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I wanted to take a moment and update how my habit building for this month is going. My goal was to give up sweets while I’m at work AND to start weighing every day.

In the last two weeks, I’ve had sweets at work once. Not bad.

I’m weighing about every other day. I’m not sure why this one is tough since the scale is right there in the bathroom. I have to step over the darn thing a dozen times a day!

Here’s how I’ve managed to give up my sweet treats at work. I was in the habit of grabbing dessert with lunch. Unfortunately, there’s also a vending machine right outside my office that’s full of temptation.

First, dealing with desserts was relatively easy: I started packing lunch. I can pack healthier food and save money compared to the cafeteria fare. That removes me from one source of temptation with little problem.

I guess I could ask that the vending machine be moved, but somehow I doubt that’s going to happen. Instead, I plan for a healthy snack in the afternoon; if I get really tired or stressed, my willpower is almost nonexistent. I keep diet hot chocolate mix in my office (25 calories) and have that when I want something sweet or chocolatey. I keep fruit in case I get hungry. Those two tactics have helped me avoid the vending machine.

Also, I know that I’m a stress eater, so I have to find a better way to wind down. When things get rough, I shut my door and listen to some music or even a book on tabe while I work. It gives me a chance for some quiet time, and I can de-stress without munching.

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that I wanted to work on two new habits: weighing every day and avoiding sweets at work.

While I haven’t been entirely successful, I have done better lately. I’m weighing more often, but I’m still not in the habit of doing it every day.

As for the sweets, I fell off the wagon once last week. That’s not bad, considering I had grown used to sweets almost every day. Unfortunately, our cafeteria always has a big selection of desserts, and it’s tough for me to resist those. Add to that the vending machine across the hall, and I have a lot of temptation to deal with.

One thing that helps is packing lunch. That helps me avoid the cafeteria, and the dessert bar. I also keep some diet hot chocolate mix in my office for a sweet treat for the afternoon. It’s not a candy bar or slice of pie, but it usually does the trick.

I think it’s important to work on habits for at least 2-3 weeks. It’s easy to fall into old habits during that first week or two, but I try not to beat myself up. I didn’t get the habit in a week, so it’s not likely that I’ll break it in a week either.

What habits are you trying to change?

I need to get back on track developing my habits, so I’m going to bring back the monthly habits post here on the blog.

For this month, I want to do two things.

1. start weighing again daily
2. stop eating sweets at work

Unfortunately, I’ve gotten back into the habit of eating sweets with lunch and/or from the vending machine. My goal this month is to give that up.

I’ll post periodic updates to let you know how that’s coming for me.

If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I believe that dieting isn’t a very productive thing to do. Instead, I’ve worked on changing my habits gradually, and I’ve taken off about 30 pounds in the last year.

My advice on starting a new habit? Pick one and work on it for an entire month. Anything more than that is going to be overwhelming. Choose something that’s doable. Notice that I didn’t say I’d give up sweets entirely for the month, just not while I’m at work. That’s better than what I’m doing now, and it’s a good step along the way without being too much at once.

Work has been hectic, so my blogging schedule is way off track. You’ll probably see some shorter posts for the next few days until things slow down again.

Packing lunch daily is going well. I’m experimenting with different stir-fry recipes, so it’s going well so far. I’m getting used to not eating out, so that’s a plus.

Exercising daily isn’t going so well. I’ve spent some time painting, doing yard work, etc. Unfortunately, I’m only exercising about three or four days a week. Not bad, but not what I was hoping for either. I guess that goes to show how hard this will be for me.

How’s the diet and exercise going for everyone else?

As I mentioned the other day, this month, I’ve committed to building the exercise habit.

So, here’s my update so far.

Yesterday, I did some shopping. Yep, I know that’s a stretch, but give me a break. It was my first day.

Today, I spent over an hour painiting trim. We have an older home with high ceilings, so that also meant climbing up and down the ladder. I think that one definitely qualifies as exercise!

So, for those of you building the exercise habit, what have you done so far this month?

I thought I’d bring back the monthly habit posts here. For one thing, I think a lot of my recent weight loss success has been due to creating (and maintaining) a no-seconds habit.

As I mentioned in that earlier post, I haven’t had much luck building the exercise habit lately. So, in September my goal is to exercise every day, even if it’s just for 10 minutes or so. The idea is to build the habit, not get carried away with long exercise times.

Here are the “rules” I’m setting for myself.

1. Exercise can be pretty much any physical activity, as long as it’s either something I usually don’t do, or more than I usually do. I’m going to try to stick with walking and strength-training, but I won’t rule out a long shopping trip on the weekends.
2. I’m setting 10 minutes as the minimum exercise time daily.
3. My goal is to exercise every day, but I’ll consider six days a week a success.

I’m sure I don’t have to mention the benefits of exercise or the fact that it can help speed weight loss. If you’re like me, you know why you should; it’s just difficult getting motivated to do it.

If you’d like to participate, then post your own goals below. I’ll keep you updated throughout the month.

Okay, I did it. I made it more than half the month, I made it through eating out, candy jars at work and at home. Did I cheat then? Nope.

I broke down and ate two Dove sugar free chocolates. (sigh) My chocolate cravings came back full-force today, and I have to say these really helped. They’re not too sweet at all, but they are practically bitter with chocolate. I guess if I had to cheat, they’re not a terrible choice, but I would have rather made it the whole month.

