Healthy habits

[cjsmith]

I felt good when I could exercise wherever and whenever I wanted. I was an active person; I felt energetic; I slept far better than I do now. I probably wasn't the fittest I've ever been, and my build ensures that I will never be either fast or strong by any absolute measure, but still I felt good about the things my body could do.

A friend mentioned in a filtered post that she is working to replace unhealthy eating habits with exercise as her relaxation-and-destressing drug of choice. Boy have I ever gone the other way. Probably more than anything else about my foot problems (and wow is there some stiff competition there), this enrages and depresses me.

How does one build a healthy habit?

I've done it, or at least I've destroyed an unhealthy habit. I used to drink immense quantities of sweetened carbonated caffeinated beverages. When I learned what the caffeine was doing to the pinched nerves in my belly, I switched from Coke and Mountain Dew to ginger ale and Sprite. There's no question that there was some physical addiction involved, yet I did it. Then I thought it would be a good idea not to drink so many of my meals, calorically speaking, and I switched to flavored fizzy water without anything else in it. Now... I enjoy drinking plain water! I'll drink herbal teas, too, and that fizzy water, and on good days I can have decaf tea. (I also drink alcoholic stuff, but here I'm mainly addressing what I reach for when I'm thirsty.) In general, if you look at what's beside my keyboard at work, it's healthy -- or at least not un.

The lovely bit is that I don't even WANT sodas any more. I'm not "depriving myself" or exercising "willpower" or "self-control". None of that. I don't desire those sweetened drinks one bit. Seriously.

How did I DO that?

Here's where I start guessing.

1) Slowness. I made small changes one at a time and stuck with each one for a while, rather than trying to make an enormous change or set of changes all at once.

2) Pain. Once I realized what caffeine did to me, and after I rid myself of it, any time I slipped I was brutally punished. That'll help just about anybody change their ways!

3) Acceptable substitutes. Back when I was downing more than a six-pack of Coke a day, and sometimes washing down some Vivarin with it, I also enjoyed drinking ginger ale. Switching over to that alone wasn't like switching to, say, carrot juice. When I ditched the ginger ale, I had fizzy water, giving me the familiar carbonated feel on my tongue and the familiar sense of fullness in the tummy.

4) No cost. In each of these steps, the healthy option cost zero extra time and zero extra money when compared with the unhealthy option.

I can't think of any more elements to this right now, though if you folks can come up with some, that'd be great.

But I have utterly failed to build other healthy habits.

- I'll decide it's a good idea to take vitamins, and I'll be reliable for a year or two... and then *poof*, I stop. I usually notice this when somebody mentions vitamins and I think hmm, gee, when was the last time I took those?

- I've tried to build a routine involving swimming, and that was miserable. In the last few weeks, when I've been very busy, I even abandoned the weights. (Part of that is because the house is so cold in the mornings that my overriding thought is how fast I can get to the office.)

- I decide to cut back on fat or on empty carbs, and I can do that for a while, but pretty soon I catch myself with a buttered white-flour English muffin instead of my oatmeal.

If I get overwhelmed and start to neglect things, my health is one of the things I neglect early.

Yet I've never gone back to Coke or even ginger ale. I don't suddenly wake up and find that I've got one of those in my hand. I would now pay extra (money or time) to keep it out of my hand. I succeeded there. It is absolutely effortless for me to maintain that one. Why? Is it possible to replicate that level of success in other healthy endeavors?

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I've always had trouble with the slow, self-motivated physical changes. When I got healthy and in shape for my big bike ride a few years ago, the ride goal was the motivation. Since, I've gotten out of shape again, and with the school time pressures, sleep problems, and allergy/sinus problems I have, I've felt like I'm not getting around to getting back in shape at all. I'm eating better, but I'm still not exercising much. I'm trying to fix one at a time, hence the CPAP, but even thought I can tell it's making a difference, adjusting to that's a slow process for me.

[redgrrl.livejournal.com]

I think the key to it is self-discipline. In the beginning you can be motivated simply by the fact that you want to make these changes. As you go along, you find things that will reinforce those behaviors. For example, keep your vitamin bottle in the place you eat breakfast so you won't forget. Eat breakfast in more than one place? Keep a bottle at each spot!

I've been unmotivated to exercise in the morning because it's so cold, but I've tried getting dressed in the (warm) bathroom -- that seems to help.

