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In today's episode, chef and RD Allison Schaaf talks about how to take the tiny habits you've started, and really make them part of your life and part of who you are.

Think about the greater meaning behind a habit, why is it important to you?

For example, with the habit of meal prep, some meanings might be:

• Meal prep enables family dinner time and connection with those we love
• Meal prep supports health, which makes us all happier and feel better
• Meal prep creates ease. Dinnertime isn't stressful or hectic when it's been prepped ahead. Having that ease at the end of the day is so important, especially on days when you don't get to spend much other time with your family.

How do you know when to push yourself beyond a tiny habit and ramp up the difficulty, and when do you need to scale back?

We all have busy seasons, that's why we brought the weekly super fast meal plans to Prep Dish!

If it's a habit you're really committed to, figure out a way you can scale back instead of dropping the habit.

For example, I include meditation in my morning routine. Some days it may be only 3 minutes because my baby wakes up early, but I keep the habit and the momentum going.

Think through how you can make your environment more supportive to your habit. That may mean asking your spouse to watch the kids while you do meal prep or putting it on the calendar.

BJ Fogg also talks about the importance of mindset and identity in habit formation. Say something like, "I'm the kind of person who …."

For example:

"I'm the kind of person who meal preps for my family." "I'm the kind of mom that cooks homemade meals for my family." "I'm an intentional person who preps meals in advance."

Find something that speaks to you and repeat it to yourself. Then find things you can do to help you embrace that identity.

Take it a step further and teach someone else about your new habit. Teaching others a skill helps it really become a part of you.

Connect with Allison: PrepDish.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prepdish/ Get your FREE mealplan at PrepDish.com/podcast OR text the word mealprep to 33777

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

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Buy the Tiny Habits Book: https://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Habits-Changes-Change-Everything-ebook/dp/B07LC9KDP5/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=tiny+habits&qid=1616702969&sr=8-1