What's your "go to"?

You know that one breakfast you will always grab when you're in a rush or have no time to think about choices? What about the one exercise routine you rely on without giving it a second of thought? And those snacks....we all have that mid morning, afternoon, or late night snack attack. What do you reach for when that moment arrives? What's your "go to"?

When we remove the thinking from our choices, we have the opportunity to rise above without the battle of wills getting in the way. You have the chance to think ahead and plan before you are in the moment. When you have bad "go to" habits, they can add up and work against you and your efforts.

You have to start somewhere, and the little things make a huge difference. Make the choice to grab a banana and yogurt in your rush out the door on the next morning you're running late. The next time you have limited time to get your workout in, try some high intensity interval training (HIIT) to get the most out of your time and really get that calorie burn. If you have a tendency to run out of time for lunch and end up in a drive thru pressed for time, make a point to keep a protein bar in your desk, car, or purse, to replace that bad habit.

Everything matters. Every decision, good or bad, makes a difference at the end of the day. Every calorie and gram of fat counts and adds up. These "go to" habits we all have are mindless. They're easy food we grab in a rush. Or we have a certain snack we reach for each night without putting a second of thought into it. If you need the snack, have the snack. But what a difference it would make if the snack was no longer the world's biggest bowl of fruit loops with whole milk, but rather a banana with peanut butter.

Give it a try. Start with something easy. Most of us have a hard time getting a healthy breakfast. Either because we are busy, or because we have a habit of eating donuts, or maybe we never eat the first meal, or you love McDonald's and stop there every day..... Whatever the reason, breakfast doesn't get as much attention as it should. I'm not picking on breakfast, I'm giving you a good place to start. The way you start your day can really set the stage for the rest of the day, so start it off right.

Change your bad "go to" habits and see what happens. It's the easiest place to start making changes that won't leave you feeling overwhelmed or deprived.