Why is it so important to work on habit building whether you count calories or macros or not.

This is dedicated to all of you who have tried it all but still feel that are struggling. From the chronic dieters that feel like nothing works for them, to those that are starting to understand that quick fixes don’t work but they do not know what else to do.

First and foremost, let me assure you, it’s not you and it’s not your fault. We’ve been misled by the media and the gurus who want to profit from our lack of results in the long term so they can keep selling us more quick fixes, diet books, and miracle pills. None of those are long-term solutions.

There is not one way to do things and not a single way will work for everyone. But there is a better way for sure. It doesn’t involve tracking calories, diet pills, nor any expensive products or supplements.

You’ve probably heard before that diets don’t work, yet everyone keeps doing them and they seem to work for them, at least for a while. And that’s where the problem is because anyone can lose weight if they find a way to reduce caloric intake no matter what they do to achieve that caloric imbalance. It is true that when you consume fewer calories than you burn consistently, voila, results start happening.

If your aim is fat loss, you should be looking into creating habits that will reduce your caloric intake or increase your caloric expenditure by moving more, but a combination of both is recommended.

The key to lasting results is to do it in a way that supports your preferences, your needs, and schedules. Not some random arbitrary rules imposed by someone else’s preferences.

The evidence is out, diets that control random ingredients or restrict others, are just that, personal preferences from that particular diet guru. Make your own rules, because we know that the more varied the diet, the better your nutrition will be.

When we work with our clients, we do just that, we focus on simple changes that can make a big difference and we take it from where they are to where they want to be one simple step at a time. Small changes make a big impact overtime.

A variety of foods that you enjoy usually works best for accountability and sustainability, aim for 80% whole foods and 20% of what your soul desires. But this is easier said than done. If you don’t know where to start, a good coach trained in behavioral habit coaching can help you gradually move towards this target.

Sometimes you may need tools to help you cook more at home, or suggest ways to add what you are missing from your daily intake, good recipes to give you a head start so you become accustomed to portions and whole food sources and how to cook/make them so you can reach that point without becoming a struggle or giving up.

Everyone needs different guidance depending on their needs and obstacles.

If you want weekly meal planner ideas with a grocery list including macros for each meal, we recommend this book to make it easy to reach your protein goals:
https://strengthsisters101.com/product/high-protein-recipesmeal-plannergrocery-list-copy

As you get more familiar with recipes, you can start tweaking your own, or replacing some ingredients, adding others, and seasoning to your preferences.

Read more smart Grocery Shopping

No matter where you start, you have to be patient and only pick one behavior to change or master before you attempt a second one.

First, you pick one simple habit (only one and easy) and stick with it for at least 2 months before adding another one. Once that first habit becomes part of your daily routine, you can add a second habit.

You can pick different habits depending on your needs but these simple habit ideas can often help you reach your goals without counting calories.

Habits to master:

1- Eat mindfully and make sure to stop at 80% full.

Relax and take your time to enjoy your food and check with hunger frequently.

Make sure to stop eating when you’re about 80% full.

2- Eat protein-dense foods with each meal.

Aim for at least 1 palm-size portion of protein with every meal.

3- Vegetables with every meal.

Add vegetables to every meal. 1 fist-size is a portion, you can eat as many portions as you like with each meal.

4-Carbs.

Smaller portions of starchy carbs, and as many as you feel like of leafy greens and other vegetables with meals. A good practice is consuming the majority of starchy carbs around workouts/exercise.

Again as many vegetables as you want.

(Be mindful of dressings, nuts, and seeds they do not count as vegetables and are often loaded with extra calories)

5-Eat healthy fats daily.

Prioritize fats from whole sources like eggs, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, and olives.

You can add an Omega fish oil supplement.

Last but not least:

If you reduce your caloric intake is not a bad idea to take a daily multivitamin supplement as an umbrella policy but enough whole foods is ideal to make sure your micro-nutrients are covered.

Focus on rewarding habits instead of outcomes, some of these habits take some time to kick in.

Example: “I need to lose 10 pounds” is an outcome, “I need to exercise five times per week” is a behavior; followed this week’s habits 90% of the time and didn’t miss any workouts? That’s worthy of a reward regardless of the outcome because it is this pattern of behavior that will eventually lead to success.

If you rather count calories or macros while working with habits, I’ll put all that together in the next section, how to figure out your caloric balance, how to increase or decrease depending on your goals, etc. But keep in mind that unless you work on habits while you track, your effort won’t be sustainable long term.

Even if you reduce your caloric intake and you are achieving results from eating habits alone, it’s always a good idea to add movement. Any kind of movement counts, even fidgeting adds up to your calorie expenditure, and moving has lots of benefits for overall health.

The best way to approach a behavioral change is by attempting one simple behavior at a time. The best way to succeed is by practicing it every day and making it as easy as possible to make it happen.

Planning for it and getting help to ensure you can get it done is paramount for success. We have created the necessary resources for you to do just that!

Read more about diets and quick fixed, and behaviors and habits:
https://strengthsisters101.com/nutrition/diets-quick-fixes-vs-behaviors-habits

If you prefer to count calories/macros while working on habits, start here:
https://strengthsisters101.com/nutrition/calorie-counting-where-to-start

Again, if you want quick and easy recipes with calories, macros, and ingredients list, go here: https://strengthsisters101.com/nutrition/diets-quick-fixes-vs-behaviors-habits