When you want to lose weight or get fitter or healthier, where do you even begin?
How do you know what will work?
Especially when we’re in peri/menopause, and our bodies are changing, and nothing seems to work like before.
First, it’s important to know, there are no right or wrong ways.
There are many ways to get to these goals.
So, the only way to screw up is to spend too much time wondering what to do.
That said, pick an area to work on and begin.
If weight loss is your goal, you could choose from areas like food, eating habits, stress reduction, sleep, exercise…
The list is endless.
Choose ONE area only.
I know ONE area will not feel like enough.
You’ll feel like you should be working on all fronts to get to this goal already.
But, trust me…
The snowball effect is on your side here.
For example, you know you’re having issues getting to bed on time, so you’re not getting enough sleep.
This is impacting your energy all day long, causing you to make less than stellar decisions and being too tired to workout.
So, in this case, SLEEP sounds like a great area to begin
From there, choose ONE habit to work on
So, if you need to get up by 6 or 6:30am, you might decide a good bedtime would be 10pm.
But if you’re currently getting to bed at 11:30pm, you’ll need to build up to 10pm.
So, in the first week, you’ll work on getting to bed at 11:15pm.
Then in the second week, 11pm.
Then in the third week, 10:45pm.
Until you’re finally getting to bed at 10pm.
Once you’ve got that habit down, work on the next logical habit
In this case it might be putting your cell phone in another room.
Start by putting it just out of reach.
And each night, or every few nights, place it further and further away from your bed.
Then, pick another habit.
Maybe it’s cutting off all caffeine after 2pm.
Again, work your way from where you are now, in small increments, until you get to no caffeine after 2pm.
Yes, these first few habits take time.
Patience is needed.
But notice what happens…
In this example, once you’ve worked on these three habits, you’ll probably find that you’re sleeping much better.
And because you’re sleeping better, you’ll actually find you have the energy to go for a walk each day at lunch.
And you’ll discover you’re also making better food choices, because you’re a lot less fatigued.
And because you’re feeling so good, your DESIRE to create healthy habits increases, and you actually create more healthy habits.
Your progress grows exponentially.
That’s the power of the snowball effect.
Summarizing the snowball effect of healthy habits
When I’m working with clients, I tell them that progress will seem slow at first.
And that they’ll probably wonder why we’re not doing more and going faster.
But I tell them we’re harnessing the power of the snowball effect.
Before they know it, they’ll be mastering new habits, and affecting ten others.
And they’ll be seeing changes in their bodies and lives that they could have only imagine
It’s amazing, but it truly does work.
If you want to harness the power of the snowball effect, here it is in six steps:
- Pick a goal (e.g. weight loss)
- Choose one area that will get you closer to that goal (e.g. sleep)
- Choose one habit within that area to work on (e.g. going to bed by 10pm)
- Master that habit and then proceed to another habit (e.g. putting cell phone in another room) – repeat once or twice
- Stop once that area is working (e.g. sleeping 8 hours) and notice the effect on other areas (e.g. exercise, eating,…)
- Repeat in another area as needed.
And then keep moving forward,
Debbie
P.S. Are you interested in harnessing the snowball effect to create healthier habits? I’d love to help you. Contact me for a free consultation.
Email me, message me, or book a time to talk through Zoom.