Many of us make promises at the beginning of the year, whether it’s jogging in the morning, eating more vegetables, or working out at the gym at least three times per week. But do we really stick to them? If you set unrealistic or unspecific goals, you’re likely to have a “breakdown” and be disappointed.
Testing various healthy lifestyle strategies and choosing the one that perfectly suits you may be a good idea. Thus, if you enjoy taking long walks or dancing, you can turn that into your regular physical activity.
How to Start Leading a Healthy Lifestyle?
The first thing you need to do is make a conscious decision to switch to a healthy lifestyle and stick to it consistently. So that the right habits aren’t perceived as coercive, you need to understand the benefits of such a lifestyle.
If you set a goal to eat 5 vegetables and run for 15 minutes every day, rather than to lose 10 pounds in 2 weeks, you will see that the former goal is quite achievable and guaranteed to result in a positive outcome, without any tough deadlines.
Set Adequate Goals
Setting the right goal is key to success. For example, you can use the popular SMART model:
- Specific. Set a specific final point for each objective, e.g., “to eat 5 vegetables and 5 fruits every day”;
- Measurable. The goal should not only be achievable but also measurable. For example, this could be “walk 6 miles a day.” For this, you will need a step counter and a distance-tracking app;
- Attainable. Your goal must be achievable, only in this case will you maintain a sustainable motivation. For example, this could be “to lose 2 kg in a month.” Such a goal is achievable and not harmful to your health;
- Relevant. Don’t use multitasking, i.e., don’t combine grocery shopping or picking up your child from kindergarten if you plan to walk for an hour every day;
- Time-bound. One important condition for successfully achieving your set goals is setting specific deadlines. Short-term goals, such as 1 week or 1 month, are most often used.
Such a model will allow you to create a detailed road map. Once you have it, all you need to do is follow each of the steps and reward yourself periodically for success.
Get Useful Insights
To create the most accurate and useful road map possible, you’ll need to gather useful information about the basics and current healthy lifestyle trends. This may include:
- Thematic groups and pages on social media;
- Websites on healthy lifestyles, physical activity, and proper nutrition;
- Books on healthy lifestyles, etc.
Even if you subscribe to major accounts on healthy lifestyles and nutrition, you will get new ideas and persistent motivation to keep yourself on track.
Replace Bad Habits with Good Ones
Habits are the foundation of behavior models that you use in your daily life. The good news is that even small steps can result in drastic positive changes. All you need to do is simply replace your bad habits with beneficial ones. And it’s easier than you think!
If you’re used to rewarding yourself with a chocolate bar or other sweets that are high in sugar and fat, you can replace them with fruits that you like. That’s a win-win situation! After all, you can get your rewards for doing a great job as well as develop a new healthy habit.
Consider One Change at a Time
Since big changes start with tiny steps, don’t try to change your whole life in 1 day. That’s why you need a roadmap with small goals. If you’re persistent enough, achieving each goal will gradually turn into a useful habit. Once you feel comfortable, you can move on to the next goal or adjust the existing one (if necessary).
Get Enough Sleep
A good night’s sleep is one of the most important parts of a healthy lifestyle. Eight hours of sleep will benefit you in the following ways:
- Reduced risk of dangerous diseases (e.g., type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.);
- Reduced weight, stress, and anxiety;
- Improved memory, attention, and other cognitive functions of the brain.
Regular sleeping less than 7 hours a night leads to such negative consequences as lack of energy, decreased cognitive functions of the brain, and increased risk of being overweight.
How to Stick to a Healthy Diet
A healthy diet is not about losing weight or gaining muscle mass but about providing your body with all the necessary substances and compensating for energy expenditure.
There’s only one way to lose or maintain your desired weight: you must burn more calories than you get from food. Most people get too much salt, sugar, and saturated fats in their food every day, which is definitely a bad eating habit and a reason for being overweight.
