What is the most common mistake when trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle?

When trying to start a new healthy lifestyle, the most common mistake people make is to want to change everything at once. That is, doing everything perfectly the first time round and getting results instantly.

That approach and mindset is a big mistake, as a completely lifestyle change doesn’t just happen overnight. You will usually find that you need to do it little by little over a long period of time for the healthy habits to stick.

Understand that leading a healthy and active lifestyle is not a sprint that you dash and get over with in a matter of seconds. Rather, it is a long-term thing; a light jog or even a steady walk down a road each day.

A healthy lifestyle must be maintained over time, but at the same time made enjoyable for it to be tolerable and the process and change to yield best results.

In this post, we are going to highlight some tips that have helped me (and continue to help me) achieve my healthy lifestyle goals.

Steps to Start a Healthy Lifestyle Today

Here’s are additional steps that I have found useful for consolidating good habits for a healthy lifestyle:

1. Accept yourself how and where you are first

If your goal is a physical change, you need to recognize where you are before starting on a fitness program, for example. That is important because you will understand where you are now and the work needed to get to where you want to be.

Thus, you must accept yourself as you are today. This is how to begin the journey to a healthy lifestyle on the right foot.

Adopting a healthy lifestyle requires time, perseverance and patience in order to adapt to this new way of life.

For this reason, if you acknowledge where you are and the effort needed to work on yourself, it will be easier to do it.

You will brace yourself and look forward to the challenge and celebrating your progress and victory.

On the other hand, if you refuse to accept your real situation and bury your head in the sand regarding where you are and the changes you need to make, this is a recipe for failure.

It can lead to desperation to change and an abandonment of the goal to live a healthy lifestyle in a very short time.

Most big changes require time and persistence. They might not be achieved in a month or two. I did not see results until a year later, but you will love it.

Be patient and don’t give up; that’s the key.

2. Change to a healthy and balanced diet

As already mentioned above, diet is a key point to starting a healthy lifestyle. Coupled with physical activity, eating a healthy diet is a must and should be consistent.

Our bodies need nourishing diets, including vitamins, minerals, and macronutrients so that we can get the energy needed to carry out the different daily activities.

For a healthy diet, include plenty of vegetables and fruits, foods rich in fiber, protein, complex carbohydrates, and healthy fats.

Also try different vegetables, don’t limit yourself to the most typical ones. I tried the jujube, also known as red or Chinese date, and… I loved it! And seriously, I didn’t know of its existence, you should try it, too.

Gradually replace the ultra-processed foods with healthy organic foods.

Ideally, prepare a weekly menu that suits your health goals and plan your meals ahead each week. This way, in addition to keeping track of calories and meals, you will be able to record your progress little by little each week.

You can change all this gradually.

Changing my diet cost me, I’m not going to lie to you.

But I do not regret having done it, because I have been taking better care of myself for much more than two years and I notice the benefits of it day by day.

3. Set yourself micro targets

Setting the end goal is very easy and beneficial, but very few people do it.

You must identify what you are looking to achieve.

Some of the most common targets being to lose weight, eat healthier, increase muscle mass, or simply take better care of yourself.

Once you are clear on your long-haul goals and objectives, go ahead and convert this objective into smaller, manageable objectives, such as “losing 1 kilo during these 15 days” and so on.

Make sure they are realistic objectives you can reach.

A healthy lifestyle and maintaining your healthy is not an overnight process; it is and ongoing process entailing setting small, realistic, achieving them and  moving on to the next goal in your healthy living lifestyle routines.

4. Know your progress and what you’re doing well

You can check your weight on the scale every day or every week, but I am sorry to tell you that this is not a 100% reliable strategy to know your progress when losing weight. Your weight on the scale can vary from day to day for many reasons.

What I did when I realized this, is to write down all my measurements with the help of a meter in my progress planner, including my waist, hip, arms, and legs.

And month after month I wrote down the changes to check if, overall, I was losing weight.

Adopting a similar strategy of compiling the data and looking at the overall can be very helpful to know your progress. This is how you will see if you are winning.

5. Drink plenty of water

One aspect that you cannot forget also is to hydrate yourself correctly. Keep in mind that when we get thirsty is when we are starting to dehydrate.

Avoid sugary soft drinks; they will do you more harm. The same applies to alcoholic drinks; they will add more sugars in your system and swell your abdomen.

Eliminate those drinks little by little and instead quench your thirst with fresh water.

I already eliminated sugary soft drinks and alcohol completely in my diet and I can report it was on of the best decisions I made for my health.

Now when I go out with my friends, I ask for a bottle of water and although they look at me somewhat strangely, I have my goals clearly spelled out.

If you want something and know it benefits, you have to fight for it.

6. Get enough sleep and rest

Without a doubt, rest is essential for good body function and avoiding fatigue.

And getting a good night’s sleep allows you to get this essential rest. Sleep is the time when the body recovers and re-energizes in readiness for the next day.

Muscle fibers need to recover from the effort of the day, especially if you are following vigorous physical exercise routines during the day.

For adequate sleep, get at least 8 hours of shuteye so that the body has enough time to recover. The muscle also needs to rest.

Remember that without a restful, good night’s sleep, it will cost you more during the day, as it will make you drowsy.

Chronic insomnia is linked to a range of more serious health problems, including obesity, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, and depression.

Therefore, getting enough sleep is not an option when leading a healthy lifestyle.

Always make the effort to get your snooze on as much as possible and rest well, even during the day.

Studies have shown that daytime naps that lasts between 15 and 90 minutes—can improve brain functions ranging from memory to focus and creativity for most people.

Other benefits of naps include restoring alertness, enhancing performance, and reducing mistakes and accidents, according to the National Sleep Foundation.

If your daily routine involves getting up early, try to fall asleep earlier. I know it may be difficult for some of us, but do it for yourself.

You will be in a better mood when you wake up, have more energy throughout the day to effectivity carry on with your daily activities, and your muscles will be well-rested and become stronger.

I hope that these tips to start a healthy lifestyle help you achieve just that. Apply them from today to live longer and achieve overall good health and wellbeing throughout.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. Healthy Supplies Shop is  not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information on this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of healthy supplies shop  and we do not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.