Making Small Changes to the Weight Loss Routines

Restless Midlifer Chronicles, part 3

Diesel or Petrol Engine?

It's ironic, that after a catch-up with Graeme in which he mentioned the visual of 'Kerplunk' (check out the FAQ How can small habits actually help sustain my weight management?) I started to see how this is playing out in my own efforts to build my health foundations. Over the last two 'chronicles', i have have explained how my efforts at batching food, prepping soup in advance and so on have represented my own efforts to add sticks to the Kerplunk game.

Spindly fragile habits?

Each one of those habits, from developing routines around my crossfit attendance, to advance preparation of the soup, the egg-muffins and sorting my supplements into a week's worth of daily doses, form a spindly stick like habit and ritual.

This week, I am adding in a routine upon waking of getting up (always a positive!) and finding somewhere quiet in the house to enjoy the first cuppa in quiet. I'll report back on the benefits or otherwise of this, but the aim is the start the day with some quiet time and avoid immediately cramming my head with inputs (podcasts, social media feeds, even exercise).

I know a lot is made of a powerful morning routine which includes going out for a run or doing some form of tough exercise (having woken half an hour before you went to bed, etc). But, I have to be honest, they don't work for me.

Are you a Diesel or Petrol engine?

I liken myself to an old diesel rather than a petrol engine. It takes me a good half hour for the fuel to warm up and get moving round the system. Then I'm good to go.

So, I am ditching the imperative to get up and at 'em, opting for finding peace and quiet in those precious few moments after waking (at a reasonable hour I have to add!).

So, as I reflect on my own game of health Kerplunk, I can see that there are a canny few marbles in the top of the funnel, and my job, is not to simply cope using the few but trusty old methods, but to add in small little routines and rituals stick by stick over time.

That way, when things get tougher, I can afford to drop a stick or several because there are plenty left AND I am not counting on one stick (one practice, habit or routine) to get me through.

Catching Marbles

And, if a few marbles fall through - so what? The great thing about Kerplunk and most of our life marbles, is that there is a tray to capture them. We can always go back to the fallen marbles, dust them off and put them back in the top of the funnel. But not without first asking ourselves - do they really need to go back into the top? Can it wait? Is this my marble?? Why is this marble even in the pile? Useful questions to help sift through the multiple demands we end up carrying, giving little or no thought to the reasons why.

So, my question to you is this. What one or two small health habits (sticks) could you add in to help bolster your own health and coping? Make them enjoyable and positive. Add them in this week, then just see what sticks (forgive the pun). Building up these small practices over time is far more effective that going all out.

Find Out More

In the meantime, check out the podcast to check out the episodes and if you want to learn more about the support I offer in relation to helping you achieve your health and weight loss goals sustainably, visit the Academy or learn more about my more intensive Re-Shape Accelerator programmes, designed to help you to get your health back on track and establish lifelong habits for a more fulfilling midlife.

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Dave

Dave Algeo, Restless Mid-Lifer
'It is never too late to get life back on your terms and have even bigger adventures!'
dave@restlessmidlifer.com

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