Creating Sustainable Lifestyle Changes
First you want to take a good hard look at what lifestyle changes would create the YOU you want to be. Once you have the big picture established, you can begin the process of creating sustainable lifestyle changes:
1. Start by making small permanent changes.
Cut out sugar, stop smoking, do a 30-day challenge, eat only anti-inflammatory foods, eliminate processed foods. Do something to level up from where you currently “reside” in your relation to your healthiest self. Make one small change at a time. You don’t need to do all of this at once.
2. Seek the right guidance.
If you are very obese, you may not want to start with a personal trainer or even a health coach. You might need a personal coach or counselor to walk you through the emotional barriers to getting healthy. If you are overwhelmed and not sure where to start in choosing a lifestyle that fits your needs, talk with a coach to get yourself moving in the right direction. If your workouts are not producing results or you are not able to move well due to mobility issues, a mobility or movement coach may be your best start.
3. Discover what brings you lasting joy in what you eat and how you move. Be willing to change your preferences and your surroundings.
Learn how to make healthy food taste naughty. Learn to move with freedom and ease. Take cooking lessons, look up fun recipes on Pinterest, do food trades with friends, explore new healthy restaurants or take away items. Find an exercise you like to start and make it even more enjoyable. Spend time walking with a friend, listen to a great audio book or learn something new through a podcast. Use Spotify to create a playlist you love and dance your heart out. Whatever you do, create joy in your experience.
4. Picture yourself at the end of your book before you start.
No matter how motivated you are, no matter how committed, you will have moments where the old habit “seems like a good idea at the time”. It is essential that you have a solid picture of how the benefit of where you are going is a better payoff than staying where you are now or going backwards. When tempting moments arise, you will be able to ask yourself with a different confidence, “is it worth it? And, What do I want more, this candy bar or a vibrant life with my loved ones?”
5. When you stumble, stand right up, brush off and forgive.
Picture yourself teaching a young child how to ride a bike for the first time, you see them fall, what would you tell them? Give yourself the same grace. You WILL stumble away from being perfectly in line with a healthy lifestyle no matter where you are in that journey to health. Allow that to be a moment, not days, weeks or years. Then forgive yourself, dust off and hop right back on. Like riding that bike, in time it will be easy and even fun!
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