Habit Stacking For Weight Loss Success

Creating new habits can be extremely difficult and overwhelming, especially when it comes to weight loss where you need to sustain several long-term changes. It will require you to implement these long-term changes into almost every aspect of your life from sleep management, to diet, to fitness, and more. You may not think about it, but you already have developed healthy habits in your everyday life. This includes brushing your teeth, waking up for work, and eating three meals a day. Combining your already existing healthy habits with new ones (also known as habit stacking) will help make the new healthier habits fit into your routine more easily and become more permanent in your life. To help keep you on track with your new healthy habits, work with a weight loss coach or personal trainer so they can help keep you motivated and share insight into how you can make these habits part of your everyday routine.

Habit Stacking For Weight Loss Success

Weight loss efforts can take a lot of time and prepping that can disrupt your already existing daily routine. If your new habits disrupt your life too much, you likely won’t stick with them. Habit stacking can implement your new weight loss supporting habits into the existing structure of your day-to-day life so you do not notice a significant change. Unlike fad diets or quick, unsustainable weight loss programs, habit stacking will help you create a healthier lifestyle that contributes to weight loss and maintenance while sustaining these new habits for the long term. 

4 Ways To Stack Habits To Help You Lose Weight

While Your Coffee Or Tea Brews, Meditate
When you are waiting for your coffee to brew or your tea to steep, instead of sitting on your phone or watching TV, choose to meditate instead. Meditation is beneficial for reducing stress and clearing your mind. High-stress levels are also linked to weight gain, therefore, taking the time to relax and check-in with yourself helps support your overall well-being and weight loss efforts. 

Go For A Walk After Every Meal
Going for a 10-20 minute walk after each meal will help prevent issues caused by too much sitting and sedentary behaviour while helping you build activity into your day. Long hours sitting at a desk while at work can lead to metabolic issues and obesity, therefore, the more you can move, the better it is for your health. Also, walking after each meal will mitigate blood sugar spikes which will help manage your weight.

Use Healthy Portions When Plating Your Meal
When you go to plate your meal, make sure to plate fruits and vegetables first so that they are at least covering half of your plate before plating other foods. This will help you get into the habit of prioritizing healthier food options while consuming more fruits and vegetables. Also, when you are eating, listen to your body when it tells you it is full. Sometimes a meal can be so good that you eat until you feel like you are in a food coma. This habit of overeating contributes to weight gain. By listening to your body when it first tells you it has had enough food, you will not be consuming unnecessary calories that can lead to weight gain. Instead of reaching for that second or third plate, instead, pack it up for leftovers to have the next day for you to enjoy.

Park Further Away
Whether you are going to work, the grocery store, or shopping, deliberately park further than you normally would to get in those extra walking steps. Parking farther away will help increase your daily activity.

Work With A Personal Trainer Or Weight Loss Coach
Getting into the habit of making exercise a priority in your life can be challenging. With work, kids, and life, it can be hard to find the time to put yourself first and get into a consistent routine of working out. A fitness coach will give you the tools and guide you in the right direction to meet your weight loss or fitness goals. This way you will not have to spend time trying to figure out what exercise routines you should be focussing on or taking the time to plan them. A personal trainer will take care of that all for you while holding you accountable for showing up and completing the workouts. Working with a fitness coach will allow you to build exercise habits much easier than you could on your own. Over time, you will be able to get into the habit of exercising and will be able to implement this healthy habit into your life for the long term.

Sustainable And Healthy Weight Loss Program In Calgary

Many people go about creating new healthy habits the wrong way. By deliberately relying on willpower and creating a “new lifestyle” for yourself, these tactics may only last you a couple of weeks at most before you are too burnt out, forcing you to regress back to the comfort of your old, unhealthy habits. By implementing healthy habits into your already existing daily routine, you will be avoiding the overwhelming shock of these weight loss habits, therefore, allowing you to sustain the changes for much longer. Long-term, sustainable habits are a process that requires mindfulness. The whole “ go big or go home” and life transformation approach will not work for everyone. However, a consistent, small-step approach that implements new habits into your already existing lifestyle will help you to not feel overwhelmed and to sustain the changes for longer. 

If you are looking to lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way that will compliment your already existing lifestyle, get in touch with Paul Anthony, Calgary’s #1 personal trainer and weight loss expert by calling (403) 612-3538 or by filling out our online contact form.

FAQs

Q: Do you have to eat healthy if you are exercising?
A: In order to be successful at weight loss, you must incorporate a healthy diet with regular exercise. Both of these tasks go hand in hand and without one or the other, you will not see desired results.

Q: I am afraid that lifting weights will make me look bulky. What should I do?
A: There is a misconception that lifting weights will give you a bulky appearance. Incorporating the right lifting techniques and exercises will still give you a lean appearance just with increased muscle tone and strength.

Q:  Can I afford a personal trainer?
A: It will depend on the trainer and what kind of training program you require. Call us today at (403) 612-3538 to set up a free consultation with one of our personal trainers.

Share this Post:

Related Posts