Making healthier living a habit…and the FitDesk winner is…

I am very excited to announce this. We have a winner!

The winner is Aimee.

Aimee’s response to “What does the next health and fitness level look like for you and what’s your biggest challenge in getting there?” was:

“I am ten pounds in the obese BMI zone. My first goal is to lose my first ten pounds, so I can get out of the obese category and into the overweight category. Then, through eating properly and exercise, I plan on entering the healthy BMI zone. I’d like to have a healthy BMI by the end of this year. That’s 40 pounds I have to lose.

My biggest challenge thus far has been a lack of support from my partner. I’m trying to ear under a certain number of calories per day, but then he’ll want to go out to eat, or will bring something unhealthy home. He really tests my willpower, and I don’t always win.”

Congrats Aimee! I am sure you’ll put the FitDesk into good use. I am happy that you realize that willpower does not always work…

You see, the Nr. #1 reason people fail with their healthier living changes is relying too much on motivation and willpower.

Luckily, there are better ways to make change happen. And these ways are all about carefully rewiring your brain so that you establish the right habits. Once exercise or healthier eating become a habit, then you no longer have to think about it, or debate with yourself about it. You just do it. The right behaviors just happen…automatically.

Before I end this post, I have to share two awesome tips from the contest judges.

A message from the contest judges

Matt Frazier from nomeatathlete.com says:

“One of the most important shifts you can make when you’re struggling to find the time to exercise is to start making exercise a “must” instead of a “should.” It’s got to be up there with brushing your teeth, making dinner for your family, going to work, or whatever it is that you do every day without thinking about it, without having an internal argument in your head every time. One of the ways to make this happen is to focus on making exercise a habit, not just something you do from time to time when you’re feeling motivated.”

Steve Kamb from nerdfitness.com says:

“I think your readers could really benefit by focusing on small specific changes and habit goals…instead of this broad, generic “I need to lose weight and exercise more or do more yoga” – BE SPECIFIC!”

You see both Matt and Steve emphasize small steps, which is like the opposite of or-all-nothing thinking. That’s because small steps work. Even ridiculously small steps work.  If you are not sure how to get started, then make sure you download my guide (just fill-in the form above to do that…).