I'm a Big Fan of Dave Ramsey
I’m a pretty big Dave Ramsey fan. If you don’t know Dave, he’s a financial guru who helps people get out of debt. There’s not a complicated formula and no hoops to jump through. His get-out-of-debt plan is simple if you let it work. We went through Daves's financial program and paid off a lot of debt and we’ve kept it that way for almost 9 years now. So, I can honestly say that it works.
The Power of Habit Stacking
I’ve applied that same simplicity and theory to habit stacking, and habit stacking is so very important to be able to reach your goals. Let’s take a friend's New Year's resolution or goal to get in shape and lose weight. It’s the top of the top 10 New Year's resolutions and one of the ones that fall to the wayside the fastest. It seems pretty straightforward, right? Get to the gym, eat better foods, and watch what you eat. On some level, we ALL know how that “should” look…until you add in life.
Life has a crazy way of bringing progress to a halt unless we start to learn about ourselves, isolate, and change small habits that ultimately support our larger goals. Think of it like scaffolding. You can’t climb a tall tower if the bottom supports are a mess.
Case Study: A Friend's Journey
Back to our friend that’s wanting to get in shape and lose weight. (Note, there are lots of things that go into goal setting, I’m picking small ones as an example.) We had to sit down and examine her life and where we could start adding extra scaffolding to her life to be able to support bigger goals. She works full-time, has 3 kids, and volunteers for things at church, school, etc. She is tired when she gets home and working out feels overwhelming because there is dinner to make, and her kids want to see her and play. After dinner, there is bath homework, and then she collapses on the couch. The workout didn’t happen, and neither did eating well.
That morning they woke up late, she drank only coffee while running out the door. She didn’t have time to make her lunch in the morning. She didn’t want to eat junk food and eat out so she grabbed a bag of peanuts. Hungry and tired about 3, she grabbed a diet coke, and that curbed her hunger and got her back up and going…until she got home. The caffeine wore off about the time she got home and she just didn’t have the energy to make the nice, healthy home-cooked dinner she had planned out, and ordered pizza.
Does this sound like you?? It sounds like me on days too! So instead of thinking you suck, and that this plan will work again tomorrow, or beating yourself up and giving up on your goals, let’s look at what went wrong and small habits we can change to support future you… even when chaos happens.
Morning Habits
Getting up- who hits snooze? I used to but it was the first habit I attacked. Snooze didn’t help me EVER. You think that you’re getting more sleep, but you’re not. You’ve already disrupted your sleep cycle when your alarm went off. After that, you’re only getting junk food-style sleep. It makes me way more tired in a day and puts future me in a bad place for the rest of the day. If you wake up with your phone and it’s right beside your bed then move it to the other side of your room where you have to get up to shut it off.
Second is having an automated morning routine, and having prep done the night before. For example, nighttime for me means fixing the coffee pot/tea kettle, vitamins out, lunches packed, and having some easy grab-and-heat breakfasts that I had premade earlier. Backpacks, water bottles, and sports bags are already packed and sitting by the door or are loaded in the car. When my kids were little clothes were either set out or that’s what they would sleep in so they were just up and ready the night before.
Nutrition Habits
Breakfast options: If you’re not an eat-in-the-morning person I get that. There are days I wake up and need a 3-course meal and other days I’m not ready to eat by 10. With that said, I know that my body needs something. If you’re not ready till 10 then make sure you have something that you can grab for later. If not, I recommend protein coffee. It feels like a treat in the morning but also helps feed my body and my brain to start not in a deficit. I add a scoop of protein, some cocoa powder, and a little coconut sugar. (I use straight pea protein due to allergies and it is not sweet nor does it have a good taste, hence the coconut sugar and cocoa powder.) Whatever you’re eating make sure you have something that has some carbs, fat, and protein in it. You’re feeding your brain and the protein and fat will keep you fuller longer and give you a more satisfied feeling.
Lunch options: Next, because of her morning, she didn’t have time to make her lunch. Habit change is making that the night before. Even if it means you make extra dinner and pack that as you serve yourself dinner. Let’s say that didn’t happen the night before. You have a couple of places where you can go, yes even fast food, and get something to fuel your body. Chic-fil-A-grilled nuggets with pickles and fruit, Jason’s Deli for a salad, or a turkey leg from the gas station, or grocery store for lunch meat and an apple. Find a few things that can fuel you. It doesn’t have to be complicated.
Smart Snacking: What she did well was have a snack. Have snacks stashed in desks, purses, and the car. Life gets busy so find things like bars and nuts that work for you. Boiled eggs, fruit, and packets of tuna are always easy go-to’s. Her afternoon-tired slump may have been more about needing fuel, not caffeine. Energy comes from food, good food, food that doesn’t steal from your future energy. Sugary snacks and caffeine do that. They feel good now but not so much later. Honestly, she would have also been better off not having diet soda and having sugar. The body at this point was so ready for fuel. The diet soda told the mouth that sugar was coming. The body prepared for that fuel, then when there was nothing, the signals came on stronger later. And they did when she got home…. Nothing is safe at that point. Your body is done.
Avoiding the Afternoon Crash
The lack of fuel during the day, caffeine stealing from your future energy, and not having those habits in place made for the perfect storm when she got home. No energy for dinner and no time for a nice healthy dinner.
Dinner and Meal Prep
Last habit keep it simple and prep. Find a day in the week or weekend, recruit help from kids and your husband, and prep for the week. If he likes to grill, when he’s grilling steaks for Saturday night dinner, have him throw on chicken for chicken Caesar salads, hamburgers for mid-week to reheat, and brats to cut up in your spaghetti. While he grills, you brown twice the amount of ground beef, one for tacos and the other you freeze for that night you mess up. Kids can cut up onions, carrots, lettuce, or fruit for the week. This gives you time to supervise, meal plan, and order groceries for the following week.
Key Habits to Develop
Getting up when your alarm goes off
Meal prepping
Meal planning
Honor your hunger and your body.
Do what’s best for future you
Keep it simple- canned, frozen, or pre-cut veggies to cut down on prep time. Meals don’t have to be complicated. Salads, soups, meat plus veggies, and a potato or rice- may not be flashy but it's better than takeout!
Things that can be thrown in the Insta pot, or crock pot to cook all day
Get vitamin holders to open bottles once a week, dump vitamins, and go.
Double what you make and freeze one for the days that get away from you.
Snack stashing
Find go-to places that have good things for you to eat when things do fall apart because they will
Make sure you have fast, on-the-go foods available like boiled eggs, bars, tuna packets, fruits, and veggies.
Conclusion: Embracing Habit Stacking
The essence of Dave Ramsey's financial advice—simplicity and step-by-step progress—can be applied to habit stacking for personal goals. By focusing on small, manageable changes, we set ourselves up for success, regardless of life's unpredictable moments.
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