Healthy Huddle: The Invisible Routine

We break down why food choices feel endless even when we repeat the same patterns all week. We show how to spot your invisible routine and use a small system upgrade to interrupt loops like stress eating and nighttime overeating. 
• invisible routines as default settings for eating 
• why tracking food for a few weeks reveals repeat patterns 
• how habits, environment and past behavior drive “choices” 
• how small variations mask fast food and snack repetition 
• stress, fatigue and boredom as the same trigger-response loop 
• why we fall into routines instead of rising to intentions 
• three common eating loops and simple pattern interrupters 
If you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, just let me know. 

https://aarondegler.com/

Transcript

Welcome To Healthy Huddle

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome back to Healthy Huddle. Thank you for taking time to join us today. Each week, if this is your first time to Healthy Huddle, each week we just join our live call as we dis discuss and talk about a different uh food topic as it's related to health. Um, not necessarily a diet, not a strict plan, but just different things that we can do in our dietary, um, daily dietary actions that make it better and help us live our healthier life. So let's join our live call. So we are going to talk about the invisible routine, which is related to really if we if we think about invisible routines, we really have a lot of different invisible routines. But um, we'll talk about the one as it relates to food um instead of everything else we do. Um so on average, do you feel like you make a lot of food choices a day?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

When you it depends on if it's the weekend or the weekday.

SPEAKER_00 1:07

Okay, the weekend.

SPEAKER_01 1:09

Yes, I feel like there's always like what are we gonna eat next? And so then during the week, during the weekdays, no, because it's already planned out.

Food Logs Reveal Repetition

SPEAKER_00 1:22

So and some probably would think, you know, um some maybe you're busier during the during the week. In other words, um, you might have a busy week, so you feel like you make a lot of food choices. Whereas the weekend might be a little calmer, so you might think, well, I don't make as many. Or it might just be on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I feel like I have to make a lot. Um so depending on the day, the you know, is it weekday, weekend, we might feel like we really make a lot. And you know, the interesting thing about that is we're really probably not, as I as I think I've mentioned before, about one of the things I have clients do if they're complaining about their food or not seeing results, different things, is to log your food. And and usually a couple weeks is a really good um overall look at your really lifestyle. Because within two to three weeks, um, if somebody logs all their food they eat, and if I say, you know, don't worry about what you're eating, just do your normal thing, um, we can see a pattern in those few weeks that there's some repetitive foods, and it can be, you know, some of them might be a lot, some of them might be just two or three times, but a lot of times what we're doing is we're doing the same routine over and over, just making some slight variations of that routine. So it does feel like we're making a lot of decisions, but really it's just some slight variations of that. So, really, what would an invisible routine be? It would be something that like um we're a repeated pattern of when you eat, um, what you reach for when you get ready to eat, um, how you respond to stress, uh, how your day flows, how it goes, is it busy, not busy, um, different busy periods, all the different things. Um, and so that's something the invisible routine isn't something we consciously choose, it's more of like our default setting. Um so, like, kind of like when you turn on your TV every day. Um, depending on what kind of if you have an Amazon fire stick on it, or there might be several different things you have to do to get it on. That's your default setting on your TV. You have to go through all these things just to get to where you want to go. Um, so uh, you know, if we think about it, and if you think about your last week, maybe the last two weeks, um you you probably had a repeated pattern of when you eat. Um, even if your your schedule's crazy. Uh you know, and the thing is that most schedules may people may explain them as crazy, but they're crazy, but they're all they're the same. Um, they have the same patterns. Um again, slight variation, but same patterns, kind of like same foods, slight variations. Um, you know, how does that look? Maybe that's you know, you skip breakfast and you have a snack mid-morning. And and maybe that's something you do on a busy day. You know, you run late three days out of the five that you're going to work. And so on those days you already know, well, I'm just gonna get a snack because I typically run late. It's a pattern. Um, it's kind of like has does anybody know somebody that can't be on time?

