Low Carb Love 28 Day Program DAY 9. The Power of Habits

Spiced Roast Cauliflower Salad with Labneh recipe here.

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Have you ever ‘resolved’ to start eating healthy only to have the wheels fall off after a short time?

Well you’re definitely not alone.

The good news is it wasn’t your fault your resolution didn’t stick. Pretty much everyone will struggle to succeed if they’re relying on will power.

As Kelly McConigal pHD writes in her book, ‘The Willpower Instinct’ willpower is something that we only have a finite amount of.

So if you’ve been using your willpower all day to get through your work, your willpower supply is low when it’s time for dinner.

Which is why it can be so difficult to exert self control at times.

Especially when we’re tired.

So what’s the alternative?

In a word. Habits.

Habits allow us to automate our decisions by making healthy habits a part of everyday life.

This way eating healthy isn’t something we battle with every meal, it’s on autopilot so healthy choices become effortless.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN TODAY:

5 Steps to developing healthy food habits.
Ideas for healthy food habits.

5 Steps to Developing Healthy Food Habits

STEP 1. Choose which habit you want to focus on first.

Create a list of all the habits you want to change (see below for ideas). Then decide which habit you want to go after first.

You could map out the next 6-12 months focusing on one habit each month since it takes at least 21 days to form a new habit. Some habits may take around 60 days though so be prepared to repeat a month if needed.

The secret to making changes in your life is to set small goals and take baby steps.

By setting ourselves up for success, we gain the confidence and the motivation to persevere and keep making changes, one after the other.

Even though you might be tempted to do more, focus on one habit at a time. This is really important.

Remember from our mindset training – your health is a journey, not a destination. Focus on making lasting changes that will stick with you for the long term.

STEP 2. Develop a plan for building your new habit / kicking your old habit.

There are three parts to any habit:
i. The ‘trigger’ or ‘cue’ that starts the process.
ii. The actions you take.
iii. The reward you get.

In order to change your habit you need to identify the trigger and reward. Then you need to develop a plan so that when you feel the urge or trigger, you do a different set of (healthier) actions to get your reward.

It will take some conscious effort or willpower in the beginning but with time you’ll reprogram yourself and a new habit will be born.

Charles Duhigg used this process to kick a daily cookie habit and lose 12 pounds. I recommend watching this short video to give you a great practical example of how habits work.

STEP 3. Write it down and make a public commitment.

This is about public accountability. I don’t know about you but I break promises to myself all the time. But promises to other people – I do everything I can to keep them. Lets use this natural human instinct to our advantage.

It can be sharing your habit goal with your partner or best friend. Or you can do it on social media or in the comments below. Just make sure it’s public enough to motivate YOU.

STEP 4. Start as small as possible.

The smaller and easier the change, the more likely it is that the habit will stick. Once we’ve had one small success we can build on that to make the next tiny change. And the next.

That’s why I recommend changing one meal at a time to set yourself up for success.

STEP 5. If you fail, keep trying.

Making changes is tough. There will be setbacks. The good new is you only ‘fail’ when you give up.

DO NOT use ‘failure’ as an excuse to go on a carb binge. Use it as an opportunity to learn and to ‘double down’ on your commitment to reach your health goals.

Healthy Food Habit Ideas

This is just a list of habits you might want to consider working on. It’s by no means exhaustive! If you have another idea for a habit you’d like to change share in the comments below so we can all be inspired!

Cooking dinner a certain number of nights per week
Taking your lunch to work
Shopping at your local farmers market
Doing a regular food shop
Mindful Eating (more on this in the graduation bonuses)
Eating at a table instead of the TV
Eating proper meals instead of grazing
Chewing thoroughly
Switching to healthy snacks, (see Day 4)
Cutting out snacks
Eating vegetables at every meal
Not drinking your calories. Sticking to water, tea or coffee.
Using a meal plan (see your bonus PDF)
Replace dessert on week nights with fresh fruit
Replace dessert on week nights with herbal tea
Testing your fasting blood glucose every day
Measuring your waist circumference every week
Weighing yourself every day

SUMMARY

Here’s what we’ve covered:

To develop healthy eating habits you need to start small and keep trying.
Ideas for healthy food habits to get you started.

ACTIVITY

Choose which habit you want to focus on first.
Develop a plan for building your new habit / kicking your old habit.
Write it down and make a public commitment.
Start as small as possible.
Keep trying.

Really looking forward to seeing which habit you choose first.

See you tomorrow when we’re going to be delving into your pantry.

Cheers,
Jules x

IMPORTANT NOTE: The Low Carb Love 28-Day Program is where I share my personal journey of managing my blood sugar eating (mostly) Low Carb. I am not a doctor and this information is not intended as specific advice. Please discuss with your doctor or dietician before changing your food intake. Especially if you’re on medication or have any special medical concerns.