Are you feeling your superpowers? If you don’t know what I’m talking about, feel free to rewind real quick to week 7 (and if you feel like you need to catch up a bit more, you can check out weeks 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 if you want to, or just join us here in week 8.) I’m here with your eighth tiny change this week, and it’s one that SO many people struggle with.
Prefer to see a video instead of reading? Check out this week’s tip on our YouTube channel instead.
As you may already know, I named my studio Tiny Fitness because I know that the tiny changes are the ones that bring us the biggest results. If you’re tired of starting and stopping, getting “on” and “off” the wagon, plugging away on the treadmill but not seeing any results, or just not sure where to start your fitness journey, this series is for you.
I’ll be posting tips on the blog (use the box on the sidebar to subscribe via email), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube each week for 8 more weeks – we’re halfway there! If you miss a day (or more) of work or a week (or more) of tips, just jump back in when you’re ready. You don’t have to “make up” or “catch up” on anything you’ve missed – just keep swimming along with us and we will all make it to the finish line together with some amazing results.
Week 8: Ditch one bad habit.
Most of our habits are the bad kind.
Habits, those default scripts that we play out and replay time and again, kick in when we’re not looking. In my job, I get to be a bad habit specialist. All day long, I see people struggling to form good habits because they are also trying to keep the bad ones.
They want to eat well, but they ALSO want to rely on takeout, and they can’t make any healthy changes to the food they eat on Taco Tuesday, Why Not Wednesday, This isn’t working Thursday, F* it Friday, or on the IOnlyAteFastFood weekends.
They want to make time to exercise, but they ALSO want to watch every. episode. of. every. literal. show.
They want to make changes, but they ALSO want to keep sharing their goals with people in their lives who totally tear them down and make them lose faith in themselves.
Let’s ditch just ONE bad one.
Here are some bad habits I’ve personally ditched in the last two years:
- mindless scrolling – I have a two-minute limit on any app that leads to endless scrolling (Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook)…I will literally set a timer if I need to, but I try to pop on those apps during windows in my day that are naturally time-boxed, like right after I park my car at home, when I’m brushing my teeth, or when I’m waiting for the water to heat up to wash dishes
- snacking on convenience foods that I didn’t even love – I made the foods I do love more convenient by making sure I had them in the house and that they were prepped and/or the kitchen was clean so I could prep them on the spot (sadly, I didn’t find a way to add 12 more hours to my day)
- using a floordrobe/chairdrobe – my not-clean-not-dirty clothes have an easy-to-use home now, and they only get to live in limbo for a week
- buying groceries that aren’t on my list – I got tired of ending up with stuff in my pantry that looked good or new or interesting but didn’t fit with what I had actually planned to eat, so I just got better about including everything on my grocery list and eliminating wiggle room (like listing out “peanut butter puffs, roasted seaweed, and macadamia nuts” instead of just writing “snacks”, and “three packages of broccoli” instead of “some greens?”)
- never reading for pleasure – now I read a book for at least 2 minutes per week (yeah, it’s in progress)
I’m not some sort of superhero or saint – I just got sick of the “bad” behavior getting in the way of stuff that I actually wanted, like time, or money, or space.
And I didn’t look for some crazy solution or “hack” – I mostly just improved the tools or systems I was already (kinda) using, and focused on the benefits of what my good change would bring me.
Some bad habits you might want to ditch this week, and how….
PLEASE pick a habit that’s actually a meaningful issue for you! It does NOT need to be from this short list; these are just the four bad habits that I run into the most often as a personal trainer. Also – just pick ONE. There are more weeks. One step at a time.
1. Drinking sugary beverages (sweet tea, soda, most juice, flavored coffee drinks…)
These are treats equal, in your body’s eyes, to ice cream sundaes. Would you eat an ice cream sundae on your way to work, then eat one alongside your salad at lunch, then maybe have a third as an afternoon pick-me-up?
(I mean….)
