Making healthy changes to lifestyle can feel challenging, even impossible, if you don’t know where to start, and many people quit before they even begin. But improving your health doesn’t have to be intimidating. By setting realistic health goals and making small changes to daily habits, it is possible to achieve a healthier lifestyle. Kickstart your wellness journey in the new year by following these 5 tips.

Tip 1 – Move with joy

Exercise doesn’t have to be boring, so let go of the strict rules and move in a way that brings you joy. Love dancing? Join a local dance class once a week with some friends or your significant other. Want to spend more time with the kids? Head to your local trampoline centre and join them on the springs for half an hour. Not keen on running? Get out for a brisk walk, some deep breathing, and quiet contemplation.

Anything that gets your muscles moving, your blood flowing and your heart rate up is considered exercise. So forget forcing yourself to do something you hate and start moving for joy!

Tip 2 – Join a local sporting team

Most of us, as we get older, tend to shy away from playing an organised sport, but joining the local basketball, netball or soccer club (to name a few) is one of the most effective ways to maintain a regular exercise routine and enjoy the social activity. Check your local community newspaper or Facebook group for details of team sports in your area and get the benefits of regular movement and the delight of being part of a team.

Tip 3 – Set small, achievable goals

Something that many of us are guilty of doing is setting large, unrealistic goals when first planning a change in lifestyle. Too often, the quicker we start something without careful planning, the sooner we tend to give up and simply stop doing it. Instead of setting yourself up for failure, set small, achievable goals and build up from there.

Aim for just 10 minutes of activity everyday rather than 30 minutes a day a few times a week. Why? Because doing something every day sets up a regular habit in the brain – especially if you do it at the same time every day. Once your new routine feels automatic, and you’re doing it without much thought, start increasing the duration of the activity from 10 minutes to 15 minutes, then 20 minutes, and so on.

Small, consistent steps are key to maintaining a long-term exercise routine with gradual progression.

Tip 4 – Focus on adding to your diet, not taking away from it

Diet culture has us believing that restricting our food intake and avoiding certain foods altogether is key to maintaining good health. But following a restrictive diet isn’t sustainable for everyone and many fall off the diet wagon before very long. Perhaps we need to focus more on what we can eat and what we can add into our daily diets, rather than on how much is restricted.

Some small changes to make include increasing the amount of fresh vegetables added to each meal, incorporating fruit in place of sugary snacks, and choosing healthier alternatives at every meal. Reducing rather than restricting is helpful at maintaining a healthy mindset, as it feels like we’re not missing out on our favourite foods.

Tip 5 – Find a supportive wellness partner

It’s not unusual to find yourself a few months into a healthy lifestyle change and motivation is waning or altogether gone. After all, making and sustaining healthy habits isn’t easy! It can help to get support from family and friends when making positive changes to lifestyle.

Being accountable to others helps keep you focused, while having someone encourage you and remind you of your health goals is often just what you need when you’re having a bad day. Celebrating the wins – even the small ones – reinforces your achievements, while sharing activities like cooking or exercise with family and friends means you’re more likely to stick to your new healthy habits.

For more tips on lifestyle, health, insurance and financial, follow Mortgage Express on Facebook. For more information on how to better manage your health, visit Astute Simplicity Health.

Information sourced from The Wellness Workshop (www.thewellnessworkshop.com.au).

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