The basic principles of healthy eating include:
- Planning your diet in advance, including snacks. If you’ve planned your menu for the week and stocked up on everything you need, it’s less likely that you’ll order pizza instead of a healthy dinner. The same goes for snacks; if you prepare a salad, yogurt, or other healthy snacks in advance, this can become a healthy substitute for fast food and sodas;
- Cooking in batches for several days ahead. For example, you can make homemade convenience foods that make it easier to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner on weekdays;
- Making healthy and delicious meals. To make your food like this, explore healthy recipes that will become the basis of your diet for every day;
- Dieting is a way of life, not a restriction. Even if you are losing weight or adhering to a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, you should get enough nutrients, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates;
- Eating only when you’re hungry. In this case, you will get rid of the bad habit of constantly eating something out of boredom, which leads to overeating and gaining excess weight.
Remember that adhering to the principles of a healthy diet does not mean you have to give up unhealthy foods. There’s nothing wrong with the occasional appearance of fast food, chocolate, or chips in your diet. The main thing is that it should not be a daily habit.
Physical Activity as Part of Everyday Life
Regular physical activity is not just about working out or doing yoga, pilates, or other sports 2-3 times a week. If you’re a novice, make sure you do everything gradually and turn it into your daily habit.
For example, you can start walking for 30 minutes every day. Walking is a useful alternative to jogging and is also easily achievable as a goal. You can schedule a walk twice a day, in the morning and after work.
How to motivate yourself to exercise every day:
- Get yourself a tracksuit and running shoes or home exercise equipment;
- If you’re just starting to walk or jog, set a short-term goal, such as running 3 miles every day. Install a distance-tracking app on your smartphone to monitor your progress;
- Find yourself a partner (or a group of people) to exercise regularly. If you start running every morning, this can be your friend or neighbor. This way, you will also motivate each other to succeed.
Another way to achieve your set goals is to tell your family and friends or make a promise to a loved one. In this case, it will be harder for you to stop exercising, as other people will be interested in your progress.
Alternatively, you can also start your own blog and post your workouts there. As a result, you will motivate other people to exercise regularly and maintain a high level of motivation yourself.
How Long Do You Need to Exercise a Day?
For a healthy adult with no medical contraindications, the standard is a minimum of 2.5 hours of physical activity per week. This total includes not only intense workouts, such as running or cardio at the gym but also walking or biking tours.
If you work out 5 days a week, the duration of one workout is 30 minutes. Thus, you can easily fit this amount of time into your everyday to-do list and get the required 150 minutes of physical activity per week.
Low Physical Exposure Training
Low-impact exercises are ideal for beginners, as they can help you make physical activity a healthy habit and burn fats. They also reduce the intensity of stress on your cardiovascular system and joints compared to jogging or exercises that involve jumping.
These may include the following types of sports activities, hobbies, and exercises:
- Yoga;
- Swimming or aqua aerobics;
- Sports walking;
- Cycling.
Simply choose the type of physical activity you enjoy, make a workout program, and follow it.
Assemble Your Workout Team
If you’re not interested in working out alone, you can assemble your own team to do so. Many of your friends or acquaintances are just as likely to start a healthy lifestyle but have yet to make it a healthy habit. And you can help them with that!
How to find your partners:
- If you know that your friend has also decided to start running in the morning, offer to train together. This way, you motivate each other to reach your mutual goal;
- If you exercise at home, find a group on Facebook or other social media. That’s where you can find like-minded people and tons of useful information;
- If you like jogging or sprinting, you can also sign up for a marathon.
If you train in a group of novices, you are less likely to feel embarrassed about your imperfect shape or exercise mistakes. In addition, their successes will motivate you to get better as you will see the progress of your teammates.
Conclusions
Getting enough exercise and eating healthy should be your way of life, not a way to lose weight by summer or wear that tight dress for a festive occasion. A healthy lifestyle is a marathon race, not a sprint. To stay on track, set realistic goals, track your progress regularly, and praise yourself for success.