how to develop a healthy lifestyle
We have all tried to live a healthy lifestyle at some point in our lives. Whether it was a New Years goal, to get in shape for a vacation, having a burst of motivation to eat better after you watched a video of an influencer posting recipes, did an alcohol cleanse for the month of January, and so on. A lot of people start exercising, eating clean, stop drinking, cooking at home, going to bed early, establishing routines, and more. But then they stop eventually and go back to their old habits of cancelling their gym membership, getting take out, staying up late, binge drinking on the weekends, getting out of routine, and you get the gist.
It is a burst of temporary motivation that eventually flatlines after a few weeks or a few days. Why does this happen? Why is it so difficult to change your habits and to stick with them? Well for starters, a lot of people want to change their habits based on a short term goal. For example, you have been dying to fit into this dress that you bought for a vacation trip you have planned a month from now, so you start dieting and exercising and doing all the things, but eventually lose motivation because you are not in it for the long term. You are only in it for the short term goal of fitting into a dress for one vacation.
Another reason why it is difficult to change your habits is because people expect immediate results and changes. You cannot eat healthy for a week and expect significant changes in your weight. You cannot stop drinking alcohol and expect to reap the full benefits after a couple of days. You cannot go to the gym for a week and expect your butt to grow like the peach emoji. 🍑 These things take TIME.
So with that being said, here are some guidelines to help you develop a healthy lifestyle:
1) Don’t expect changes immediately, stay consistent
Change takes time. If you stay consistent, you will eventually see changes and your body and mind will adapt and these new changes will become second nature. Before you know it, you have reached your goal weight after deciding to join the gym 3 months ago. It took 3 months to lose the weight, but it was worth the time and consistency. Put in the hard work, don’t give up, and revel in the payoff at the end.
2) Find an exercise regime that works for YOU
You need to find a form of exercise that you actually like. If you hate running, why in the WORLD would you start running? That is just a disaster waiting to happen. Just because you see someone else running or see someone else ranting about how much they love lifting weights, it does not mean you have to do exactly what they do. My advice is to try different things and see which one you like the most. I personally love doing Baptiste style yoga. I LOVE sweating while doing some crazy postures. LOL. I used to lift weights all the time and I eventually did not like it anymore and had to really force myself to go to the gym and then eventually just stopped going because I was dreading it. I have wanted to try yoga for so long and once I tried it, I was hooked and I look forward to going to class. If you are unsure as to what you might like, try ClassPass! If you use my link, you get 2 weeks of ClassPass for free and you can really figure out what type of physical activity you like! Try it HERE!
3) Get some SLEEP
We all know how important sleep is. Sleep is the baseline of our health. It improves our mood, brain performance, and our physical health. There have been times where I woke up and had the personality of Shrek. Stay outta my swamp aka stay outta my way! That is because I decided to go to bed late when I had to wake up early…..big mistake. I am not friendly in the morning when I have not had a full night’s sleep. Not only that, but my brain feels like it is full of fog! I cannot for the life of me snap out of it. Well luckily I have learned how to prep myself for a good night of sleep. Developing a nightly routine is VERY important in order to get a good night of sleep. Mine consists of eating a healthy dinner, doing all of my chores so that everything is fresh and clean and ready to go for the morning, taking a nice warm shower, doing my skincare routine, getting into my cozy pjs, watch an episode or two of my favorite show, either journal or read in dim lighting, getting my outfit ready for the morning, and laying my head down at 9:30 pm. Get into that habit! Don’t do it once or twice and give up because it is not working for you. Develop a nightly routine that will benefit you long term!
4) Stop eating junk food!
We all knew that this was going to be discussed. America is known for obesity and health problems. Probably because it relates to what we are putting inside of our bodies. Start reading the ingredients on each label. Don’t buy processed foods. Eat organic veggies and fruits. Make healthier switches. If you love eating chips then switch to a healthier/cleaner brand like Siete. Don’t expect to make huge changes in your diet overnight, but slowly ease into it. Start cooking at home more. Stop getting take out every night. Learn some new yet easy healthy recipes. You got this!
5) Stop drinking alcohol
Alcohol is literally poison. There are no benefits to drinking alcohol. You get drunk, make mistakes, wake up with a massive hangover, and wonder where the hell your phone and wallet are. That does not sound like a good time. Don’t get me wrong, I used to drink every single weekend and I would feel like crap every single time. Yet I still continued to do it because it is “normal” for people in their 20s to go out to the bars and get hammered. But once you cut alcohol out, your world will change for the best. Personally when I quit, my mental health improved drastically, my physical health sky rocketed, I got better sleep, I was able to actually function, I remember everything I did, my depression diminished almost entirely, and life just feels better without it. I wish I quit a long time ago, it sure would have saved me from so many situations that I wish I was never in. But better late than never!
6) Practice gratitude
Be grateful for everything you have in life. It is so easy to complain about the most minuscule things in life. I remember one time when I went to Dunkin Donuts (gross) and I got a coffee and they made it completely wrong and it ruined my day. lol. How sad and pathetic is that? When you are conscious and practice gratitude, your life will improve. You naturally start taking better care of yourself, your stress levels will lessen, and you will start feeling positive emotions while getting rid of the toxic ones. It is a simple practice. Do it everyday for 5 minutes and watch your life transform. Get a 5 minute journal HERE.
7) Become one with nature and take a walk
For real though. Go outside, get some sunlight, walk in the grass barefoot, listen to the birds chirp, observe your surroundings. Taking a walk out in nature has so many benefits. It lowers stress and boosts your mood. Go find a hiking trail or go to the beach and just walk. Leave your phone at home or in the car and just be present. Watch your life change.
8) Cut out toxic friends
If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, that means cutting out the unhealthy and toxic people in your life. Do you have a friend who makes everything about her and never cares about anything going on your life? Do you have a friend who makes snide remarks and puts you down? What about a friend who can’t let you have the spotlight and has to always be the center of attention? Girl BYE. Time to drop those people in your life. You would be so shocked at how much better your life becomes without these “friends”. Toxic friends can make you feel consumed with negative energy. Make way for people who bring positive energy in your life. Become friends with people who want to also better themselves, who listen to you, friends that hype you up, friends you can trust with your deepest darkest secrets, people who just genuinely want the best for you. Watch your mental health and your mindset reach new heights.
I can literally keep writing more on developing a healthier lifestyle. But these are the top most important habits and guidelines to jump-start your new and improved life. A healthy lifestyle is so much more than diet and exercise, it includes not just the body, but the mind and soul. I am on a journey to living a holistic and healthy life and these were the first steps I took in order to start living that life. I mess up sometimes and I fall off track, but I get right back on track. It is not about being perfect, but about being better and becoming the best possible version of yourself.
