You’ve made the decision… Now, how do you commit to your healthy living journey? First, know it is a journey not a destination.
AND, there is no such thing as perfection.
New here? Thanks for stopping by or welcome back. After you read this blog, be sure to check out some of my other articles for women over 50 who want to lose body fat, build muscle, create phenomenal bodies they love.
Before I dive into how you can commit to healthy living, let’s define healthy living.
One definition is “taking steps and actions today so that you experience overall wellbeing free of disease in the future”.
Personally, I want more than to be free of disease. Although, it is definitely a critical piece.
You may also want more energy, to feel more confident, or just plain to FEEL GOOD.
For more info on healthy living, check out a previous blog “Prevent chronic disease tomorrow by doing these 10 thing today”.
Commit to Healthy Living - Know why you're doing it
Don't skip this one!
Anyone can live healthy for one day. But, you’re here because you want to commit to your long term health.
Knowing why you want to live healthy will also help you identify what healthy living means for you.
For example, are you focusing on:
- eating healthy
- physical activity
- stress management
Commit to Healthy Living - Start Slow
There are hundreds of things you could to do start a healthy living journey.
Pick one! Focus on that one thing until it becomes so automatic that you no longer need to think about it – you just do it.
An example might be…
- eat one more serving a vegetables per day
- walk xx steps per day (start where you are and increase gradually)
- get an extra 30 minutes of sleep per night
Commit to Healthy Living - Have a Plan
If you want to commit to a healthy living journey, you’re going to need a plan. Oh no, not the dreaded plan. Yep!
How much you want to plan is up to you, pick one of these to get started.
Eating Healthy
- Plan your meals – for help getting started check out my blog on meal planning
- Stock up on healthy foods – Convenience almost always wins. Have healthy foods at your fingertips
- Prep in advance – the more you can prepare in advance the better. Could be meals cooked in batch or fresh fruits and veggies all cleaned and ready to eat
- Hide the junk – make it easier on yourself and keep any junk food out of sight
Physical Activity
- What physical activity will you do?
- When will you do it?
- How long will you do it?
Oops, Life happened
- What are some common things that could derail your plans? Know how you will handle them.
- Excuses will creep in – recognize excuses for what they are
- Make an appointment – for and with yourself – then do not blow off your appointment. Reschedule if needed, but this is an appointment you don’t cancel.
Commit to Healthy Living - Ask for help
When it comes to making a commitment to a healthy living journey, you’re going to need to ask for help. Ask family and friends for their support.
Explain to them why this journey is important to you. Ask them “Can I count on your support?”
If your family and friends aren’t supportive, find support with other like-minded women who are also on a healthy living journey.
A great place to start…
Join my free Facebook community. We’d love to have you join us.
Double the motivation with a friend
What’s even better than getting support from your friends?
Having them on the healthy living journey with you.
When you have a friend that is also committed to healthy living, you can keep each other accountable. You can create mini challenges amongst yourselves. You can laugh, share your struggles, and celebrate your successes together.
Commit to Healthy Living - Make it Fun!
Whatever it is you decide to focus on first, make sure you find a way to enjoy it. If you don’t, your journey will be over before it even gets started.
Grabbing that friend we talked about above is a great way to have fun. If you love music, put on your favorite music while you’re getting in some physical activity.
If you like challenges, create a mini challenge for yourself. For example, how many days in a row can you walk 10k steps. If you’re like me, once you start tracking you won’t want to break the roll you’re on.
Commit to Healthy Living - Never give up
When you are making the healthy choices you know you should make, the outcome you want will follow. Believe in the process and enjoy the journey.
Healthy living doesn’t mean PERFECTION. Make sure you always give yourself some grace.
Following are a few tips that help keep me committed to my journey. Give them a try and see what works for you.
- Enjoy cheat meals – I plan a cheat meal every Saturday. It’s something I look forward to and makes it easier for me to stick with healthy eating the rest of the week.
- Celebrate wins every day – every day you’ll have something to celebrate. Some days it may be a small win others it will be something big. Either way take time to congratulate yourself.
- Set mini goals – what can you do today that gets you farther along on your journey
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