As I said in part 1, many people are often advised to make lifestyle changes in order to reduce illness, improve quality of life, lose weight, improve mental health, etc.
And while it’s good advice and should be followed if your health is suffering due to your lifestyle choices, people are often just given vague advice on what to do.
What they need is a clear path to achieving it, and at Reset Fitness, The Habit Snowball is that path that has delivered the elusive ‘Lifestyle Change’ to many people.
In part 1, we covered understanding your current lifestyle level sogive that a read first if you haven’t done it already.
Now we’re going to cover the 10 core habits that, when implemented, will take a client from a Level 1 lifestyle to a Level 2 lifestyle, over 6-12 months- be sure to read part 1 to get clarity on the different lifestyle levels.
While there area ton of habits people can work on to improve their health, fitness and quality of life, we focus on these 10 habits as they deliver the most longterm benefits and sustainable results.
A big part of our coaching system centres around meeting clients where they’re currently at with their health and fitness, so the order of implementing habits may change from client to client.
The 10 Core Habits of Lifestyle Change
1. Exercise
A well rounded program should consist of resistance work, conditioning work, mobility and flexibility work.
Because this isn’t always possible for people for many reasons, this habit might start off with just a few walks or any mode of exercise the client has access to- the key is to get the habit started and we can optimise it later on.
2. Drink 2 litres of water a day
Some people need more water, other people need less but 2 litres is a good, clear starting target for most people to get them hydrated, and it’s easily adjustable to better meet their needs if required.
I tell clients that you can’t compete with dehydration, so getting your water in, along with exercise, are the first habits we work on with clients, and they can’t believe the difference it makes.
3. Eat 3-5 portions of veggies a day
Veggies provide us with vitamins, minerals, fibre and water.
This help us feel fuller for longer and less likely to snack on junk due to hunger, helps keep our gut healthy, improves our energy and mental clarity, plays a role in maintaining a healthy weight, among many other benefits
The rule is:
– 4 to 5 fist-sized portions most days
– 3 fist-sized portions some days
– Never less than 3 fist-sized portions any day
4. Practice portion/appetite control
Consume more calories than you burn off and you’ll gain weight.
Consume less calories than you burn off and you’ll lose weight
Eat the same amount of calories that you burn off and you’ll maintain weight.
This is the non-negotiable principle of weight management, and the reason why developing portion and appetite control skills is one of our core habits.
5. Make educated carb choices
Every food you eat is made up of 1 or a combination of the 3 macronutrients, fat, protein and carbohydrates.
A habit we consistently see with level 1 lifestyles is people consuming far too many carbs at the expense of enough healthy fats and protein.
We tell clients that carbs aren’t bad for them and that they have massive benefits, but excess carb consumption isn’t doing them any favours and needs to be addressed over time.
6. Eat lean protein with each meal
As outlined above, level 1 clients tend to eat far too little protein in favour of excess carb consumption, which is far from ideal.
When it comes to healthy weight loss, the emphasis should be on fat loss, not weight loss at any cost. If you don’t get a healthy amount of protein in your diet, you’re body will use lean muscle tissue to get it which negatively impacts your ability to build a lean physique that is primed to burn fat.
Protein also plays a big role in helping you feel full (which helps with habit 4 above) so you’re less likely to consume excess calories and eat junk due to being hungry, and therefore maintain a healthier weight.
7. Create and use a sleep routine
It’s as simple as this- You Cannot Compete With Sleep Deprivation…….. no matter what you say!!
Getting a quality nights sleep benefits your physique, stress levels, mental health, memory, decision making, motivation to eat well and exercise consistently and so much more.
We advise 7-8 hours quality sleep that fit’s around your schedule based on children , shift work, etc.
Repeat it with me: I cannot compete with sleep deprivation……. no matter what I say!!
8. Eat healthy fats daily
Healthy fats help improve your physical and mental health, improves fat los, sleep quality, complexion, stress management and so much more.
Eating a healthy amount of fats does not make you gain weight- consuming more calories than you burn off on a consistent basis is what causes weight gain.
Equating healthy fats is a must if you want to look, feel and perform better and is a pretty easy habit to develop.
9. Practice the 3 P’s
This habit is all about simple time management which is a key characteristic of fit, strong and healthy people.
They Prioritise what’s important to them, Plan it into their schedule, and Prep in advance to improve their chances of succeeding.
For, when building a weekly fitness routine, you would prioritise your exercise 3-4 days a week, plan it into your week for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and get your workout gear ready the night before.
When it comes to building a health and fitness routine, Level 1 clients tend to wing it, but Level 2 clients always have a simple plan in place- it’s a key Level 2 habit that will serve you for life.
10. Eat 1 healthy snack daily
Snacks help fill you up and help reduce the chances of eating junk due to being hungry.
They’s also a great opportunity to add extra vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein and more into your diet.
At Reset Fitness, we tell clients that a snack is a piece of fruit and a piece of protein, and the goal is to eat one a day.
Take Home Points
Building these habits into your lifestyle takes time but the combined effect of them is absolutely huge and will transform the quality of your life so you can enjoy it more.
Some habits take longer to develop than others and you will have to go back and refocus on them from time to time- everyone takes a few steps back every now and again so this is to be expected.
The timeframe we give clients is 6-12 months to normalise these habits- it won’t happen over night.
As you build each habit, you see how they feed into each other making them easier to sustain.
For example:
- Eating 1 healthy snack a day helps develop the main protein habit
- Making educated carb choices helps you focus on your veggie and protein habits
- Improving your sleep increases your chances of exercise because you have more energy
- Exercising regularly increases the likelihood of making healthier food choices
Which habits have you already developed and which ones do you need to work on- let me know in the comments below.
Leave a Reply