I’m going to keep going for the rest of the month, despite the chocolates! I know that chocolate is one of the toughest things for me to give up. What’s your weakness?

So, if you’re working on giving up sweets this month, how’s it going?

I’ve been able to maintain my goal, but it’s difficult. I can’t say that I haven’t had cravings for sweets; I have! I’m using artificial sweetener in my tea, and a banana in my cereal adds enough sweetness that I don’t miss can do without the sugar.

I really miss chocolate though, but it seems to be getting easier as the month goes on. I’m hoping that by the end of the month the cravings won’t be so bad. I’ll probably try some sugar-free chocolate, but not until after the month is over. I’m afraid that it’ll get me started again, and I’ll have a tough time continuing the habit.

How’s your progress?

You’ve committed to changing your diet

You’ve made a commitment to improve your diet in order to improve your health. Whether you’re giving up a particular food or trying to work in more healthy foods, you’re making a change to your eating habits. How strict do you need to be? If you’re anything like me, the idea that you simply can’t have a favorite food (even if it’s junk!) isn’t very appealing. However, you know that you need to eat better.

Your commitment is for a lifetime

Because you’ve committed to making a permanent change to your eating habits, you’ll need to look at what you eat, and why, more carefully. You’re not simply giving up sweets for the month only to go back to munching on candy bars daily, are you? There’s not a lot of point in that, is there? The point of developing a habit is so it becomes, well, a habit.

No, that doesn’t mean you can never eat sweets (or some other junk food) again.

What it does mean is that you’ll

1. Prove to yourself that you can do without the food you’ve chosen to give up for a month,
2. Reduce your cravings for that food,
3. Enable you to eat the food in moderation, when and if you choose to.

I’m giving up sweets for the month. Does that mean that I’ll give them up permanently? No. What it does mean is that I’ll reduce the amount of sweets I eat, even after the habit-building month is over.

Cheat only after 30 days of habit-building

This is an important point. You need to give yourself the month to develop your habit before deciding to break it. Otherwise, you’re more likely to give up entirely. Besides, you want to prove you can do it, don’t you?

Schedule your cheating

Okay, you’ve completed your month of habit-building, and you’re ready to allow yourself the occasional treat. How do you do that without falling back into old habits?

One technique is to schedule one day a week as a cheat day. On that day, you can allow yourself to indulge, guilt-free.

Another idea is to allow yourself one treat a week. This is more flexible, allowing you to splurge on the spur of the moment. However, be careful that your treat stays once a week!

Too much cheating can lead to falling back into old habits

Adhering pretty closely to the habit you just created is important, at least in the few weeks after your initial month is over. Too much cheating, too soon, can lead you to quickly fall back into your old eating patterns. It’s all too easy to become accustomed to cheating again.

Too-rigid adherence can lead to giving up out of frustration

Beware of erring in the opposite direction. Denying yourself for weeks or even months is a recipe (pun intended) for disaster. Eventually, you’ll be so tired of doing without, you’ll binge, and then it will be even harder to get back on track. Remember, moderation is key! I don’t look at these changes as a diet, but as a way to re-train myself to eat better for the rest of my life.

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m working on giving up sweets this month. While this doesn’t mean that I’m giving them up forever, it is a way for me to prove to myself that I can give them up. After my month is over, I’ll likely indulge occasionally, but I’ll know that the cravings are something that I can manage.

Twelve Habits

I was thinking that it might be useful to throw out a list of other habits that are beneficial, in case you’re interested in trying a new habit this month as well and giving up sweets doesn’t appeal to you.

1. Give up a “weakness” food. We all have them, the not-so-healthy food that you just can’t resist. For me, it’s chocolate, in just about any form. Whatever yours is, can you give it up for 30 days?
2. How about junk food? Can you give up chips and such?
3. Work on getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Maybe you can plan on trying at least one new vegetable or fruit a week during the month. Try to have a serving of vegetables and fruit and almost every meal.
4. Exercise daily.
5. Walk 10,000 steps a day.
6. Give up second helpings. I did this one a while back, and the habit has still stuck. I think this has done more than anything else to help me keep my weight steady through the stress of the last months.
7. Switch to whole grains. You’ve probably heard this one before, but change from white bread, rice and pasta to the whole grain versions.
8. Switch to a lower fat dairy product. Whether it’s milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. Try a lower fat version for a month.
9. Give up sugared drinks. If you can’t stand diet drinks, switch to water.
10. De-stress. Whatever you choose to do, take time each day to wind down and deal with the stress of your daily life.
11. Eat breakfast. If you’re not eating breakfast already, you should start. It gives you the energy to get started and gives your metabolism a jump-start.
12. Close the kitchen. Set a time every evening when the kitchen is closed, and commit to not eating after that time.

It’s no accident that I listed twelve habits. If you were to choose your own twelve get-healthier habits and commit to one per month, how much better off would you be this time next year? I bet a lot better off.

Getting There

I’m a firm believer in setting up rewards to help get through the rough spots. The only trick is, don’t make it a food reward!

I like to give myself a small daily reward for staying on track, such as getting to spend some time doing something I enjoy. For each week, I like to plan something a little bigger, like a movie or another outing. For a monthly treat, I usually plan on buying myself something I really want, but I don’t break the bank.

Decide on a healthy habit you want to build and commit to doing it for a month. Then, plan out some rewards to help you along the way. Post in the comments and let us know what you’ll be working on.