What is your resistance to releasing weight? Could it be your habits?

It has been awhile since I have posted. I realized that I haven't posted because I have not been making progress in my weight release journey - a journey that I began three years ago. I took at look at why I haven't been making much progress, and I asked myself some questions. Is it because I don't know what to eat? NO! I'm a Certified Holistic Health Coach and working on my Precision Nutrition Sports and Exercise Nutrition Certification. I know what to eat! Is it because I don't know how to exercise? NO! I know what to do. I am an ISSA Certified Fitness Trainer. Is it because I don't want to release the weight? NO! I really, really, really want to do this! Is it because I am a failure? ABSOLUTELY NOT! I don't fail. Those who know be know that I keep trying until I get it right!

 So, then why am I not at my ideal weight?

It could be a couple of reasons - fear of the unknown, and/or habitual behaviors. Today I will talk about habits. Tomorrow I will discuss fear of the unknown.

 Why is changing eating and exercise habits so darn hard to do?

Because we are emotional beings with the ability to rationalize - not rational beings with emotions, our emotional brain takes over in times of stress or different states of consciousness. I don't know how many days I have started off with a great healthy breakfast, healthy lunch, healthy dinner only to have something make me upset and then sit silently in front of the television eating only to find that I have just devoured a large bowl or ice cream or a slice or two of leftover pizza. It seems as though my resolve ebbs and flows - one minute I am completely mindful of what I am eating then the next I don't even know what happened to the carton of ice cream. It's difficult to change habits - even if you are like me and really, really, really want to change. Our brains are telling us to do the same old thing - the thing we are comfortable doing, the thing we know. The unknown can be frightening to our brain. We can rationalize almost anything - I deserve this ice cream because I had a hard day at work, or because my husband is bugging me, or because so and so didn't call, the list goes on and on. Habits are deeply ingrained in our brains - like a hiking trail that has been traveled over and over for years and years. You wouldn't go off the trail if you were hiking - who knows what lies off the path? Right? We take the same route to work every day. We don't think about which way to go to work. Our brains just take us there. It is the same thing with eating and exercising, or anything in life.

 How can we change our habits? And, for me get this weight off for good.

We need to establish new habits. Easier said than done though. Well, yes and no. In thinking about what I need to do to make this happen, I've come up with the following suggestions for myself that you might find useful as well:

 1. Be in the moment - What does this really mean? It means be conscious of what you are doing during each and every moment of your life. Face it - this moment right now is all there is - there is no past and there is no future, just right NOW. I know this intellectually, but am still working on embodying this from the heart (another post for the future). It is almost like I am conscious until dinner on week days, and pretty much not at all on weekends. But, I am getting better at this. Let's face it I used to be completely on auto pilot - always thinking of the past or the future instead of enjoying right now. (More on Being in the Moment in future posts).

 2. Live with Arête - This is a word that I recently discovered that basically means always to be the best person you can be. Why is this useful in changing habits? If you live with  present moment awareness and at the same time always strive to be the best you can be - would you really eat the bowl of ice cream? I really like this notion. I have known about this word for about six months now, but haven't consciously put it into play in my daily life. I'm going to do this for sure now. I have even designed a sign to put on the refrigerator and a reminder card for my wallet.

 3. Make a Plan and Change it up - Make a plan of what you are going to eat and when you are going to exercise. This could be as simple as having a list of healthy breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners that you can choose from, and the days at times you will exercise. But, here is the caveat that I think will help break those old bad habits - change it up. Change something in your routine. Determine where your unhealthy habits lie in your life and do something to change that routine.  Maybe you don't eat breakfast and then have one of the donuts in the breakroom during your morning break. You know what your unhealthy habits are. For me this is going to be Friday nights. After a long week of working hard, my husband and I oftentimes enjoy a cocktail on Friday night to relax - for me it's wine. Which is fine in general, but for me it triggers bad eating for the entire weekend. So, I need to change this "habit" - I need to find a way to break the pattern. So, maybe I'll now go the movies or perhaps even better go to the gym and do a quick workout.

 4. Meditate - Meditation helps to calm the mind, not only while you are practicing but during the rest of your day as well, giving you the presence of mind to live in the moment, to make plans and to live with Arête. Meditation has a host of benefits including: reducing stress, building self confidence, lowering blood pressure, etc. (more on mediation in another post). I began meditating somewhat regularly at the beginning of this year. I attended a Chopra Center Meditation Retreat last year and decided that I really wanted to reap the benefits of this practice so I make a pledge to meditate daily at the beginning of the year. I'm not quite at daily yet - I still having problems on the weekends. Surprise. Surprise! I also went to the Perfect Health program at the Center (more on that in another post) and really learned the reasons why meditation is beneficial in daily living.

I could include a long list of things that might help in weight release efforts or changing habits in general, but for now these are the four that I believe are the most important.

 So, what are you going to do to change your bad habits? I know what I'm going to do.