Ditch these guys cold turkey until you can handle having them as “sometimes” treats. They will not help you lose weight, lose fat, or build muscle.
(I said “most juice” because freshly squeezed juice, like juiced-before-your-eyes juice, still has a lot of health benefits. I also drink 2-4 ounces of high quality tart cherry juice most days as an anti-inflammatory supplement. But I wouldn’t drink supermarket carton orange juice on a regular basis.)
2. Too much time with the television.
Your metabolism is lower when you watch TV than it is when you are asleep. You know the rest of the story. If you can even cut down by 30 minutes, or maybe take one night a week off from television and swap in something that you love (a hobby, going for a walk, throwing a tennis ball for my dog – yes, for my dog, come on by), that is an excellent change!
I’m all in favor of screentime as a form of enjoyment – it is just verrrry easy for it to fill in time that wasn’t actually empty, and leave you with not a lot to show for it. So, unwind, de-stress, laugh off your day, but don’t fill all of your non-work time with screentime.
3. The scale.
You are the only one who knows your relationship with the scale. I’ve had clients who don’t own one, and clients who weigh themselves upwards of 10 times each day. Some people can view it as just data, and some people view it as a judgment of their worth.
You’re the only one who knows.
I see a lot of people who work VERY hard and make AMAZING progress, but then get on the scale, get depressed because it doesn’t show what they think it should show, and then quit/binge/etc. If the scale were that important of a tool, I’d throw you on it every time I see you!
So, if you’re weighing yourself too often for your own comfort or happiness, ditch the scale and try out some new metrics. There are many, many ways to measure your progress and losses without the scale, like:
- by the way your clothes fit
- by the way you feel when you wake up or at the end of your work day
- with a measuring tape
- by how strong you feel
- by all the new things you can do
- with critical numbers like blood pressure and fasting blood sugar
4. Negative self-talk.
It’s healthy to have doubts, skepticism, and concern for yourself, but it’s not healthy to weaponize all of that and use it against yourself. If you pull on your go-to work pants and they don’t zip easily, do you think, “Hmm, time to see if I’m drinking enough water and maybe stop skipping my workouts”, or do you think, “I can’t believe I’m such a failure! I will never be able to wear the clothes I want. Nothing I do ever makes any changes to my body.”
(You don’t have to tell me which one it is.)
If you find that you’re the one putting yourself down – even if it’s in a “joking” or “sarcastic” way, or if you’re “just being a realist” – you can:
- Notice what you’re telling yourself.
- Choose to say something else in addition/instead.
“I ate the entire cake! I can’t believe I did that when I have a bikini photoshoot tomorrow. Well, it wasn’t best for me, but I will make sure I still get a good night’s sleep, drink enough water, and get right back into my normal routine tomorrow.”
“I hate my bingo wings! Wait, my trainer said those are just arms and not wings. So, I guess I hate my arms, which is pretty silly since they’re a part of my body, and my body’s the only home I have. I guess I don’t like the way they look in this shirt, but I am working on my fitness and I will make sure I get my workouts in this week so I can see changes as soon as possible.”
Remember…
Failure –> Learning opportunity
Mistake –> Trying
Problem –> Growth
Worry –> Hope that needs some nurturing
(Yes, I feel like the un-cool DARE representative trying to keep you on the straight and narrow path, but all of this is true! Life is one long series of challenges, and how we choose to see them determines how we feel and how quickly we succeed. I like for my people to reach their goals quickly and as happily as possible!)
What’s your favorite bad habit?
….by favorite, I mean the one that you’re ditching this week? I will post about mine on Facebook this week, so make sure you’ve liked our page so you can be the first to see it!
Always make sure to consult your health or fitness professional before modifying your fitness program, and work at a level that feels right for you. If you need to stop at any time, stop!
Need more accountability for these 16 weeks? Comment on our Facebook post for each week’s challenge and I will check in with you to make sure you’re still hanging in there!
