Everywhere we go, there is a lengthy list of changes you have to make in order to have a healthy lifestyle. The other day, I read an article about 101 changes I needed to make today. 10 minutes later and I was all the way down to item number 20. Essentially, I need to quit my job in order to have the time for these changes. This presents a problem, since those changes would also require a 200% increase in my salary. For all of you trying to begin a healthy lifestyle, such a list would most likely result in ADHD and a sense of failure.
If you have already worked towards creating a lifestyle of health, I hope you feel some affirmation reading this article. For those of you who are still trying to get the hang of this, I wanted to give you a brief list of simple changes you actually can make today.
Simple Changes to Your Lifestyle
- Clean out the fridge. If you are the epitome of self-control, then go ahead and keep the ice cream in the freezer. However, if you’re anything like me, that ice cream won’t see the end of today. If you have a sweet tooth, get rid of all the extra sweets. I will eat just about anything simply because it’s sitting there.
- Stock the cabinets. Now that you have made the cabinets look bare and scarce, it’s time to fill them back up. Being healthy isn’t about starving yourself. It’s okay to get the munchies– but, if you have 0 food in the house, you’ll make that Taco Cabana run.
- Schedule in time for exercise. If you go into this planning on going to the gym when you have nothing else to do, you’ll never go. If you plan on going whenever you feel like it, you’ll end up on the couch with Netflix. You gotta make it easy to create the habit. Start off with just 2-3 times a week and then increase it a little. Pick days where you have the least to do and put them in your planner or create an alarm.
- Tell a friend. Don’t be ‘that’ person, who guilt trips friends for not providing an adequate gluten-free selection. But, don’t be ashamed of your newfound pursuit of health. It becomes really easy to be a ‘social eater’, but when they know that you’re trying to be healthier, they can become allies. And who knows, you may just have a couple join you.
You should definitely check out those articles, outlining new and creative ways to be healthy. But allow yourself plenty of time to create these as habits first.
