Habit

HABIT

hab·it [hábbit] n

1.	regularly repeated behavior pattern: an action or pattern of behavior that is repeated so often that it becomes typical of somebody, although he or she may be unaware of it

Oh, habits. How many we each have, good and bad. But there is hope! Habits can be changed. It just takes consistency. My bad habits with sugar addiction were eating for fun, eating for comfort and eating to cope. I began to mentally catalog how often I thought of making desserts or eating something sweet and how often I went to the cupboard or fridge and I was absolutely shocked. All day. Every day. Worse on the weekend. What an awful way to live - where every moment is spent on the same thing. I didn't want to leave the house without grabbing a handful of Skittles or go on a drive unless it meant we could go for ice cream or go fishing unless we could take candy. That's a really expensive way to live.

Eating to cope and eating for comfort can be eliminated with proper stress management.

Eating for fun - ugh. That has been a very difficult one to change. It's taken time, self pep talks and positive activity replacement to ease that one.

This site has some helpful habit changing information. Once again, I don't agree with all of it but some of the ideas are great and simple and not too wordy.  How to Break a Habit

For me, recognizing the moments I was being habitual was key. Next came a detailed plan of how and why to change. Getting out of the house or doing something positive, uplifting and creative has helped the tender process of denying and replacing the bad habit with something better. Getting my mind off sugar has been SO important. For example, I am an artist and I like to draw with pen and ink. So I draw when I have time. Corey and I like to play Halo together.  Do something truly rewarding and the need for the sugar reward is no longer as appealing. It's really that simple.

Here is an excerpt from 'How to Break a Habit'

"Try to replace your habit with something new and positive in your life. The key is not to focus on the "not doing", but to think instead about "doing". Instead of thinking about missing that piece of chocolate cake after dinner, think about how good it is going to feel to take a long walk without all that sugar in your system."

Give yourself time and living well will get easier.  3 weeks to break a habit and 3 weeks before a new habit sets in.  It's all about consistency and recognition.

What do you do break or make a habit?