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Old habits – Day 87

Almost without exception, people who regain weight admit it’s because they slipped back into their old habits.

It starts out with skipping your usual oatmeal one morning, then having a doughnut and coffee on the way to work.

Just a few days later, you remember how good that doughnut tasted, so you stop at the coffee shop again.

Before long, you slip back into your old habit of eating a couple of doughnuts every morning before you go to work.

Sometimes, you simply let a routine slip away. Maybe you miss a day or two on your exercise program and now it seems easier to grab a bag of chips than to walk on your treadmill.

Perhaps you return to the solace of a bowl of ice cream before bedtime. Or you go back to eating in the car instead of taking time to sit down and relax with your meal.

Try to identify times when you eat strictly out of habit, then decide how you could change your routine.

For example, instead of heading straight for the kitchen when you get home from work, try doing something that will break your normal pattern.

Turn into your driveway from the opposite side or use the back door of your home instead of your usual entrance.

When family rituals include things such as eating ice cream together, figure out how to stop yourself from automatically joining in. You might need to invent some new ways to feel connected to these people, even if you’re the only person in the group who changes.

Today’s assignment (My answers are in blue)

1. Make a list of habits that have caused you trouble in the past.

Drinking wine to relax in the evening. Skipping exercise because I don’t “feel” like it. Searching for cookies!!!

2. Add a list of people or events that you associate with food or eating.

Nice dinners out with my husband where we have long conversations, my lunch-time friend who always wants to order dessert, visiting my family and eating ice cream.

3.Write down a few ideas about how you can avoid slipping back into old habits.

Stay aware of times when my old habits sneak in, such as during family visits. Negotiate with people about what we’re eating. Have my healthy substitutes ready or at least planned out.

Filed Under: Long-term Success Tagged With: Days 81-90

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