Want to eat more fruits and/or veggies? Struggling to shed pounds and keep them off? Like it or not, the only way to get lasting results is to build new lifestyle habits. Crash diets and strenuous workouts fail in the long run. With discipline and commitment, you can create healthy habits that require little effort to maintain. The changes you make should fit your lifestyle. Start somewhere that seems manageable, and make new changes along the way.
Use these simple tricks to make healthy habits stick:
Create a Plan
It’s easy to get excited about weight loss or exercise, but never get beyond that. Writing things down increases your chances of success and brings clarity to any situation. Think about what changes you wish to make. Why do you want to do it in the first place? What results do you expect? How are you planning to do it? Answer these questions and then come up with an action plan. Check your notes every week and record your progress.
Make One Change at a Time
It can be hard to give up junk food and sugar, and start working out all at once. Most people find it difficult to cut back on salt or ditch the soda – not to mention big changes like cooking at home and quitting junk food. Old habits die hard. If you want to build new habits, make one change at a time. For example, you can give up soda and fruit juice this week, exercise 15 minutes a day starting next week, and quit fast food on the third week.
Be Consistent
Building new, healthy habits takes time and effort. Consistency is essential to your success. If you want to start working out, hit the gym daily for the first 30 days. Ditch sugar from your diet completely for at least a month. According to health experts, it takes about 21 days to form a new habit, and about 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic. The longer you go without sugar and junk food, the higher your chances of success.
