To wrap up the one small healthy change series, we have given our best tips for making one small change towards health.
Add up these tips and you have small changes for healthy food swaps, better lifestyle habits, alkalizing your family, and easy exercise hacks.
The hard part is not initiating these changes. It’s keeping them. Eventually, small changes turn into big results. It can be exciting to experience results for the first time.
But how do you make sure you stick to your new and exciting healthy life? We’ve got some suggestions!
Tip #4: Turn your small changes into daily habits and you’ll never fall short of your goals
If you’ve been following along with our February blog posts, you have hopefully been making one small change per week. By now you should be swapping out less healthy foods for healthier options, moving more, learning how to deal with difficult situations, and getting your family involved. Initiating change is fun.
But people are creatures of habit. It’s only a matter of time before the change phase wears off and we return to our old habits. It takes an effort to put forth the willpower to stick to your new changes. But if you’ve kept your changes small and simple, this shouldn’t be a problem.
Example 1: Stock up on your favorite health product
If one of your small changes was to swap out one unhealthy meal per day for a healthier one, make sure you plan accordingly. It starts in the grocery store. Don’t buy or bring that unhealthy food into your house anymore! Instead, replace it with whatever healthy hack you decided on.
This may include walking past the pastry section at the grocery store and instead stocking your breakfast bar with an alkalising green food supplement. Take the temptation out of falling back into your old breakfast routine of a sweat treat and have the ingredients for your green smoothie ready to go. This takes a bit of planning on your part but certainly doesn’t require much effort.
If you can walk past food that tempts you knowing that you have a better option at home (or on order!), then you have already won! And the craving will pass soon enough for nutritionally poor foods. Remember: they do not last forever and are momentary.
Example 2: Schedule time to exercise on your calendar then spread the word
Nothing holds you more accountable than telling everyone around you of your plans. If you plan to exercise after work, tell your co-workers and family members. Send an email to your co-workers and ask if they want to join you. Even if you can’t recruit anyone as a workout buddy, at least you know they will ask you about your workout tomorrow. Do you really want to tell them that you wimped out?
It’s even better if you plan a workout with your family or loved ones. Then you really can’t back out because they are expecting you!
If you need a little bit of inspiration to hit that yoga class before work, think of a healthy way to treat yourself for getting it done. This could be as simple as enjoying that protein powder you just bought for yourself or taking a long, hot shower with your favorite bath scent afterwards. Whatever you need to think about to get you motivated and through your workout.
Example 3: Chart it!
Numbers don’t lie. Neither do health charts. You either completed a healthy task or you didn’t. Pick a public spot on a wall in your home or office and keep track of all your healthy changes. Make a list of one small change per day.
For example, you may write on your chart that you want to drink a certain amount of alkaline water that day. Put a check mark next to your goal if you did it. If not, try again the next day. Hopefully it will motivate you to see your healthy progress if you put it down on paper in chart form!
Example 4: Surround yourself with healthy people
You know those healthy people in your life you’ve been avoiding because they make you feel bad about what you ate for dinner last night? Maybe it’s time to include them in your circle.
We aren’t suggesting getting rid of unhealthy friends, but it never hurts to make room for a few more. Especially if they support your goals! As the saying goes, you’re only as good as the company you keep. Surrounding yourself with healthy people who reinforce your good habits is a great way to hold yourself accountable. You can swap recipes, talk about how you keep fit with a family at home, and discuss your favorite natural health foods.
After a few months of holding yourself accountable for your new goals, you may become an inspiration to someone else. You never know who you’re going to help by helping yourself.
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