Habits

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Looking around my kitchen you'll see plain yogurt, unflavored soy milk, healthy cereal, healthy one-ingredient nut butters and plain oatmeal.

If you looked around my kitchen today you would never be guess I was a total sugar-addict a few years ago.

In the past I though plain yogurt tasted too sour, would never touch oatmeal and would only drink tea with cream and 5 packets of some kind of sweetener.

What changed?

Little by little I changed. First I outlawed Splenda altogether. I went from 3 packets to 2 to 1 in my tea. I mixed plain yogurt with microwaved fruit to sweeten it myself. Little by little.

Now I don't miss the old habits at all. I'll try sweetened yogurt and twinge and regular peanut butter tastes like candy. Little by little.

They say it takes 21 consecutive days to break one habit and form another. Your healthy habit might take a year. But you can change habits.

ZenHabits has a great post with 5 steps to effective habit change.

On that list:

2. Create a Plan and Write it Down. It is not enough to say to yourself, “I am going to get more done at work.” Think about it this way: What if you asked a randomly selected working-person, “Are you trying to get more done at work?” Almost everybody would say, “Yes, of course.” And the response would be the same if you asked about exercising more often, eating better, or paying more attention to international affairs. It’s in our nature to want to do better. We almost always want to do better. But wanting isn’t enough. You must make a plan. Write it down. Be as specific as possible. Does Jim plan to go into work early or stay late? Will he eat at his desk? Will he exercise good email and phone discipline? Jim needs to create a plan and write it down.

Still about 10 pounds above my happy weight, I am working on making small changes. I don't always have an after-dinner dessert, but I do nibble a lot after dinner. My new habit change is to either not snack after dinner at all or to just eat an apple. If I am truly hungry I can eat but otherwise I will squash a calorie-heavy habit.

Have you successfully changed any habits in your own life? Any tips? Are there any habits you want to change? What are they?