Why Willpower Doesn't Work - Part 1

Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.

- Unknown Author

The other day when I was in the locker room of my local "Globo gym", I overheard a conversation between two other ladies. One said to the other:

"Wow, your spot on the floor in the aerobics class has gotten really popular."

"Yeah I know. I hardly get to stand in my spot anymore. Other people keep taking it."

Okay, you might be scratching your head right now if:

A. You're not a woman, and
B. You've never taken an aerobics class before

While some of you may be slightly perplexed at this notion of staking an imaginary claim on the floor (and getting upset when others don't respect it), we see the same thing happen when at school or a conference where seats aren't assigned. We tend to sit in the same spot even though we aren't required to. Yes, we're definitely creatures of habit. This can be a good thing when our habits are supporting our goals and not such a good thing when our habits become detrimental to a healthy lifestyle.

In terms of nutrition, we all know what healthy habits we should be following. Eat more fruit and vegetables, limit fast food, drink alcohol in moderation, etc, etc...

In theory the concept is simple. In reality the execution is challenging.

Why? Because overcoming our natural inclination to be a couch potato and eat delicious, calorie-laden food is difficult. Knowledge and willpower is not enough. We must retrain our brain so that we change the root of our behavior.

Changing our habits is crucial because seeing the results of our efforts takes more than 1 day. Do you expect your body to be magically transformed after doing 1 workout? I hope not but if you do I think I figured out who's buying all those exercise products off of infomercials. It's the same thing with nutrition. Eating one healthy meal doesn't solve all your problems and eating one "unhealthy" meal doesn't cause all your ills. It's all about consistency.

So how do we go about changing our habits? Most behavior change involves 6 stages. Stay tuned for my next post where I'll reveal the steps to making lasting healthy habits.