Adapting a
healthy lifestyle and
transforming your body start from
within. What do I mean by this? There are a few different meanings and thoughts that come to mind that go along with this statement! After reading this, I am hoping you will
discover that adapting a
healthy lifestyle is as easy as 1, 2, 3 and A, B, C!
You need to be
mentally prepared in order to
start and
maintain a
healthy lifestyle. Going
cold turkey and changing your diet over night
might seem like the best idea, but there is
way more to take into consideration. Getting rid of all the
junk food in your home is a
great start because you just can't go wrong doing that! Getting it out of
site & mind is very
helpful and
effective! Eventually though, you will leave your home and meet up with coworkers, friends, and family. You will stop at the gas station to fuel up (hopefully just on gas and not goodies). You will attend events
every single day (big or small) based around
food for the rest of your life! There are so many
unhealthy options awaiting you, and your
pre-programmed mind will be ready to
indulge or
over-indulge. At some point you will face the decision to
satisfy your craving with the tempting,
junk food or to
fuel your body with the delicious,
nutritious food. If you are not
mentally prepared, it will be so much easier to just
give into your regular ways of eating.
Why not? I mean, just about everyone else is doing it, and they seem to be happy,
right? Wrong! They might be happy eating their favorite foods in the very
short-lived moment of tasty satisfaction. What happens when they over eat because the calories they just consumed are
completely empty with
zero nutrition (which leads to more hunger and junk food cravings). This causes
digestion issues,
weight gain (which leads to obesity), and
obesity which is the number one cause of
most cancers. It is a horrible domino effect. In the long run, all of those junk foods
don't bring happiness, they actually bring
pain. Feelings of
disgust,
failure, and
actual pain due to
serious illnesses are commonly what one will experience at some point in their life if they don’t adapt a
healthy lifestyle. It doesn't just affect that
one person but it also affects their friends, family, and even acquaintances. Nobody wants to hear that their family, friend, or co-worker is
suffering from
health issues due to a
poor diet and
inactive lifestyle. Being
mentally prepared means:
1) Educating yourself - It is important to
educate yourself regarding
junk foods and the
effects they have on your body. Just reading up on this information will make you more
aware and
concerned about what you choose to eat each day. It will make you
think twice before giving into a
temptation because you will know that the
only benefit it will bring is
short lived taste-bud satisfaction. It is just as important to
educate yourself regarding
nutritious foods and the
benefits they will bring to your body! There are countless and ongoing studies and researches regarding health foods. Information is
always being updated. Reading about nutrition on a
daily or even
weekly basis is a
great habit to get into, because you can never know too much. It will give you a much better outlook on
why you are choosing to live a
healthy lifestyle. Knowing
what foods provide
what benefits is wonderful because once you
physically start noticing the
benefits of health foods taking effect, you will have a better
appreciation for those foods and you will want to
maintain that feeling by making them
staples in your diet. Instead of thinking that you don’t
“get” to eat certain junk foods you will be thinking more of how you don’t
“want” to eat those foods and how you would much rather take the
healthier alternative. Especially once you realize how healthy foods
transform your body
inside and
out! Your
mental and
physical alertness will be at a
peak high. Your organs and muscles will perform amazingly well as
intended and you will feel well too!
2) Evaluating on paper – It is also just as important to
ask yourself open ended questions about your health along with providing well thought out, in-depth
answers. Some great example questions that you should really think about and definitely write down include: Am I happy with my current lifestyle? Why and why not? How will improving my lifestyle affect my life? Good and bad ways? What are all of my goals relating to changing my lifestyle? How long will it take me to achieve these goals? What can I do to make sure I stick to my new lifestyle and achieve my goals? Will I have to cut some people out of my life temporarily or even permanently? Will I have to adjust my schedule and priorities? Will I have to make drastic changes? How can I be okay with these changes? What will I do to maintain my motivation throughout my journey? Etc. It’s really important to dive
deep inside your mind and figure out
A) Why
you want it.
B) How
you will achieve it.
C) How
you will maintain it. Without
mentally digging deep, all you are going to get is a
superficial or
insignificant reason for living healthier. There has got to be
more of a reason than just: to fit into your old jeans, look amazing in your bridesmaid dress, or the most common reason, “bikini season”. Think about it… Have you used one of those reasons to try and
motivate yourself before? If so, chances are that it
didn’t get you any further than to that small goal, if
even that at all! It all comes from
within. You really and
truly have to think about it
in depth and you have to
want it for yourself. Having those
questions and all of the
answers are a great
base for a
successful transformation!
3) Taking action and accountability – It is very important for you to make a
plan for yourself and take
action immediately. Be sure that it is
attainable and also well-thought out. You will need to
re-prioritize your daily schedule to fit your
new goals.
This doesn’t have to be very hard either. Make it to where you are completely comfortable with it. For example, if you have a favorite television show that you just
have to watch or a girl’s night out that is
tradition, alter it to fit your new
healthy lifestyle. Instead of just watching that show laying
lifeless on the couch, cook up a batch of brown rice and cut your veggies while watching. Place them in containers and refrigerate during commercials. Instead of “girl’s night out” every Friday at the bar, invite them to your place for a "Fitness Friday". Make a new
healthy meal and enjoy a glass of red wine while you take measurements, progress pictures, and discuss your goals and achievements. Make it a
weekly event and
monthly competition with
motivating prizes! Whoever wins, the other person(s) treat them to a monthly
cheat meal dinner out or a gift card to their favorite clothing store to
rock their body in style! You can even keep more inspired with quarterly fitness prizes like a new pair of running shoes, lifting gloves, at home fitness equipment, etc. Fitness can be
super fun if you get creative with it! Remember,
only you can take
accountability for your
actions. There are
no excuses to not stay on
track. If you don’t prepare your meals or go to the gym, (both take less than 2 hours) it is because you
failed to plan. If living a
healthy lifestyle is
truly important to you, then
you will make the time to
make it happen! You have to be accountable because no one else will be.
The key to
success begins from
within. You have to think of everything in a
positive way. You have to
know why you are doing things differently, you need an
important purpose. You have to keep yourself
in-tune with your feelings (inside & out). You have to find ways to keep it
interesting and
ongoing. A
healthy lifestyle isn’t a
quick fix; it is an ongoing process that will
transform your life into something
extraordinary. It could be transforming your poor health to superb health. It could be transforming your low self-esteem to pure confidence. It could be transforming your physical/mental health to become a positive influence for your family and friends. No matter what it is, adapting a
healthy lifestyle for
one reason will
always open up
many more great
successes and
possibilities. I know it has for me, and I know that if I can do it, so can you!
Good Luck! If you have any questions or comments, I am
always here to listen and help!
