Personal Trainer Melrose Park – Keys to Success #5

Personal Trainer Melrose Park – Keys to Success #5

Changing Unwanted Habits

Whether our sweet tooth is telling us we need dessert each night after dinner, or a stressful day at work makes us crave a drink, we are all familiar with unhealthy habits in our lives. Often, we wish to stop these behaviors, but we have become so accustomed to them that it is very difficult to change…that’s why they’re called habits.

Unwanted habits may be hard to shake for a variety of reasons. The first step is to understand why you act on them in the first place. Once you identify the why, you can begin to figure out how you can take steps to make change. Although habits are obviously unique to each person and their individual circumstances, here are what I believe to be the top ways to begin tackling the unhealthy ones:

Break Your Psychological Ties
You may find that what’s standing between your desire and your ability to change is a psychological attachment to a particular activity. Most habits form from ingrained patterns that we follow. We may have adopted these from our families while growing up, or maybe as ‘coping’ strategies during stressful times as we’ve gotten older. This association between the unhealthy habit and temporary relief or gratification is what makes us keep going back for more. Once you’ve identified that the habit is unhealthy and you are somewhat reliant on it, you’ve tackled half the battle!

The next step, is start to slowly “wean off”, by actively limiting the particular activity. For example, if you automatically grab a candy bar right after dinner because it’s what you always do, bring a level of awareness to this behavior and begin to do it less often. Maybe you cut down from nightly to 3 nights a week. Over time you may find that you don’t need the candy bar to feel full and will most likely stop craving it all together.

Find A Support System
If you’ve been engaging in the same unhealthy habits for a long time, it’s also possible that you’ve surrounded yourself with others who partake in the same behavior, or are at least associated with it to some degree. Social pressure can have a huge influence on our ability to make positive lifestyle changes. It is very challenging to break a habit if others around you continue to engage in the unwanted behavior. While you certainly shouldn’t ditch your friends or family, seeking out a new group of likeminded people can be a huge help.

For example, if you’ve become part of the office crew that runs out for a quick trip to the nearest fast-food joint at lunch break, try branching out with other co-workers who you’ve noticed have healthy habits that you’d like to embrace. Brown bagging a healthy lunch is always a great option! Like-minded people who are already engaging in the behaviors you seek to incorporate into your own life can serve as great motivators and support systems to help keep you on track and headed in the right direction!

Personal Trainer Melrose Park can help with your goals.

We would love to help you live a healthy strong life. Schedule a  Free Intro Session  at a Personal Trainer near me venue like D8 Training in Clarence Gardens today.

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