The Secret To Creating Healthy Habits That Stick Long Term

You are a bundle of habits. Your life is governed by habits whether you acknowledge and accept that or not.

From the first thing you do when you wake up (open the curtains or brushing your teeth first) to the route you take to work, where you buy your coffee from, where you place your coffee on your desk, even the traffic light where you cross the street.

 

Every habit has its purpose

Every habit, healthy or not, has its purpose in the body. Your brain uses those habits to solve something.

It doesn't make the difference of whether they are healthy for the body or not, it just knows that a certain "thing" will help it solve a given problem.

For example emotional eating. Usually emotional eating involves high sugar or another form of high carbs foods. Your brain struggles and sugars are the way it deals with the struggles, because you gave it this option in the past. Your brains learnt fast and now it asks for sugar or another forms of carbohydrate to solve a similar problem.

Same goes for smoking when stressed. Your brain learnt that smoking calms it down. So it asks for it.

Running can be another example. Many people use running as a stress relief, or to "run away" from their problems. This is a healthier habit nonetheless is can turn into a destructive one.

But I will not talk here about how you can take these habits out of your life. There is a step by step process I teach in The Merisoiu Technique Home Study Program which you can sign up for here.

 

Change vs Transformation

Before we talk about changing, transforming or creating anything let's make the difference between change and transformation.

Change implies that what was before was totally wrong and it needs to becomes something else. When you change something the past is suddenly wrong.

On the other hand transformations come from the inside. Here you design your future and work towards it. Transformation is about changing beliefs not just working at the surface. Because it's more fundamental, transformation is more likely permanent.

If you'd like to read more on the topic please download my ebook. I go into more detail there.

 

How to transform habits

When you attempt to transform your habits your brain will get confused and try to resist it. But there are ways to work around it so your brain and body respond in a favourable way.

As I said I have a step by step process I teach. Here I will give you 3 of those steps:

#3. Start small and go slow

You need to approach habits transformation it slowly so your body and brain adjust comfortably.

For example in nutrition I like to take my time with my clients, where possible. If I want them to eliminate bread from their diet I start with taking out a slice. Then wait for the body to adjust, then make another adjustment, then wait again.

It's veeeery slow but it works so well. The changes are so small that there is no disruption in the system.

And most importantly I believe, they learn how to approach other habits in the future when I will not be there. This is empowerment, the foundations of my teachings.

#2. Focus on ONE thing at a time

Trying to tackle 10 things all at once will lead to overwhelm. There are too many things to think about.

Start with ONE thing. Usually one small alternation to your habits follows another and another and another. It's like a snowball effect.

Simple example. When you workout you tend to eat healthier. Workout one day a week for 2 weeks, then go up to 2 and, with time, you will train 5 days a week and eat healthy 5 days a week as well. Then you also have 2 cheat days.

Boom! You only needed to start training once a week then everything else came by itself.  Simple

#1. Accountability

I believe this is among the most important steps in habits transformation. Why? Because of several reasons:

1. you don't need to think about everything by yourself2. there is someone you need to report to so you will feel bad if you come with a bad report every single time3. when things get really tough there is someone there to let you know you are on the right track. You are motivated and know that someone has your back4. you don't need to know everything, someone else already has the knowledge and is willing to share it with you

 

This is how I work with my clients on the Home Study Program. They have all the training in terms of nutrition, exercising, personal development, healthy habits etc and they have someone there, myself, to guide them through the whole process.

If you'd like to learn more about how you can work with me please book a free call with me.

Alexandra Merisoiu is a Transformational Health and Wellness Coach, Founder of Urban Women Fitness and creator of The Merisoiu Technique.

She works with entrepreneurial and corporate women in their 30's & 40's to take their bodies and their minds from shut down to fully functional using lasting foundations and transformational coaching.

She does this by creating a healthy, fit, organic lifestyle using The Merisoiu Technique and its Five Guiding Principles: Earthing, Natural Movement, Mindful Control, Fluid Movement and Habits Transformation.

Since 1995 she has explored how the body and mind works through using many different sporting techniques and through a wide variety of highly respected coaches. At 14 years old she was ranked 2nd in the World Championships, 2 times National Champion and now she is a 3rd Dan Black Belt in Karate Shotokan, and still competing at an international level. It is through these learnings that she has created The Merisoiu Technique and has established her own unique transformational programs that incorporate thousands of years of knowledge with modern coaching methods.

Her mission is to share her gift and educate the world, passing on to the next generations why they need to get out of the gym and back to nature. Going back to nature takes them on a journey of discovery, experience and creativity, and installs lasting foundations and transformational results.

Find out more and book your FREE call with Alexandra at Urban Women Fitness