In this episode of Movement Health Matters, we talk with Dr. Heather McKee. Dr. McKee is a health behavior change specialist who is passionate about researching and implementing effective methods for creating lasting healthy habits. Her mission is to empower people to find freedom and joy in their healthy habits by utilizing research-driven approaches. 

Join Aaron and Dr. Heather McKee as they talk about all things behavior change and the importance of establishing lasting habits. Driven to make an impact by her experiences in a metabolic syndrome clinic, Dr. McKee also shares her background in sports science and health psychology, highlighting the challenges people face in making lasting changes despite having the proper knowledge and resources. They dive into her academic journey and the research on weight loss maintenance, discussing the positive impact of psychological skills training on mental and physical wellbeing.

What You’ll Learn:

• How to create “sticky” habits
• Why joy is so important in making habits stick
• The importance of exercising for fun over (just) benefit
• Why a toddler mindset (asking ‘why’ a lot) is important in getting to the root of any blockers in creating new, healthy habits
• What macro-level changes Heather is seeing at the company level related to overall health and well-being Why we struggle to make lasting behavior changes despite having the knowledge and resources
• The impact of psychological skills training on mental and cognitive health outcomes
• The importance of a long-term mindset in maintaining behavior change
• Why we need to learn from failures, embracing flexibility, and avoiding perfectionism
• Bridging the gap between knowledge and implementation for lasting behavioral change

Links:

https://www.drheathermckee.co.uk/