21 Days In: Habits Made, Thought Of or Broken?

Is it true that it takes 21 days to break a habit, make a habit, or possibly set into some little goal that will hopefully bring us towards a healthier lifestyle? How does it seem to be going for you and your New Years Goals so far? Did you embark on the no-sugar-celery-only-intermittent-fasting-to-kick-start-your-metabolism-diet on January 1^st? Did you get swayed by the lady at the gym who told you all about the little pill she started taking that helped her stop eating after 6:00PM? I almost did! I mean, between the online newsfeeds, TV shows, commercials, advertisements and new food products on the shelves, ‘HOW CAN WE AVOID IT?’ Yes, I’m screaming here, because on some days I wanted to bang my head against the wall thinking, how much more can we, as registered dietitians do, to just support and guide individuals to making sensible lifelong changes that will still be with them after the first few weeks of the New Year and stop being brainwashed by these big corporations?

They spend all year devising strategies on how to wheel people in. Psychologists study habits and trends, when people go online the most in order to gauge the best time to release a new post of that person who just “looks” so amazing and achieved their ultimate weight loss after so many years of dieting and they finally found the right fix! Little do we know what happens to those people once the company nails them for a testimonial and they sign their life away in order to promote a product.

Needless to say, it is hard to avoid the hype the New Year brings, and despite our best efforts of trying to make sensible resolutions it can be very hard not to doubt our own selves in today’s media driven society. So, I’m here to remind you that you haven’t completely failed. That maybe that diet you tried on for the last three weeks (ok, maybe 8 of the days) wasn’t a complete waste of your time. How do we do that? We reflect. What did it teach you? Was it restrictive and maybe just wasn’t the one for you? Did it require for you to make too many meals that ended up being too time-consuming for your schedule and just wasn’t realistic? Was it not family friendly, or did you have to watch your family enjoy wonderful meals as you stuck to your lemon water and celery sticks? Consider reflecting. Maybe parts of the first 21 days worked for you. Make a list of at least one thing that worked for you over the first 21 days, and continue doing that for the next 21 days. This is how this one positive thing will become a part of your auto pilot and keep you motivated and strong so that you will be able to consider what you may want to do next.

And if you can’t seem to hit the nail on the head to take on the healthy eating or added activity challenge, it’s not that there’s anything wrong with you! So don’t let that commercial tell you that! It’s just that you may have some other things going on in your life right now. But I encourage you to write down—with pen and paper—one or two nutrition goals you have and who knows, maybe in two months it may be time for you to take on that adventure.

I work with clients all of the time who are always motivated to start with some nutrition goals and do really well during the first two to three weeks that by that fourth week they are eager to embark on the next step. It is important to assess before you take on that new goal on just how successful you are each day or every other day on that first goal. Is it part of your lifestyle yet? We want to make some of these healthy habits an auto pilot before we begin tackling the next one.

So, in saying this – yes, some habits may take you 2 weeks to bang out. Some may take a little longer, while others, you may recognize are just not for you. And that is O.K. As long as you don’t give up hope of finding just what your lifestyle is all about! Keep it up! Find that person you want to be accountable to to help support and guide you through these obstacles!

To the next 21 days! Let’s Go I say!