I love talking about habits. It is seriously my jam and good habits are the foundation of your consistency and results. If you are new to my podcasts and blogs, I work with women over 40 to feel fit, comfortable and confident in their own bodies no matter where they are in their journey. It’s incredibly hard for women to feel comfortable in their own bodies these days with social media and comparing ourselves to people all of the time. But if you want to reach your goals, I am here to help you and tell you that you can and all it takes is to start small.
Listen up, we are not a blockbuster movie, we are not going to have everything solved at the end of the movie. There is no magical land with a magical box, that has the answer to everything you looking for.? It doesn’t work that way. What it really is a BUNCH of REALLY SMALL STEPS that are done over time that make the most impact on what you are trying to achieve.
So, let’s talk about some small habits that you can first start with. Water is a perfect example to use for this. We all want to drink more water every day so the best way to do this is to habit stack. Habit stacking is when you take one habit and combine another one with that. So, before I have my second cup of coffee in the morning, I need to drink a glass of water in between. Coffee is my first habit, now adding water is my second habit. Another example of habit stacking is taking my water with me with the fitness class. So, working out is another established habit that I have I make sure I drink 16oz or more while I work out.
The same goes for working out as a habit. You want to jump right into and start crushing your workouts, but I always tell my clients to start small. Make a small habit of it and start off with 15 minutes because everyone has 15 minutes! And make sure you are drinking your water while working out! Boom! 2 habits in 1! Congratulations, you habit stacked mama!
Start off habit stacking for a minimum of 30 days. Most habits take 60 days or more to stick, so be sure to do a minimum of 30. And track your progress and habits as you go. Where are you every day’ How did you do’ But ladies, if you miss a day or a couple of days of doing this habit don’t beat yourself up over it. Dust yourself off, acknowledge it and move on. There is no perfect action, actions are messy, and you are going to fall. But GUESS WHAT” You are going to get right the heck back up! You will learn what didn’t work and you will do better the next day. Just keep that frame of mind. Let’s say you forget the water in the morning, make up for it later in the day, and have an extra glass before or after dinner.
For me, I work on a habit until it becomes like brushing my teeth for me and I don’t have to think about it! Once I have reached that point in a habit, I add to it. So, I will add more water throughout the day than I usually would have OR start a new habit!
TIP: Set reminders on your phone or download a reminder or water app that will remind you to drink throughout the day. If I did;t set reminders for myself, I would miss everything! This helps with structuring your day, organization and keeping you on track!
I want your habit to just be something that you do without thinking. We have all these little habits, routines and systems that we do throughout our day and that’s what makes it repeatable. And at some point, your habits are just what you do. Like brushing your teeth, right’ But remember that some of these habits you choose to do are going to be tough and they are going to be challenging. If a habit is easy, we will do it all day every day. But if it requires us to change and get uncomfortable and messy, we are going to fight it tooth and nail. So, keep up with it but give yourself grace throughout the process.
You are going to fall off the wagon sometimes but don’t get discouraged. You are never going to change as fast as you want to. I know we live in an Amazon Prime world, if it doesn’t arrive in 2 days it sucks. But this is NOT Amazon Prime!! Really focus on what is possible today and assess every single day. And always give yourself constant feedback. Find a way to celebrate something that you have done. Don’t get down on yourself because you missed your water in the morning. Tomorrow is a new day!!
This internal dialogue in your head is really the hardest thing to overcome in all of this. And being aware of how loud that voice is and what it is saying to you is the most important thing. Pay attention to how you talk to yourself in your head. That negative self-talk never goes away. But instead of spending 2 days or a week beating the crap out of yourself, you spend 15 minutes staring down that spiral and telling yourself to stop because you need to move away from it.
Any big habits that you start are going to be the hardest to change because you have to rearrange your entire schedule, but you KNOW that it is going to be good for you in the end! This habit that you created, that you still love to do is good and be happy with what you have accomplished. They may take longer to get into the flow of but that is okay. Time is going to pass anyway so why do you have to sprint to the finish line’ Find your groove, find your sweet spot so that you can continue to do this over and over again.
A habit starts to form when you decide it has to happen, and you decide where in your current routine and systems and day it is going to fit into. Start small and actually be okay with the small steps. If you live somewhere and you get 30 inches of snow, it’s not going to all dump on you at once, it is gradual and happens over the course of hours or days. So, after 30 days of doing this habit, where are you going to be after’ You will be doing them consistently!
Because
Your Habits = Your Routines
Your Routines = Consistency
Your Consistency = RESULTS!!!
Habits are the building blocks of it all!
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Website: https://www.kimbarnesjefferson.com/
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fit-girl-magic-healthy-living-for-women-over-40/id1476883661
