Debbie Cousins- Журнал, 16 мар 22

Hooray! A great day yesterday. Got in my eight bottles of water with no problem. Ate a lot of healthy fruit.

Listened to several hours of "Mini Habits for Weight Loss." Started a NEW habit as a result of the author's dissertation about how bad it is for a person to SIT all day. Usually, I am in my recliner ALL day, only getting up to go to the bathroom or to get something to eat. Now, I set a timer for 30 minutes and when it goes off, I get up and walk 200 steps (1/10th mile). As a result, I walked a FULL MILE yesterday! Each time I finish walking, I reset the timer. It works out to walking the inside length of my house about four times - very doable. I'll have to TIME it this morning to see how long it actually takes. Less than five minutes, I'm pretty sure.

The author also proposed a mini-challenge for coping with temptation. It is small steps you do BEFORE you eat whatever it is that you think you shouldn't be eating but that you really want. The reason to do at least two of the steps is an agreement you make with yourself that IF you do the steps first, you don't have to feel any shame about eating the "forbidden fruit." Nothing should make us feel ashamed of ourselves. Many times, the mini-challenge will enable you to resist the food entirely, but sometimes, you'll just go ahead and eat it after you've done the steps. Either way, no guilt or shame (which are worse for you than eating whatever it is). Interesting perspective. I'm going to try it today when a craving hits me.

Today's Inspiring Advice: Four Laws of Behavior Change, from James Clear "Atomic Habits." "To CREATE a habit: (1) Make it Obvious; (2) Make it Attractive; (3) Make it Easy; (4) Make it Satisfying. To BREAK a habit: (1) Make it Invisible; (2) Make it Unattractive; (3) Make it Difficult; (4) Make it Unsatisfying." These small habits are making it much easier for me to do the "right" thing most of the time. It's not about perfection, it's about becoming the person I want to be.

Walking a mile yesterday was a BIGGIE for me! I even went OUTSIDE and walked 1/3 of a mile. It is harder to walk outside because of the unevenness of the ground, but it's doable.

Praying for you all to have a great day today! Remember, tiny habits can bring remarkable results!