Healthy habits for 2018 - join me?

[lasttimeround]

I need to stop with diets. They don't work for me long term. I'm trying to build up healthy habits. I feel dieting is leading to compulsive overeating when diets end or binges when I fail. I want to get off this track this year. I'm committing to being healthy, or at least healthier, every month this year. I'm going to log a new practice each week or so and monitor if I'm managing to make them stick. Anyone going to join me?

Well done both of you. Givery yourself a mark liz say 3.5/7 so a half point each day for some water. Then you can try to improve scores next week. Good luck with reducing sugar added items. Again half a point for sort of, full point for nailed it and zero points if you go well off piste

Scruf I'm all inspired by your weight loss but trying not to be as focusing on healthy habits. Process not outcome!! But if we put in good processes outcomes should follow...I did think I looked better in my swimsuit when I took dd swimming this morning! Doing great on the water. I know ditching caffinated soda is often really hard. I've put off reducing my coffees for another week because I know it will be hard.

Onward and upwards!

Hi all. I could do with joining this but motivation is a major issue.
I'm recovering from surgery at the moment, but have significant weight to lose and need to do something to tighten my core urgently.

This week (after this can of diet coke) I'm going to focus on more water as I can do that without leaving the house.

Open to any core strength advice.

Hi doodlekitty welcome! Water is a good place to start. Does the surgery affect what you csn do just now in terms of exercise? I've recently discovered YouTube as a good source for exercise videos. Just search abs. There's fitness blender and blogilates, that I know of, do tonnes of videos all kinds of lengths. I suspect the trick is to find one and just commit to that for a while otherwise everytime i want to do a session I spend ages watching nonsense while 'searching'. I'm also deeply pro planks rather than crunches. And doing some stuff for your back at the same time but I have real issues with core stability I'm trying to tackle.

Yeah, limited in what I can do for a few weeks at least. Second hernia surgery do trying to take no risks. I'm thinking Pilates might be the way forward in a few weeks.

I'm so unfit, I'm pretty much starting from scratch

I had an abdominal hysterectomy in July. I walked a bit but that was all for months. Im still careful with abs and not weight lifting yet. Need to strengthen up slowly and safely. Maybe healthy eating habits is where it's at for you just node doodle? Water, getting rid of added sugar, upping your veg intake, reducing caffeine - does that appeal?

This week is eye opening in terms of my psychology in relation to diets. Having done my juice thing perfectly for a week, my attention totally switches and yesterday and today I've only remembered in the afternoon about my new healthy habits plan.

Same here...though I had an exam today soooo... sort of an excuse but not :(

I'm doing a lot less well consistently doing physio exercises. I think to achieve this I probably need to commit to going them in the morning. But that's a useful insight.

Hope you are keeping at your new habit

I'll post despite wondering if I'm just talking to myself on here.
Yesterday I tried on a tailored dress of mine. It was tight before. It's got a bit of stretch but basically a firm thick solid shift dress.
Well (drumroll) it's clearly looser!!!

Look at the book Lean Habits. Also there is a brilliant app called Loop Habit. It's great for adding and keeping track of habits. I've been doing this for 6 months. About 3 years ago I reached the same conclusion as you OP re diets etc.

My habits include:-

3+ litres of water per day
Eat 3 to 4 meals a day
10k steps
5+ fruit and veg portions
Protein at every meal
Eat just enough
Emotions - feel don't eat

Most of these have evolved after reading the Lean Habits book. It's really good although the front cover is a little misleading because there are more than 4. You read a chapter, add that habit in then carry on with the next chapter when ready.

The biggest change for me is eating 3 to 4 meals a day and leaving 4 to 5 hours between meals, ie allowing myself to feel hungry. If I'm honest I've not done this for years. I'd been doing the whole "eat 6 smaller meals" a day because I exercise quite a lot and had convinced myself I've needed to eat like a body builder lol. Looking back I realise that some days I was eating pretty much non-stop!

She explains in the book how being in that hungry state is essential for fat loss. Basically a lot of it is just intuitive eating. But I've realised it's the way forward for me. I feel back in control, mostly. I'm not stressing over MFP/tracking/calories/macros etc.

There's a brilliant app called PT In My Pocket which is great for HIIT. On You Tube The Body Coack workouts are excellent. Look at the Darebee website and app ; brilliant resource. And the 7 seconds app too.

I'd like to join you on this threat OP if that's okay. I'm recovering from foot surgery and am unable to do anything atm (on crutches).

Pupsie - hello hello. I'm really excited you're joining. So many handy things you've posted. I will look up next week.

If you don't mind sharing. How did your change of habits go?

I have 10 habits. I'm a recovering perfectionist. My biggest struggle is my last habit. That's not resetting the habits if I've not achieved them all. Following the 80% rule I try to think that if I hit 8 per day that's good enough. And good enough is fine by me. If I only managed 9000 steps, and 2.5 litres of water, but nailed the other 8 habits, it's not going to diminish my results. I know this. But that mindset takes work.

