestyle
You have good intentions. You know all the rules for living a healthy lifestyle. Eat a balanced diet with lots of fruits and veggies, manage your weight, get enough sleep, take your vitamins, exercise at least 30 minutes a day, etc.
Sounds easy enough, right? Wrong. If it were easy, everyone would do it.
Yes, change can be hard. And, if putting your knowledge about living a healthy lifestyle into action sometimes feels impossible, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there’s hope. People successfully create big transformations by making small changes every day. And you can, too.
I did this back in January 2008 and by October 2008 I had dropped 50 lbs and have kept it off.
The answer is in the science of healthy habits. And you don’t have to start from scratch. You can use the habits you already have. Maybe even the one that drove you to this website blog post.
Your habits take over when your brain is on auto-pilot or not focused.
These automatic behaviors drive nearly half of your daily life. Just consider: did your routine this morning vary much from yesterday? Last week? Last year? We’re creatures of habit because it’s the most efficient way to get through the day.
When you eat things like chocolate or a piece of cheese, or show the brain new posts on social media, your brain is rewarded with things it likes. Neurotransmitters (chemical messengers) like dopamine are released in the brain, resulting in pleasurable sensations.
Dopamine is considered a key player in helping your brain establish automatic behaviors. Because your brain likes to feel good. This can happen in reverse when doesn’t feel so great, like when you’re stressed or sad, you will reach for a habit to make yourself feel better.
Eventually, your habits become as automatic as walking or scratching your nose. This is reflected in your biology.
This is why changing habits can be challenging. You have to pick a new path to reach your desired destination.
Let’s look at a few simple steps toward healthy habits.
You probably already have a health goal you want to achieve. Some of the most common goals are losing weight, exercising more, and eating healthier. All of those are lofty goals that may seem overwhelming. Aim for small changes that are manageable. Keep it simple by only focusing on one thing at a time. Each small success will add up to greater confidence in your ability to adopt other healthy habits. And over time, all those small changes could add up to a big transformation.
One of your existing habits may be a good place to start incorporating the new activity on which you want to focus. If you’re working to establish a fairly simple new habit, this probably won’t require too much effort.
Perhaps you want to drink more water. Take a look at your habitual routines and identify somewhere you could add this behavior. If you drink coffee first thing every morning, that might be a logical and easy place to add a little hydration. Try placing a glass in front of the coffee maker. This will prompt you to fill it up with water as you prepare your java. Then drink it while the coffee is brewing. Keep it up for several days and voila!—new habit. One other idea about getting more water is to flavor it with lemon, peppermint, or cucumber.
Changing other habits may take a little longer and entail what’s driving the cue. Maybe eating potato chips when you take a break from work is a habit you would like to break. Making a substitution to choosing something healthier, it can be crunchy, like almonds, or an apple. The chewing sensation is there but the calories are not. You can even prepare it ahead of time. The way I was able to keep with a habit was to be consistent with my choices. It had to be something I liked and it had to be easy. I chose almonds and a sliced apple each morning. I still frequently have this as a morning snack. You might even think about taking a walk around the neighborhood while enjoying those prepared apple slices and almonds. Before you know if you are replacing your less healthy habits with healthier ones. It’s all about one-step at a time. Remember, it’s about progress, not perfection. I hope that you enjoy this blog post. Stay tuned for what’s next.
Category: Blog