Ready to start a healthy lifestyle? This post has all the healthy living tips and habits to make some much needed lifestyle changes for optimal health and well-being that actually lasts!
Some people only dream of starting a healthy lifestyle but “fail” to take the initial steps too build it and stick to it.
From being “too expensive” to having “no time” – the excuses just keep rolling in. But this doesn’t have to be the case AT ALL.
You can’t put a price on health and a healthy lifestyle is a time investment amongst other things. You’ve got to have the grit and determination to make all the right changes if you want to see it through.
As Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
So let’s get you started on a journey of a lifetime (literally!)
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Resources to help you start a healthy lifestyle today
• This fitness tracker watch that helps track your steps, heart rate, stress levels and so much more!
• The Clever Fox Wellness planner to keep track of your progress and make improvements where necessary.
• Nature’s Sunshine for some of the best supplements for full body health support.
• This amazing digital habit and goal tracker to give you a visual aid on all your progress.
• Atomic Habits: an easy and proven way to build good habits and break bad ones.
How to start a healthy lifestyle
1. Make realistic goals
Now I’m not against you aiming high, but if your goals are too far fetched, you’ll most likely lose motivation before you’ve even begun. Make goals that align with your vision, and keep your expectations realistic. Use the SMART approach to really hone in on your goals.
So for example (let’s be basic here), you want to lose weight. Your goal could look something like this:
• Specific: I want to lose 12 lbs in 3 months by doing home workouts 3 times a week, walking more, eating healthier and drinking a green smoothie every day.
• Measurable: I will weigh myself weekly on Sundays, keep a daily tracker and document my progress in a weight-loss journal.
• Achievable: I lost 2 lbs in a month just by walking and cycling more at the beginning of the year, so I know if I pay more attention to exercise and diet I can achieve my goal.
• Relevant: When I lose weight, I feel lighter, more energetic and good about myself.
• Time-bound: By June 1st, just in time for the summer and my vacation to Zanzibar.
2. Create a wellness vision board
It may sound a little cliché but visualising the person you would like to be is more effective than we give it credit! A wellness vision board or dream board is the best way to spark inspiration and motivation as well as serve as a visual aid and reminder of your goals. Take a look at these example and ideas to start your very own healthy lifestyle vision board today.
3. Start building healthy habits
As Jim Ryun said, “Motivation is what gets you started. Habits is what keeps you going.” And that is facts!
If you want to start a healthy lifestyle, you’ve got to take a step back and re-evaluate all the things you’re currently doing.
How does your morning look like? Your evening? What do you do throughout the day? At work? On your day off? What do you eat? Slowly unpack everything and start building healthy habits around your lifestyle.
Check out these daily habits to give you some inspiration to form your own and start keeping track of them using this habit tracker.
4. Go at your own pace
I know we spoke about time-bound goals, but a healthy lifestyle is a life long commitment too. Go at your own pace. There’s no need to rush it, you want to do it right, stay consistent and be able to maintain it as best a possible.
5. Eliminate and introduce things slowly
And speaking of going at your own pace. Slow and steady really rings true when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Start slow (crawl if you have to!) and build up from there.
If you’re a heavy smoker, decrease your daily cigarettes every week. Hardly exercise? Perhaps do a 20 minute workout 2 days a week and build it over time to 1 hour sessions 3-5 times per week.
You don’t want to start eliminating things all at once and neither do you want to introduce things straight away. It just wont stick, no matter how confident you are!
6. Find exercises and activities that suit you
Listen, if the gym isn’t your cup of tea, don’t force it. Hate cycling? Don’t do it. There are so many different exercises to choose from, so pick something that will get you excited and suits YOU. Walking, swimming, cycling, dancing, pilates – if it gets the heart pumping, it’s fits the bill!
7. Declutter and organize your kitchen pantry
A healthy lifestyle means a kitchen remodel! Well not quite a remodel, but decluttering and organizing your kitchen pantry will go a long way. Out with the old and in with the new I say.
Replace foods with healthy versions – brown bread, brown rice, sweet potatoes etc etc, stock up on nuts and seeds, fill your fridge with fruits and veggies, get all your supplements sorted, purchase fridge organizers and pantry jars, and label it all (you can find some gorgeous ready made labels here)! Not only will it make your pantry look fab but it will motivate you to keep up with your healthy eating too.
8. Don't eat less, eat right
You’ve probably heard this more often than you can remember and you know why? Because it’s true! The misconception that eating less would lead to a healthier lifestyle is the myth of all myths. It’s just not sustainable – an extremely short-term relief to a long-term goal. Know your food and how to adjust it to be healthier, listen to your body and be reasonable with yourself. If you consciously deny yourself of something you’ll just end up craving it more.
9. Get into the right state of mind
Your mind is a powerful tool and in order to start a healthy lifestyle, you need to mentally prepare yourself. This will help you to understand that it’s a journey full of high and lows and sometimes you win and sometimes you “lose”. It doesn’t matter how much you prepare your body, how much you spend on healthy eating or time you invest in wellness growth, if your mind isn’t in sync, your whole journey will fall apart.
10. Understand health isn't just about food
Living a healthy lifestyle and eating healthy are two different branches that stem from the same tree. You can still eat healthy and be inactive, be unkind, live irresponsibly, not manage your emotions etc etc. A healthy lifestyle is a LIFESTYLE, it includes your WHOLE SELF – Mind, body and soul, all the choices you make to contribute to your well-being. Understand this and you’ll conquer a healthy lifestyle in no time!
11. Don't compare yourself to others
The thing about living healthier, it’s you living your own truth. What works for others doesn’t necessary mean it will work for you. Don’t beat yourself up, forcing yourself to do things that do not fit into your lifestyle just because others are.
Comparison will always lead you back to square one. You don’t know what stage of a journey someone else is at so comparing your starting point to someone else’s middle chapter isn’t going to do you any justice.
Your only competition is the person who is staring back at you in the mirror. Compete with that person, love that person and be your biggest supporter and critic.
12. Accept the setbacks and celebrate the wins
Don’t push yourself or be too hard on yourself. You will not be 100% all the time and that’s okay. One day you’ll feel on top of the world and the next day you may feel like the world is on top of you. Work with that and let that be your fuel. Without the setbacks, there will be no room for progress and learning.
Related posts to kick start your healthy lifestyle journey
• 40 simple healthy living tips for a healthier lifestyle
• How to drink more water (even if you’re not a fan)
• Vitamin c immune boosting juice
• How to eat healthier without dieting
• 40 simple daily habits that will transform your life
• How to make a DIY self-care kit
• The best fruit infused water ideas
THE BOTTOM LINE OF A HEALTHIER LIFESTYLE
Anyone can decide to start a healthy lifestyle, but really sticking to it is a different case. But by taking a few steps to envision your goals, follow wellness tips, prep your mind and body, and find what works for you, you’ll effortlessly be able to stick to a healthier lifestyle in the long run.
And in the midst of doubts and setbacks remember this:
“Anticipate that slip-ups will happen, and when they do, just brush yourself off and get right back on track. Use your slip-up to learn where you are vulnerable, and decide how you will handle the situation next time.” – Dr. Wafaa Ayesh (director of clinical nutrition)
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