Bottom line, you have to force your yourself in the beginning, but most of the time the benefit of the change (i.e. more energy when you are exercising regularly) WILL become the motivating factor...

[mbumby.livejournal.com]

Forming habits is odd. I never cared for or chose diet beverages until the day I realized that if I eat at McDonalds or whatever and get a drink -- 10 of those and that is a pound -- and since I'd been saying "I don't know what else to do" -- and now I did -- it was an overnight change. (When I'm travelling in countries that don't provide diet drinks regularly, I notice, but going back to sugar for the duration of the trip doesn't change what I do at home.)

Years ago I decided "I will work out on the Nordic Track every night that I am home" and while I hate it, with 2 exceptions (that I think most would agree are reasonable) I have done so EVERY DAY. If I'm so sick I just stand there for half an hour and barely wiggle my feet -- well, if that's the best I can do I've still done it. This decision was wrapped around deciding that Bally was evil, and realizing that if it involves "going out" then I will just not do it. Too many nights I'm heading home at 10pm or later, and stopping is either not possible or not easy. Of course, I don't have ANY problems going to bed right after working out and showering, so that helps. (And no, I'm not sure it helps. I see very few changes in my body -- but at least if someone says "why don't you..." I can say "I do". If I had to exercise in the morning I'd fail. I'm always sleep deprived, and when I finally wake up I Need to Leave For Work Now. So I'm guessing that for you, making exercise a habit for you would require "no cost" -- as in not the hardship of dealing with a cold house. If late evening doesn't work, what about just before dinner?

For the vitamins, what I started doing was tracking them (as well as the other drugs I take) in my day timer. I'm really supposed to take a set of 4 pills in the morning, and a set of 3 pills in the evening, but I don't often do that, but my daily habit is once I get to work to note various items into my day timer, including whether my next set of pills is the odd or the even set. So, except for the weekend, I'm quite likely to get half my vitamins. I carry them to work in old film canisters... but since I can forget to fill those, I have full bottles at work as well as home.

If the EngMuf is that tempting, perhaps it should be a treat. You've met a particular goal (finishing NaNoWriMo? Eating oatmeal for 'n' days in a row without complaining, even to yourself?) so you get an EngMuf today. (Thomas is the BEST brand!) Or maybe if you switch to the whole wheat EngMuf, that can be 2n/3 days...

[jupiter29.livejournal.com]

I think there are a couple of ways to build a healthy habit that help. Although I don't have many, so don't look at many as any kind of expert. :)

First, I think a lot of people benefit from short term changes, which is kind of what you did when you gave up the soda. Turning it into a real way of life took time, but the initial step of stopping was quicker and then you had habit and side-effects and things like that to help. It's kind of the difference between keeping a New Year's resolution, which seems to rarely happen, and giving up something for Lent, which seems much more successful.

So maybe you could set yourself a short term goal, with whatever motivation you think will work. Tell yourself you will swim or do weights (or whatever it is) every day for one month. Maybe you can put aside some money and put Rob in charge of rewarding you if you do it or announce it here in LJ and make it clear that you will update once a week so that you have a negative consequence if you fall short. But somehow encourage yourself to do it over a short period and then give yourself the opportunity to keep reinitiating that challenge. Hopefully the accomplishment after the first month will make it easier to put yourself on the hook for another month. Its not a perfect solution, but that's what I've got. :)

Maybe I'm just a lazy and cynical guy, but for me the pain reinforcement is the easiest one to live by. I don't think it's a coincidence that the soda was the thing you gave up, because pretty quickly your body started working with you to keep the change going, rather than tempting you to cheat. This also has a long history of people giving up smoking or drinking or whatever by making a bet with someone else, so that there is a real cost to "losing." So maybe you can use that to your advantage. Pick somebody you trust and make some sort of deal with them. You'll work out three times a week for a month or else... well, something. Something you have to give up or do for them or... well, whatever. I'm out of ideas because I don't know you well enough to know what a good incentive would be. :)

But I think the bottom line is to pick somebody who can help you through the process. Rob or a friend on LJ in general or, heck, me for that matter. :) Commit to emailing me regarding your progress once a week or you'll buy me a car or something. ;)

[rfrench.livejournal.com]

I built habits for vitamins by linking them to a particular event - in this case, eating breakfast. Since I always have the same thing for breakfast, and eat in the same place, it's easy to say that vitamins are an integral part of that. I remember to take my BP meds because I always brush my teeth in the morning before leaving, and I simply asserted that brushing my teeth meant I also had to take a pill. That way I didn't have to remember it as a completely separate concept.

