I want to share with you the story of my own lifestyle change which I have made, and how I eventually, after many years of trying, was able to actually change to a healthy lifestyle.

I don’t know about you guys but I have sat at the kitchen table more times than I care to remember, writing lists and recipe ideas for my new health kick, heading to the store to pick up all kinds of health foods which I have no idea about, and then finding that after a couple of days of the new healthy version of myself , that I am neck deep in a tub of ice cream.

If you are like this now then there is hope, I have managed to stick to the lifestyle change for 6 months now and I feel great, and here is how I did it.

Lifestyle

One of the most important changes that I had to make was in my mind, as in the past I looked at this as a diet or a phase where I would live well. I had to change the way I thought about the way I ate and exercised and make that change of a lifestyle, rather than habits. Once you are able to accept that a healthy lifestyle is better for you, it is much easier to stick to eating well and living well.

Publicized

I, like many of you, am far more motivated when there is pressure on me and for this reason I made certain that everyone knew what I was doing in terms of my lifestyle change. What this meant was that if I ever wanted to cheat or do something which I shouldn’t, I’d be far less able to because of that peer pressure of people knowing that I’d failed.

Back on the Horse

Make no mistake, I didn’t go through this transition overnight, it actually took me a long time to get into the groove and I cheated many times during that journey. The key however is to get back on the horse the next day. Something which I used to do in the past would be to fail, get stuck into that tub of ice cream, and that have the thought process of ‘well I’ve failed now, might as well continue’ a terrible way of thinking. I don’t fall too often these days but when you do, the next day you need to forget it and get right back to the plan.

Milestones

You have to feel the achievements which you are making and that is why it is a great idea to set milestones for yourself. Make these milestones achievable, tough but not impossible and do something to celebrate when you complete them. This could be losing a certain amount of weight, going so many days or weeks without cheating, whatever feels important to you. Do this and it will help you to stay inspired and motivated.