How to make healthy habits stick

If I’m trying to set a new healthy habit, I rarely set resolutions these days to be honest. Only because I think they make me feel quite negative. 

They can feel quite prescriptive and/or restrictive (do X, this many times per week or don’t do Y) leaving me very little wriggly room for my real life.

I beat myself up if I don’t live up to them (cue the negative self-talk) …

And if I’m not careful, I go into ‘sod it’ mode if I can’t stick with it. 

Not really the recipe for healthy habits or a happy lifestyle :) 

But what’s the alternative?

Making healthy habits stick

Did you know it takes on average 66 days to build a habit?

But the good news is that messing up along the way doesn’t mean you mess up overall. Just keep going…

That means if you set a NY resolution, you need to still be in the game on March 7th. 

If you’re thinking of setting a new habit, use this page to see what date is 66 days from now! 

It’s one thing to know the theory but another thing to put into practice. And 66 days, or over 2 months can feel daunting. 

So, rather than giving you more facts and tips, I’ve asked someone who’s done it what it was like, what she found difficult and how she made the decision to stay the course and change her eating habits. 

How Pippa made her healthy habits stick

Pippa was one of my first clients to go through my 12-week Real Life Midlife Weight Loss programme - i.e. longer than 66 days - here’s her highs and lows. 

Use her experience to help you change your eating habits…

This is an edited version of our chat (we know how to talk!) and if you’d rather watch the video, click here

Ruth: How were you feeling before you got started?

Pippa: I had real problems getting up in the mornings and I think probably one of my biggest concerns was that I was always tired, especially in afternoons I was really really struggling to maintain my work levels and my energy levels even at weekends and I found that really challenging.  

Also I seem to have eaten and drunk an enormous amount on holidays. But it just felt like it's out of control for me. I felt like I had no control over what I was eating,  what I was drinking, how I was managing it and I was just keeping going really with things like that. And I didn't like it.

The other thing was that I wear a skirt to work as a uniform. I had to stop wearing my normal skirt has a zip on it because it just doesn't fit and so I was in an elasticated waist skirt which didn't feel good because it felt like that was of my norm and so that will also quite a spurred me on. I didn't feel good about myself.

Ruth: Committing to a 12 week programme can be daunting - can you remember your initial concerns when you were about to embark on it?

Pippa: It’s quite hard. Firstly, it feels like an enormous commitment - committing to 12 weeks of anything and I suppose part of me just didn’t want to let you down or myself. I suppose the fear of not finishing or doing what I’m supposed to do at the time. I found that quite difficult beforehand. 

I was talking to my husband about that and saying ‘what if I can’t do it?’ “Well, you won’t know til you try!’ The commitment of 12 weeks was a big part of it and then it’s how it’s going to fit in with everything because changes are frightening things to do. 

It’s easy to stay where you are and I think with things like the children and work how is it supposed to fit in. My life is so busy how am I going to make any changes within that 

Ruth: What makes life so busy for you?

Pippa: Well, like a lot of people, life’s very busy. I have two children who come with school and homework and enormous amounts of outside school activities. I also work four days a week and I've a husband who sometimes has to work late too. So things are pretty hectic, pretty full-on.  I enjoy running as well so I try and make sure I get out as many times a week. So like a lot of people it takes more time, it’s hectic.

Ruth: What’s it like sticking to 12 weeks because you had those concerns and then with hindsight- how was it?

Pippa: Well it was great. I loved it. I got an awful lot out of it. I can tell by where I am 12 months later that I got a lot out of it. 

I think the pace of the 12 week course is really good. You have time and when you’re making changes time is really important. The one thing I took from it was that it was a small change at a time so if you're making you make one small change and that’s all you’re changing. So for the first week all I changed was one thing. By the time it came to the second week that was reasonably well embedded and I was usually ready to try the next change because I was already used to this change. 

The other thing I really valued about the 12 week course is that you just introduced things when you are ready. There were a few times where you went - ‘let’s leave that for this week and just focus on this’ and you can do that and tailor it because there’s time. You were like ’well you can do that, we’ll introduce that later, let’s look at this, this is where you’re at at the moment.’ 

Ruth: What were some of the things as you gradually changed your eating habits?

Pippa: The first thing I noticed was my improved energy levels especially in the afternoons and I think changing my breakfasts did that. It felt like quite an immediate change for me. So very soon into it I felt like I had more energy in my afternoons, work felt better. 

The change in breakfast was a big thing for me because I like my cereal and the convenience of it and I’ve managed to maintain the better breakfasts but that’s really helped maintain the energy levels. I'm sure that there's a strong link between my afternoon energy levels and my change in breakfast so that's helped.

I think the food choices I make are better on the whole. So I'm not perfect. I know what a better choice is for a meal. I can look at the menu and choose the thing that would be better. And things like chocolate - I really really love chocolate - and we increased the dark chocolate to 70%, 85%. I still struggle with 90%. I like that and that is my norm. So to have other types of chocolate - yeah, I might have it occasionally  - but I don’t enjoy it in the same way as my norm.

Ruth: And have you managed to maintain your healthy habits 18 months later? 

Pippa: I’d say we worked quite hard during those 12 weeks and lots of changes and I would say that now I'm not doing everything quite as rigidly as I was in those twelve weeks but I’ve definitely maintained the ethos of the programme and how and what it's taught me, what I’ve learned from it.  Firstly, I‘ve kept the weight off. So I still wear the zip up skirt and my weight is as it was 12 months ago which is really good actually. And it feels like not that much effort. 

Ruth: Any advice for anyone thinking about trying to change their eating habits?

Pippa: I think I would say do it. It’s one of the best things  that I have done for my own health and well being, without a doubt. I feel so much better, I feel like I look better, my clothes fit better and that helps a lot. 

So, no matter what programme or approach you adopt, you need to have a long-term mind-set, not worry about the slip ups and just keep going… at least for 66 days!

And if this is something you’d like help with then by all means schedule a phone call and we can chat about your next best steps - you can schedule a best time HERE.

Content Disclaimer

The information contained above is provided for information purposes only. The contents of this blog are not intended to amount to advice and you should not rely on any of the contents of this blog. Professional advice should be obtained before taking or refraining from taking any action as a result of the contents of this blog. Midlife Menu Ltd disclaims all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on any of the contents of this blog.

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