SPEAKER_01 5:05

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:06

Okay, but they are consistently the same amount of time late.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 5:13

So they're like five to seven to ten minutes late. They're consistent about the amount of time they're late. It's somebody that you know if you're waiting on, they're gonna be five, ten minutes late. Oh it's and you think if you can consistently be five, seven, ten minutes late, why can you not consistently be on time? So it's really it's a pattern. Um, and a lot of things, if you look at them just in general, not just with food, um, but with people um with different things, how people act, how they respond, their actions, there's patterns. Um and so it may be, you know, different days, um, but it be the same pattern. So, in other words, it might be a Tuesday and that person is still seven to ten minutes late. It might be a Sunday and they're going somewhere else, but it's seven to ten minutes late. Um, so different day, same pattern. Um, maybe it's you have a light lunch, it's a busy day. You have a light lunch, you're just gonna grab something really quick, but late in the afternoon, you have heavy afternoon cravings, you're just starving. Um maybe it's really good all day, and then you lose control at night. Um, and again, it's a pattern. Um, and if you can see the pattern again, different day, same pattern. Um, so what if it if something is invisible, what does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 6:47

You can't see it.

Habits And Environment Run Choices

SPEAKER_00 6:48

You can't see it, exactly. Um, if it's invisible, you cannot, you don't see it, you're not, you can't touch it, feel it, it's invisible. And so um the reasons why we don't see it, um, why is it invisible? Why do we call it an invisible routine? Um, it's because um we feel like we're deciding, you know, what do I want today? What do I want to eat? Um, but what our brain does unconsciously, invisibly, is the brain pulls from uh your habits, your environment, your past behavior. So think of those things. Think of your habit. Your habit's pretty ingrained, so your brain pulls from that. When I'm late, what do I usually do? I skip breakfast, I get a mid-morning snack. When I'm busy a lot of days, I'll just have a quick uh bar or something, and I'll have, and I usually get hungry later. Um, so it pulls from habit, it pulls from the environment. When I'm in this place, this is what I usually have. When I'm here, this is what I usually have. When I drive by this drive-thru, I usually pull in there. It's environment and habit. And then again, the brain pulls from what what was your past behavior? What did you do last time we felt like this? Well, let's do that again. Because why? That's easy to do. So a slight variation might be I'm in a hurry, and my past behavior says I just go through a drive-thru. A slight variation goes, Oh, today I'm going through Sonic instead of McDonald's. Slight variation, same pattern. The pattern of quick and easy, fast food. It's a pattern. And but it feels like a choice. And so small variations will hide patterns. So just like, oh, I don't go through McDonald's all the time. No, you go maybe once a week, but you're also hitting Sonic, Chicken Express, Zippies. Um, so you're hitting fast food drive-thru five days a week. Um, but you say, Well, I'm on going to Sonic once a week. Very true. And so it typically is what we'll do too. We don't say I only go through Sonic once a week, but I go through other drive-throughs of the other four days. We say, Well, I don't know why I'm gaining weight. I mean, I only go to Sonic once a week. And then after I've had clients that we discuss more and go, oh, well, you're going to this drive-thru, to that drive-thru, all the different ones start to add up. So it might be a different snack, but it's the same time, same time of day. It might be a different dinner, but it's the same overeating. It might be a different day, but has the same ending. I have a client that I've had for a number of years, and there's different things that go on in her life from career um to hobbies, um, to personal to social, uh, different things. And I can see the patterns. Um, she's been a client long enough that when she shares those different things, I can see the pattern. Um, she gets excited about those certain things, um, whether it's a hobby, gets really excited about it, whether it's a job thing, whether it's a social thing, whether it's an exercise or dietary thing, gets really excited about it. Really, that's all we're gonna have a conversation, gets all into it, loves it. And then over time, the pattern is, it turns out, to that didn't work, that's not good, gonna step back from it. But it and it's been over the years, and so uh it's different things, but it's the same pattern. So typically, when I see that, I already and and again, small variations hide patterns. I've never pointed out that pattern because I've never been asked to point out the pattern, so it's not my job to point out the pattern, but yet the small variations of changing, you know, it's a dietary thing now, or it's an exercise thing now, or it's a social thing now, or it's a personal thing now. So the slight variations to her hide the pattern. I can see the pattern. Sometimes, you know, that thing will last for maybe six months, a year, maybe a year and a half. The lengths vary, but the pattern is always the same. Um, so typically I know how it's gonna go, and so I'm always looking for the pattern. So we're really no different. And and typically for us, what the the challenge is I mean, we're the same. It's easy for me to see her patterns because I'm on the outside looking in. So it's kind of easy. I have things that I know are patterns that I don't always recognize. I think probably each of us have those things like we step back from something. If you step back and look at your food about a different snack, same time, different dinner, still read. If you're looking different day, it still ends where you're just kind of eating everything in sight. Small variations, there's probably a pattern there somewhere. And a lot of and pattern recognition is a very powerful tool, whether it's in food, whether it's in people, whether it's in different things in social media, pattern recognition is very, very important and a very, very good skill to have if you can pick up on patterns. But very in have you ever been very interesting. Have you ever been to Walmart and noticed a pattern of the people there? What and what types of patterns might you notice if you've ever noticed a pattern?

