This one thing is even better for fat loss than discipline. It’s better than all of the motivation in the world. It will help you stay on track with your daily workouts and clean eating meal plan too. Here’s everything you need to know about habits for fat loss.
The one thing that is most important to ensure you are successful are your habits.
Why are habits for fat loss so important?
Habits reduce cognitive load and free up mental capacity, so you can allocate your attention to other tasks.
When you are not in the habit of doing daily workouts it takes willpower to get yourself up and out the door to the gym.
If you aren’t in the habit of making a menu every Sunday and grocery shopping, but instead choose to wing it each day, your food choices will likely be less healthy.
If you have to wake up each morning and figure out what you will wear to the gym, what you will do when you get there, you are less likely to go.
Unless you are in the habit of basing your meals off of a protein, vegetable, carb and fat, your eating will likely be out of alignment with your goals.
The more you have to utilize willpower, brain power, and force, the less mental bandwidth you will have and the harder you are making this stuff on yourself.
I follow a workout program from my coach because it gives me more freedom to spend my time to help clients. I also have the habit of eating similar things at the same time everyday. This frees up more mental and emotional bandwidth so I can handle other things life throws at me.
Here are four steps to building habits for fat loss:
- You need a cue to trigger your brain to initiate a behavior. For example, this may be your sneakers by the door to remind you to run. Perhaps it’s your gym clothes on the bathroom counter so you can throw them on and head to the gym first thing. Or maybe it’s the weekly menu you have on the fridge that tells you what healthy recipe you are making for dinner.
- You need a craving to motivate you to form the habit. This is something from the outside that is interpreted by the individual through thoughts, feelings and emotions. Maybe it’s how much you hated seeing a photo of yourself and you want to crawl out of your skin. Or perhaps it’s a weight goal that enables you to participate in a certain activity. It could even be simply to have more energy because you are tired of being tired all of the time. You will need to be able to easily draw upon this anytime, any day as you build the habit.
- There needs to be a response to that cue. Your response is the actual habit you perform. You see your running shoes and remember how much you hated that photo. This is your cue to tie up your laces and hit the pavement. Or you walk in the door from work and feel hungry. This is your cue to check your menu and start cooking your clean eating recipe.
- The four step is the reward. The reward may be achieving the end goal, but you need to acknowledge other rewards along the way. If your big goal is to lose 40 pounds in 18 months, you should recognize each pound lost. Or if your goal is to have more energy, you should acknowledge how great you feel when you choose a salad over fries. Rewards can be small, but they need to be celebrated.
Now I’d like to hear from you.. What are some habits for fat loss you have utilized that have been helpful? Comment below!
If you are struggling with getting started, creating habits for fat loss, or maintaining them, reach out and let’s work together! I offer online personal training and coaching for women all over the world.
Your Coach,
Kyra