A classic example!

I realize I haven't posted anything in almost two weeks. So much for my "Weekly" Health Focus. I'm seriously considering changing the name of this blog to, simply, "Sue's Health Focus".

I think including "Weekly" right in the blog name made for unrealistic self expectations. I placed too much pressure on myself right away. This, in turn, made putting my thoughts into blog entries feel way too much like a job. And THAT made it no fun at all.

The point of this topic - the one that I was supposed to post about last week - is that it's important to Enjoy Yourself if you want to stick with something for any length of time.

I do enjoy writing here, and there are many things that I still want to write about. But there are going to be days or even weeks when I just can't, and that's okay.

- Sue

Making Habits Stick, Part 2 - Enjoy Yourself

No matter how often you tell yourself that changing your old habits is "good for you", that realization alone is rarely sufficient. I knew that eating a breakfast sandwich every day was bad for me, but I continued to do it for a long time.

To make your new behaviors stick, you must embrace and enjoy them. Otherwise, the chances are great that you'll eventually slip back into your old habits. If you think mournfully about how you used to stay up late watching TV while downing a carton of ice cream, chances are you'll do it again sometime.

I had originally planned to devote only one blog entry to this, but I feel it deserves more than that. Therefore, my second weekly theme is "Making Habits Stick - Enjoy Yourself".

Briefly, the most important element is to incorporate things that you already enjoy into your new behaviors. Additionally, you can work to change your mindset so that you really do enjoy things that you previously felt you could not. I'll give some examples of what has worked for me - along with things that haven't worked as well, either now or in the past.

- Sue

Case study of a really bad habit

I used to have a breakfast sandwich every morning as soon as I got to work - sausage, egg, and cheese. The works. Delicious. And usually, I would grab a 20-oz bottle of Mountain Dew to chase it.

I was so hooked on this particular "breakfast of champions" that my mouth would start watering almost as soon as I got in the car to head to work. Even if I wasn't at all hungry - or was going to be late for a meeting - I would still take the time to walk down to the cafeteria.

In the past, I had managed to give up the habit for short periods of time. But I mourned the loss and still felt the craving. Sometimes, I would try limiting myself to one per week. Or perhaps drinking juice. Or leaving out the meat. Always, I eventually slipped back to having one on an almost-daily basis.

Two things helped me give up the habit - I hope - for good.

Odds and ends

I thought of a twentieth behavior change! I weigh myself first thing every morning. Of course. How could I forget that one?

This evening, I fixed a delicious Italian White Bean & Kale soup from a recipe in the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Newsletter. I highly recommend this publication. It's very inexpensive and highly informative. Anyway, each issue includes one healthy recipe. I've never tried eating or cooking with kale, so I gave it a try. Very yummy. I'm not a big fan of leafy greens (although I SHOULD be), and this was a painless way to sneak it into my diet.

And back to the topic of forming habits, one way of encouraging a change in behavior is to make the desired behavior more fun. Here is a wonderful example, the Piano Stairs in Stockholm, Sweden.

Making Habits Stick, Part 1 - Behaviors Are a Choice

Anybody can change specific behavior patterns for a limited period of time. The real challenge comes when you try to make these behaviors last.

For one thing, behaviors related to diet are particularly hard to change because one's habits in these areas are typically established in childhood. Per "Nutrition in pediatrics: basic science and clinical applications" (Walker et al), "dietary patterns established during childhood tend to persist over time".

Many children are taught to clean their plates and are given treats to reward good behavior. When they become adults, they will likely continue to eat whatever food is placed in front of them, even the ridiculously "super-sized" servings available in so many restaurants. And many adults unconsciously reward themselves with an indulgent snack or large meal, even for something as basic as arriving at work or making it through the day.

19 Behaviors I've Changed This Year

I thought it might be interesting to compile a list of all of the habits that I've change over the past six or seven months. No, wait, I'll call them behaviors because I'm not totally confident they are all "habits" just yet. But I'm getting there.

I was amazed at the length of this list! I tried and tried to come up with a twentieth habit to make it a nice round number. I'm sure there is one, but it's Friday afternoon, and my brain just won't cooperate. So, without further ado, my list:

THE THREE BIGGIES

• I log everything I eat. Everything. And I stick to my daily calorie target whenever possible. I used to think of journaling as a temporary tool, but now I think it's something I need - and want - to continue.

What is the overweight habit?

This lovely photograph was taken three years ago. I was closing in on the weight that I'd been when I was fully pregnant. Even though I was capable of losing significant amounts of weight over short periods of time, I could never keep it up. I was stuck in what I call the overweight habit.

In the simplest sense, the overweight habit is the set of well-documented behaviors - mindless eating, frequent dining out, a sedentary lifestyle,  and so on - which can lead you to become overweight.

But the overweight habit goes well beyond that.

Learning as I go

Looking back at my first blog entry, I realize it's too long - far too long in this age of 140-character "tweets". But more importantly, there is no way I can generate that much content on a daily or even fairly regular basis, which would doom this little project from the start.

One aspect of Vtrim and other weight loss programs is to establish achievable short-term goals. If I want to maintain this blog for any length of time, I need to do the same thing. Therefore, instead of squeezing a ton of words into an overly ambitious first topic, I'm going to focus on the "things that worked for me" individually, one week at a time. I just have too much to say about each one to limit them to one blog entry apiece!

Also, I'm going to make my first weekly topic exactly what I entitled my first entry - "Kicking the Overweight Habit". I realize it's an awkward, sort of grammatically ugly title, but I'll try to explain that a bit in a later post.

-Sue

Kicking the overweight habit

My daughter's birthday is on February 13th. My son's is on September 30th. These are the two dates when I most often show up in family photographs, usually standing at the kitchen table next to a beaming child and a cake. For the longest time, I avoided having my picture taken at other times.

This year, in between these two festive occasions, I lost 50 pounds and became fanatical about my health and dietary habits in the process.