By Adam Bugaj

Imagine you’re about to drive a car for the very first time.

Your license test is tomorrow, so you spend the entire night preparing with study.

You read page after page on combustion engines, spark plugs, and the inner workings under the hood.

You show up to the test, confident that you know everything there is to know about ‘how’ cars work.

You take a seat, place the key in the ignition, and freeze…

In all your time spent learning about HOW cars work, you never actually stopped to learn HOW to work a car.

That is exactly where we are in our healthy habit series right now.

You’ve developed an awareness of your current situation.

You’ve learned the mechanisms  to help you build new, healthy habits.

You’ve even learned the steps you can use to eliminate unhealthy habits.

But it’s all for nothing without actually taking action and making a change.

The framework is there.

NOW, my friends, let me show you how to drive…

The golden rule of habit modification is simply this:

“Be patient with small daily steps.”

The biggest reason most people fail is that they often try to fix too many problems at once.

If you’re after the next ‘quick fix’, long term habit modification probably isn’t for you. However, if you’re intent on creating real, lasting change for the health of yourself and your family, here’s a strategy that will serve you well in the long run:

1. Identify the top habits which have or will have the greatest impact on your life, but require the least effort to implement or modify.
2. Rank them in order of priority.
3. Start with 1, apply focus, and master the habit before moving down the list to number 2. Repeat and work through your list.

Now. If your goal reads something like this…

“Melt inches off my stomach, skyrocket my energy levels, and reduce the aches and pains I feel day to day…”

Then the list of good habits to build, below, is a great place to start:

1. Drink… Your… Water…

This one is gold. Your body is 80% water, and even a small drop in hydration leads to reduced performance and slower metabolism. Aim to drink 3 litres per day. As a bonus, drinking this much water will usually force juices and sodas out of the diet with little effort !

2. Reduce your portion size.

Replace the habit of overeating with the habit of waist friendly portions. The best way to do this ? Trick your brain with the ‘delboeuf illusion’, and invest in smaller dinner plates. The lack of space around your food will trick your brain into thinking you’ve eaten more than you actually have.

3. Move daily.

Overnight, you can become someone who exercises daily. Commit to just 5 minutes of daily exercise as a minimum, and watch your discipline transform.

4. Eat breakfast daily.

Make it a point to start every morning with even the smallest bite of nutritious food. High protein and high fibre meals at breakfast will keep you full &work wonders for your body.

5. Keep a food journal.

For a healthy diet, we all know that preparation is king. Replace the habit of apathy towards nutrition with the habit of awareness. Resolve to stay on top of your nutrition by recording a daily food diary, and keeping a close eye on your daily diet.

Although the above list is not exhaustive, we’ve got 5 fantastic first steps in the right direction. Building healthy habits will take some time, some effort, and more than a little perseverance, but committing to making the change will see your health transform.

P.S. If you’d like some more information on the transformative power of habits, or any other advice on health & weight loss, shoot me an email at: admin@fitcampch.com.au. Or check out our website at fitcampch.com.au