I recently purchased a new Tupperware set that’s BPA-free.

This remark, made by my friend Anna, took me by surprise. Anna is an accomplished legal professional. She excels in critical thinking and excels in cutting through irrelevant information.

However, the Anna I was familiar with was falling into some challenging traps that appeared to be evading her sharp, skeptical mind. She’s been wanting to shed around 15lbs for a while and approached me to express how stuck she felt regarding this goal.

She mentioned a route she was considering: the new BPA-free Tupperware set.

“Interesting. What led you to prioritize that?” I inquired.

“Well, I’ve come across information suggesting that microplastics in food containers can disrupt our hormones and lead to weight gain,” she replied.

I raised an eyebrow.

To recap, this was right after she shared her struggles with being consistent at the gym, her reliance on takeout, and how she’d been sacrificing necessary sleep for the thrill of mindless scrolling.

So I prompted:

“How about working on being more consistent with your workouts or preparing more home-cooked meals during the week?”

And Anna responded:

“Yeah, but I’ve attempted that countless times. If it were that simple, it would have happened by now.”

We’ve all experienced this.

We’ve ignored or postponed those challenging yet beneficial habit changes in favor of some ultra-specific, niche quick fix that’s supposed to “revolutionize everything.”

We’ve spent hours researching the ultimate, most efficient workout instead of dedicating that time to simply performing the basic workout we already know how to do.

We’ve waited to feel more inspired, motivated, or simply less busy.

Why do we engage in this?

Purchasing new equipment or a trending supplement gives the illusion of making progress.

Watching YouTube videos or reading articles about things you can alter feels like taking action.

And waiting for the “ideal moment” seems, well, appropriate.

However, nothing genuinely changes until we take real, consistent action.

We’re quite clever as humans. We’ve devised numerous clever ways to avoid the straightforward, unexciting, difficult actions we need to take that genuinely lead to change.

In this article, we will delve into how to take an honest and compassionate perspective on why you may be distracting yourself from making impactful decisions.

You will discover:

• What the most significant health habits truly are
• Three common obstacles to achieving sustainable progress
• A 4-step approach you can implement to begin taking positive and productive action
• How to maintain your consistency—and reach your goals

The actions you acknowledge you should undertake (but likely aren’t doing regularly)

We all recognize those basic, essential health habits:

▶ Engaging in exercise for approximately 30 minutes each day, applying moderate-to-vigorous effort, incorporating both aerobic and resistance training.

▶ Consuming primarily nutritious, minimally-processed foods. If 80 percent of your meals consist of whole or minimally-processed items, you’re doing remarkably well. (Translation: “Perfection” isn’t necessary; pizza can fit into a healthy diet.)

▶ Ensuring adequate protein intake to support muscle mass, appetite control, and body recomposition goals, if applicable. Aim for around 1.2 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight (for most individuals, this amounts to roughly 4-6 palm-sized servings of lean protein daily).

▶ Emphasizing the importance of getting seven to eight hours of quality sleep. While you may not always control your sleep quality, allowing some time to unwind before bed can help, along with rising at the same time each day.

▶ Minimizing or at least reducing excessive use of alcohol or drugs, including cigarettes. Not enjoyable, we understand. But it serves a worthwhile purpose.

We could easily include points like fostering positive, supportive social connections, managing stress, and likely more, but even just the above list remains largely unmet.

In fact, only six percent of Americans engage in all five of the following fundamental health behaviors:

• Adhere to physical activity guidelines
• Avoid smoking
• Consume alcohol in moderation (or not at all)
• Sleep a minimum of seven hours
• Maintain a “normal” BMI

If you’re processing the numbers, that means nearly