How are your new year’s resolutions going?

I shared on my first post that I launched this blog as part of my bold plan to engage in something new each month of the year. In January, I worked on a simple habit – ditch the milk or creamer in my daily coffee and drink it black. It’s been 34 days and I’m feeling good about this change so far. I read it takes 6 weeks to to learn or unlearn a habit and I’m way past the midpoint of this timeline.

First, I’d like to qualify that I’m not buying milk or creamer for my daily coffee but if I’m out with my friends at a cafe or coffee shop occasionally, I’m allowing myself to get a latte which is my favorite espresso drink. So far, this has happened three times since I started on January 1. What is interesting is I didn’t crave for the milk in my coffee in between those occasions I had the latte. It didn’t make me go out of my way to go the grocery store and buy milk for daily use which I typically did in the past when I ran out of milk. In short, I’m drinking coffee with milk as a treat (new habit) and not an everyday practice (old habit). I also set the environmental conditions (cue) where to have it- at a coffee shop, not at home or in the office. Having the latte at a different or special setting felt more rewarding and enjoyable. I recall two instances at home when I wished I had milk in my coffee but since there was no milk to be had, it was easy to ignore it! This approach I just shared is called a “habit loop” and there are lots of popular literature about it particularly the book “The Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg.

Lastly, why am I doing this? One, milk in my coffee is just calories I don’t need. I thought this strategy is one way to cut calories and if I can omit it daily, it can have a cumulative effect. Two, I hope to reduce dairy in my diet. I have been a vegetarian since 2008 and am experimenting to eat less dairy.

Thanks for reading and I’d love to know if you have any New Year’s resolution you are working on!