One of the top excuses people have for avoiding setting health or fitness goals is waiting for the right time. I hate to break it to you... there is no perfect time for anything. There will always be an upcoming holiday, vacation, party, or event. There will always be stressors, whether from work, kids, family or relationships. Life is never perfect and there is NO point in waiting to start improving your health habits.
I teach my clients to adopt a balanced lifestyle rather than go from feeling restricted to “free/cheating” for a special event -- essentially I teach them to avoid the all or nothing mentality.
Once you are in the habit of eating healthy, a special birthday dinner or a night out or even a vacation won’t be a big, guilt-inducing ordeal to come back from. The mind is a funny thing. Without the feeling of restriction, we don’t have the urge to go “crazy” or rebel.
Have you ever told yourself you couldn’t eat or drink something? What happened? I bet within a few days, you were DYING to have it, even though it hadn’t really been that big of a deal before.
So what should you do if you want to change a habit, but you have a vacation coming up? Figure out exactly what change you are trying to make (you can use my free goal-setting worksheets or my Weekend Wellness Guide if you need help setting goals) and then JUST START and do what you can where you're at right NOW.
here are 10 simple ways you can improve your health starting today:
- drink one extra glass (or bottle) of water today
- take a 15 minute walk
- eat an extra fruit or veggie
- meditate for 5 minutes
- go to bed 30 minutes earlier than usual
- read a book before bed instead of scrolling your phone
- call or text a friend you haven't spoken to in a while
- write down three things you are thankful for
- pack your lunch instead of going out
- plan your workouts for the week
And as usual, I recommend starting with ONE thing. One action. One habit. Just start simple.
Don’t forget if you need help with goal-setting, check out my ebook or free version here. If you are ready to take your health and fitness to the next level, check out my coaching package here. Registration just opened and I am now taking clients!
p.s. If you need help with keeping healthy habits when going out on the weekend, check out this post.
