What is important is making sustainable changes to produce short and long-term results! If you lose weight, you want to keep that weight off in the short term as well as maintaing that loss. Maintaining healthy habits is often harder than initiating them! Did you know that 95% of people who lose weight put on 115% within 5 years? You need to create a maintainable healthier you for the long-term! You want to ensure you reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle forever! Look good, feel great and enjoy increased vitality for a lifetime!
In 2008 make sure that you create sustainable healthy habits to be healthy for the entire year and the years to come.
Here are some quick and easy tips for creating a healthier you in 2008...
1. Begin as you wish to continue. When it comes to improving your eating patterns and physical activity. This means set goals which you can achieve in the next week, month, 6 months and forever. For example I like chocolate. So while my goal might be to reduce my chocolate consumption to two Lindt Balls a week, it would be unrealistic to never eat chocolate again!
Dr George Blair-West says that "many people start weight loss with a sabotage plan". People need to "begin as they wish to continue (to) bring about sustainable change for long term".
2. Start small. Make small sustainable changes. For example, try to increase your number of alcohol free days per week. Slowly increase the number of days until you reach a sustainable number. Start by increasing your current alcohol free days by one.
Or aim to try a new healthy recipe once a week or month (refer to Food Forethought's recipe of the month and books and links for ideas). Then slowly make a plan which builds up to daily cooking with healthier recipes.
Consistently making small changes will ensure overall long term success. Increase the ease of improving your eating and physical activity through gradual changes.
3. Find your motivation. Think about the bigger picture. What are the greatest advantages of creating a healthier lifestyle for you? Looking better, feeling better, increased energy and being a good role model are some of the immediate benefits of maintaining healthy eating and activity levels. Reducing the risk of lifestyle diseases including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are longer term benefits, especially for people with other risk factors such as a family history of these conditions.
What is going to motivate you to change long-term? Think of all the positives of Creating a Healthier You! Imagine yourself looking in the mirror once you reach your goals! Remember it takes time...many people underestimate the ease of weight loss or instilling healthy habits and overestimate the speed with which it will happen.
4. Create a healthy attitude towards physical activity. Set sustainable goals for both planned physical activity and incidental activity. Make sure you get involved in activities that you enjoy as this will assist in adhering to your plan long term. Try buying a pedometer and increasing your daily steps (aim to increase your steps slowly)! Try joining in on active play with your kids or grandkids! Make plans to walk with a friend or relative. Just STOP SITTING!
Happy, healthy sustainable eating in 2008!
Article written by Kate Wengier, APD.
Quote of the Month:
"We create everything in our world...
either through our actions or our non-actions"
Christopher Howard |
