Micro Habits: Tiny Steps are the Secret Sauce

Kathy's weight loss

Kathryn IgouBy Kathryn Igou

TLG Vice President of Operations On August, 10, 2020, I said NO MORE! No more excuses, no more “next year”, no more “I can’t do this…it’s way too much!” One year later and 65 pounds down so far, how was I able to make this huge change that I have been chasing for over 45 years???? Micro habits! It was the very small things stacked on top of each other. One thing that had me stuck was thinking about the enormity of the goal. And the time it was going to take to make real change. Even one year into the journey, I can clearly see it’s going to take two years to really get there. So how do you look at big goals like getting into shape physically and hitting a much lower goal weight? For me, I had to break it down into so many micro habits. I started slow with easy ones to add.  Here are some examples of micro habits:  

Physical Shape

  • Standing Desk
  • Parking in farthest parking space to add steps
  • Walking one set of steps a day
  • Driving to the gym (seriously…I drove to the gym and just parked there in the beginning, but congratulated myself on getting there)
  • Stretching in the mornings
 

Weight Loss

  • Only weighed once a week, then even changed that to twice a month
  • Picked one outfit that was snug and tried it on weekly to see the inches being lost
  • Celebrated 5 pound losses with new exercise clothes
  • Started a morning routine…slowly but surely. By adding one thing after another I am now in a healthy routine, but I built it slowly (morning stretching, writing down three things I am grateful for, setting my intention for the day)
  • Listened to audio books on nutrition and on weight loss transformation
  • Tik Tok…lol It turned out to be a great place to find other people pursuing the same huge weight loss goals
 

What I Have Learned (and am Still Learning)

  • You can’t just change everything at once
  • You have to celebrate the small victories
  • Trust the process….I’m at a plateau now and sure I’m frustrated, but I know I have to just keep going. It’s not a short term fix. It’s truly a total life style change.
  • You CAN lose weight AND add muscle at the same time even if you are past 65. It truly is never too late
  • You have to have great partners. I am so grateful to all the people who have supported me as I have taken every small step closer to my big goals. For nutrition I went on a nutrition program with Diane Nix called Optavia. After a year I began working with a licensed nutritionist Mary Sabat to work on my relationship with food in a different way. For exercise I reached out to Russ Yeager who owns two Fitness Together gyms, I started working out with a personal trainer, Phillip Buss, 4 times a week. Yes, during the peak of Covid I was working out virtually with a trainer…and that’s where I lost the bulk of my weight. I’m in the gym now in person (high social needs!!!) but either option works. You can check out their links. This is just what worked for me. It required a large financial investment (I had to put off getting a new car this year) but it was the most important investment I have ever made.
  • We are capable of so much more than we can imagine. I am not some super disciplined super woman. I’m a regular person who just learned to break it down into smaller chunks and move forward.
  And I want to give a special thanks to a TLG coach, Dr. Michael Sessions, who did what the great coaches do. When I asked him why I couldn’t lose the weight after so many attempts and having success in so many other aspects of my life, he looked me in the eye and said “Why aren’t you losing weight? It’s totally in your control.” Honest, straightforward, and the conversation that started me on this transformation. Why aren’t YOU making the change. We all have the power to transform and grow. It’s already in us. Good luck on your own journey! Kathy More about Kathy Contact Info: kigou@turknett.com 770-270-1723