The Secret To Behavior Change
The real secret to behavior change
You’ve got that one friend…she makes it look so easy. She eats salads and lean proteins. She exercises almost every day. And she seems to enjoy it. Are these people just freaks of nature? What is it that makes some people stick with healthy eating and exercise habits for a lifetime?
It’s not what you think.
Being a personal trainer and health coach, most people who meet me today think that this whole health thing came easy to me. It didn’t.
I grew up in a pretty normal household. Meat and potatoes for dinner. Dessert after every meal, except breakfast. But breakfast was Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so might as well have been dessert. Neither of my parents exercised. I wasn’t into sports. At all.
I also love food. I love wine and beer. I love to eat out. Sweets, desserts, and anything with sugar is my jam. Prior to about age 29, I didn’t think much about what I ate, and working out was sporadic at best.
Then I got pregnant. I realized I was caring for another life. And this prompted me to change my eating and exercise habits. I knew that eating healthy foods would make my body healthy and would give my developing child the best shot at a healthy life. I knew that exercise would make delivery easier and help my body bounce back after.
And without even knowing it I discovered the secret of behavior change: feeling good — I mean feeling really great — about making healthy choices. I didn’t go on some “healthy baby diet”! I didn’t try to change my life overnight. I didn’t make myself miserable. I still ate plenty of junk. I skipped my share of workouts. But when I did make good choices, I felt really good about it. And those good feely-feels (i.e. dopamine hits) caused me to keep making good choices.
The secret to behavior change (hint: it’s not a special diet or exercise plan)
In fact, going on an extreme diet or exercise plan can have quite the opposite effect: it stifles positive behavior change. Trying to change your whole life overnight is unpleasant. The human brain is programmed to avoid unpleasant feelings and seek out pleasure. This is probably why 95% of all people who go on a diet fail and regain the weight. It’s an overwhelming and miserable experience.
When it comes to people who have made health and fitness a lifelong habit, there is one thing they seem to have in common: They feel good about the things they do. They enjoy caring for their bodies. And they focus on the good-feels they get from doing all the things, from eating spinach and carrots, to attending yoga and fitness classes.
This translates into a dopamine hit in the brain every time a healthy behavior is performed.
Contrast that with the average human who sees eating a salad or going to the gym as drudgery…something they have to do. No dopamine hit. And very soon the brain literally helps them avoid healthy behaviors.
How to use the secret to behavior change
This is really simple: every time you engage in a healthy behavior you need to revel in your accomplishment. You need to feel really good about it. You need to experience an immediate physical and emotional benefit.
For example, when you eat an orange, you need to think about how the vitamin C in that orange is helping your body repair tissues, create collagen, and improve skin tone. The fiber and water in the orange is going to help you stay full. And – hello! – it was delicious because oranges taste awesome!
What about exercise? Right after you exercise, you need to wallow in your accomplishment. I don’t care if you only exercised for 10 minutes. You did it! You did this amazing thing for your body! You improved your heart and lungs. You made yourself stronger! You are taking care of yourself. That’s really amazing!
The secret to behavior change: do it right and avoid common pitfalls
Start slow and build. If you haven’t exercised in 10 years and decide to go to a 60-minute CrossFit class, it will probably be a miserable experience. Your brain will help you avoid ever doing it again. The key to exercise adherence is doing something that doesn’t leave a “bad taste”. Try to find something you actually like to do, and don’t exercise too long or too hard at first. The same goes for diet. Eliminating food groups or all of the foods you love, all at once, is a recipe for failure.
You gotta like it. When it comes to both diet and exercise, you have to actually like what you’re doing or eating. That means finding a form of exercise that is enjoyable, or at least tolerable. And it means eating healthy foods that you actually enjoy. I don’t care how healthy kale is…if you hate it, you won’t continue to eat it!
Do as little as possible to get a result. Diets don’t work because they are overwhelming and attempt to change too much, too fast. What if I told you that omitting a single daily snack, and adding in a 10 minute walk every day, could help you lose 25 pounds over the course of the next year? Do the math! It’s true! Two small changes that are relatively easy to implement into your busy life could make a huge difference if you…
Give it time. Get rid of the “fast and easy weight loss” mentality. If there was such a thing – if a diet or pill existed that really worked – there wouldn’t be 80 million overweight Americans. Take your time. Do it right. Enjoy, and, above all, feel good about what you’re doing!
Blog Author: Kelly Bailey, IIN certified holistic nutrition coach, and NPTI certified personal trainer
Learn more about the author here.