The Simple Hacks That Help Me Stick to Healthy Eating and Exercise
There’s a lot of discussion around habits—how to form them, how to break them, and why they matter. James Clear wrote a bestselling book on the topic, and I follow his weekly newsletter because it always provides thought-provoking insights. Plus, I enjoy the quirky links he shares in the PS. I assume he gets sent these links rather than spending hours combing through X (formerly Twitter), but I’m always entertained by what he curates. That said, what I find lacking in his newsletter is new information about habit formation.
Lately, my mind has been churning over how difficult it is to form a new habit and how incredibly easy it is to break one. I’m not talking about bad habits—those stick around because they often provide instant gratification. Instead, I’m fascinated by how easily we abandon good habits, even when we know they’re beneficial.
I recently read Dr. Jen Gunter’s Substack, The Vagenda, where she discussed her weight loss journey—the ups, the downs, and the return to consistency. She concluded that success is about having a plan and sticking to it. Sounds simple, right? But why isn’t it? Why does it take 90 days to form a habit but just one slip-up to derail it completely? One missed workout turns into a week off, and suddenly, six months have passed, and we’re back where we started—maybe even worse off. It’s not as if we didn’t enjoy the benefits of eating well and exercising. We felt better, moved more easily, fit into our clothes better, and even received compliments. And yet, we lapse. We fall back into the world of pizza and couch lounging.
I don’t have a definitive answer to why this happens, but I do have a couple of strategies that help me maintain my good habits.
First, the easiest way to avoid eating unhealthy food is to not bring it into the house. I don’t stock soda, chips, frozen pizza, cookies, or candy because I know I’d eat them. Food scientists are geniuses at crafting hyper-palatable snacks, as Michael Moss details in Salt, Sugar, Fat. If you want to understand just how much your brain has been hijacked by processed foods, it’s a fascinating read.
Second, I’ve built a relationship with exercise by choosing activities I enjoy. Walking is my go-to. It’s underrated but incredibly effective—low impact, good for mental health, and easy to incorporate into daily life. Just ten minutes a day adds up to 70 minutes per week, nearly half of the recommended 150-300 minutes of moderate aerobic activity.
But what about bad weather? Or living in an area that isn’t walkable? I get it. I don’t love walking in the rain either. That’s where a walking pad comes in. Amazon has a variety of them, some as inexpensive as $89. Many are foldable and have wheels for easy storage. On rainy days, I set one up, turn on Netflix, and suddenly I’m getting 45-90 minutes of movement while watching my favorite shows. It’s a win-win.
These are just two strategies that help me maintain consistency in healthy eating and exercise. What about you? What habits do you struggle to keep, and what small changes could help you stay on track with your health goals?