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Well, sometimes you go in and it's all pajama day.

SPEAKER_00 12:51

It's all pajama day. It might be go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 12:57

Sometimes you go in and it's it's not pajama day, it's different day.

Chaos And Excitement As Patterns

SPEAKER_00 13:02

It's a different day. Sometimes, uh, and I hate to and I hate to be ugly like this, but it's true. Sometimes you go in, you go, wow, there's a lot of people with not many teeth in their mouth. That's kind of crazy. Or there's a lot of unusually not the cleanest looking people today, or there's a unusually a lot of slow-moving people today. Or wow, there are a lot of rude people in here today, but it's so it's all kinds of different patterns. Um, and and and I encourage you if you've really never paid attention to patterns, um go to Walmart uh and if you actually go in, um, and just see if you can notice a pattern that day. And typically there will be a pattern if you're looking for it. It's very interesting and it's very entertaining. If you walk around, you you'll be able to see a pattern. So, and I've had this conversation with other people, and and they also recognize patterns and they notice those patterns. And it might be even you know, not just Walmart, but when you go places, if you go somewhere and you visit it regularly, look for patterns because everything has a pattern, but it's very just very fascinating. So it you know, variation. We have the same pattern when it comes to food, and those variations will mask repetition. So it it's a little bit different, so it doesn't all you we don't always recognize as a repetition. I have another client that always seems to have chaos in her life, and I hear quite often when that calms down, I'll get back on track. So the chaos might be family, the chaos might be home, the chaos might be job, the chaos might be friends, the chaos might be different things, but so it might mass the repetition a little bit, but um it's still a pattern because there's always well when this chaos settles down, I'll do this. But the chaos doesn't always settle down, it's always there in some form. Um she uh in the house, she lived in a house and there was an accident there, and it just kind of was a bad, bad accident and caused her a lot of trauma, a lot of stress. And she said, When I move from this house, I'll be back on track. So about uh four or five months ago, she moved to a new house, bought a new house, sold her that house, and and I said, Well, have you are you getting back on track? Well, no, now it's something else, it's another thing. Um, and I told her before when she moved, was gonna move, I said, it's not the house. There's gonna be something else. No, there's not. I said, Okay. Um, and there's something else. And so um, so I pointed out. Um, because some I can be a little more up front and not get their feeling hurt, and others have to be have a more gentler touch. So it's all deciding how we communicate, but it's always a different chaos. I continually point that pattern out to her, but we're still stuck in the pattern, even after showing her the pattern, her going to therapy, and all those things, we're still stuck in the pattern. Uh, but we do that same thing too when it comes to food. We get stuck in that pattern and we can't get out of the pattern, so it's very, very challenging. And we all have that, but I'm not pointing people out to say, well, they have it, and I don't, or we don't. We do. It just looks different for each one of us. So we do have those patterns, and I'm guilty of the same. Some of those patterns I know, and there's some I'm sure I'm not I'm not aware of. So then sometimes when we have emotion, it makes it feel new. So, in other words, if we're stressed, if we're tired, if we're busy, we it feels different. But if we look, if we were to step back from the pattern and or that moment and look at the pattern and say, well, when I feel stressed, no matter if it's home, work, whatever, this is what I do. When I feel tired, if I look back at my have a little snow globe of my life, when I get tired, oh, this is what I do. It's a pattern. So it's very interesting, but it feels different. Again, it's a slight variation, it feels different, but it's the same. So it's it's really the same trigger and it's the same response. So that trigger of the stress may look different. The stress or may look different, but still stress, and then it still initiates the same response. The stress might be work, and so I'm gonna eat a little bit more. The stress might be traffic, I'm gonna eat a little bit more. The stress might be my spouse, I'm gonna eat a little bit more. So this the stress is the trigger and it elicits the same response, even though that stress looked different. What made me tired looked different. Maybe it was actual physical work, maybe it was mental work, maybe it was emotional work, but still tired. Trigger, same response. And and so the interesting thing about the pattern, because the pattern is that invisible routine that we can't see. So if you've ever been right up on a quilt, like right up on the block, can you tell the pattern by the block? Just the block, one block. No, no, but if you if you lay out the quilt on the bed or you lay it on the floor and look at it from above, can you then see the pattern?

