Finding Your "Why": The Push & Pull of Real Change

Ever feel like you’re stuck in a tug-of-war with your own goals? One day you’re motivated to meal prep, and the next, your old habits are dragging you back to the couch.

Real change isn't just about willpower; it’s about understanding the forces that influence every decision we make. At Body By Hannah, we use the Push-Pull-Habit-Anxiety framework to help you navigate these shifts.

A Practical Scenario: The "Early Bird" Workout

Let's look at Sarah, a client who wants to switch from evening workouts to a 6:00 AM routine. Here is how she breaks down her transition:

• The Push: Sarah is tired of being too exhausted after work to give her training 100%. The "unworkable" part of her old routine is the constant "I'll do it tomorrow" cycle.

• The Pull: She is drawn to the idea of having her evenings free for family and the "win" of finishing her workout before the sun is up.

• The Habit: To make this work, Sarah has to change her late night scrolling habit to support an earlier wake-up call.

• The Anxiety: She worries she’ll be too tired to function at work or that she'll fail and feel discouraged. She has questions about whether her body can even handle heavy lifting that early.

Break Through Your Barriers

By identifying these four areas, Sarah can plan for the "Anxiety" and "Habits" instead of letting them surprise her. Whether you are looking to revamp your nutrition or finally stay consistent in the gym, you need to know what is actually driving you—and what is holding you back. We want to help.

Download our Push-Pull-Habit-Anxiety Worksheet below to map out your own path to success.

Download the Worksheet Here

Ditch the Bathroom Scale.....Forever.

Investing in our clients is our number one priority….

and that’s why at the Body By Hannah Studio in Cleveland, TN, we just upgraded to the InBody 380 body composition device which includes insight on even more than our previous InBody 270 model!

How are you tracking your fitness progress?

If you’re like most people, you step on your bathroom scale when you want to assess your health.

But your bathroom scale is misleading. Ditch the scale.

Weight loss is not the same as fat loss. As we age, we naturally lose some of our heavy, dense muscle mass, and a lower number on the scale doesn’t always mean we’re in peak condition.

The key to physical fitness is losing excess body fat, not overall body weight. Instead of tracking how heavy you are, the InBody body composition analysis tracks how healthy you are.

You are much more than one standardized number. Your weight is made up of muscle, fat, bone, and water, and the proportions of these different elements are known as your body composition.

When you take a body composition test on the InBody 380, it shows you how many pounds of muscle, fat, bone, and water you actually have.

Armed with this data, you can make little adjustments that lead to major long- term improvements.

By learning about the balance of muscle mass, body fat, and body water in each of your limbs and your trunk, you get insight into:

• Your current health status

• Risk of chronic disease

• Which exercise and nutrition plans are most effective for you

  The InBody 380 analyses your body composition in just 30 seconds and provides you with a comprehensive set of data points that you can use to optimize your lifestyle. You’ll learn your:

• Skeletal Muscle Mass

• Percent Body Fat

• Body Fat Mass

• Basal Metabolic Rate

• Abdominal Fat Analysis

• ICW/ECW (insight around inflammation)

Book your FREE InBody Scan directly with your BBH trainer.

Not a client, yet? You are still invited to book a 20 minute InBody Scan and read with a member of the BBH team for just $35!! BOOK HERE.

A Different Way to Think About New Year’s Resolutions

As we approach a new year, conversations around New Year’s resolutions start popping up everywhere—what we’re going to quit, cut out, restrict, or finally “get under control.” This was the conversation I started having with my husband as we boarded our holiday flight this week.

And while reflection is valuable, I want to offer a slightly different perspective as you think about 2026.

If you choose to make a resolution this year, I believe it can be far more powerful and far more sustainable, to focus on something you want to ADD, rather than something you want to eliminate.

Why Adding > Eliminating

Elimination-based resolutions often come from a place of frustration or self-criticism:

• “I need to stop being inconsistent.”

• “I need to quit sugar.”

• “I need to stop missing workouts.”

These goals aren’t wrong, but they can feel heavy and hard to sustain. When we focus only on what we’re trying to remove, we don’t always give ourselves a clear path forward and personally, this approach has always made me want to rebel! Maybe a personality trait?

Addition-based intentions, on the other hand, are rooted in growth and support:

• Adding movement that feels good

• Adding structure to your week

• Adding moments of care, fuel, or recovery

Instead of asking “What’s wrong with me?”, we ask:
“What would support the version of me I’m becoming?”

The Power of Action-Based Intentions

One of the biggest reasons resolutions fail is that they’re too broad or elusive:

• “Get healthier”

• “Be more consistent”

• “Take better care of myself”

Good intentions—but hard to act on.

For an intention or habit to actually stick, it needs to be:

• Specific

• Actionable

• Repeatable

If you can’t clearly answer “What does this look like on a random Tuesday?”, it’s probably too vague.

How to Create a Habit That Actually Sticks

Here’s a simple framework you can use when setting an intention for 2026:

1. Choose One Thing to ADD

Ask yourself:

• What would make my days feel more supported?

• What’s one small behavior that would positively impact my energy, consistency, or mindset?

Examples:

• Add two strength sessions per week. Figure out what days and times that would be possible.

• Add a 10-minute walk after dinner

• Add 30 grams of protein to breakfast.

• Add a consistent bedtime routine

2. Anchor It to an Existing Routine

Habits stick best when they’re attached to something you already do.

Instead of:
“I’ll stretch more.”

Try:
“After I brush my teeth at night, I’ll stretch for 5 minutes.”

Instead of:
“I’ll move more.”

Try:
“On Mondays and Thursdays, I’ll attend class or complete my workout.”

3. Keep It Intentionally Small

You don’t need a complete life overhaul on January 1st.

Small actions done consistently > big actions done occasionally. One of my clients shared with me that her 2025 resolution was to make her bed every morning. A small task that really had a huge mental impact on her over the year. She was able to stick to this new habit and feels great about her accomplishment!

If it feels almost too easy, you’re probably doing it right.

4. Measure by Follow-Through, Not Perfection

Success isn’t:

• Never missing a workout

• Eating “perfectly”

• Staying motivated all year

Success is:

• Returning after a missed day

• Keeping promises you made to yourself more often than not

• Building trust in your own consistency

A Gentle Reminder as You Enter 2026

You don’t need to become a new person this year.
You don’t need to “fix” yourself.

You might just need to add one supportive habit that makes showing up feel more doable.

At Body By Hannah, we believe progress is built through intentional action, consistency over intensity, and habits that fit into real life—not against it.

If you choose a resolution for 2026, let it be something that adds strength, structure, or care to your life. And remember—you don’t have to do it alone. 💛