The Psychology of Building Habits with Dr. Heather McKee

Today on Better! we’re joined by Dr. Heather McKee, the UK’s leading lifestyle behaviour change specialist, keynote speaker and founder of drheathermckee.co.uk Heather’s mission is to offer a sustainable, evidence-based alternative to an industry saturated with quick fixes and health fads. We talk about changing your behaviours to achieve your goals, building habits using “Skillpower” instead of willpower, and the importance of flexible habits. Dr. McKee takes us on a deep dive through the ins & outs of behaviour change, and how to use science to tackle your goals. This conversation is a true masterclass on habits and goals, and you’ll leave feeling excited to take on your New Year’s Resolutions…whatever they may be! Episode Overview: 0:00 - Intro 8:45 - What is a behaviour change specialist? 15:14 - The challenge with achieving “outcome” goals 19:30 - Creating intrinsic goals 23:04 - Why motivation doesn’t work & how to stop relying on it 27:00 - Debunking the 21 day habit myth 30:14 - How long it actually takes to build a habit & how to do it 33:23 - A word from our sponsors 38:17 - Setting flexible habits 47:00 - Dealing with temptation and competing motivations 56:55 - Using “skillpower” instead of willpower 1:03:36 - The COM-B model of behaviour change 1:07:18 - Using a temptation tracker to understand your bad habits 1:10:30 - Building your environment to support your habits 1:15:13 - Why change happens when we feel good 1:24:30 - Outro   Sign up for my FREE MASTERCLASS: HEALTHY OFFERS - for health practitioners looking for strategies to earn more money Are you A Healthcare Practitioner? Join The Estima Certification Program Here   We’d like to thank our sponsors: Orion Red Light Therapy - Use the code STEPHANIE10 for 10% off  https://www.orionrlt.ca/?ref=Stephanie Athletic Greens - redeem an exclusive offer here: athleticgreens.com/stephanie LMNT Electrolytes - A FREE 7-flavor sample pack! - https://www.drinklmnt.com/DrEstima BIOOPTIMIZERS - receive 10% off your order with Promo Code "ESTIMA" - www.biooptimizers.com/drstephanie   Follow Me On Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.stephanie.estima Get yourself a copy of my best-selling book, The Betty Body - https://bettybodybook.com Join the Hello Betty Community here - https://hellobetty.club   Links for This Episode: Heather’s Links: http://drheathermckee.co.uk/ https://www.bitesizedhabits.co/ Meme from Dr. Stephanie: https://img.ifunny.co/images/c0bf676695ff4b232bfe3dc26e9c5bc1ba6a75ffe4ff4d585d9cf2f6d2411042_1.jpg **************************** P.S. When you're ready, here are two ways Dr. Stephanie can help you: Subscribe: The Mini Pause — My weekly newsletter packed with the most actionable, evidence-based tools for women 40+ to thrive in midlife. Build Muscle: LIFT — My progressive strength training program designed for women in midlife. Form-focused, joint-friendly, and built for real results. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.