SPEAKER_01 18:37

Yes.

Routines Beat Intentions Every Time

Three Food Loops To Break

Questions And Closing

SPEAKER_00 18:38

And and the same is true for us. When when we're looking at just the one block, we can't see the pattern. When we step back, we can see the whole pattern. So the truth is when it comes to patterns, it pat patterns is we don't rise to our intentions, we fall into our routines. So uh we might have really great intentions, but we'll always fall back to our routines. If we don't change those routines, we will constantly fall back in those routines. And that's with food, that's with exercise, that's with um that's with physical, mental, and spiritually, those pillars that we talk about to make a strong human. If we don't rise to our intentions, we will fall to our routines. So if our routines don't change, what we're trying to achieve will not change. Um, you'll and so some might call routines systems. Um so in um uh I won't say Mary Kay, but it's not Mary Kay. In Sensi. Sensi. Mary Kay was a while ago. But Sensi, we'd go to these conventions at the beginning when Kim started doing Sensi, and they talk about these systems. Systems, you gotta have systems. And I mean, they would go on and on about these systems. And I thought, okay, what are these systems they're talking about? Like they weren't telling us what the systems were. And it was really frustrating because I'm talking, I'm thinking they have these people that are making tons of money and they talk about all their systems, how good their systems are. Well, what is the system? But nobody would tell us the system, and then really is what it is it's the system that makes you successful. And that system works differently for everybody else. So it will always fall to our systems. So, in other words, if we have an inadequate system, like we can't get up on time, we can't make it to work, we we're always running out of gas, we don't, we're not meal prepping, we're just pick going through a drive-thru. That's our systems, and so we'll always fall to those systems. Um, so if we don't improve our systems, we can't improve our patterns, if that makes sense. Because we'll always go back to the system, we'll always go back to the routine. Um so routines and systems can be really interchangeable because you think about anything you do successfully with work, you probably have a routine, you probably have a system that you do that helps you be successful at your job. You know, a system. So when I was doing student teaching, we had to make lesson plans. They taught in college, you make lesson plans, you do lesson plans. You know, it's a system. And so when we started having classes, I didn't really have a system. But now, right for months and months now, I've been creating a lesson plan, if you might want to call it that. But it's a system. So it's a system of where I plug everything in, I have check marks, these are the topics, these are the things, this is what I do. So every week I have the same system. How do I make the lesson plan? How do I make the workouts? How do I make the healthy huddles, the walk and talks, all the things. It's a system. Um, so because I wanted to do better, but I wasn't doing anything to make it better. So when I when I finally said, okay, I need to upgrade my system, which was start planning better, that was a system upgrade. So then I could raise my intentions because my system was upgraded, my routine was upgraded, so it made a difference. So if you want to upgrade what you do, if you want to reach your goals, then it's really about upgrading your systems. Upgrading your routine is as simple as it is. There's no special system that makes you successful. It's what is your routine? And if you get better at your routine, then