Making healthy habits stick in the midst of new year’s resolutions

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to evaluate where you are at in your life with your health, fitness and wellbeing – it’s a time where we feel we can reset and start over…..but unfortunately, the majority of people who set new year’s resolutions, aren’t doing the thing they set out to do by the time February rolls around.  The key is to set healthy habits that focus on the positive, are sustainable to achieve, are something that you really want and you have the patience to achieve it.

According to Psychology Today, only about 10% of new year’s resolutions are actually achieved.  One of the main reasons that new year’s resolutions fail is because we desire a change that requires goal setting and behaviour change to set healthy habits.  If we haven’t really thought it through and planned the change we desire, it all becomes too hard and goes by the wayside.  

Sound familiar?  

We have all been there!

I invite you to rethink new year’s resolutions, and instead reframe your mindset to focus on the positive, plan for the change and set goals and healthy habits to achieve what you want in the long term.

What is a Healthy Habit?

Habits are automatic conditioned responses, something that is routine for you, that you repeat often without even being aware of it.  Tasks like brushing your teeth every day is an example of an automatic response, a habit.  

A healthy habit is one that supports your physical or mental health, such as regular exercise, a meditation practice and preparing healthy meals, for example.

So, what does this mean for women in menopause who may be tired, lacking energy, and well…..just can’t be bothered?

I always say that knowledge is power, but only if it is followed by action.  The action part of the equation can be hard in menopause, but if we think about and reflect on our symptoms, we can make a plan and set goals to improve our wellbeing and make new habits stick.

How to start a Healthy Habit

Setting new habits is going to take time, so being patient with yourself and the outcomes is really important.  James Clear, the author of the book, Atomic Habits, reports that research says, “on average, it takes more than 2 months before a new behaviour becomes automatic – 66 days to be exact.” Depending on the habit and the circumstances, it can take up to 8 months – so patience and consistency is really important to stay on track.

Now I know you are probably saying, “okay Megan, this is all well and good, but I’m too tired to do anything consistently.” I hear you loud and clear!  I’m going to take you through a step by step plan that will help you determine where you might need to make changes and how to do that. This doesn’t mean that your symptoms don’t warrant going to your GP and discussing options for symptom management, these suggestions are complementary.

A step by step approach to set healthy habits in menopause

1. Connect with your body and know your triggers.  You can do this by journaling how you feel, your energy levels, any symptoms, tracking your sleep and stress levels and understanding what the triggers are for negative experiences and being aware of them.  Awareness is key when it comes to making change.  Examples may be that you aren’t sleeping well, and maybe you are going to bed too late, drinking coffee late in the day, or you are on your device late into the night. Once you have gained awareness about the trigger, you can then start to put an action plan together to change your behaviour so that you get better sleep. 
2. Identify the habit you want to change.  For example, going with the sleep analogy, you may have noticed that you are having coffee after 2pm every day and have decided you will trial not having coffee after 12pm and see if that makes a difference to your sleep.
3. Take action by replacing the old habit with a new habit – a positive cue here is really important.  For example, through journaling, you may have noticed that you were having coffee after 2pm because you were feeling tired and needed an instant pep up to get through the rest of the afternoon.  One way to curb this is to have a healthy snack containing protein to keep energy levels up and satisfying satiety levels in the afternoon. The new habit could be a healthy snack with a glass of water followed by a 10 minute walk.
4. Connect to the feeling of the new habit.  When we connect to how positive actions make us feel, we are more likely to want to do them again.  This is important for consistency and building up the habit over time. 
5. Be kind to yourself – life ebbs and flows and flexibility within the consistency is important.  If you don’t manage to do what you planned one day, let it go and do it the next day. 

In menopause it is important to listen to our bodies and resist to push through if what you really need is rest. The basis of the work I do with women in my private consults is identifying areas that need attention and then taking a step by step approach to help you slowly build new habits to achieve the results you desire.  If you are needing any help with understanding how to navigate your menopause and making your self care a priority by addressing nutrition, joyful movement, sleep, stress and connection in your life, I’m here to help.

If you are suffering debilitating symptoms of menopause, please see your GP to discuss symptom management options.

References:

1. Health Direct, Creating Healthy Habits

https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/creating-healthy-habits

2. James Clear, How long does it take to form a new habit? Backed by Science.

https://jamesclear.com/new-habit

3. My Menopoause Centre, Menopause and lack of Motivation.

https://www.mymenopausecentre.com/symptoms/lack-of-motivation/

4. Psychology Today, The science why new year’s resolutions don’t work.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/brain-wise/201612/the-science-why-new-years-resolutions-dont-work