7 Healthy Lifestyle Tips: How Can You Create Better Habits?

Feel on top of the world when you embody a healthy lifestyle

“I want to change my life. I need to change my life.” If this is you, wondering how to create a healthy lifestyle, then feast on these healthy lifestyle tips proven to help you get more fit.

Making lasting life style changes, especially in the context of fitness and weight loss, takes dedication — but it’s doable. Most people know to exercise regularly, eat well, and reduce stress in order to make a change for the better. But somewhere between knowing what to do and actually doing it, we fall into the “Abyss of Inertia.” Why is that? And what can we do to move from stuck to started?

Go From 1-10 with 7 Healthy Lifestyle Tips

It’s easy to be at level 1 (I’d like to lose 50 pounds) and wish to be at level 10 (I lost 50 pounds), yet it’s extremely challenging to get from 1 to 10 unless you have the steps in between mapped out. You know where you are and where you want to be, but don’t know how to get there.

Fortunately, we know and we’re going to share! That’s what 35 years each as certified fitness pros and Alexandra’s advanced degree in Counseling allow us to claim.

To make lifestyle changes, choose Simple, Specific, Sustainable Steps that will lead to Success-…
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Simple, Small, Sustainable, Specific Steps Spell Success – Yes to the S!

To make lifestyle changes, both big and small, make a 1-10 numbered list. One = where you are now; ten = what your new, improved, fit life will look like. Where do you want to be?, aka — your goal. List the steps it will take to get to this goal. Choose Simple, Specific, Sustainable Steps that will lead to Success. It’s all about the letter S!

A typical example of an overwhelming goal : I want to lead a healthier lifestyle. This statement is rather vague, making it hard to know if/ when you’re successful. A better starting point might be: I want to eat more berries and veggies, select food and companies I can trust to nourish me well, and move at least 150 minutes each week. From there you plug in small changes that you will actually do. Instead of thinking in grand scale (though we wouldn’t mind living in grand scale in Highclere Castle, where Downton Abbey is filmed), think of the least you can do. Multiple easy choices go further than grand, sweeping plans that come to nought. Unless you’re the broom in Beauty and the Beast.

Asking yourself what is the LEAST you can do to improve your fitness level, and your chances for…
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SAMPLE Plan to Instill Healthier Lifestyle Habits

1. Before you eat something that may hinder reaching your goal, write down the food. Seeing “four scoops of tuna salad” written down may help you decide to just take two scoops, or even just one.
2. Shop at a farmer’s market, co-op, or the perimeter of grocery stores (any place where healthy food dominates the choices).

3. Photo and tagline courtesy of Hampton Creek

   Buy plant-based foods, particularly from sources you research and trust. For example, learn what you can about Hampton Creek, a major manufacturer of sustainable foods that are made from plant ingredients. Serve your social sense and healthy self all in one go! And yes, Hampton Creek is sponsoring this post as they actually care about creating sustainable food, as do we. Disclosure Done, Bam!

4. Add 1,000 steps a day to your movement.
5. Serve dinner on smaller than standard plates, then put all the extra food into the fridge so it’s not just sitting out where you’ll be tempted to mindlessly eat seconds.
6. Do 5 push-ups, from knees or toes, and 10 squats.
7. Reward your achievements by writing down the extra energy you have, or getting a massage, or calling a supportive friend. Choose any reward that is positive (not junk food) and acknowledges your hard work.

2 Bonus Steps to Super Support Improved Health Habits

1. Read our post: How Do I Get Healthy Habits to Stick
2. Be motivated beyond belief and also read Which is the Best Workout so you will be more liable to achieve those 150 cardio minutes.

You’ve probably figured out that thousands of options exist that would fit into your seven steps. Mix and match according to your goals. And of course, making a change is really way more than seven steps, though picking a manageable number will get you moving forward. The sample plan above has nothing earth-shattering or magical, which is good. It means you don’t need to wait for the earth to move or a magic wand to sparkle. You just need to make small decisions repeatedly until they become a habit and you realize three months have passed, and you are now eating more healthfully and have dropped the 20 pounds.

Won’t it be great to shift from “I need to change my life?” to “I know how to change my life for the better and I did it!”

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Photos taken by Alexandra Williams except the first one and as noted.

Alexandra Williams, MA and Kymberly Williams-Evans, MA

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