I am an avid reader of the blog Zenhabits. I big topic over there is, how to change habits and stick to them. Being in the rat-race for the last 4 years I recognized that I got accustomed to several habits that I didn't like. I wouldn't go that far to say I hated myself for those habits, but they didn't do me any good.
What happened?
Due to lack of time (no excuse really), I cut down on sport, saw that I gained weight and signed up in a gym, because I thought I could quickly go there after work or in the morning and save time. I went there for two weeks and found more and more excuses to not go there anymore. Instead I went out for dinner, spent time browsing useless stuff on the internet and grew bigger and bigger and wasted my time with other useless things. Chocolate, potato chips, burgers, you name it... I love it all.
The result?
I gained a bit more than 10 kg (round about 22 pounds) over the last 4 years and developed habits that I would have never dreamt of when I still used to live in Italy or other places. One of them is to literally live in the "net". Always online. Always on the hunt for information. For the last year or so I saw myself switching on the tablet first thing in the morning (still in bed) to browse through the latest news. I had my first (second and third) coffee in front of the laptop and worked off eMails. Breakfast? I gave that up a long time ago. Lunch? Processed, easy to prepare food in front of the computer or when traveling I went out to grab something - mostly not so healthy. Don't get me started on the cookie feasts in meeting rooms. In a nutshell: Life happened in the virtual world most of the time and beside gaining weight, I also felt tired, couldn't sleep well and got headaches more often.
Last year I bought a cross trainer and started training on it every second day. I kept this up for more than a month and lost 7 pounds (or something like that). Than I got ill and couldn't train anymore for 1 week, after that I started traveling again for business... You bet that I didn't use my Cross Trainer for more than 3 month.
The worst thing?
I was fully aware of what I was doing (not doing this is), but still didn't change anything. Sure, I started to change things, but never with the necessary stamina and quit again and again.
The solution!
The solution!
zenhabits wrote a lot about bad habits over the last couple of months. The challenge according to Leo from zenhabits is that most of us try to change all their habits at once. This wouldn't work and it sounded logic to me. When I had my last working day I made a promise to myself to change three "simple" habits that I would follow through during the day.
Here they are:
1. No computer or internet before I had breakfast
2. 1 hour on the cross-trainer before lunch-time
3. No processed food anymore, cooking everything fresh
The last habit plays an important role. I really enjoy cooking a lot, but need time to do it - celebrate it almost. Time is something I have now. :-) After my workout I start cooking. I sit down on the table and enjoy my lunch. No music, no internet, just the food and me. I concentrate on what I am eating and its taste. Awesome experience. While cooking I also prepare a smoothie that I drink during the afternoon. I skip dinner for now and stick with tea or another smoothie.... I really want to loose weight now.
So far I stuck to my new habits for 4 days now and I am already feeling much better. As soon as those new habits became routine, I will change more habits, one at a time.
If you experience the same, I can only recommend you to browse through zenhabits a bit. You all have a wonderful day. /k.
I'm familiar with what you're talking about here....it's a kind of insanity, but I'm glad to hear you're making headway now.
ReplyDeleteMy wife used to be a nutritionist and one of her mottos was "Habits not Diets." She recommended her clients not to get caught up in a fad diet, but rather to begin replacing bad habits with good habits. One of her clients had the habit of driving through McDonalds every morning for an unhealthy food item. The client couldn't break the drive thru habit, so Amy suggested getting a healthier food item to replace the other. Over time, that replacement took hold and there were successes.
It just takes time to get our bodies accustomed to a new habit. So good you're on a better path now!
Mike
www.siochana.us
Your comment is spot-on. The more I talk with people about the "habit concept" the more I recognize that this is a good way to change things to a happier life. I really value your input as it added a lot more confidence in what I am doing here. :-). One experience from last night. The last week I really stuck to my new routine and felt soooo good. I slept through the last two nights and woke up fresh and awake. However, yesterday evening saw us at a friends place with lots of Italian ham, salami, cheese, baguette and one or the other glass of wine. Guess what. I couldn't sleep well and woke up with a terrible body feeling. This really is proof of concept that it works.
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