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As enticing as it is to think of the one big push… Or major event… OR latest extreme diet… that will transform your body – the unsexy truth is that success in the weight loss game (and I imagine in any aspect of life) is more a matter of those seemingly insignificant, at times tedious, little habits.

In today’s show I’m going to cover 3 of my favourite weight loss success habits.  I absolutely subscribe to them and observe them time and again in people who seem to stay fit and healthy easily.

It should and CAN be easy to have the body – and health – you want.

If staying in your best shape isn’t yet easy then it’s time to make these habits a part of your routine.

Yes, a little effort is involved.  The results will be worth it.

Success Habit #1. Anything Beats Nothing.

In part this habit relates to the benefit you will still receive from a 15 minutes intense work-out on the days you don’t have time for the full 45 minute session OR the extra upper body+core training that you do when a knee injury means your lower body work is limited.

Of even great value is the fact that something today makes something tomorrow so much more likely.

So, even if it’s only a measly ‘3’ one minute intervals on the rower as it was for me after my weights training today – YOU,

A) Get to feel proud of yourself for keeping your commitment to yourself, rather than spending the whole day feeling disappointed that you let yourself down… and likely letting yourself down more with your food choices.

B) Will only find it easier to throw yourself back on the rower… or into the pool… or onto the weights floor for perhaps even a little longer next time.

Success Habit #2. Enjoy vices and indulgences.

Dependant on how long you’ve known me you may or may not be surprised at this one!

I believe it is a natural human trait to be attracted to vice… to want to break ‘the rules’… to seek some uncertainty or variety. Perfect is not achievable let alone sustainable long term. My caveat is how you think of vices and indulgences.

If your vice is a bottle of wine a night it’s not going to work.  However a glass a night likely will.  If indulging to you is a weekend of cheat meals – starting with Friday night pizza and ice-cream and dragging your body through an “I deserve this after my great fuel all week” gobbling fest to finish with Sunday night cheese, crackers and chocolate then it’s not going to work.

What will work is smaller indulgences and vices sprinkled through-out your week because – YOU,

A) Know you can count on that little treat that is never too far away and as such you don’t need to resort to the all-out-binge-fest that always occurs after feeling restricted and deprived.

B) Keep your hormones happy by ensuring leptin levels don’t drop below baseline.  Leptin is the hormone behind that scary and true line ‘the less you eat the less you have to eat.’  When you decrease your calorie intake for roughly only a week of moderate dieting leptin levels drop off significantly.

Low leptin = stalled fat burning.

When you strategically introduce a day of overfeeding leptin rapidly reaches it’s baseline again. By day, I actually mean meal, because you really can have too much of a good thing in a whole day of overfeeding or cheating or treating.

=> check out one of my most popular posts ever on the Lovely Cheat Meal:

Success Habit #3. Maximise the good.  Minimise the less good.

Simply put, what you focus on will expand.  Today I’ve saved the best to last, although if you’ve been with me from the beginning you’ll know that out of everything health and weight loss I chose FOCUS as the subject for Healthification show 001 because I believe it really is that important. Getting awesome at this success habit will make all the other habits easier.

How much easier is it to stick to your regular Friday am interval training when you focus on how happy you’ll feel when it’s done and how much you’ll love being able to feel confident wearing whatever you choose?

Versus, how tired/busy you are or how hard/boring intervals are…

Where is the value in focusing on the fact that you have a never-ending to-do list and exercise detracts from your opportunity to tick another work task off the list?

Versus, how lucky you are to be able-bodied enough to exercise at all and how you know making time to exercise actually makes you more efficient and effective at work.

When you encounter a seemingly UN-good situation see it as an opportunity to get creative and hunt down the good – YOU,

A) Will attract more good into your life when that is what you choose to focus on.

B) Will waste less energy focusing on stuff that makes you unhappy and is likely not within your ability to change anyway.

Ok, let’s make this actionable: today’s action step is to think of your own top 3 success habits in an area of your life in which you excel.  Perhaps in your career, your relationship, as a parent or maybe in a sport or hobby.  In whatever it is that you are already awesome at, you’ll have your own success habits that ‘just happen’ and get those great results for you. The thing is these habits can absolutely be ‘modeled’ or copied in your health goal.  Maybe you have that knack for focusing on the good in your role as a parent.  Great.  Now apply that same skill to your health.

I’d love to hear your success habits.  Please share them in the comments below.

That’s it for this week in Healthification.

Super huge thanks to some more most awesome people who have left me iTunes reviews… like Naomi Stewart, watzzupsport and Barry Moore.

If you liked this you’ll also like: Weight Loss Success Habits.

If you’re yet to share the Healthification love – just click here to zip over to iTunes and leave an honest rating and review. It’d help me out big time. With gratitude, Kate.