Is that clear? When I say resetting the habits I mean that pesky "haven't hit perfect day, will start afresh tmrw". That is not a good way to live imo.

Checking in early this week because tomorrow is going to be busy!

Water is probably 4/7. Some good days, some bad days but I'll keep plugging on.
Sugar a solid 5/5. Within the scope of the rules I set I didn't waver. I gave myself the weekend off which was a good thing because I was celebrating my birthday and there was cake. And hot chocolate.

Next week's habit is exercise and tomorrow i have my first gym session. Aiming for 3 per week, 4 in the occasional week when i can.

Will look forward to seeing everyone's updates tomorrow ☺

Pupsie- I get that. Its interesting to see that diet always starts tomorrow mindset as a type of perfectionist issue.

Liz - nicely done!!! Water is better than last week too

As for me
Green juice 7/7
Physio exercises 4/7

Despite the score I've learnt something important this week. Namely I hsve to do the physio stuff in the morning if I want a good chance of doing them. This week I'm adding veg (or fruit) to each meal. I've sort of been doing this anyway since new year but I'm going to score it now. To keep it up I'm trying a new veg recipe each week. So far had ratatouille and braised red cabbage. This week I'm planning on having roasted tomatoes with a bit of cheese for lunch somewhere.

Morning all , can I join ?

New habits seems like a sensible way of looking at things . I have either been on a diet or thinking I should be on a diet for years which is not only depressing but unhealthy and so far I am still fat so it doesn't work either.

What habits have you all found the easiest ? I was thinking of starting with 2.5 litres of water a day
Alcohol free 2days (I know this should be more but its a start)
Gym 3 days (have a membership but haven't been for two months)

I tend to be someone who loses weight really well the first couple of weeks because I eat low cal and exercise every day but it isn't sustainable and I then fall off the wagon and don't get back on it again but am left feeling guilty and a failure.

All advice appreciated.

Howlong - yay!! please join us. The more the merrier.

The idea is to add one healthy habit a week. Give yourself a score out of 7 each day for how well you follow it. (1 point when you nail it, half if it's kinda sorta and null points for when you don't.) We check in on Mondays with our scores. Some people report on their weight, others don't.
We plan on logging up to 5 or 6 habits in total.

I'm tired of the futility of diets and theven, at least mental, unhealthiness that goes with it. For years I've been either restricting cals in some way or off the wagon and eating everything in sight. I feel like that's worse than just being a bit overweight really. Trying to break that cycle here.

Room for another one? I have recently finally realised that diets don't work. I've been a yo-yo dieter all my life, a really successful dieter, can lose a couple of stone with willpower and determination - and then it all creeps back on, and more besides.

So I need to change my habits and my mindset. Which seems to be what you lot are talking about - perfect!

I want to lose weight but I want it to be permanent this time. I want to listen to my body and only eat good food, when it's needed. I am quite good at the exercise part (have 2 big dogs to walk every day) so I need to not overeat and comfort eat.

I got an Apple Watch for a Significant Birthday recently, so my new habit is to try and 'close the rings' each day. It measures movement (620 calories burned actively is the target), exercise (30 mins of elevated heartrate) and standing hours (target 12 hours a day). It's quite compulsive watching little coloured circles!

I really need to get more sleep though - then everything else seems so much more achievable. So I will set myself a habit of 7 hours a night minimum.

Great idea for a thread, Howlong.

Yikes, I mean lasttimeround - sorry, just copied the name in bold at the top of your last post. How rude!

Hi CQ - welcome. Nice to have more folk. It's a pretty slow thread but I hope we'll be here a long time plugging away at getting healthier.

Hello, I am joining the group and starting a bit late with my New Year strategy as we have had family stay. I found a £2.99 water bottle in Home Bargains, which also has a handle built in, and I am going to try to fill it every day to ensure a litre of water. I never seem to feel thirsty and especially not for water, so, its going to be a trial. I am going to try to eat porride for breakfast, with semi-skimmed milk, soup for lunch and then some healthier eating for dinner. Plus, I am going to start a Clubbercise class and a Thai Chi class. I am 5ft3" and 14.5 stone. The largest I have ever been and it 'must' go!

Hi Lynda- welcome. Sounds like z good plzn

Lynda I have a fab app on my phone for recording water intake. Sounds a naff thing to be doing, but it is often the difference between me hitting my 3 litre target and not, certainly in the beginning. Now I've been using it for a about a year drinking the water has become a firmly embedded habit. It's called Water Drink Reminder. There are others, but this one is really simple, which is what I wanted. Don't need to be over complicating things :-)

Quick update with my scores for the last week
Green juice 7/7
Physio exercises 5.5/7
Veg at meals 6/7

Next aim is exercising 3 times a week. So I will just count up number of times i exercise rather than a score out of 7.
I hope others are out there keeping at this. I must say, I feel the green juice does me good.