Tiny steps, big results

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/06/2020 (1945 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I need to confess something in today’s column.

It’s been a challenging time for my health with the girls home all day. I’ve been making meals and snacks for them and that has led to a few extra bites, and a few extra pounds on the scale for me. Nothing catastrophic, but enough to take notice.

(It’s true…even fitness professionals struggle with their health and fitness from time to time).

It’s why I’m sharing this goal with you: To lose 10 pounds by Aug. 1 or else. Because it gives me… Public Accountability.

“PA” might be the most effective “trick” in my book. I used it to lose 60 pounds back some 17 years ago. I used it to triple my client roster in 6 months last year. I used it to quit video games for good and on and on.

Can I guarantee I’ll reach that goal? No, it’s an outcome. We don’t fully control the outcome. But by publicly setting my intentions, I will do everything possible to reach it. And that’s what matters. It’s mostly because the fear of being seen as a hypocrite or quitter drives me to see it through. If there’s nothing on the line, nothing gets done.

Having PA in place motivates you to show up for workouts when you don’t feel like it, and opt for the salad instead of fries. Because you’ve made a commitment — and you have to keep a commitment — to your future self and those who know your goal and are holding you to it.

Your challenge today… Declare a goal and share it with your world. It doesn’t have to be a number on the scale, but something that scares you a bit. It’ll change the game once you have a clear destination in mind, I promise you.

Now let’s talk action steps to get there.

Kick Quarantine Habits To The Curb With Tiny Habits

If things have come unravelled for you the last few months, a complete overhaul of your routine may not be the best move right now. Tiny habits are where to start.

I was listening to a podcast with an author who says he does two push-ups every time he visits the bathroom. Now, even though this sounds a little weird, because I wouldn’t recommend doing push-ups in the bathroom, it’s a good example of the power of tiny habits.

It’s all about making realistic changes to your lifestyle at first. The man — BJ Fogg — is actually a Stanford behavioural scientist who studies how people create routines and change habits.

He used his two push-up habit to kick-start one change after another. And it all added up to a 20-plus pound weight loss in just a few months. He wrote a book about it called Tiny Habits.

He also came up with a formula that outlines how to make these changes so they become automatic.

“Behaviour (B) happens when Motivation (M), Ability (A), and a Prompt (P) come together at the same time.”

This basically means to make a lasting behaviour change (habit), you need three things:

Motivation — You have to WANT to make a change. If you think you SHOULD make a change but you aren’t really into it, it won’t stick.

(REALITY CHECK: sometimes you have to give a new habit a try before you decide whether it’s for you or not. Once you start feeling the results, you’ll start to want to make the change. It’s why exercise adherence tends to go up when you get better at it)

Prompt — This is a reminder to do the behaviour. It could be something such as going to the bathroom or opening the refrigerator door, or scheduling workouts into your phone calendar to remind you.

Ability — Not only should you be physically able to do the behaviour, but also have the time and space to do it. Doing those five squats takes a lot less time and is much easier than running a 5K on a whim.

Over time, this formula adds up to habits (and results) that can stick for a lifetime.

One of the things I really like about this approach is that it is gives you quick wins and hits of dopamine along the way.

He set the bar low — rather than making himself do 10 push-ups, he just did two. That gets rid of the dread factor for those just starting out.

Then he built up from there, adding or changing a few behaviours in steps, eventually creating dozens of positive changes in his daily life.

So, if you’ve slipped into some bad habits, here are three tiny habits I shared with one of my clients who needed to eliminate COVID-induced procrastination and snacking.

● 1. No TV on weeknights after 9 p.m. (Monday through Thursday)… depending on what you’re watching, you could jack up your adrenaline and sour your mood just before you try to relax for bed. Plus, stress eating is a thing. Give yourself at least an hour to unplug and wind down. A short walk outdoors is a great alternative to watching the news for another half hour.

● 2. No hitting snooze. Period. Set your alarm for the time you want to get up. Then keep the promise you made. I don’t suggest drastically changing your wake-up time with this. If you want to make it a habit to get up earlier, just set the alarm five minutes before you do now and incrementally increase that time.

● 3. Schedule workouts like your job (those who scheduled workouts were four times more likely to get them in than those with good intentions but no plan in place, according to recent research). To take it a step further, put $10 in a jar for every missed workout, and at the end of the week, that money is given to your kids for junk food unless you make up the missed workouts somewhere.

Just like my 10-pound goal by Aug. 1 must be met or I won’t watch any of the overdue NHL playoffs to come, you should have consequences in place for not following through.

It’s why I have ongoing mentorship on the business side of things at a big price tag, even though they aren’t telling me anything I don’t really know at this point. I’d be foolish to think it was simply an exchange of time for money. I’m paying for the results, such as increased business growth, better leadership skills, accountability and consequences, and outside eyes from someone who has been there and done that.

One of the single greatest decisions in my 20s (apart from my marriage, of course) was investing in a fitness coach, Ken Hill, after going in circles on my own for a year before that.

That single decision saved me years of wasted effort and spring-boarded me into a career in the field.

If you look at investing in coaching as just paying for a plan to follow, or the coach’s time, then it’s not going to be worth it for you.

But if you realize that you’re investing in an outcome to follow, such as fast-tracking your results without as much trial and error and getting back in those jeans that fit just right, then it feels a whole lot different.

So, if you’re not sure where you start, set your goal, implement a few tiny habits to get going and then get some support and put consequences in place if you don’t follow through. That’s the formula.

 

Mitch Calvert is a Winnipeg-based fitness coach for men and women like his former self. Obese in his 20s, he lost 60 pounds himself ad now helps clients find their spark and lose the weight for life. Need help dropping the Quarantine 15? Grab a free diet guide at mitchcalvert.com or inquire about Mitch’s “Summer Sprint” program to help drop 10-15 pounds and a pant size in six weeks.