Start small, change things one step at a time, and you’ll win! Being healthy and living life with vitality and energy isn’t achieved by clearing your house out completely, running 10 miles a day and drinking nothing but kale smoothies for 2 weeks, only to realise that isn’t sustainable and then experiencing the inevitable ‘falling off the wagon’ and feeling terrible and guilty and the cycle continues…. Don’t try to change everything at once. Start with out tip #1 and swap your fizzy drinks for water (sparkling water with lemon/lime is a good swap at the start if you’re craving the fizz). Don’t change your whole diet in one go – maybe resolve to eat greens with every meal, or cut out any takeaways you’re eating. Stop eating one junk food item at a time, start with crisps or sweets or chocolate and replace it with something – maybe your favourite fruit, a bath, a call to a friend. Promise yourself you’ll exercise, but decide on a realistic amount – I think starting with 2-3 days per week and build from there, that’s realistic if you are not exercising at all at the moment. Pick a form of exercise that suits your goals and your budget and your schedule – we have all fallen into the trap if thinking ‘if I sign up for a full year’s membership, I’ll definitely use it’, and then only going 6 times in 365 days ! Maybe resolve to wake up 10 minutes earlier so you aren’t rushing in the morning, enjoy a coffee without stressing that you’re late. Maybe decide you’ll set aside 20 minutes before bed to make a delicious and healthy lunch/breakfast for the next day so you won’t be tempted. If you are tempted by something sugary, decide to wait 15 minutes and then if you really still want it, allow yourself to have it and really take your time, and see if you really enjoyed it, or did you just eat it because everyone else did, or you were bored. Promise yourself you won’t dwell on any slip ups, move on and start again (and remember that sometimes that piece of cake or glass of wine IS worth it!). Maybe take 3 minutes before you go to sleep to think of 3 good things that happened you that day so you finish the day dwelling on the positive. Change one thing at a time and befor you know it, you will have a healthy, balanced life, that most importantly, has become ingrained as a daily habit.
