Making a new behavior a habit « This Runner's Trials

21Nov/1014

Making a new behavior a habit

So it looks like more of you want me to race. A lot of you made some great points.

For the cons: Meghan, Alex, Shanknitsnyc, Lauren, and Becky thought I shouldn’t give the race my hard-earned money after my last experience.

For the pros: Crystal- a mother- encouraged me to race while I can. Ida said I should race to see how my new diet affected my tummy.

All great points. But I did say whether or not I raced depended on the sheer number of yes vs. no, not the strength of the arguments. It looks like I’m racing…

…Unless I decide to drive to NJ that day. Driving myself in a car for 10+ hours post-race does not seem like a good idea. And safety is always my top priority

Make a new habit stick

Here’s your daily dose of health education. The whole point of my field is to make people healthy by replacing “bad” behaviors with “good” ones. We design programs and messages to help Joe Schmo go from being sedentary to getting 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per week. Got it? Good.

Here’s the catch: Behavior change is the hardest thing in the world. I’m sure if you’ve ever tried to diet, quit smoking, or stop biting your nails you agree with me. And telling someone else they need to change their behavior and getting them to listen is even more challenging. Hence the obesity epidemic in our country. A lot of people know their behaviors are unhealthy, but they lack the motivation (and often the ability and resources) to change them.

Another snag: changing a behavior takes a long time. How long? Possibly ears.

This is the transtheoretical model of behavior change. According to experts, you can linger in each phase of behavior change for about 6 months and you can relapse back into previous phases. Once you reach the maintenance stage, it takes 6 months of doing a new behavior to make it a habit. (source)

Another important part of behavior change: start small. Your new habit is more likely to stick if you make one change at a time. Plan to cut out sugar and become a runner? Not a good idea. (source)

Where am I going with this? (isn’t that always a popular question? )

1. New Year’s Resolution time is just around the corner. Knowing a bit about behavior change can hopefully help you stay on track with your resolutions.

2. I am working at changing a behavior. And it’s arguably a healthy behavior, but I still need to do away with it. Since August 2009, Saturdays have been long run days and Wednesdays have been tempo/ interval run days. This is supposed to be my non-training time, yet I cannot banish this habit.

My back felt a bit better yesterday so I went on a long run. I know, I said I wouldn't. I ran 5 miles out and turned around. At mile 6, everything started to hurt. The last 4 miles home were miserable.

There is no reason I should have went on a long run yesterday. In fact, I didn't want to. But it was Saturday. I need to change this behavior or I’m just going to end up burnt out or injured One step at a time.

What behavior are you working on changing? Have you been successful or unsuccessful with behavior change in the past?

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Tara
November 21st, 2010 - 15:25

I so hear you on this. My groin muscle has been bothering me since the NYC Marathon two weeks ago, and I haven’t been listening to my body because I too have these “habits” (neuroses?) that I cannot back away from. Saturdays are my long run days too, and yesterday I ran 8. I was in pain for the rest of the day, and then scared myself silly googling “groin strain” and reading horror stories about other people’s injuries. I know I need to rest for a few days and not even cross train. It’s just really hard when you’re used to something and don’t want to lose that fitness.

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Becky
November 21st, 2010 - 16:17

Changing behavior is so hard. Time after time, I try to stop biting my nails. I yet to be successful. I did have success when when I began excising and eating healthier. I attribute my success to the small changes I made over time. First, I added exercise to my life. Along the way, I slowly began tweaking my diet. Eventually everything came together.

I hope you are able to make the adjustments you need to stay strong and healthy. Take care, Jen!

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Lauren
November 21st, 2010 - 17:55

I love the daily dose of health education! Behavior change is definitely tough — even when you know all the theories and the supposed “tricks” to make it work (side note: sometimes I wonder how I’ll ever be a good health educator when I have a hard time changing my own behavior! haha). Something that I’m currently working on is being okay with running less and cross training more — especially the type of cross training that isn’t cardio but is still really good for me (like yoga).

