Want to feel better? Want to be healthier? Forget diets forever, they aren’t created for longevity and can be overwhelming even on the short term; which ultimately ends in giving up and feeling crappy about yourself.
What does work is creating healthy habits that you can take anywhere with you for life; and feel good about it. The best part of creating and incorporating goal-oriented behaviors into your lifestyle is much easier than you think. And don’t forget, wellness play a large role within your health.
Here are three simple ways to kickstart healthier habits right now...
- 1. Ask yourself; what are your biggest obstacles?
Start by being honest with yourself to identify what may have been getting in the way of eating healthy and exercising until now. Could it be juggling the kids, having little time to yourself or being home so much right now giving you more opportunities to snack on unhealthy foods? Being aware of your obstacles will enable you to better prepare yourself and plan around them going forward.
- 2. Set achievable goals
Too often, people set impossible goals like losing 20 pounds in a month, going on extreme diets that are too restrictive or making crazy promises to go to the gym 7 days a week. It’s extremely rare that any of these goals are fulfilled; which leads to more self-doubt.
Ensuring the goals that you are setting for yourself are achievable is one of the most important ways to kickstart healthier habits today. Always start small, even if it seems silly, and give yourself a star for each goal that is achieved. Here are some examples…
***FOOD GOALS
Start small. For instance, think about healthy snacks, or meals, that you enjoy, pick a time to pull the ingredients together and have them ready for when you’re hungry. For instance, precut fruit, grilled chicken or an avocado you can slice onto a whole grain cracker. Being excited for foods that you like and having them available to you is the best way to eat healthier.
Make sure the foods you eat include healthy proteins and whole grains to keep you feeling fuller longer; making you less likely to snack in unhealthy. ways later. And if you don’t have time for prepping meals, buy pre-prepped fruits and vegetables at the store to make it even easier to achieve your goal. Frozen vegetable is another fantastic way to incorporate healthy foods into your meals. Also making bigger meals the day before leaving you healthy leftovers for lunch the next day. Do whatever it takes!
***EXERCISE GOALS
If moving your body on a consistent basis is a struggle for you, there are a few things you can do to make exercise more achievable. First, don’t feel like you ever have to go to the gym again because walking, doing an online exercise class or simply incorporating the best 5-minute busy woman workout into your day will also count.
Another way to ensure you can make exercise a healthy habit is to schedule it, literally on your calendar, just like anything else. Even if it’s the 5-minute workout, write it down on the days you have a few extra minutes. Bonus tip is to try to get your exercise in during the morning hours, this will better ensure you do it. There’s also the 5 ways to trick yourself into exercising more.
- 3. Make a plan, but don’t be too hard on yourself
Creating a solid lifestyle plan by incorporating these healthier habits and making the commitment to sticking to them it as much as possible is a sure-fire way to make changes for the better. Simplicity, achievable goals and being kind to yourself will guarantee long-term success.
One of the ways I ensure healthier living is to map out my day either when I wake up or when going to sleep at night. After a few deep breaths, while laying in bed, I plan what I’m going to eat and how I’m going to move each day beforehand. This helps me make the commitment rather than blindly approaching the day having no plan in place.
Do I always succeed? Absolutely not. But that’s ok, life can get in the way of our goals. And we’re lucky to be able to start each day with new intentions. The bottom line is, try to incorporate one healthy habit for now, stick to it the best that you can for a month, and then introduce another. Take it slow, feel good about these healthy changes and enjoy your adventure.
