[PurpleViolet]

Another weekend has passed. Monday, here I go again...I promise...yet here I am at Wed, and the cycle repeats itself. Except it is getting shorter.

This time, I've really had enough of the start/stops. I'm committed to tap into all experience and knowledge to make it work. Have to try something different as what I've tried before has not worked (and I've tried a lot).

[Chunkahlunkah]

Hi, PurpleViolet!

Do you have a plan yet for what you'll be doing differently?

I wondered if perhaps you pick a weight loss strategy that's strict and lots of changes at once, so quitting is very tempting? It would be much easier to stay the course if you start out slow, like picking just one thing to change. Something that YOU really want to do, so it doesn't feel like someone else's rules that then trigger a desire to rebel and go back to being yourself. For example, when I got serious about losing weight, I started walking 4-5 nights a week after work. That was an achievable goal for me b/c my job had a gym which made the workout super convenient. I also started out easy: walked just 30 minutes, and did less on days when that felt like too much. Soon I was walking 60 minutes b/c I enjoyed it. In the beginning, I didn't make any specific plans about food. Small changes in that area started to fall into place over time.

What's the saying? That it takes 3 weeks to form a new habit? If you pick healthy habits but stagger them in difficulty level, in a few months you'll be living a lifestyle change.

[PurpleViolet]

Thank you so much for the warm welcome and sharing your experience :-)

Do I have a plan - not yet but your reply has triggered something for me. Overeating has been a complex subject for me and having studied science has added more complexity e.g. I have tried all different carb/protein/fat ratios to no avail. You mentioned focusing on one thing and indeed it takes several weeks for a habit to form. I just realized that there is one thing I have not tried. I will give it some more thought. Will update in next few days.

Thanks again!

[Chunkahlunkah]

Cool, I look forward to the update!

And don't feel bad if a new habit takes longer than 3 weeks b/c apparently that's hogwash and research says it takes 66 days, but that figure may have been what you were alluding to when you said several weeks. I'm amused by the idea that there's a precise number of days. But I get the gist of what they mean, that 66 is the average. So no wonder it can be hard for people to stay with a new program after the honeymoon phase ends. I know everyone's different and some people probably like adopting a totally different way of eating etc, but what's always worked best for me is changing one thing, then in time another few, and so on, and letting the process develop naturally. You may be similar.

You got this.

Here's an excerpt from an article about it. I'm inspired to make a resolution of tackling 6 new habits in 2017, adding a new one every two months. But since one of the habits I need to break is procrastination, I probably won't get around to that project until 2019.

On average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behavior becomes automatic — 66 days to be exact. And how long it takes a new habit to form can vary widely depending on the behavior, the person, and the circumstances. In Lally’s study, it took anywhere from 18 days to 254 days for people to form a new habit.

In other words, if you want to set your expectations appropriately, the truth is that it will probably take you anywhere from two months to eight months to build a new behavior into your life — not 21 days.

Interestingly, the researchers also found that “missing one opportunity to perform the behavior did not materially affect the habit formation process.” In other words, it doesn’t matter if you mess up every now and then. Building better habits is not an all-or-nothing process.
...
Understanding this from the beginning makes it easier to manage your expectations and commit to making small, incremental improvements — rather than pressuring yourself into thinking that you have to do it all at once.

http://jamesclear.com/new-habit

[PurpleViolet]

One week on, here is my update:

1. What is absolutely working - installed a food tracker on my phone and tracked all food and I mean all food. Great insight, including how easy it is to overeat. The weight Is beginning to shift which is amazing given that it hasn't for months in spite of the running I've been doing.
2. What can be improved - being comfortable with having an empty/semi-empty stomach hence not reaching for food the minute I get that 'empty' discomfort in my stomach

key is to persist in creating and keeping the habit :-)

[Chunkahlunkah]

How awesome is that?! Well done, PurpleViolet!