Do you WISH it was easier to stick with your low carb lifestyle? Wish you had MORE MOTIVATION for staying on track and doing what you KNOW is best for yourself consistently? YEP! WE ALL DO!!
Well... stop WISHING and START CREATING a SYSTEM for success! Motivation comes and goes for all of us! You need to create an ENVIRONMENT that makes STAYING ON TRACK EASY, even when you have no motivation to do so!
A wish is as good as a dream...unless you take steps to make that dream into a reality, it ain't gonna happen! This was a recent topic in our EHFix LIVE! support group this past week... let me share what we learned together:
So how do you make GOOD HABITS stick? Try following the advice of best selling author James Clear. In his book Atomic Habits (#1 on the NYTimes best selling books for 9 months straight!), he argues in order to create a HABIT, you must change your MINDSET and your ENVIRONMENT to support it!
Here are his 4 LAWS for creating GOOD HABITS along with some specific examples our EHFix LIVE! group came up with:
(1) Make it OBVIOUS (cue your habit to begin)
examples:
-keep your Magnesium next to your toothbrush. Take it BEFORE your brush!
-turn your lights down in the evening to cue sleepiness/readiness for bed
-leave your car keys with your gym shoes
-place a sign on the refrigerator reminding you NOT TO SNACK
(2)Make it ATTRACTIVE
examples:
-place a water glass IN FRONT OF my coffee mug- water first, then coffee!
-make delicious LC meals for family members to entice them to the LC lifestyle
-eat bacon, chicken wings, and cheeseburgers when the naysayers are around
-plan a CHEAT day for every 2 weeks you stay on track
-buy some new hiking shoes you love making use of
-plan a keto bomb dessert for the end of a full week on track
-set up a relaxing space where you meditate in your home
-drink ONLY water or seltzer from a beautiful vessel you cherish using
-visualize a HEALTHIER you and PLAY THE ROLE of "healthy you" in your life
(3)Make it EASY
examples
-set out your gym clothes each night to make gym readiness a no brainer
-set up a dedicated home gym space
-buy ready made low carb meals with zero prep time for low motivation days
-have breakfast for dinner
-buy an air fryer for easy and fast low carb cooking
-order in a low carb option
-prep your meals and freeze ahead
-make all your meals for the week in one day
-have the same 4-7 meals on rotation and switch monthly or by season
-cut up your veggies for easy grab and go, lunch packing, or meal additions
-buy the EHFix cookbook for lots of meal ideas at your fingertips (get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Emergency-Health-Fix-Carb-Cooking/dp/B09919995K/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3GN7884EXY2CB&keywords=erin+reardon+cookbook&qid=1649706920&sprefix=erin+reard%2Caps%2C58&sr=8-2)
(4)Make it IMMEDIATELY SATISFYING
examples:
-place a sticker/smiley face on a calendar each day you stay on track
-take a minute to THANK YOURSELF after every exercise routine completed
-treat yourself to the sauna or massage chair at your gym after workouts
-place $1 in a jar EVERY DAY you stay on track for CHEAT DAYs or vacations!
Just as important as creating GOOD HABITS is trying to ERASE BAD HABITS!! This may seem obvious, but all you need to do is FLIP THE LAWS above☝️ upside down. To BREAK A BAD HABIT, follow these OPPOSITE rules:
(1)Make it invisible (rather than obvious)
examples:
-want to eat less JUNK, BUY less junk
-hide bad food options in a hard to access place
-place higher carb items bought for guests in the freezer
-give away your larger clothes, plan to not need them again
(2)Make it UN-attractive
examples:
-think of junk food as toxic and keep it away from you
-begin thinking of smoking, alcohol use, sugary treats as UGLY HABITS
-put an unflattering, HEAVY pic of you inside the door of the snack cabinet
(3)Make it difficult (not easy)
examples:
-prevent mindless scrolling, charge your phone in another room at night
-force yourself to leave the house if you want a dessert
(4)Make it UN-satisfying
examples:
-pay a friend $5 every time you don't join them in exercise class
-give a $50 donation to a political candidate you hate if you fall off the wagon
According to my LIVE! crew, joining EHFix LIVE! is one of the best ways to stay on track and stay motivated. We make a HABIT of connecting with each other at least once a day for support. And we meet once weekly on ZOOM to check in and learn from each other. Staying connected with your low carb family for max support makes everything easier! It's nice to meet and talk with people in the same boat! We ALL have family members and friends that are sick of hearing about our low carb life!! 😂 We have many shared experiences- we have a lot to share always! The changes we experience daily are HUGE!
Need more support?? JOIN EHFix LIVE! Here's the link: https://www.emergencyhealthfix.com/product-page/ehfix-live-monthly-subscription
Let me leave you with a few more thoughts from James Clear about HABITS:
"Success is the product of daily habits—not once-in-a-lifetime transformations."
"Time magnifies the margin between success and failure. It will multiply whatever you feed it. Good habits make time your ally. Bad habits make time your enemy."
"Goals are about the results you want to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results."