5 TIPS TO STICK TO A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE WITHOUT GIVING UP

25.01.2020

Learning about nutrition and how to workout is not super simple, yet it is not rocket science. Which is the reason why sticking to your weight loss plan might be the hardest part of your fitness journey. Our brains can be such a convoluted and complicated piece of the puzzle. It can be really frustrating to find out how easily we can build new bad habits, such as eating unhealthy and skipping the gym to stay at home and watch Netflix in the sofa while enjoying some chips (And yes, we have all been there). However, worry not! Since I got you covered with the following tips to stick to a healthy lifestyle without giving up.

1. Plan ahead for success

The easiest way to start working on your fitness journey is to plan your meals and workouts ahead! No time? No problem! No gym? No problem!.

I recommend you assess your situation, sit and think what time availability do you really have? And once you have an answer then literally plan your ideal day in your agenda or Google calendar. A great way to do is it to divide your days in time splits so that you may know when you have free time from work, university or family duties to fit your workout in! I bet you do have time.

This is sample of how my week days look like:

6-7: Up +Breakfast
8-13 - Work
13-14: Lunch + Social Media (Instagram post, TikTok video, etc.)
14-15: Gym
15-19: Work/Study/Write articles and prepare content for the week
19-20: Dinner + Chilling
20-21: Clean the house
21-22: Prep everything I need for the next day
22-23: Read a book in bed & fall asleep

2. Make No Excuses

Sometimes it can be the easy way out. "I do not have time to workout or prep food, I am too busy with work and study". Yes, we all been there done that! Yet it is important that you do realize when you truly do not have time and when you know you are making an excuse. It is so easy to say: "I can't". Please notice what your daily habits are:

Are you watching too much Netflix? Are you spending too much time on social media? That is time you can use to better yourself. Make sure you use your time wisely.

If you really are lacking time then try to simplify your life, avoid spending too much time in things that won't add up to your future and start spending your time for the things that matter the most and will bring out the best version of you.

3. Go Slowly But Surely

According to Charles Duhigg (the author of The Power of Habit) here is the key to lasting change:

"If you try to transform everything at once, it tends to be very, very destabilizing. In general, what people should do, is they should think of change as a project. It's a project that takes a while... Now, it might feel frustrating to say, 'If you have ten habits you want to change, that means it's going to take 8 months or 9 months.' The truth is if this is a behavior that's really important, changing it will have this huge impact on your life. It's worth spending a month to change one behavior permanently. You're going to be reaping the benefits of that for the next decade".

And I agree with him. You cannot go all in with too many habits at the same time, you need to give yourself time to adjust and get used to this new lifestyle. And I highlighted the word lifestyle because that is what it is, do not treat a healthy lifestyle as a quick fix or a crash diet. Treat it as a philosophy of life.

4. Celebrate Your Success

It is no news that humans learn through reward. Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, a Russian physiologist found out about this after testing the behavior of his dogs after hearing a bell ringing. We would ring a bell and right after the sound would feed the dogs. After a such period of time, the dogs learned that after the sound of the bell ringing food was on its way, so they would salivate as a product of that stimulus, even if Pavlov was not even feeding them after all.

The same happens with humans, so if we want to build a good new habit, a good strategy would be to reward ourselves after or during such activity. For example, let's say you want to build the habit of working out from Monday to Friday. You may reward yourself after going to the gym with a relaxing time at home, or you may reward yourself in the gym to encourage you to do some cardio while you watch your favorite Netflix show!

5. Relax, Take it Easy

You are doing great. If you are reading this that means you really want to make this happen and you do want to change! Congratulations, you are on the right track! Learning and trying to find out ways to achieve your goals is the first step. However, do not just consume information, take the action! And Relax, great change takes time. Remember: This is not a quick fix, this is a lifestyle.

Author: Mechi Mansilla