that will upgrade your systems. That will help you achieve what you're going to. So, you know, if your routine when it comes to food is I'm just reactive, or my routine is I'm unstructured. I don't have time, I'm I don't have time to do that kind of stuff. Okay, no problem. You're not gonna hit what you want to do by not having a system. You're if your routine is reactive, if it's unstructured, is if it's emotionally driven, but you're expecting to hit this, that's not gonna happen. You have to be proactive, you'd have to be structured, you'd have to be non-emotionally driven. You so you have to change that routine if you want the results. So if we fall to our systems, we fall to our routines. We can try as hard as we want, but we'll always fall to the routine or the inadequate systems if that's what we have. So, kind of just real quick, the three most common and visible routines that we deal with when food. All day control. You're in control all day long, then at night it just goes to we might say hell in a handbasket. It just goes south. Then the second one is the snacking loop. So, in other words, you're constantly grazing, you never feel fully hungry, you're never fully satisfied. There's really no start to end, it's kind of an all day thing. And then the third one is emotional reaction loop. So, what is that? Like any loop, stress equals food, boredom equals food, fatigue equals food. So, which are those? Those are trigger, a response, repeat. It's a loop. You repeat. If you get on a loop on a highway, what does it mean? You're gonna go around and around and around, you're gonna be in a loop. But when we become aware of the pattern, if we the awareness changes everything. So when we're aware, we know we need more discipline. We can see the pattern, we can interrupt the pattern. And how do we interrupt the pattern? We upgrade our routine, we upgrade our systems, just like we when we get a systems upgrade on our phone. It's an improvement, it's an upgrade for the most part. But we can't interrupt what we don't recognize. So, if so, how do we change somebody's way of thinking? How do we change their actions? It's pattern interruption. So we have to interrupt a pattern and break that. So, really, the challenge is you know to get kind of out of that loop, not change everything. What is one thing that you can system upgrade? If you want to see a difference in the way you eat and what you do, how it makes you feel physically, mentally, emotionally, what can you change? Not everything, just one thing that maybe breaks that loop, breaks that pattern. It is a pattern interrupter. And maybe it's just adding a protein to a lunch. Maybe it's just eating a real breakfast instead of a packaged breakfast. Maybe it's you know creating a dinner boundary. So, in other words, at this time, I'm not gonna eat after this time. Maybe it's I'm not gonna before I snack, I'm gonna say, now do I really want this? So it's just one small thing that you can interrupt the pattern loop. Because as we've talked about, just like be the ripple, one small change can create a big ripple, it can create a system upgrade. So, any thoughts, comments, or questions about our invisible routine. Invisible routine, again, this doesn't go with food, it can go with so much out there. So much we do is about invisible routine and patterns. But any thoughts, comments, or questions. All right. The thing with an invisible routine, you gotta be really you gotta really see it because it's invisible, so it's hard to see. So you gotta be really on the lookout to spot it. So, but if you have any questions, comments, or thoughts, just let me know. And thank you, DG, for joining us on Healthy Hut. I'll look forward to seeing you right here next time on Healthy Hut.