There’s no such thing as a quick fix (sorry!)

The reason people ‘like’ diets is that they tend to be fairly short term and the promise is quick weight loss. This appeals to us all – who wouldn’t want to see quick results? It’s definitely an easy trap to fall into. BUT diets which promise miracle results in a super quick space of time, are not sustainable and as soon as you go back to old habits and eating ‘normally’ the weight will go back on…often more than before. Yo-yo dieting is incredibly stressful for the body and can really damage your health in the long term.

SOOOOOOO…the question is, how do we step away from the mentality of quick results and make life long changes WITHOUT slipping back into naughty habits?

Well, it’s all about ROUTINE!

This shouldn’t come as a shock to you, especially if you’ve worked with me before!

As humans, we all love our habitual behaviours. We sleep on a certain side of the bed, we sit on the same spot on the sofa, our lives follow roughly the same schedule, day in day out. And although it might sound a bit boring, it is just how we are. I think we all crave a certain level of order in our lives.

The problem is that this habitual behaviour can either work for us or against us.

If you look forward to your afternoon cuppa with a few biscuits or a glass of wine as soon as the kids are in bed/ you get home from work, you’ll associate that behaviour with pleasure and it makes it a very hard habit to break.

Luckily though, all habits can be broken and new routines (that are just as satisfying but in a different way) can be formed. It just takes time and (I hate to say it) a bit of effort. 

It’s what I’ve been trying to do over the last 2 weeks with my ‘Back to Basics’ Bootcampers. We’ve introduced lots of little changes and worked on creating an improved daily routine.

The danger is when your routine is new, it’s very easy to fall out of the habit – especially if you find it hard. Even one day of not doing something can knock you off course.

And unfortunately, the unhealthy habits -like munching on chocolate or drinking and lying on the sofa- are easier, involve much less effort and, let’s face it, are much more enjoyable than going out for a jog.

I promise you though, the healthy habits do get easier and become much more enjoyable, the more you do them. They also come with the added benefit of making you feel good. Focus on this over quick satisfaction.

90 days

Research has shown it takes around 90 days for a new habit to become routine. That’s a lot of days of doing something over and over again until it becomes second nature.

There are only 13 weeks until the end of 2020 (thank-god) which is 91 days. Take some time to sit down and work out what healthy habits you want to add into your daily routine.

TIP – small and often is key

If you keep practising your new routine/ habits every day until the end of 2020, you’ll have successfully formed new healthy habits that will set you up for 2021. (Which is going to be an AMAZING year…surely?! or at least better than this year which won’t be hard)

And once you have a good routine and healthy habits, you don’t need to rely on motivation to get it done. You’ll do it automatically. After all, let’s face it, motivation is a bit of a flaky friend. It shows up occasionally and then buggers off when you need it most. Don’t trust it, do the work and get your routine sorted.

If you want help creating healthy habits and an amazing routine that will fill you with energy, check out my Kickstart Plan. I’m thinking of running one last Kickstart course before the end of the year. 56 days to get you feeling your very best. Finish 2020 on a high (it is possible). Click HERE to check out all the details and if you follow my Facebook Page, I’ll keep you updated with all the info.