☀️ eliminate deprivation once and for all

If your habit system feels like punishment, it’s not going to work long-term.

Example: Say your goal is a classic, like "lose 20 pounds", but you’re relying on white-knuckling your way through it—saying things like “If I can just get through this month…”—you’re missing the magic.

Sure, you might step on the scale and hit that number. But then what?

Likely a feeling of “Wait… do I have to eat like this FOREVER?”

That’s not success. That’s a countdown to burnout.

Here’s the alternative:

What if you created a daily routine that you genuinely enjoy living?

You fall in love with how you eat—bright colors, satisfying textures, food that feels soul-nourishing.
You move in ways that excite you—dance, walk, lift, stretch, play. Perhaps with friends or in a beautiful location.
You stop chasing the finish line and start building a rhythm that feels like home.

When there’s no deprivation, you get to win every single day. The goal weight becomes just a moment—not the moment.

Three ways to eliminate deprivation from your habits:

1. Create a life you don’t need to escape from.
If you feel like a victim in your own life, your brain will use food (or screens, or wine, or whatever) to self-soothe and call it “deserved.”
You’re not lazy—you’re coping. So ask yourself: What actually needs to change?

2. Rewire your language—(and then your beliefs.)
Words shape your experience. Swap “I have to work out” with “My body is loving this.”
Call nourishing meals what they are: an indulgence in your well-being.

And here’s the hack that changed EVERYTHING for me: eliminate the habit of complaining.

Refuse to gripe about how you eat or move.

You chose this. Own it.

Say it with pride:
“I love eating this way.”
“This feels so good.”
“I’m grateful I get to do this.”
“I’m totally a workout person.”

Change your words first, then watch yourself start to believe them. (Don’t believe me? Try it. Seriously!)

3. Stay in your own story.
Comparison is a fast track to deprivation.
We all know Marcy—you know, the naturally thin unicorn who eats Big Macs for breakfast. Marcy’s metabolism is not your business. Your business is your plate, your movement, your mindset. Release the rest and experience the freedom that comes from giving no energy to the Marcy's.

The goal isn’t just to reach the destination. It’s to build a lifestyle that makes you whisper: "I could live like this forever."

xoxo, Katie Day

P.S. If your habits feel like a punishment, they’re not your habits—they’re someone else’s rules. Rewrite them! (Hit reply and tell me which one!)

As I was writing this newsletter, the barista hands me THIS MUG, HOW PERFECT IS THAT? That's what we're doing here and inside **the Habit Lab**. Romanticizing our routines so that no feelings of deprivation remain!

Next Up:

Tuesday, May 19: Group Coaching inside The Habit Lab (Join us! You're right on time!)

Current Read:

The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. It’s not about habits, but it’s exactly about what makes habits sustainable: presence. When you stop living for some future version of yourself and start choosing what feels aligned right now, everything shifts.