How on earth do you get important good habits to stick?

[noshiforever]

I've let myself go in every way. So busy working to to do anything else and slump into bed exhausted every night. I can't seem to prioritise myself or my health at all.

I need to take important medication before bed each night and often forget, even when it's on my bedside.

Healthy eating - I used to be amazing, now eat mostly convenient low nutrition food.

Have any of you turned this round and instilled healthy habits? How do you get them to stick and become the new norm?

I think you need to unpick the bad habits.
Why have they taken hold? Why did you stop eating healthily?
Work backwards. Why have you lost time for your health? And how can you fix that?

So I would (as I do for me)
Set a reminder for your meds.
Each time you're hungry and it's not breakfast, lunch or dinner have a glass of water and wait 7 mins. If still hungry, piece of fruit, raw veg or 30g cheese on a cracker. Then if all else fails eat extra because sometimes you're just hungry! Don't buy or have the low nutrient stuff in your house. Makes it far harder to eat it. Also, have a listen to a podcast by Xand and Chris Van Tullekan called "a thorough investigation ".
And for exercise choose the stairs, the walk up an escalator, the walk to the station over a bus, the bike not the car each time you humanly can. Try to get 7-15 mins of yoga in first thing.
If you make it a rule, it sticks if you practice for long enough.
You'll be fabulous. Good luck and hopefully some of my ideas don't sound too hard.

@Tickly

So I would (as I do for me) Set a reminder for your meds. Each time you're hungry and it's not breakfast, lunch or dinner have a glass of water and wait 7 mins. If still hungry, piece of fruit, raw veg or 30g cheese on a cracker. Then if all else fails eat extra because sometimes you're just hungry! Don't buy or have the low nutrient stuff in your house. Makes it far harder to eat it. Also, have a listen to a podcast by Xand and Chris Van Tullekan called "a thorough investigation ". And for exercise choose the stairs, the walk up an escalator, the walk to the station over a bus, the bike not the car each time you humanly can. Try to get 7-15 mins of yoga in first thing. If you make it a rule, it sticks if you practice for long enough. You'll be fabulous. Good luck and hopefully some of my ideas don't sound too hard.

💛 this!

You have to baby-step it. Otherwise you'll get stuck in an all-or-nothing cycle that makes you feel crap.

Pick one habit too start with. Probably your meds. Put them somewhere where it's easy to take them - like in the kitchen, next to the sink, where you'll see them when you make a bedtime drink? Or by your toothbrush?

Or set a reminder as a PP said.

Do that for a week. Reward yourself when you've done it.

Then pick the next habit - finding a range of healthy meals that won't take too long to cook. I love Aldi's healthy ready meals when I'm busy. Buy some and stick them in the freezer. Make it EASY to eat better.

Then the next thing. Then the next.

Or do WW - the app makes it soooooooo easy to control your eating snd revamp your life, world, attitude, everything.

Read atomic habits by James clear

I agree to thinking about one thing.

I'd say your medication is an important one to get under your belt.

I read a thing about layering new habits on to already established habits. Do you remember to always brush your teeth at night? Can you put your meds next to your toothbrush with a small glass for water? Then it's there to take when you do your teeth. One already established habit will be the trigger for the new one.

As for food, it is so hard when your busy. The thing that works best is when I get a chance to cook I try to add on making something else at the same time to freeze. So, maybe on a day off, make a couple of dishes that you know you can tske out the freezer the night before and just heat up. Same effort after work as a ready meal but much healthier and more filling.

@Ivyhedera

Read atomic habits by James clear

Have read it but found it too much information and too many words! Will try to make the time to go through it again and highlight snippets.

@Breathmiller

I agree to thinking about one thing.

I'd say your medication is an important one to get under your belt.

I read a thing about layering new habits on to already established habits. Do you remember to always brush your teeth at night? Can you put your meds next to your toothbrush with a small glass for water? Then it's there to take when you do your teeth. One already established habit will be the trigger for the new one.

As for food, it is so hard when your busy. The thing that works best is when I get a chance to cook I try to add on making something else at the same time to freeze. So, maybe on a day off, make a couple of dishes that you know you can tske out the freezer the night before and just heat up. Same effort after work as a ready meal but much healthier and more filling.

This is a really good idea. I never ever don't brush my teeth before bed. I couldn't stand to sleep with dirty teeth! So I will try stacking the meds on after brushing teeth :)

Try downloading Atomic Habits by James Clear. It's really good at explaining this and has excellent tips on how to make those good habits stick.

Maybe listen to atomic habits via audible? Its an awesome book.

What about having a long shower after work is finished to give you a second wind.

BJ Fogg book - tiny habits
Amazing
He's the leading research expert at Stanford university on behaviour and habits formation.

He says start tiny. Eg 1 press up after you pee.

Link it to something else. Kettle boils- do one squat.

Make it easy for yourself- eg to stop scrolling at night, lock phone in car. (Buy ordinary alarm clock!)

The biggy (and he says v hard for Brits and Japanese) is to actually celebrate every time you do the new thing you want to make a habit.

So you drink extra glass of water then say 'yess!' or big grin or ineardlypat on back, whatever is 'you' feels so weird. But what it does is used the hormone produced on success to physically rewire the brain. You should read the book it's really convincing. I've changed many tiny things.

Also Live Well chattergy podcast is so inspiring, just go for the 5 minute bitesize ones to start with. He's a lovely person

set alarms or phone reminders to get regular things done,

When I think about what to eat I start by looking at what fruit & veg we have in house and that needs eating. I hate food waste so am motivated to eat things to stop them going off. I'm not strict about it, but I try to choose the F+V before non-F+V choices.