Earlier today, we featured an article focused on how to readjust to regular life now that the summer months are behind us. Part of our advice in that piece was to get back into a healthy lifestyle. I don’t mind telling you that this is currently the struggle I’m dealing with. Summer usually means more outdoor activities for me, but this was a particularly busy summer and I’m not sure I got in enough hikes to burn off all that BBQ burgers and hotdogs. And especially in the last month, with more weddings than I can count and constant travelling, a healthy meal was few and far between. It’s almost a relief for the summer season to end and to have an excuse to reintroduce myself to a healthy lifestyle. It’s not easy, but here are a few tips to get you back on track.
Get back into your routine. As much as we might not even notice it in our day-to-day lives, routine is a vital part of living a healthy lifestyle. As fun as summer is, it’s good that it eventually ends because the unstructured nature of it is draining after a while and can be hard to adjust from. Getting back into a regular schedule makes it easier to schedule in regular meals, daily exercise and good sleep habits. Small things individually, but all add up to a healthy lifestyle.
Make exercise a part of each day. One of the biggest struggles I have with getting into a healthier routine is making exercise a regular part of my day. I’m willing to admit I hate exercise and I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. I know it’s a very important part of life and yet I still struggle to force myself to do it everyday. However, ensuring that you do get that daily bit of physical activity does indeed make it easier after a while. The more you are able to engrain exercise into your schedule, the more it will start to feel natural. I can’t promise it will get easier to do, but making it a part of each day will be easier.
There are no excuses. Within a day, I can find a dozen excuses why I can’t go for a jog or why I don’t have time to make a proper meal, but none of them are good enough. Sure, there are some legitimate reasons for not doing your usual exercises, like an injury, but deep down you know the difference between a reason and an excuse. Understand that there are no real excuses. There is enough time in the day to live healthy and you just have to make the right decision.
Try out some new recipes. Sometimes, maintaining a healthy diet can be harder than exercising, and one of the biggest reasons for people eating poorly is that they don’t know what to make. They call themselves a bad cook and think that justifies having takeout. But anyone can learn to cook and can find a healthy meal they enjoy. There are plenty great food websites and Youtube channels out there that can make healthy cooking fun and easy. Introduce some new recipes into your meal time and you could be surprised how much you like eating healthy.
Avoid those pitfalls. There are always bumps in the road to a healthy lifestyle, so we need to become better at avoiding them. For everyone, there are certain situations and habits that prevent us from staying the course in our healthy living. For instance, I enjoy watching movies. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I sometimes convince myself that I won’t be able to enjoy the film unless I am eating a snack while watching it. If I’m honest with myself I know that is ridiculous. There are things that prevent us from getting our exercise or making healthy choices, and once we understand and recognize them, we can avoid them.
Identify your reasons for being healthy. Motivation is always an important key to sticking with our healthy choices. If you’re lacking in obvious motivation try doing a bit of self-reflection. We all have reasons why we want to live healthier. It could be a very simple reason, or it could be something you haven’t admitted to yourself yet. But understanding your reason gives you something to put in front of yourself to keep moving towards in those struggling times.