4 healthy Tips 

How often have you started an exercise or diet program only to lose it a week or so later? I know I have. We all set out with the best intentions and just lose that momentum.

The thing is, when you start with any kind of healthy habits program, your enthusiasm is up, and you’re motivated by the goal of what you want. But, it’s natural for motivation to diminish over time.

Then, as your motivation starts to wane, you rely on willpower. But none of us have endless supplies of that. It’s a resource we use up quickly. Every time we will ourselves to do something we don’t want to, we use up willpower.

Many of the experts through studies find about 5% of your life is dictated by your subconscious? It’s that part of your brain that just runs on autopilot, you know when you’re brushing your teeth or driving the car without any thought.

When you consciously decide to create a new healthy habit, you can tap into the power of your unconscious and create a brand-new neural pathway. Once you establish your habit, it just becomes easy, and you don’t have to rely on willpower or motivation.

Here are my ultimate tips to create good health habits and make sure they stick.
  1. Set Goals
The first step is to set goals. One great way to do this is to baseline your health. Get together a few basic facts that realistically tell you about your body: family history, weight, height, general diet, exercise habits – those sorts of things. Also, analyze how stressed you are at home and at work.

Then, it’s time to think about the bigger picture. Changing poor lifestyle habits isn’t easy, especially if you’re comfortable with them – like smoking or comfort eating. You need a solid vision of what you want to achieve with your new habits.

I find some of my strongest visions come from knowing about trends. For example, recent research shows that more disorders are preventable through good health habits. Every new study brings out new benefits and this gets me going.
  1. Allow time for the habit to stick
It can take two or more months for a solid habit to stick.

In one study, 96 people chose a drinking, eating or activity behavior to carry out every day and kept a log. Once they realized they were doing the behavior without thinking, 95 percent of the time, they had a new habit.

What’s more, the time the subjects needed to reach that “automatic pilot” stage ranged from 18 to as much as 254 days. The average was 66 days.

So, don’t set yourself up to fail by expecting your habits to change in a few weeks. It doesn’t work like that. Give yourself time.
  1. Variety is an obstacle when forming new habits
Changing things up may be a great way to take your strength training to a new level, but when it comes to creating habits, change is your enemy. Repeating an action consistently may be very different from the advice you’d normally hear when trying to form new habits. But I find that aiming for variety takes even more motivation and willpower. In turn, that makes creating automatic good health habits even tougher. Stick with just one way of doing something until you’ve created that new habit and it’s ironclad.
  1. Patience  
If you’re planning on creating even just one new health habit, track the positive changes. Use an activity or food journal to reflect on all the positives. Remember, it’s going to take time to see results, but that’s perfectly alright.

So, if weight loss is your overall goal, concentrate on the behaviors that help you get there rather than just counting on scale victories.

Don’t forget to celebrate each day’s accomplishment’s too, no matter how small they might be. Over time, you’ll definitely reap the rewards of a healthier lifestyle that becomes automatic for you.

I know that change is challenging. But, pathways for different ways of behaving and thinking can be created and then strengthened with intention, patience, and consistency. With repetition, your new healthy habits get easier and soon become your norm.

Stick with them!

Check out more healthy habit tips at marksalinas.com today!

 

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