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You’ve realized that the way you’re living is detrimental to your health, and you want to make changes. Maybe it dawned on you that you need to exercise more, adopt a more nutritious diet or spend more time outdoors. But how do you begin?
You may have even started the year with a bunch of healthy resolutions only to watch in frustration as your new lifestyle got sidetracked. However, a few tips will help you begin a healthier way of life and stay the distance.
The first step to a healthier you should be a plan. This plan should consist of a series of achievable milestones that build up to your ultimate goal.
Starting a new habit is often compared to planting a tree. You need to start with a tiny seed that you faithfully water, manure, and prune before tasting the sweet fruit.
The idea is to introduce a small new habit into your daily routine and deliberately set aside time in your day for it. This could be as simple as putting on your walking shoes, taking a couple of deep breaths, or doing two push-ups.
You want to start with a slight change that seems manageable to achieve.
It is easier to form a habit when you tackle it day by day. So your focus should be on making this small exercise an automatic part of your daily cycle of activities.
After it sticks, you can begin to increase the level of difficulty or duration of the new habit.
Find Healthy Habits You Enjoy
Just because your friend found their groove in morning yoga routines doesn’t mean it will be the same for you. If you’re not a morning person, try to find something that will work for you instead of trying to force a regime down your throat that you will find difficult to sustain.
The level to which you enjoy your fitness routine will determine how long you will stick to it and the results it will yield.
If you’re naturally good at swimming, that’s an excellent place to start your fitness journey. Experts say the more you enjoy and are confident at doing a particular form of exercise, the higher your chances of pushing yourself harder.
In other words, you will need little encouragement to up the ante as you progress. This means the results will also come sooner.
Fuel Your Body
When you think about the fuel your body needs to develop, especially if you’re looking into making your regime more effective, you will probably look into proteins and carbs. The former is known to be the body's building block, while the latter provides the body with the energy to burn through workouts.
But vitamins are just as essential to the development of your body. They’re not just limited to preventing diseases and boosting your immunity. Vitamin B1, for example, helps the body break down blood sugar. This keeps diabetes at bay and helps release the energy you need to undertake physical activity.
Vitamin B2 occupies a complementary role. This water-soluble vitamin is credited with playing a part in the development of cells. It also has a hand in helping the body absorb nutrients from food.
When it comes to the strength of your bones, vitamin D plays a critical role. This fat-soluble nutrient helps the body absorb calcium, an important component in bone formation. The beauty of this particular vitamin is that you can get it from various sources; from the sun's UV rays, fatty fish, eggs, or liver.
The older you get, the more of this and other nutrients you require. You can acquire the additional nutrients from vitamin D gummies or other forms of supplements.
Stick to a Schedule
The final step in ensuring the longevity of your healthy new habits is to create a daily routine that prioritizes them. Start by grabbing a notebook and listing all the activities you need to get done by the end of the day.
Be sure to allocate those activities that will lead to a healthier you ample time and a time slot when your energy levels are not depleted.
If you want to guarantee that you spend enough time on the things that matter, you can turn your basic to-do list into a schedule with specific time slots.
Mind Over Matter
Embarking on the formation of new health habits need not be an expensive affair. You don’t need to take out a gym membership or hire a personal nutritionist.
You only need to make up your mind and start small with activities you enjoy. In no time, your new habits will become second nature.
Do you have any tips for developing healthy habits for life?
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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