It is common to want to live a healthier lifestyle. But where do you start? What are the best ways to go about implementing how to live a healthy lifestyle? Once you have decided to change your life for the better, you first need to believe that you can do it.
The next step is to create a plan.
So What are The 6 Steps on How to Live a Healthy Lifestyle?
1. You must identify the unhealthy or bad habits you wish to eliminate. In order to understand how to live a healthy lifestyle, identify the bad or unhealthy habits in your life and write down the reasons you want to change them. Narrowing down the what and the why are very important steps in this process.
Perhaps it's to improve your eating habits, incorporating more whole and organic foods into your diet, maybe it's exercising more regularly or addressing your mental health - maybe it's all of the above.
2. Make sure you hold yourself responsible for actually changing your bad habits. Don’t blame your bad habits on anyone else or use the excuse of lack of time. You can hold yourself accountable for your actions just as you would for a friend or family member if they made themselves a promise to live a healthy lifestyle.
3. Get rid of negative triggers from your life. Delete any social media accounts that make you feel unhappy about yourself. Stop drinking alcohol if it makes you want to smoke. Your bad habits are likely already known, so finding a way to avoid them is the best way to set yourself up for success in how to live a healthy lifestyle.
4. Believe you can change. This is half the battle for success. Negative self-talk can be ignored and should be replaced with positive visualizations of yourself achieving the changes you desire. Orienting your mindset toward believing in yourself above all else is important to implement when trying to live a healthy lifestyle.
5. Be patient and know that you will have setbacks and may fails at times. Don't let failure stop you from working hard. When seeking out lasting, long-term changes toward how to live a healthy lifestyle, there will be times that you have setbacks or slip ups in your progress - but reminding yourself that forward progress is still progress can help to keep you stay on track.
6. Plan with goals and make small steps. You likely have a schedule at work and a list of tasks that you must complete both there and at home. You should also have a plan and tasks set up and scheduled for how to live a healthy lifestyle.
Here are three quick lifestyle changes that you can make to be healthier right off the bat:
Stop smoking
Get more whole and organic foods
Every day, walk for at least 20 minutes
Setting Goals is Crucial
Again, goal setting is a huge component in how to live a healthy lifestyle.
Setting goals will give you something to strive toward and keep you motivated. You can also use your goals to track your progress and measure how far you've come to see what you have accomplished and how much further you need to come.
Be sure to be realistic when setting goals. It's unlikely that you will be able to quit smoking, lose 50 pounds, eat more whole and organic foods, and run a marathon in one year. If you try to do too much, too quickly, you might feel discouraged and want to give up. The key word in how to live a healthy lifestyle is that it is an actual lifestyle and not expected to be a quick fix.
To avoid being overwhelmed, instead start small and only focus on one goal at the time. You can lose weight by setting small goals. You can do this by exercising at least three times per week, and eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole, organic foods as often as possible.
To make sure that you reach those small goals every week, keep a diary or track it on your phone. Once those small goals have become part of your weekly routine, add another goal and build on that to continue to work toward how to live a healthy lifestyle. Reward yourself for small wins and do your best to stay the course - in the end, your body and your mind will thank you.