I’m sorry you had a rough run yesterday, and I feel so bad that your back is still hurting. I hope you’re able to step back and give yourself some time to heal. I know it’s hard to take a break from running, but I think your body will thank you for it! You’re not going to lose all your fitness in a couple weeks, and you’ll always be able to build back up.

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Sue
November 21st, 2010 - 18:00

For me it’s just the other way round. I’m trying to get into running, but I find it so hard to get out after work, when it’s already dark and cold (around 35 at the moment, dropping steadily from day to day). Running before work is not an option, as I have to leave at 6:15 (I am NOT a morning person at all), and I don’t have access to a gym, either. I usually feel great as soon as I’m out there and have warmed up, but the first 5 minutes are really tough. It’s so tempting to just relax on my couch after work, but I’m determined to break that habit.

I wish you the best of luck and hope you will be able to change your behavior.

Take care!

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Corey - The Runner's Cookie
November 21st, 2010 - 18:52

Ah I remember that flow chart from psych101
I think most changes are really tough, and for me it always depends on how bad I really want it (vs. someone else wanting it for me), actually holding myself accountable (i.e. tracking progress daily by writing down what I did), and the support I have around it (whether my environment is encouraging or discouraging the change).
In the past I’ve been successful in: gaining weight when I really needed to (though it took me at least a year), flossing everyday (the dentist finally scared me enough!) and falling asleep without TV (I somehow got into this habit in college). I have NOT been successful in not wasting so much time on the internet, in stopping mindless snacking when I’m tired/bored, and putting myself out there / advocating for myself more.

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sassy molassy
November 21st, 2010 - 20:14

Finger nail biting is the one I’m always working on ditching! I hate it. But when I get stressed, it’s inevitable.

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runningwithsass
November 21st, 2010 - 20:26

I am trying to think before I speak. Sounds silly I know, but this is a really bad habit of mine and its so hard to break!

GL with the long run breaking habit!

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Lizzy
November 21st, 2010 - 21:43

I hear ya on the long runs on Saturday. It’s hard sometimes to break the habit! I need to get into some other hobby like spinning and weight training. On Saturdays you could try to run faster for a shorter period of time instead of running long…

I think what I’m working on most is not taking on more than I can handle. I tend to have too many ideas and plans and then get disappointed in myself when it doesn’t work out the way I want…

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inmytummy
November 21st, 2010 - 23:08

I am really bad when it comes to diet soda. I try to cut it out and always, always relapse. It’s addictive!

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Amanda D
November 22nd, 2010 - 08:55

Oh gosh, changing behavior is so tough!! I tried to start running 3 different times before it finally stuck, and even now I have a hard time sticking to my running schedule!

I’m glad you corroborated my thinking that easing into something is more effective than jumping in feet first. The next thing I have to tackle is strength training and I am having such a hard time with that!

I hope your back feels better

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Liz
November 22nd, 2010 - 14:58

Your job sounds really interesting. I’m always working on not biting my nails, but that has been years of no success. I used to smoke cigarettes for a long time, which is a really hard habit to break because not only is it a habit you associate with certain actions, but it is physically and mentally addicting…but since I managed to quit those I should be able to kick the nail biting habit!
I hope your back feels better. Are we going to have to twitter-stalk you on Wednesday to keep you from doing your speed work?

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- runnerstrials
  November 22nd, 2010 - 15:22
  
  Haha! Not this Wednesday. I’m running a Turkey Trot Thursday so that is enough to stop me from running fast on Wed
  
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Theresa @ActiveEggplant
November 22nd, 2010 - 19:54

I think you’re totally spot on with the comment about making only one big change at a time. I tried – and failed – multiple times trying to make more than one drastic change at a time. Now I make one change, get used to it for several weeks (or even months) and then make another change. So far they’ve all stuck! Thanks for another great post!

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Alyssa
November 24th, 2010 - 15:36

You are so right about changing behavior, its tough. The point about just changing one thing at a time is dead on. In the past year or so I’ve been successful at breaking my soda addiction, I went from having it every day to hardly ever, maybe a few times a month. I’ve been trying to break my “I have to have dessert after dinner” habit for so long and I can’t seem to do it! It sounds so easy, just stop eating dessert, but actually doing it is a whole different ballgame.

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