The fitness and diet industry has been pushing extreme measures for a long time, and that is where we want to see change.
A common goal we hear when we sit down with clients is how they want to change their body composition. While having body composition goals isn’t wrong, HOW you tackle this goal and your WHY behind it is important. This is the case with any goal.
So, let’s use a body composition goal for our example.
Here’s the problem: 6 out of every 7 people who diet will see successful weight loss
If so many people see success, then why are we writing this article?
Well that’s where the problem comes in.
97.5% of people who lose weight fail to…A. Keep it off and B. Not gain more than they lost.
Meaning that if I lose 15 lbs I have a 97.5% chance of gaining it all back and then some.
In the beginning people take ACTION and action creates RESULTS, but in order for those results to be sustainable, they must become HABITS and they must be SMART habits, not extreme habits. You can apply this to ANY goal you have.
So, how do we turn actions into habits?
One of the best ways we can turn an action into a habit is to make the habit obvious.
At Landing Health & Performance we have built a system that helps people just like you to help make the habit more obvious and clear.
Today, I want to give you the first part of our system so you can finally gain some clarity around your habits and turn actions into habits.
The first step in our system is to use a tool called “Habit Stacking.”
Habit stacking is a process where you find positive habits you already have and stack another positive habit before or after it.
It’s simple but powerful, and if you master it you can double or even triple your results without having to change your entire world in the process.
Here is how it works:
Let’s say your goal is to lose 10 lbs and you have been training pretty regularly, but it doesn’t feel like it’s working the way it should be.
Training is a great habit, so we would start by stacking a habit onto this one.
We would say that every time you train you would have a protein shake on your drive home after.
This would take the positive habit you are already doing (training) and add a nutritional layer to it (more protein in your diet) in a simple and sustainable way.
Training becomes the anchor for your new habit.
2 weeks later you are feeling great and you are starting to notice positive changes, so you decide to add another piece to your habit stack.
This time you decide to spend 10 minutes walking after every training session before you get in the car and drive home.
Now you are training, improving your nutrition, and increasing your daily steps all at one time.
All because you found a habit you could use to anchor your new habits to.
What once felt like a lack of motivation was actually a lack of clarity. You weren’t lazy and you weren’t behind this entire time. You just didn’t know how to make steady progress forward.
Habit stacking is one of the most powerful tools you will come across, as it allows you to make progress no matter where you are.
Here’s our challenge to you:
- Find a habit you are already doing
- Attach something to it that feels meaningful and manageable to you
- Every 1-2 weeks increase your habit stack
Until now we have never shared the system we use at Landing to help busy people just like you get the results they want.