Part 4: Habit Building Framework - The 3 'S' Formula

Now that we have the big picture strategy on ‘how’ to approach our weight loss journey, let’s get into the nitty gritty of the action steps.

You would have realised already the importance of taking a holistic approach to weight loss goals.

It is not enough to address just one area.

You need to focus on N.E.S.S. if you want your body to go into fat-burning mode.

But how do we address all these different aspects of our lifestyle in a simple, effective and efficient manner?

Enter the 3 'S' Framework.

This framework is designed to help you build habits and stick to them despite life's ups and downs.

It will help you approach your habits in a way where you are able to stay on track over the long-run, with the right kind of support.

This is not a generic, cookie-cutter action plan.

This is a framework will help take action depending on your personal situation and goals.

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#1 - Strategic.

When you go to a hospital emergency room, the nurses have a very important job.

Their job is to prioritise which patient is in the most critical condition and needs to see the doctor immediately (i.e. the person bleeding the most).

Likewise, there are some daily habits where you are bleeding most and it is important to attend to them first.

These habits are the ones that will give you the biggest return on investment for the amount of effort you put in.

The habit that you need to work on most, will be unique to your situation.

However, there are some common principles we can apply to know where to start. 

Let's take the following example.

When trying to lose weight, a lot of people start their New Year’s Resolutions by going hard in the gym.

When in fact there have been countless research studies (over 60 in total), showing that your diet is actually the biggest determinant to weight loss.

One example of a research study was a group of people being put on a year-long lifestyle change program.

The group that who changed their exercise alone lost 2.4% of their body weight.

In comparison, the group who changed their diet alone lost 8.5% of their body weight.

It is not to say that exercise isn’t important for good health and longevity.

Exercise plays a key role further down in your weight loss journey.

But when it comes to losing the first few kgs, diet alterations can bring significantly better results.

This article breaks down the role of exercise further if you’re interested to learn more.

#2 - Small.

Let’s say you agree that the most strategic place to start is your eating habits.

The next problem that people run into is by trying to change everything at once.

A common example is when people try to overhaul their diet all at once.

Whenever we go on a restrictive diet, we try to use our willpower to fight against our body’s natural hunger system.

And we may be able to last a few weeks, but eventually it becomes too painful to continue.

We've talked about this before but the traditional willpower approach doesn’t work in the long-run.

Rather, it is important to get to the root cause of your issue and focus on one thing at a time.

And the root cause of the issue is not your willpower.

It is all the different factors that influence your eating behaviours beneath your conscious awareness.

When broken down, here’s a list of the most common client challenges that I see beneath the surface:

Have a look at it and see which ones apply to you the most.

(It will be unique to your personal situation)

When trying to address the issues above, it is important to not get overwhelmed by it.

But to focus on one thing at a time.

In fact, a study compared the likelihood of retaining a habit for more than a year if you focus on one habit vs two habits vs three habits.

The results were fascinating.

Your likelihood of success to stick to a habit are more than double when you focus on one habit at a time.

#3 - Supported.

Habits work best when they’re supported by some form of coaching, mentorship and accountability.

Most people try to approach their health and fitness journey alone and have no support networks to fall back on when things get challenging.

Based on personal and client experience, these are the most important phases when support is needed:

1. Starting out – known as the ‘courage phase’. You need someone to help you set the trajectory of your path and get encouragement when starting out.

2. Staying on track – having a known cadence of accountability has done wonders to keep our clients on track. This can be done in the form of fortnightly coaching calls or through an accountability partner.

3. When you’re stuck – there will be times throughout your journey when you hit a ‘plateau’. It is important at these times, to get tools and strategies that have helped others overcome similar challenges.

It is much easier to navigate a challenging situation when you get advice from someone who has ‘been there, done that'.

4. Future planning – what’s better than solving a problem? Avoiding that problem in the first place.

Experienced coaches can give clients a heads up – in advance – about what they’re likely to come up against. That way the clients know what problems to look out for and they’re less likely to get derailed.

You may or may not decide to hire a coach for your weight loss journey.

However, it is important to understand how to build structures in your lifestyle to help you stay on track over the long-run.

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