The new year gives us an opportunity to reset. Isn’t that what the New Year resolution hubbub is all about? But really, anytime is a good time to start a healthy habit! Here’s just three simple tips that I hope you’ll find helpful!
1. Take small steps.
Nope, this doesn’t mean “aim low.” It simply means instead of resolving to “lose 50 pounds” you resolve to “lose 2 pounds per month,” or even “lose half a pound each week.” Small steps are something you can more readily wrap your brain around.
Imagine being in school… One teacher says, “You won’t be tested on this subject for 1 year.” Another say, “Your first test is in 7 days.” Which class are you going to start studying for first?
Aiming for small immediate steps holds you accountable and helps you modify your actions today rather than waiting until next week, next month, etc.
Perhaps most importantly, small steps allow you to “fail forward.” Didn’t hit your goal this week? No biggie. Identify what went wrong, and do better next week. Forward!
When I look at all the things I could improve in my habits, it’s a little overwhelming, but when I focus on just a few specific ones, it seems doable.
2. Be data based.
Let’s say you set out to lose 1 pound per week. That’s a great small step resolution! So you sign up for a gym membership.
But if all you do is exercise more without changing your diet, you probably won’t lose weight. That’s because you’re not operating off of real facts. The science proves that it’s 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise.
Check out this excellent Women’s Health article details, what you eat is much more important to weight loss than increasing how much you exercise. Pursuing your small steps based on good data is much more likely to get you to your goal.
3. Seek social support.
We’re all socially motivated. Our work, social, and home environments dramatically impact our ability to be better versions of ourselves.
Tell your friends, family, and coworkers what your resolution/goal is. Tell them you’d really appreciate their support and help in achieving it. Also, let them know that it works both ways: if they’d like to share a goal they’re working on, you’ll help hold them accountable and provide support if they want it.
Suddenly, it becomes much easier NOT to get lunch from the vending machine. It becomes easier not to get the late night bowl of ice cream, because you’ll have more of the social support around you that you need to achieve your resolutions.
My new healthy habits!
Just so you know we’re also trying to practice what we preach, I want to share my new habits! My goal is to keep healthy. I just turned 63 and that’s a clarion call to do it now or suffer the consequences! There’s a lot of research out there on the importance of maintaining a healthy gut, so based on this, I decided to try to change up my morning routine with a couple of healthy choices.
Postponing my coffee till I’ve had a glass of lemon water (or apple cider vinegar water).
Because my coffee pot is my first go to, I started by keeping the lemons and vinegar really easy to get to. I even use the glass of water that I had by my bed the night before. Just anything to save a step and make it easier! Then I reward myself with coffee!
Replacing bagels or muffins with a green drink (here’s a recipe)
Next thing is to throw some greens, a banana and a whole orange (yes, skin and all) with some ice and water into our Vitamix and pour it into a glass to take to work with me. I’ll add a handful of almonds for protein. It’s important that all these things are easy to get to. If I have the carrots, spinach and celery washed already, it shaves time off as well. Also, when I calculate how much time and money I spend stopping somewhere to grab something on my way to work, I’m still ahead.
So far, it’s been 3 weeks since I’ve been working on these two new habits and I can feel and see the changes already.
It’s becoming something that I truly am enjoying. And isn’t that what it’s all about?
