Challenges Don’t Work.
February 5, 2023
Not for real and sustainable change, anyway. As real changes take time, and the shortness of these challenges, usually 30 Days or 6 weeks, don’t offer the long term habits required for long term success.
We have just kicked over into February; nutrition is a hot topic at this time of year.
Everyone wants to start the new year with a “new you” mindset. And with this, body composition goals are a priority for many, whether it is losing weight, reducing body fat, or adding lean muscle. Many people will find themselves joining in on some sort of short term challenge to help motivate toward change.
This is excellent; a strong sense of change is always a requirement for long term success. But it can also be detrimental, because most of us lack patience regarding the change. We want these changes to take place in 30 days. This is why short term challenges are so tempting; they promise you the change you want while addressing our impatience.
If you came into 2023 with the new year, I encourage you to shift to a more valuable and powerful mindset of long term effort and finally give up chasing short-term results.
The truth is that change takes time, especially if you want this change to really stick.
Why short term challenges don’t always result in long term change.
Short time frames don’t allow us to create habits and change our bodies’ baseline. Both of these areas take time to change and adapt. The notion that habits are formed in 21 days is a bit of a myth to me. Especially when you consider what a habit actually is; an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.
Real change needs the establishment of new habits. I am sure we have all heard the saying, Shape your habits, or they will shape you. We are the result of our long term habits.
A 30 Day (or short term challenge) is not nearly enough time to shift our habits to develop the knowledge and actions needed for long term success. The second reason is that we all have a baseline body composition.
The body will also seek to return to a state of homeostasis, which is the self-regulating process by which biological systems tend to maintain stability. Homeostasis is the state our bodies have settled into based on our habits (good or bad). Which again will take time to shift.
While you may see results and changes in body composition during a short challenge period, your baseline hasn’t had time to adapt.
All of these changes you made during the period of time you undertook the challenge will result in your creeping back to baseline once you stop (which you will likely do as most challenges are not sustainable, and once you reach the end, the first thing many do is indulge, or revert back to our former habits). Once your behaviours start to slip back into your old habits, so too will your body composition.
What is the answer for long term changes and results?
Long term changes require creating sound habits and shifting your baseline.
The answer is based on the view we take, and as you’ve probably guessed, it is a habit-based process approach.
It will take time to see results using a habit-based approach, but it is the best way to make real and sustainable changes. You’ll get there by adjusting and changing your habits. The focus on the habits and actions needed to give you ongoing results is the most important. A focus that is not used often enough and a reason that most people end up back where they started after the challenge. And for many, it is challenge, after challenge, after challenge.
If you joined a challenge in January and found that it has not gotten you to where you want to be headed, that’s ok. I hope you can now understand that sustainable change is a long-term commitment.
At Hybrid Fitness Training, we like to recommend 90 days as a good time length for specific habit focus. We believe that 90 days is the maximum time people can be focused and committed before this focus starts to drift. We have developed a 40 Days Towards Fitness system, a behavior-focused time frame that you can use to get going on your 90 days to bring real change and shift your body’s baselines. At the end of the first 40 days, we give you a few days to reflect, evaluate, and plan for the next 40+ days. The aim is to assist in lasting change through your behaviours and actions, creating good habits.
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Challenges Don’t Work.
February 5, 2023
Not for real and sustainable change, anyway. As real changes take time, and the shortness of these challenges, usually 30 Days or 6 weeks, don’t offer the long term habits required for long term success.
We have just kicked over into February; nutrition is a hot topic at this time of year.
Everyone wants to start the new year with a “new you” mindset. And with this, body composition goals are a priority for many, whether it is losing weight, reducing body fat, or adding lean muscle. Many people will find themselves joining in on some sort of short term challenge to help motivate toward change.
This is excellent; a strong sense of change is always a requirement for long term success. But it can also be detrimental, because most of us lack patience regarding the change. We want these changes to take place in 30 days. This is why short term challenges are so tempting; they promise you the change you want while addressing our impatience.
If you came into 2023 with the new year, I encourage you to shift to a more valuable and powerful mindset of long term effort and finally give up chasing short-term results.
The truth is that change takes time, especially if you want this change to really stick.
Why short term challenges don’t always result in long term change.
Short time frames don’t allow us to create habits and change our bodies’ baseline. Both of these areas take time to change and adapt. The notion that habits are formed in 21 days is a bit of a myth to me. Especially when you consider what a habit actually is; an acquired mode of behavior that has become nearly or completely involuntary.
Real change needs the establishment of new habits. I am sure we have all heard the saying, Shape your habits, or they will shape you. We are the result of our long term habits.
A 30 Day (or short term challenge) is not nearly enough time to shift our habits to develop the knowledge and actions needed for long term success. The second reason is that we all have a baseline body composition.
The body will also seek to return to a state of homeostasis, which is the self-regulating process by which biological systems tend to maintain stability. Homeostasis is the state our bodies have settled into based on our habits (good or bad). Which again will take time to shift.
While you may see results and changes in body composition during a short challenge period, your baseline hasn’t had time to adapt.
All of these changes you made during the period of time you undertook the challenge will result in your creeping back to baseline once you stop (which you will likely do as most challenges are not sustainable, and once you reach the end, the first thing many do is indulge, or revert back to our former habits). Once your behaviours start to slip back into your old habits, so too will your body composition.
What is the answer for long term changes and results?
Long term changes require creating sound habits and shifting your baseline.
The answer is based on the view we take, and as you’ve probably guessed, it is a habit-based process approach.
It will take time to see results using a habit-based approach, but it is the best way to make real and sustainable changes. You’ll get there by adjusting and changing your habits. The focus on the habits and actions needed to give you ongoing results is the most important. A focus that is not used often enough and a reason that most people end up back where they started after the challenge. And for many, it is challenge, after challenge, after challenge.
If you joined a challenge in January and found that it has not gotten you to where you want to be headed, that’s ok. I hope you can now understand that sustainable change is a long-term commitment.
At Hybrid Fitness Training, we like to recommend 90 days as a good time length for specific habit focus. We believe that 90 days is the maximum time people can be focused and committed before this focus starts to drift. We have developed a 40 Days Towards Fitness system, a behavior-focused time frame that you can use to get going on your 90 days to bring real change and shift your body’s baselines. At the end of the first 40 days, we give you a few days to reflect, evaluate, and plan for the next 40+ days. The aim is to assist in lasting change through your behaviours and actions, creating good habits.
