5 Tips To Creating Lifelong Habits
The reason that most diets fail is that sticking with a strict regime of calories restriction and banning certain foods is not a realistic goal. I believe that life is all about balance and once you get into the habit of making your diet a lifelong habit then you are more likely to maintain your ideal weight. Which leads onto my next point, the scale...such a love, hate relationship with this device. So my 5 tips of creating lifelong habits:
1. Don't weigh yourself every day! If you weigh yourself when you are following a healthy programme and you haven't lost much weight you will become disheartened and you might stop following the healthy eating and exercise routine. You'll probably thinking..."What's the point??"
2. Not all calories are made equal and this is why you shouldn't be counting calories all the time. For example an avocado has around 240 calories quite similar to a jam doughnut. You will all agree that the nutritional value between these two foods is very different. Avocado benefits include a healthier heart, lower blood pressure, protection against cancer and better skin wheres a doughnut contains around 13 g of sugar and around 10 g of saturated fat!
3. Surround yourself with like-minded people for support. The studies have shown that the secret to how long you'll live is actually the close relationships and the every day social interactions you have with people around you.
4. Move your body every day, find an activity that you enjoy and stick with it. It might be going to a yoga class, spin class or walking. As long as you are consistent with your physical activity and you look forward to it then you are more likely to make it a lifelong habit.
5. Adopt positive thoughts. What your mind visualises your body will achieve. Researchers continue to explore the effects of positive thinking and optimism on health. Health benefits that positive thinking may provide include lower rates of depression, greater resistance to the common cold, better psychological and physical well-being and better coping skills during times of stress.
Why not share your own habits that you've created and you managed to stick with so far.