Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Breaking a Habit

When you are in the middle of a challenge, it's hard to imagine coming through the other side. If you are looking at getting healthy this year, you may remember all of the times you've failed. But take a moment and remember other major obstacles that you've encountered and conquered in life. When you are in the midst of the crisis it seems insurmountable. But you lived, the crisis is behind you and you probably learned that you are stronger than you thought you were.

Remembering those triumphant times will help you know that you have the strength to do this too. My downfall has always been at night. I can normally spend all day eating well, including a decent dinner. After dishes, some laundry and household chores, I tend to sit down for television with my family for an hour or so before bed. Sixty minutes can undo 14 hours of hard work.

To substitute this bad habit with a good one, I've come up with some ideas to keep from snacking on junk food at night.

  • Skip TV if it's associated with food (plus commercials showing food make you want to eat)
  • Pamper yourself and get to sleep earlier than normal for a well-rested night (sleep aids in weight loss plus you won't be around temptations)
  • Brew hot decaffeinated tea and read a good book
  • Light a candle and listen to favorite music

2 comments:

  1. Excellent suggestions. I concur, I can get through the day on a very healthy track. I even kick it off most days with walking or running. But for me, it is something about crossing that home threshold. Now that I am home, comfortable, I want to climb into that "cocoon" a little more and get into comfort food/habits that are not healthy. So Silly! I appreciate your thoughts on suggestions! keep up the great work!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Melissa. I know what you mean about the cocoon. I have found that especially true with exercise. After work, dinner, dishes and a bit of laundry the LAST thing I feel like doing is working out. I've been using the treadmill in our building to walk a couple of miles at lunchtime. I eat small snacks instead of a big lunch so it's a win-win. Keep in touch.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your comment. It will be reviewed and posted to the blog shortly.