Why is it so difficult to form healthy habits or overcome bad habits? In many cases, we have good intentions, and we know what we need to do. Yet it’s so difficult to translate those good intentions into action. Read on to learn how you can bridge the gap between good intentions and healthy behaviours.

A few weeks ago, I saw a presentation by Monica Reinagel of Wellness Works Here and the Change Academy podcast. Reinagel is a board-certified nutritionist and workplace wellness expert. Although her work focuses on the area of nutrition, we can apply her model to any area where we want to form healthy habits.

The following are the highlights of her presentation.

What Gets in the Way of Developing Healthy Habits?

When asked what gets in the way of developing healthy habits, most people say willpower, time, and money. Yet the science says those things don’t matter. So, what does matter?

Dutch researchers did a meta-analysis of 67 behaviour intervention studies on weight management. The research shows three things that matter more than willpower, time, and money when it comes to overcoming bad habits and forming good habits.

• Monitoring – It might be a tired old saying, but we can’t manage what we don’t measure.
• Habit formation – Small, healthy habits—like the 2-minute rule and the other strategies in James Clear’s Atomic Habits—make a difference over time.
• Mindset – We need to have confidence and clarity on our goals.

The Health Action Process Approach

Reinagel has developed a Health Action Process approach to help people develop healthy eating habits. This approach is based on three pillars: self efficacy, self regulation, and planning.

Self-efficacy means having confidence that the result of our actions will be beneficial and believing that we have the ability to execute the actions. Note the “and” in that sentence. Both elements need to be present for effective habit formation.

Self-regulation comes down to three things:

• Standards – Defining what success look like. Instead of saying “I will exercise more”, be specific about what that means.
• Monitoring – Comparing what we do against the standard. This is critical and it doesn’t matter how you do it. There are lots of apps and devices to help with this, but a simple spreadsheet or keeping a journal might work just as well for you.
• Impulse control – Yes, willpower does play a role, but Reinagel says we need to consider it in the context of the larger model. Willpower alone won’t make it work.

Planning consists of two subcomponents: action planning and coping planning.

• Action planning is planning for success. Perhaps you need to book time in your calendar for your workouts, or plan healthy meals and prepare them ahead of time.
• But equally important is coping planning—predicting barriers and creating strategies to overcome those barriers before we run into them. You will have days when you don’t want to work out, or life gets in the way of your healthy eating. Thinking ahead can help you plan for those busy days.

Applying this Approach in Real Life

I’ve been talking for years about wanting to improve my eating habits. After hearing Reinagel’s presentation, I downloaded her NutritionGPA app which uses her Health Action Process approach. It really does work.

But while apps make it easy to track behaviour, you don’t need an app to be successful. For example, I track my workouts on an Excel spreadsheet, and I find it to be just as effective.

In addition to tracking, social support can also increase our chances of success. So find a group of friends with similar goals, and hold each other accountable!

---

Do you think you could use this approach to form healthy habits in your life? Drop me a comment below with your thoughts.

Learn more about me in my bio and on my personal blog at BoomerEcoCrusader.com. You can also find me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.