My friend Kevin was telling me of his weight loss struggles.
He realized he kept procrastinating about working on the weight loss because there are about 10 habits he wanted to focus on to make it happen. He realized he was overwhelming himself by thinking about the 10 habits, and the path forward finally became clear to him when he was talking with a life coach he calls periodically who said to focus on only one new habit over the following two weeks.
One of his weight-loss strategies is drinking two protein shakes a day. He would drink one right after he worked out. “That was automatic for me,” he told me. And then he was supposed to drink one in the afternoon, but he would often forget until it was too late in the day (nearly time for dinner).
The coach suggested setting an alarm for 3 o’clock every day, and that’s what he began doing. “The first shake was paired with the workout,” he said, “and now I’ve paired the alarm and shake number two—in other words, the alarm is the trigger.
He told me for the next couple of weeks he focused on watching his carbs. He had started eating fewer white potatoes and the like and wanted to take that further.
When I told him how much I loved his story, he said, “It’s your suggestion I’m following.” I explained I meant I was happy for him and also I love success stories in general. Plus, his story was particularly appealing to me because it has so many great elements in it: getting past procrastination, recognizing and creating triggers, creating habits, breaking down big goals into little pieces, focusing on them one at a time, and the use of the word “automatic” (which is one of the ways to spot a habit).
Also, he lost four pounds during the first couple of weeks, so it was a success story, and success motivates you to further change and to stick with the changes you’ve made so far.
What’s your success story? Please join the conversation with your comments…
All the best,
David