No habit will stay interesting forever

Creating new habits

 

They always tell us that we need to create new habits. Better ones. Habits around food, those regarding our exercise, the habit of walking instead of taking the lift, you name them all. It is an infinite list of things we are supposed to do and another one, even longer, about things we absolutely must abandon. The question is how to do it so that the new habit will stay interesting forever.

 

This is all nice on the paper. But have you ever tried yourself to stick to a new habit? It is all fun and games until it happens to you. In theory, it is all clear and easy. Still, the reality often gets in the way and the flawless execution we planned for becomes a mission impossible. 

https://bariradka.com/en/2024/09/11/a-fresh-start-feels-motivating/

New reality kicks in

At first, things are extremely hard, we have to focus and make sure that each step is done correctly, we are more or less trying better than knowing what we are really doing. But with repetition, things finally start getting reasonable and we eventually master the new skill. And now, God forbid, the new habit starts getting easy and incredibly boring. 

 

The problem is that we must stick to it. It is our new normal and we are supposed to keep doing this boring thing for the rest of our life. It sounds like a nightmare. How to stick with an activity that with time gets right away repugnant. Only thinking about it makes you incredibly annoyed. 

 

The thing that used to be challenging and novel, that felt like a sport in its essence, is now as easy and as annoying as flossing your teeth. Who flosses each and every single day, raise your hand 😀 haha… very few arms are up here 😀 this is what I am talking about.

 

Yes, flossing is incredibly important, but now we are talking here about something as important as eating your veggies and meeting your protein goal. For bariatric patients, this is the same important, maybe even more. If you don’t do things right, your punishment is waiting right behind the corner. The scales don’t lie. Yup, a real nightmare. 

Tips and tricks

So now what? If you are into things like video games, you can make your own app or use some gamification tools, I have seen that, it is just too much for me. But for folks who are this level of tech-strong, why not? For most of us, who are more like tech users, it is not available. We need another way of sticking to our plan. 

 

I use a webpage that reminds me every single day that I subscribed for doing X. If I don’t do that by noon, I will get an email. And if I still blissfully ignore it, it bugs me at 10 pm with: You have only two hours left to do it!!!

I have the page always opened right next to my email, so it is bugging me all the time and until I do that thing and click it off, it stays there. It is really annoying as I am working, so I am making sure I will get rid of my daily exercise, my journaling, and my daily reading as soon as possible so that I can move the page at the very end of the ones I have opened. ( https://commitclub.co )

Fall in love with boredom

Well, the worst-case scenario is that you will have to fall in love with boredom. This is when your commitment and focus take over and you keep pushing and doing the right things no matter what. It sounds pretty unflattering, right? You are bored to death but you keep doing it. This is why people fail. Things become boring and it is the same every single day. 

 

When you are right after the surgery, everything is new, everything is incredibly difficult, and you have to be laser-focused to do all the things and do them right. Even waking up is a challenge. Let alone the rest of the day. But as weeks pass, thighs become easier until one day it is all ok. You get used to the new routine, and you keep doing it. 

 

And then, after about two years, you step on the scales one day, and to your horror, you find that you started gaining weight. The first thought is automatic: the surgery doesn’t work long-term. Everybody gained weight and now it is my turn. Panic sets in. no doubt about it. 

It is you who failed it

What really happened is that you stopped doing things exactly the way you should be doing them. You are in more-or-less mode. And it is not good enough. To be a successful loser, we have to stick to the plan no matter what. And do it right. The right food in the right amounts and ideally at the right time.

But as months passed, things started to be boring. That is why we are not so focused on it anymore. And life happens. There are other things to do as well, not being endlessly obsessing about food, amounts, and times. Especially when you can eat almost anything and you barely get sick anymore. 

 

The highway to hell starts here. If you are not careful enough, your wake-up call might be easily at +10kg or even more. And it is not a thing that you would lose easily in a month. It will take you are least 3 months, maybe even later. Things are not going as incredibly easily and fast as right after the surgery. It is much easier to maintain a healthy weight than going back to it. 

It happened to me

It sounds like a horror story, I know. It happened to me. I gained some weight as well. I am no different than any of the rest of the patients. I was overly confident, I thought I knew better, that I was doing things right, eating the correct amount… I didn’t. I was eating more and not-so-great food. And it had to have an impact on my weight. So serves me right. Luckily it was about 5 kilos. Still, I was pretty angry with myself. 

 

That is why I got back on track. At first, it was almost military-like style. I was so angry, so frustrated and so obsessed, that I was measuring my food to single grams. Ok, it stuck with me for about a week 😀 it was too much. But still, I went back to measuring my food, to meal preps every Friday, going to the store with a list, and sticking to it. I have my habit tracker, and I make sure I do the things I had planned. If I don’t, I have to reorganize the whole week to “make things right” for the period. 

I learned from my mistakes

 

I took this weight regain as a very important learning experience. It felt as if somebody took a frying pan and slammed me over my head. I learned. I know better now. I know that I cannot rely on my eye to measure my food. I have kitchen scales and I use them. I track my workouts. I make sure I keep my body moving and that I switch between activities so that my body doesn’t get used to it too much. 

 

It pays off. Yes, it can be a little boring sometimes, but I am trying to add new things every week. A new meal, a new workout, I park far from the entrance to the building where I work – and then I walk even more because I can’t find my car 😀 but it is not all only about doing the right things. I also plan to go out, to movies, eat out, and have a treat here and there.

Plan for fun things

Life would be extremely boring without all these. But because I plan for things, I know where I stand. I track things not because I am obsessing. I need to know what I am doing so that I can “correct” and adjust things so that things don’t go out of hand. This is why. I can eat a kebab for dinner. But I need to have a light breakfast the next day and I take the stairs when going home. 7 floors, is a small workout anyway. 

Don’t take things for granted

My doctor told me I was completely healthy. It was the best news I could ever imagine. I don’t take my health for granted. I remember what it was like when it was crumbling and I was collecting pills from every doctor I saw. It was not good. I take my bariatric surgery as a second chance in life. I am endlessly grateful I was given that. I don’t want to mess things up. I wish I could live a healthy life as long as possible. 

 

That is why I accepted all those pesky emails that remind me of exercising and protein shakes. Nothing in life is for free. I am paying by sticking to healthy habits and doing things right. It can be incredibly boring and annoying sometimes. But if it is the price to pay for being healthy, I am willing to pay. This is truly important to me. No excuses.