My New Habits

In my last post I wrote about how learning the habit of eating smaller meal portions started me on the road to losing 36 pounds, shrinking my waist by four inches, and then keeping those results for years. The before and after photos are a testament to the power of a habit. Obviously, some other key habits became necessary to see continued progress. But before I go into those, there is another element that bears discussing.

Great book on fitness!

Laying The Foundation
Physical appearance and feeling good are noble pursuits, but we are more than just physical beings. We have mental and spiritual sides to us, as well. The health of those aspects of our selves greatly affects the health of our physical bodies, and I don't think most of us fully realize the impact mental and spiritual well-being can have.

This one topic can (and does) fill many books. Intentionally connecting to God through prayer, meditation, and reading of scripture, and having mental discipline in how you think, and what you visualize, are vital to all-around health. When I take the time to exercise my mental and spiritual faculties, there are always physical benefits. I view it as a three-legged stool. When any one of the legs is damaged, or not functioning as it should, my whole being suffers. Balance is key.

Mind, Spirit, Body - The Trinity of My Being
There are many great resources on how to train your mental capacities (The Silva Method is one I like), or how to connect to God. An interesting observation I've had is that developing any one of the three requires the submission of the other two. For example, to work on physical development requires the mental and spiritual discipline to do so effectively. Likewise, to develop mental skills requires submission of the physical and spiritual. And if you intend to grow spiritually, your mind and body must comply.

The direct application here is that to reach my physical goals, it will require at least some mental and spiritual energy, too. I have noticed the more I develop these areas, the easier it is to get my body to do what I want!

My "Secret" List of Habits
Okay, so here are the habits I have adopted to reach the results obtained so far. Some of the habits give way to new and more effective ones, while others have not changed since day one. Each person's make-up is different, and results will vary some for each individual. I have taken bits and pieces from multiple sources, and have tried and tested different combinations of foods and activities to see what works for me. Below are the ones I've used in roughly the order I implemented them.


Smaller Meals. What's The Big Deal?
Reducing the meal portion sizes seemed like the first logical step. And it worked! I lost about five pounds right away doing just that one thing. Another five pounds came off in the next weeks and months as that habit became more established. Nothing else changed at this point. I was a chocaholic and a terrible snacker. Those bad habits continued unabated. The focus was just eating smaller meals. Period. There were no complicated formulas or plans.

Snack and Track
While I was still snacking badly, but reducing meal portions, I also began to regularly track my progress on the scale. In future posts I'll discuss some of the other tracking methods I used. The simple act of weighing myself (and recording it) helped me to be generally more conscious of what I was putting in my mouth. It was also then possible to look back at my success, even if it was just a one-pound improvement. Every little bit of motivation is helpful, and being able to see progress over time (even if it is an extended time) can be a big help for staying the course.

Next time, I'll cover more of the essential habits that helped me reach more and more of my fitness goals.