Making Changes to Live Your Best Midlife: 6 Top Tips for Building Positive Lifestyle Habits

Written by: Victoria Biddick

• NZ Associate Registered Nutritionist (ARNutr)
• BAppSc (Human Nutrition), BAppSc (Food Science)

The advice below is general advice, for any specific tailored advice relevant to any health conditions please talk to your health professional.

Do you find yourself making the same New Year's resolutions each year? If you're eager to try something new this time, keep reading to discover how to make lasting lifestyle changes.

The New Year is a time for making resolutions and embracing fresh starts. In New Zealand, this period coincides with summer holidays, which can make it challenging to stick to new resolutions, no matter how determined we are. However, by keeping resolutions small and focusing on adding positive habits rather than eliminating things, it's possible to make meaningful changes for health and wellbeing during this time.

Top Tips for Making Changes Become Healthy Lifestyle Habits:

• Finding your why
• Plan and Prepare
• Habit Stacking
• Focus on Consistency not Intensity
• Goal Tracking/ Accountability Buddy
• Celebrate Success!

5 Stages of Change

To successfully navigate change, it's important to identify where you are in your journey. While most people progress through the stages below, the process isn't always linear (1). For instance, you might move from preparation back to contemplation before advancing to action.

1. Pre-contemplation: You're not yet ready to make any changes.
2. Contemplation: You're considering making a change.
3. Preparation: You're planning and getting ready to make a change.
4. Action: You're actively making the change.
5. Maintenance: You're working to sustain the change over time (1).

Perimenopause symptoms can often push us into the contemplation stage. However, uncertainty about how to proceed can prevent us from moving to the preparation phase. Alternatively, we might make drastic changes, quickly moving through preparation and action, but struggle to maintain these changes over time, leading to giving up after a month or so. The ultimate goal for any change is to integrate it into our daily routine and form a lasting habit.

What are Habits?

Habits are defined as ”a routine performed regularly; an automatic response to a specific situation” (2). A habit is a behaviour that has been repeated enough times to become automatic. In James Clear’s book Atomic Habits, he outlines a four-step process of building a habit:

1. Cue: This triggers the brain to initiate the behaviour which is linked to a prediction of reward. Rewards can be primary (food) or secondary (personal satisfaction).
2. Cravings: The motivational step behind every habit. Without motivation or desire for change, there is no reason to act. We don't crave the habit itself but the feeling it provides, such as the clean feeling after brushing our teeth.
3. Response: This is the actual habit you perform, which can be a thought or an action. It depends on your motivation and the effort required. If the effort is too great, you won't do it. Your response also depends on your ability to execute it.
4. Reward: The end goal of every habit. The craving is satisfied, reinforcing the behaviour as positive.

If any of these steps are inadequate, the behaviour won't become a habit.

The process of behaviour change starts with awareness. You need to be aware of your habits before you can build on the good ones or modify the bad ones. Once you have this awareness, you can start creating new positive habits to support your health and wellbeing (2).

Top Tips for Making Changes Become Healthy Lifestyle Habits

Finding your Why

Many people are motivated to make changes for external goals, such as losing weight or a sporting event. But what happens when you achieve or don't achieve that outcome? Shifting your "why" to an internal focus, linked to your personal beliefs and identity, can help you persevere and successfully sustain new habits (2). For example, instead of aiming for weight loss, you could adopt an identity-based habit of becoming someone who is healthy and nourishes their body to feel great and age well.

To find your why, ask yourself these questions:

• What matters to you?
• What would change most in your life if you made this change?
• Who would be positively impacted by this change?
• What do you want your health and wellness to be like in a year’s time?

By understanding your deeper motivations, you can create lasting habits that support a healthier lifestyle.

Plan and Prepare for Change

Once you have found your ‘why’ it’s important to plan for change. Writing down the actions you’ll take to support positive changes can help reinforce your commitment as you form new habits. Preparing for change could include writing a meal plan, shopping for food, preparing food, booking some gym sessions.

Be proactive and change your home and workspace environment to support the habits you want to build. Put out visual cues to support your goals such as a fruit bowl, sneakers or a positive affirmation on the fridge or by your bed. Remove any prompts that may sabotage your goal such as the biscuit tin or lolly jar.

Habit Stacking

Pairing a new habit with an existing one provides a clear cue for the new behaviour (2). This technique, known as habit stacking, can make it easier to incorporate new habits into your routine. For example:

• When I eat breakfast, I will add a serving of fruit to my porridge.
• Before I go to bed, I will lay out my exercise clothes.

By linking new habits to established ones, you create a natural reminder that helps reinforce the new behaviour.

Focus on Consistency not Intensity

Make small changes that you can maintain even when you're busy or stressed (3). By keeping it simple, you increase the likelihood of repeating the behaviour consistently, which helps form a habit. To determine if your goal is manageable, ask yourself: Can I start this goal today or tomorrow? If the answer is yes, you're on the right track. If not, consider making it easier. Once you've mastered the small change, you can gradually add more complexity to your habit.

Goal Tracking/ Accountability Buddy

Documenting your journey can help you see the results and benefits of small changes in your life. You can track achievements like the number of servings of fruits and vegetables you add to your meals or the distance you walk each week. Additionally, you can monitor how you feel throughout your journey. There are many habit-tracking apps available to support you with this.

Another effective strategy is to pair up with an accountability partner, such as a friend, partner, or relative. While internal motivation is important, having someone with similar goals can make the process more fun and encouraging.

Celebrating Success

Take time to acknowledge and celebrate your achievements. No matter how small, each step is taking you closer to becoming the person you want to be (3).

 

What small change can you make today?

References

1. Ogden, J. (2019). Health Psychology (6th ed.) McGraw-Hill Education.
2. Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits. Penguin Random House.
3. Hursthouse, N. (2021). How to make lifestyle changes stick. Heart Foundation NZ.