[tiger-spot.livejournal.com]

My key is having low standards and exceeding them most of the time. So if my standard is "exercise five times a week", it doesn't matter that I didn't exercise on one particular day, because I'm still meeting the standard. Where the "low standards" is particularly helpful is in getting me to start -- once I've done 10 situps, I am willing to do lots more, but if I feel like I'm coming down with a cold it's much easier to start if I can tell myself "I'll just do 30" than "I did 75 yesterday, so I'll do 75 again today! Must not backslide!" With exercise particularly, once I've established the habit it is okay if I miss one day because of being sick or busy -- it just means I'm a little hyper that day -- but if I don't exercise for two days in a row then I start to feel logy again and it's easy to fall out of the habit. So it's important that I at least get in some, even if it's not much. (What usually happens to me is I get sick or go on vacation, and the schedule disruption means I don't exercise for a while, and then I don't want to start again. Also, Pittsburgh has winter, which is bad for me.)

Also, if I can make it REQUIRED then I'll do it; otherwise not so much. Scheduling is key; if I can put something off I will, so I have to have either a specific time to do something or a specific daily event to do it before. Biking to work is good for me, because I'll do that every work day; when I was working from home, "I will go on a bike ride every day" wasn't very successful, but "I will go on a bike ride every day at 3:00" got around the "I can't go out now, it got dark!" problem and was therefore more successful. I've recently fairly successfully attached my non-biking exercise to after work & before dinner (this doesn't work if I don't go home right after work, or if we have unusual dinner plans, so it is only fairly successful).

One thing that I find helpful is keeping records. This works better for big or variable things like exercise than for tiny things like vitamins (because making a little checkmark on your vitamin chart is just about as much effort as taking the silly thing).

I also find that it helps to be able to phrase the habit positively -- "Drink water" instead of "Don't drink Coke". When I find myself drinking too much sugary stuff, I institute a "water first" policy, where when I think I'd like a Coke or a glass of juice or whatever, I will drink a glass of water first to see if it's just that I'm thirsty or if I really want the other thing. Diet changes in general might be easier to cope with this way; rather than "I will not eat English muffins" try "I will eat 3 different vegetables each day" (or whatever).

not all habits are alike

[moriamerri.livejournal.com]

Some habits are "easier" -- for me (and I suspect many people) exercise is a very tough one. For lots of reasons. A few questions and issues to ponder if applicable:

--is exercise boring? what would make it less so? some people listen to music, watch exercise videos, listen to books on tape. Other people go to classes, have an exercise buddy, etc. (I *do* realize your options are limited.... )

--is exercise valued? do you do it in a nice location, with comfortable clothing, adequate equipment, etc? One friend of mine told me how she brings the timer from the kitchen when she uses her treadmill. I was agast! It's not just an issue of having to remember -- but this just doesn't reflect the important place that exercise holds. I suggested that an attitude change seemed in order: if you were decorating your exercise temple, what would be there?

-- what is the alternate plan? It's all well and fine to say I'll do xx minutes xx days a week -- but what about when I'm sick? what if you get home late? if the exercise is outdoors -- what about in winter or in a rainstorm?

--record and adjust. I think for me writing it down helped immensely. I could go back over the week, review whether I'd met my goal, and plan times for the following week. If problems came up, what were they? What kept you from doing it? Work on those bits as separate issues. I really did not have a huge sense of failure when I didn't meet the goal--- I was usually CLOSE, and I can celebrate CLOSE while working to improve.

--one week at a time. I guess I've always hoped that exercise could be a habit and not take effort. I've never found it to be so. Yes, I've had periods of time where I got used to the time it takes, and adjusted to it. But there was still a sense of using will and planning each week to get it to happen.

Regarding food: when I want to work on improving food, the main component is substitution, and it is quite challenging. It's actually quite a bit of work to keep myself adequately stocked with enjoyable and healthy food -- it takes a lot of food, it takes hauling it around. I'm not happy with a box of whatever in my deskdrawer-- So I often carry around lots of food (like, for just one day).

Big congratulations on the complete change from soft drinks -- thats a huge benefit. (I've never allowed myself to form a habit of drinking them.) I often wonder whether people who drink soda (and coffee) regularly see it as desructive....

Moria