If you desire to change your life for the better and you are ready to give maximum amount of effort to living a healthy lifestyle, you have come to the right place. I am equipping you with 5 simple steps to get you started and well on your way on healthy journey.
Step 1: Make time. We all live busy lives, there are many responsibilities, obligations, and commitments we choose to balance. In order to live healthy you should be intentional about making time to prepare. Being prepared, and showing up is half the work. Suggestions: Prepare healthy lunches, snacks and dinners ahead of time.
–Make an appointment with the gym. Choose whether working out early in the morning or in the evening will be best for you. Make a clear schedule of days, times and duration of your workouts. Place it on a calendar, in your phone or tablet. There are several apps that are useful to remind you.
–Start small at first. If 10 or 20 minutes is all you can spare its better than nothing. Once you have mastered that commitment increase your time. 30 minutes of consistent exercise at least 3 times a week is a good starting goal.
–Replace a bad habit with a more healthy option. Some of us, often have habits like, going out to eat with co-workers, or watching our favorite tv series, but try to replace it at least once a week with a workout session. Your bound to see progress if you try.
Step 2: Find an activity that you Enjoy. There are endless options on ways to get moving. That’s the whole point, to change from being a couch potato, to a becoming healthy active individual. Suggestions: Running. This is my personal favorite right now, its a mental and physical challenge but the benefits are amazing.
–Walking, if your a beginner, can be a good starting point. Walking is therapeutic, and its good for your heart, its low intensity, unless your speed walking of coarse, it can be done anywhere. Walk the entirety of a mall can give a similar effect, as walking around a track or in a neighborhood.
–Going to a fitness center of gym. Yoga, biking, hiking, swimming, kickboxing, indoor rock climbing, playing basketball, football, soccer or even dancing (Zumba) and aerobics. The list goes on.
–Google a few options and try a few new things. Find at least one activity you enjoy to start with.
–Google a few options and try a few new things. Find at least one activity you enjoy to start with.
Step 3: Stay accountable and reasonable with your goals.
—Share with a supportive friend or family member your goal to start living a healthy lifestyle. Be up front, ask them to help you stay on task. If they are willing to join you on your journey even better. Studies show that people who have accountability partners are more likely to loose weight and keep the weight off.
—Share with a supportive friend or family member your goal to start living a healthy lifestyle. Be up front, ask them to help you stay on task. If they are willing to join you on your journey even better. Studies show that people who have accountability partners are more likely to loose weight and keep the weight off.
–Make sure you have a purpose for why you are choosing a healthy lifestyle, and you are choosing it for the right reason. FOR YOU ONLY! If you are doing it to please friends, family, or a partner, its not likely to last, because your efforts aren’t genuine.
-Set short term and long term goals. Make your short term goals reasonable. If you start too hard, too fast, too soon, you will experience burn out, and feel less accomplished. You want to set yourself up for success in the beginning.
-Set short term and long term goals. Make your short term goals reasonable. If you start too hard, too fast, too soon, you will experience burn out, and feel less accomplished. You want to set yourself up for success in the beginning.
–Write down your goals so that you can see them everyday. As you make progress or have set backs, journal or jot about your experiences. Take photos of your self every couple of weeks or months. Over time you will visually see your progress and can feel more confident about your accomplishments.
Step 4: Learn, explore and implement. Their are countless information outlets such as social media, youtube, thousands of blogs, websites, both medical and independent, right at your finger tips. However, be careful what you see and read, don’t believe everything online. Information over load is real. The key to avoid it is, do what works best for you. Many of the sources online are people sharing their experiences, and what they did to achieve a goal and it’s not a guarantee it will work for you. So, feel free to try their suggestions, within reason, I’m not talking about the latest fade diet either. Just don’t beat yourself up if you’re not seeing similar results. Don’t compare yourself to others. Your results will come with the process and the hard work you put in. There is no such thing as “lose weight fast”. If you need extra motivation try hiring a personal trainer, if your budget will allow. Some, personal fitness centers have trainers on staff for a discount.
–Go the library, or go buy a few books, or magazines to read about health topics you find relevant, and interesting. Learn how to eat right, and properly exercise. Throw a little inspiration on it too.
–Explore new recipes, drink more water, decrease your sugar and salt intake. Learn all you can about nutrition. Most important implement the information you are learning. Just take your time and make changes slowly over time.
Step 5: Stay Motivated. After the honeymoon stage is over and your routine seems a bit stale, don’t quit. Spice it up a bit. Invite a new friend to try a new activity with you. Buy yourself some new workout gear. Get a inspirational quote, mantra, or song that will keep you exerting your maximum amount of effort. There is no finish line towards a healthy lifestyle. Its not a sprint, its a marathon and only the strong will survive. Believe in yourself always, about all things.
“When you feel like quitting remember why you started. ” – Unknown
Source: http://www.wikihow.com/Start-Your-Own-Exercise-Regimen-and-Stick-to-It
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