Maintaining motivation on your journey towards living a healthier lifestyle can be daunting, yet setbacks should never deter you. Instead, use them as learning opportunities and keep going forward.
Surround yourself with people who support your health lifestyle goals. Include variety and fun into your exercise and food choices, to avoid boredom and burnout.
1. Set Goals
Assembling health goals takes time and commitment. Setting short-term, obtainable goals can keep you on the right path and help motivate and keep you on track.
Set goals that matter most to you and determine how you’ll achieve them. Utilizing tools such as an app, journal or calendar to monitor progress can be helpful in maintaining motivation on the healthy lifestyle journey. Perhaps there will be fun rewards waiting for you such as massages or workout gear!
Once you have a plan in mind, stick with it! A great way to stay accountable and find support in an online community or accountability partner would be finding an accountability buddy or joining one. They will serve as extra cheerleaders who will give additional boost of encouragement when necessary.
Start with a realistic plan, and don’t expect perfection right from the get-go. After all, no matter how hard we try we all experience setbacks; any minor setbacks don’t negate all your hard work; should something arise that prevents progress then problem-solve to find solutions!
When trying to give up smoking or consume less processed food, focus on changing one habit at a time rather than trying to change everything at once – this will avoid becoming overwhelming and cause you to abandon your goals altogether.
Focus on how it feels when you reach your goals – that can be an excellent motivator! For example, when reaching your goal weight and losing 10 pounds, remember how it feels to be thinner and happier! Recalling that feeling may keep your focus on long-term goals more tightly. Writing them down and posting them where you can easily see them also helps.
2. Be Accountable
Becoming responsible for your actions and outcomes is of utmost importance, which means taking personal accountability when things fall off track or fail to meet goals, rather than shifting blame onto external sources. Being held accountable can keep you on the right path towards your healthy lifestyle goals while remaining motivated when challenges arise.
Setting goals that are specific, measurable, and attainable is one way to practice accountability. Achieved your goals will give you a sense of achievement as they’re reached; plus it provides a means of measuring progress over time. Also important in making healthy lifestyle choices are surrounding yourself with supportive individuals – studies show that who we spend our time with has a direct effect on both our attitudes and actions! So make sure the people you spend time with positively contribute towards them!
Accountability can be challenging when setting health-related goals, particularly when setbacks arise along the way. But remembering why you started making these changes will provide motivation when things get difficult – helping you towards becoming a healthier version of yourself!
Having trouble sticking to your healthy lifestyle goals? Consider adding an accountability buddy into your life – be it a friend, colleague, or online coaching service like Wishroute! By creating a free Wishroute account and connecting with one of our Guides (we call them), who will offer daily text message check-ins as well as customized healthy eating and exercise routes – it can make healthy living a lifestyle! Give it a try now; you won’t regret it.
3. Have a Plan
Planned goals provide clarity of purpose and make reaching them simpler, according to Mayo Clinic author Anne Dranitsaris. A good plan should outline daily actions you need to take, such as walking for 10 minutes three times every week as part of an exercise regimen to lose weight or exercise more regularly, Dranitsaris writes. Having a plan can also prevent feelings of despair or overwhelm while you pursue weight loss journey.
If you find yourself lacking motivation, try recalling why you initially set out on this journey. Remind yourself of all of the benefits that result from making healthier lifestyle changes such as having enough energy to play with nieces and nephews or carry groceries without becoming exhausted.
As another way of staying motivated during your healthy lifestyle journey, including friends and family can be invaluable in keeping you on the path. Establishing an accountability partner or group may make reaching goals simpler – according to fitness expert Elaine Magee. Involving others can also be especially useful if your living situation does not support or promote healthier behaviors.
Once you have a solid plan in place, it’s time to put it into action. Keep in mind that it’s normal to experience setbacks along the way; for instance if getting to the gym three times weekly is becoming challenging due to work and home life commitments, adjust your plan and commit to going two times each week instead. Or if supermarket shopping becomes challenging without succumbing to temptation by purchasing convenience foods instead of what was originally listed on your shopping list.
4. Focus on the Short-Term Wins
An effective way to stay motivated is to celebrate your successes. Every time you achieve a health goal – such as losing weight, strengthening up, or eating more vegetables – make sure you reward yourself. Doing this will keep your motivation alive, as the excitement from each new success can propel you further along your journey.
Find a healthy lifestyle you enjoy, and focus on setting short-term goals to fit. Everyone’s individual needs and preferences play a key part in how we live our lives; some may like hitting the gym daily while others might prefer yoga and hiking followed by a hearty dinner featuring grilled chicken, spinach salad and wild rice as part of a balanced meal plan.
Recognizing slip-ups as normal is also key, and a brief setback does not indicate failure. If you miss your workout or overeat something you shouldn’t have done, simply restart as soon as possible and use these setbacks as opportunities to try something different – whether that means planning ahead for weather conditions that might prevent you from walking as planned, or finding ways to remain active when travelling or dining out, such as taking fitness classes at your local mall before work.
Staying inspired requires surrounding yourself with supportive people and groups – this may include a fitness group, friends from your gym, coworkers who want to become healthier or even just an online community of others doing the same thing! Doing this will keep you motivated on a daily basis; plus it might just make the journey more enjoyable!
5. Find Non-Food Rewards
As we become aware of what’s lurking in our food, water, and clothing supplies, this can be an enormous motivator to change your habits and start taking better care of yourself. But remembering the true definition of healthy living goes well beyond simply the ingredients in food or trying new “new age” techniques such as goat yoga or Beyond Meat (both which I intend on trying this weekend!). Being healthy requires self-care, healthy relationships, exercise and maintaining an overall positive mindset – something which may not always come easy!
As part of a healthier lifestyle change, rewarding yourself for success is crucial to reinforcing positive behaviors and providing you with something to look forward to when reaching goals. When selecting rewards for this endeavor, beware using foods as rewards as this could cause weight gain in the future – instead, try opting for non-food incentives instead.
Non-food rewards should be enjoyed immediately following the behavior they reward, to form an association between desired behavior and pleasurable feelings associated with it. So the next time you enjoy a healthy meal or complete your workout, celebrate it with one of these fun yet affordable non-food rewards!
Try treating yourself to something you wouldn’t normally do – such as watching a movie without popcorn, getting your nails done, visiting a sauna or signing up for dance class – that won’t break the bank and will provide an exciting, new experience that is different from your routine and can help to motivate and sustain a healthier lifestyle. These rewards won’t break your budget either; they will provide positive memories from different parts of life while motivating you on your healthy lifestyle journey!
