Once you've swapped your bad habits for new healthy ones, you need a strategy to make sure you maintain things. Here's how to keep going and make good habits stick...
CHOOSE HEALTHY HABITS THAT SUIT YOU
To ensure a new habit becomes a long-term staple in your life, you need to choose an activity that fits with who you are and how you live. Otherwise, you'll find that you're fighting an uphill battle against personality and lifestyle factors that are too ingrained to change. When picking a habit you'd like to form, as well as your strengths and passions, it's good to keep in mind your day-to-day schedule, general stress levels and when you have free time available.
BOOK YOUR NEW HABIT INTO YOUR DIARY
If you don't have a specific plan for sticking with a new habit, it's all too easy to find that your already packed schedule won't allow you the "spare time" necessary to do anything new very often. You'll be too busy, too tired, or will easily find another excuse to ignore your best intentions. That's why a crucial next step is for you to book a specific time in your schedule just for this activity. And then write this slot into your diary for the next six months. Whether it's "every morning before my shower", "during my lunch break", or "weeknights at 8pm", you need to have a time that you know is set aside for your chosen activity so that you won't continually find a reason to ditch it.
GIVE IT AT LEAST 66 DAYS
A US study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology found that it took, on average, 66 days (or two to three months) for a new habit to become automatic and no longer need thinking about. So, if those first few weeks are a struggle, don't worry about it. As long as you manage to stick with your new healthy behaviour for at least three months, a new habit will form.
ASK YOURSELF HOW YOU'RE DOING
And answer honestly. Pay attention to how you feel. Does your new healthy habit fit with your lifestyle? Is it easy to maintain or do you think you may need to try something new? If you find that you haven't kept up with your new plans as much as you had hoped you would, rather than beating yourself up over it, congratulate yourself for noticing that you need a change of approach. It's the first step in building a new plan that will better serve you. And, if you're grinding along with a plan, and not feeling or believing the new habit will come naturally, at least you know what doesn't work for you. So now you can try something else that you may end up loving.
TAKE A BREATHER
Build short breaks into your master plan. We can do almost anything for short periods, but when we think about doing any behaviour for a lifetime, we're bound to feel overwhelmed. Discard all-or-nothing thinking, and enjoy a moderate break.
If you're losing weight and are avoiding eating sugar, have a sweet treat once every two weeks. Or, if you think you have more willpower, stick to a firm plan for four to six weeks, and then take a week off. Just make sure that during your "off " time you don't undo all of the progress that you've made - make the goal to maintain or relax a little, instead of indulging and sliding back.
LOOK AFTER YOURSELF
If you're always tired, hungry, stressed or depressed, you'll increase the likelihood of succumbing to a temptation and slipping back into your old bad habits. You'll find it easier to fight temptation if you:
Get a good night's sleep so you feel refreshed in the morning.
Stay hydrated - drink at least eight glasses of water every day to ward off dehydration headaches and fatigue.
Eat a balanced diet every day - including fruits, vegetables, wholegrain carbohydrates and lean protein.
Carry healthy snacks like unsalted nuts or a banana with you to nibble on when you feel hungry - this will ward off low blood sugar which can seriously deplete willpower.
Exercise or find 10 minutes a day "me" time to reduce stress.
Add your own tips in the comment section
If you find you haven't kept up with your plans, congratulate yourself for noticing a change is needed
Daily Mirror