Committing to a healthy lifestyle can be hard, but mentally preparing for this change will help you to reap the benefits of healthy living over the long-term. Here are some tips to help you commit to a healthy lifestyle.
Track your progress
There’s no better way to keep yourself motivated and help you stick to your eating plans and workouts than by recording what you’ve done. From day one, keep a food diary to help you identify the times you at your hungriest, and also which snacks are your weaknesses. Tracking your fitness activity can also help, showing you where you have improved and providing a source of encouragement to keep trucking on.
*Keep in mind, if it goes in your mouth, it goes in your food diary. NO CALORIE AMNESIA. Kids leftovers, ice cream off the lid, just one handful of nuts, a colleague’s birthday cake, a cheeky glass of wine… these all have calories, so get real and write them down.
Share your achievements
Don’t keep your achievements to yourself – let your friends, family and colleagues know. This can help to build your self-confidence and motivate you to keep driving your goals of a healthier lifestyle. You never know – you could also inspire someone else in the process!
*Success creates a desire for more success!
Challenge yourself
Stuck in a rut? Maybe your 2km treadmill run or 15 minute rowing challenge isn’t having the same impact anymore? The key here is to keep challenging yourself. Always set new distances and times, and try new workouts. With exercise, you can always set new goals to further improve your fitness and wellbeing.
*The best version of you, lies just outside your comfort zone!
Set time to recover
Overload is a problem that many people deal with when changing lifestyle, so don’t let the food changes and early morning wake-ups get to you. Pencil in some time for you to relax and recover daily. That means no Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc. whilst you chill out. I’m sure you’ll survive not finding out that “Sarah from high school’s, cat just had kittens” Same applies with sleep. No screens directly before bed.
*If you can aim for 7 – 8hrs sleep every night… sweet dreams!