So far I am LOVING the Precision Nutrition Level 2 course…we just started week three and I love the way the whole course is based on the one-habit method. This also appears in Leo Babauta’s book, The Power of Less. I totally bought into the idea of working on one habit at a time awhile ago, but it’s a whole new ball game when you’re in it as a student instead of as a coach. Let me tell ya though…this shizz works.
If you know me, you know I am super type A. I live for productive days….seriously I just loooooove to get things done, probably definitely too much. I always think I’ll get ahead of the game and then rest later. Problem is, later doesn’t really happen and I don’t rest well or often.
I’m starting to realize that I can’t keep this up forever. I can’t go go go and do do do all the time without resting. {Hmm…sounds eerily similar to overtraining…}
I get overwhelmed by huge to-do lists and find myself worrying about all kinds of what-if’s. To be honest, without focusing on one thing at a time, I find that I get very little done because I bounce between six things at once. Heck, you should see my computer. I have a minimum of ten tabs open all the time. That whole “ability to multi-task” is not looking like a positive trait these days.
Research has shown that when people try to change a single behavior at a time, the likelihood that they’ll retain that habit for a year or more is better than 80%. When they try two behaviors, their chances of success are less than 35%. When they try three behaviors or more, their success rate plummets to less than 5%.
That’s right…work on ONE darn thing at a time. ONE.
The problem with multi-tasking or trying to overhaul everything in your life at once is that it’s not sustainable. You can succeed for awhile, but long-term success is not likely. You’ll probably crash and burn if you try to change too much at once, change too quickly or change something against your will.
When it comes to your nutrition and training plan, here’s what I want you to ask yourself:
If someone told you that you had to do this forever, could you?
If not, how can you improve your nutrition or training plan so that the answer is yes, I could do this forever? And better yet, I want to!
Let’s talk about a few things you can do make the way you eat and the way you exercise sustainable.
1. Focus on what you can change instead of always worrying about what you can’t. PHEW…this is a toughie, isn’t it? Don’t you sometimes just want to say things like I’m hurt, I have no time, I have the worst luck, it’s so easy for other people…
Sometimes you just gotta get over it. If you can’t change it, stop worrying about it.
2. Change one thing at a time until you own that change. My awesome coach, Krista from PN, pointed out that I should focus on what helps me to slow down, focus, be purposeful and deliberately place my attention (rather than having it pulled), etc.
This week, think about where you are struggling. Where are you having trouble focusing? Is it making time for your workouts? Is it being consistent with eating well? Neither? Maybe it’s actually that you’re the opposite…you’re training too much or eating too little, making you feel burnt out all the time.
Next, think about ONE thing you can change that you know will make a difference. When you honestly feel you own that change and it’s become a habit {doesn’t take much work or thought anymore} that’s when you can work on one more thing.
It may not seem like making one change at a time is going to get you where you wanna be. At times it may even feel too easy and it will definitely take some patience…but like I said above, this shizz works.
Hours, days, weeks and months go by fast. When you’re creating or changing one habit at a time, small changes add up. Before you know it…you’re on cruise control with the things you used to waste all of your time worrying about.
3. Get a calendar. Seriously, be old school and pick up a calendar and some stickers. Hang it up where you see it often…in your kitchen, at your desk, at work or wherever you spend the most time. If you complete your habit on that day, you get a sticker. If you don’t practice your habit that day, you don’t get one. That’s it. Your goal is to get stickers on 90% of the days.
Give yourself a week or two {more if you’re struggling or it’s a big change} to focus on each habit. Then pick a new change to work on…but don’t forget the old one. Remember, it’s already becoming a habit and pretty soon you’ll do it without much thinking or planning.
What area of your life feels overwhelming? If you’re not doing enough to get results or you’re doing so much that you’re totally burnt out, those are clues that what you’re doing right now is not sustainable.
For me, what’s not sustainable right now is how I work. My habit right now is to work on making focused time for my nutrition course every day. Keyword…FOCUSED time. Sounds simple, maybe too simple, but for me making time is something I need to practice.
Ready? What’s your first habit gonna be?
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