Your food is not the only source to keep you healthy, but your habits too play a pivotal role in keeping you fit and well. But how to stick to your healthy habits is the concern of many of you out there. You probably know a lot about eating well, super foods for a healthy eating and how to live a healthy lifestyle, but making healthy habits stick might be challenging initially that later comes around well.
How to Make Healthy Habits
Sticking to your healthy habits is good and to do so you have to keep yourself motivated and self-interested to make your healthy habits your default response.
Be Clear About Your Goals
Acknowledge what you want and what you want to crowd out from your plan. Aim for achievable and realistic goals. For example if you plan for a post-dinner walk to lose weight, then stick to it. Outline how you’ll do it, plan for it, stay motivated and set a target. Once you get into it, it will become habitual. Try it for three to four days and eventually it will come to you naturally.
- Stop putting your lifestyle and health plans on the back burner and start prioritizing them.
Be Optimistic
Make healthy habits stick by being optimistic. Positive thinking will always benefit you in the long run. But remember one thing, Rome wasn’t built in a day. So don’t think that you can stand firm to your habits overnight. Give some time. The more you work the stronger they get. If you’ve missed a day, this should not scuttle your attempt at continuing it.
- Don’t get discouraged. Just pick up where you left off and continue focusing on your aim.
Do Something that You Automatically Do
What do you do when you wake up in the morning? Off course brush your teeth since it’s in the routine. You don’t give yourself a choice whether you’ll brush your teeth or not. You simply do it. Similarly, eating healthy, getting enough sleep, walking a dog, all fall in the same category. In the same way when you think of a new routine or a healthy add-up to your lifestyle, connect it with something that you do involuntarily.
- Make the chain natural and stick related tasks together. Initially it might be challenging, but with time it will become habitual.
Monitor Your Progress and Reward Yourself
This really makes a difference. Keep a check on your progress and reward yourself at the end of the day by appreciating yourself for the tasks that you have fulfilled by sticking to them. It could be as simple as to get your hands manicured, buy flowers for yourself or make a hot cup of coffee. Pick something that pleases you. By doing this you’ll also be motivated in developing healthy habits and sticking to them.
- Reward yourself and keep going, you deserve it.
Get ready for the change. Focus on the new healthy habits you are aiming to slot in your routine. Know the benefits and consequences of those changes. Whether it’s controlling your cholesterol, taming your sweet tooth or incorporating a routine workout, developing healthy habits just need an initial effort to make your resolutions succeed.
