Health Motivation: 2023 Tips & Tricks
Do you ever find yourself losing health motivation, like those times when exercising and maintaining a healthy diet seems impossible? Unfortunately, it happens to many of us—we go all out for a few weeks when we’re motivated, and then our determination to get in shape quickly fades. The result? We fall back into poor health habits.
Sound familiar?
And what if we told you that we had a solution? Have you ever thought about trying to tackle a few simple changes at once instead of taking an all-or-nothing approach to living a healthy lifestyle?
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Studies show that your best chance at keeping at your health and weight loss habits comes from making minor changes that feel easy to upkeep. Taking small, positive steps helps you continue moving ahead consistently, and being realistic about the changes you want to make and goals you want to achieve can help you hit your health goals.
Luckily, our experts at Xcellent Life put together these tips and tricks to help you do that. So try these ten tips and tricks to help you make those small changes each day—here’s to your health journey!
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Try to Feel Better about Yourself
If you want your goals of living a healthy lifestyle to come to life, you must ensure that everyone around you makes you feel good about yourself—no matter your current struggles—including you.
For example, if your close friends encourage poor health habits (like overeating, drinking, smoking, etc.), it’s going to be a challenge to maintain your health motivation. So instead, surround yourself with those who want a healthier you and practice good habits.
And it’s important not to get hung up on your waist size or the numbers on the scale—it’s more beneficial to focus on your health from the inside out; eating well and exercising regularly are typically the best ways to start feeling better about yourself.
Remember, you can look and feel healthy and great without being extremely thin or toned.
Reconsider Your Role Model
Going back to that last point, select positive role models for your health journey—you don’t need to look like a Barbie doll or a bodybuilder to be healthy and look amazing. There are better ways to live your life than focusing on looking like someone else; make a plan, maintain your health motivation, and take those small steps we mentioned in stride.
If you’re unsure how to choose the right health role models, don’t worry; it’s as easy as looking up to those who make you feel better about yourself and your progress instead of the ones who make you feel bad. Find a strong, healthy, genuine role model to help you along your journey.
Figure Out Why You Overeat
Overeating is one of the most significant dangers we face when trying to make healthy changes. Unfortunately, many of us have faced this challenge over and over. The key to staying motivated is understanding your problem areas and creating a plan to deal with them.
First, look at what causes you to overeat; do you use food to cope with rejection, boredom, disappointment, etc.?
After determining why you overeat, it’s time to think about healthier ways to cope with those moods that don’t involve food. It can help to keep your kitchen full of healthy snack options (fruits, veggies, yogurt, nuts, etc.) to make it easier to avoid high-calorie foods when you can’t resist reaching for something to eat.
Don’t Let Yourself Go Hungry
That said, undereating is one of the biggest causes of overeating. If you starve yourself and go too long without eating, you’re more likely to overeat later because you’ll be ravenously hungry.
Too strict of a diet doesn’t work well for anyone; you should include planned snacks throughout the day to help prevent binge eating. You can also allow yourself some treats to enjoy your favorite foods every so often without feeling guilty—living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean giving up everything you love!
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Make Easy Daily Changes
We’ll say it as often as we need to—having health motivation and making lifestyle changes does not have to be all or nothing. Instead, start small with a few simple changes each day; these changes can be to your diet, exercise routine, or anything you want it to be! They add up over time, resulting in a significant health boost.
And because we know setting goals is hard, we put together some easy suggestions you can try:
- Start avoiding foods that are high in trans-fat
- Drink an extra glass of water each day
- Take a quick walk before work
- Add fiber to your daily meal plan
- Take breaks at work and walk in place (or around the office, it that’s an option_
- Add an extra serving of vegetables at lunch and dinner
- Cut out foods that are high in carbs
Find Your Supporters
We all need someone to support us—they give us a reason to keep up with our goals and help us not lose our health motivation. So find your cheering section, whether your support comes from your spouse, a good friend, an online group, or a coworker.
Think of some people—it can be one, two, or as many as you like—and talk to them about holding you accountable and supporting you as you work toward your health and lifestyle goals. Choose people you can call upon when you’re struggling to make and stick to good habits.
But don’t just talk with them when things are tough; when you reach a goal (any goal, no matter how small), invite them to celebrate with you!
Don’t Stress
If you slip up every now and then by overeating, skipping your exercise routine, drinking too much, etc.—don’t stress and forgive yourself! Beating yourself up doesn’t do any good. Instead, acknowledge the slip-up and keep going.
Plus, allowing yourself an indulgence now and then is perfectly fine—if you feel guilty for having a cocktail or dessert during a special night out, stop worrying about it and return to your normal routine the next day.
Don’t Forget Change Doesn’t Happen Overnight
It’s easy to see someone living a healthy life and looking great as lucky; however, the chances are they’re working extremely hard at it every day. So instead of thinking that way, learn from them. How did they transition to a healthier lifestyle, what are their exercise and eating habits, etc.?
Not to mention body diversity—even if everyone ate the same, wholesome diet and stuck to the same exercise routines, our body shapes would still be extremely diverse.
So make a commitment to change your lifestyle habits, and give yourself plenty of time to reach your goal. Finally, understand and accept that your body is supposed to be a certain size—even if it’s not as thin as you’d like—and feel good about it!
Move More, Sit Less
Being a little more active is a great start to making healthy choices. And it’s not hard! For example, you can park further away from the store to get extra steps in, take the stairs at work, or go for a walk with your children, friends, or pets.
It works because it’s simple—the more time you exercise, the more calories you burn. Making a deliberate effort to sit less and move more is an excellent way to increase your physical activity and move towards a healthier lifestyle.
Celebrate Your Health Motivation Each Day
While adding healthy habits to your everyday life, don’t lose your health motivation or forget to enjoy the journey each day. Many people would agree that their lives and hopes for the future rely on hitting a specific goal or destination and forget about the pleasure they can get from making the necessary changes.
Problems may come up if your goal overshadows everything else—celebrate your health motivation and find fun in the journey where you can.
And although creating and maintaining healthy exercise and weight loss goals is crucial to living a healthy lifestyle, ensure that you take the time to celebrate the little things each day. Live life for the moment and take in the simple pleasures throughout your time working toward a healthy lifestyle!
Celebrating each day is easier when you can get personalized health insights showing your progress. Get yours here.
How Will You Use These Health Motivation Tips?
Perfect health doesn’t exist, and every one of us faces challenges. However, every decision we make offers an opportunity to choose the best outcome for our health and well-being—this is what gives us power!
Our journey to a healthy lifestyle starts with a single decision; you can start right now with these tips.
Whether it’s choosing a healthier lunch today, going for a walk after dinner, unplugging a few hours before bed to get better sleep or anything else that promotes good health habits, you’ve got this, and we’re here to support you throughout your health and wellness journey.
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