"Struggling to Start Your Healthy Lifestyle Journey? Here's How to Kickstart Your Health.

Three tricks to kickstart your health and stay motivated.

"I want to be healthy - But it's hard to get started."

I hear this a lot…especially during the cold, dark, post-holiday letdown time of year. I get it! It was hard for ME to get up this morning.

Here are a few tricks I use to get me through this time of year…

Trick #1 - Change just 1 habit to kickstart your health.

Life is busy enough. Let’s not overwhelm our already crazy lives by adding a second part-time fitness job. Pick one habit you know you can incorporate or change and get really good at that. Eat more protein, add more vegetables, work out 30 minutes 3 days/week, get 10,000 steps…etc. The habit doesn’t matter, as long as you can do it and it supports your goals.

Pro Tip - Give yourself grace. Nobody wins a marathon running their first-ever mile. Avoiding the all-or-nothing mindset will cement new habits, move us forward, and create a solid foundation to continue building on. Consistency over intensity.

Trick #2 - Attachment

Attach your new habit with something you already enjoy. Is it morning coffee? Then make a rule you must do 5 push-ups for each cup of coffee. Or maybe it’s a favorite restaurant? Make a rule that you must exercise 3 days before you make the reservation. Be creative in designing guardrails, large or small, to keep you on track.

Pro Tip - Do cardio while watching your favorite movies/shows/sporting events. It forces me to do cardio when I don’t feel like it, creates time in my schedule to watch the series, and gets me closer to my goals. Win/Win/Win.

Trick #3 - Create a Sense of Urgency

Circle a date on the calendar and be specific on what you want to achieve by that date. “I want to lose 10lbs by March 31” creates more urgency than “It would be nice to lose 10lbs”.

Pro Tip - Connect that date with a big event…A birthday, a vacation, a wedding or reunion, the beginning of pool season…something that’s important to you and is already on the calendar.

Yes, it's hard to get started.

And even harder to get moving in the wintry morning or busy after-work commitments. I’m as guilty as anyone of over-thinking, over-committing, and over-doing any new commitment I make. Keeping these three rules in mind; changing one habit, attaching that habit to something I enjoy, and creating a sense of urgency, helps keep me motivated and consistent with achieving my goals.

If you need help staying motivated, creating a plan, or just don’t know where to begin, we can help. Click Here to set up your free No Sweat Intro.