4 Ways To Transition Into A Healthy Lifestyle
Everyone should be living a healthy lifestyle. Now, what is considered to be “healthy” is different for everyone, but what we can all agree on is what an unhealthy lifestyle is. The overconsumption of ultra processed foods, dehydration, not moving the body on a regular basis, irregular sleeping patterns, high-stress levels. The list goes on, and when all these things turn into habits…they become our lives.
A healthy lifestyle is more than just eating your greens and exercising, it is the health, the wellness if you will, of all the areas of your life. While most of us might be intimidated or even frightened by the idea of turning our entire lives upside down in order to be healthier, the great news is that we don’t have to. Wellness is interconnected. That means if you change one area, it affects the rest of your life. There are many ways that we can transform our lives and start living in ways that we know we are worthy of.
Improving your eating habits is a great way to jumpstart your way into healthy living because well, you must eat every day, and what you eat has a direct effect on how you feel.
Since we are not all wired to “burn the bridges” and never look back, I am here to gift you with 5 simple ways you can integrate healthy habits into your life and make the transition to healthier living somewhat painless. Including these practices in your daily life will help improve your health, boost your mood and have you looking good because the body thrives when it’s fed well.
1. TRADE YOUR FIZZY DRINKS FOR KOMBUCHA
The fizzy drinks that we have become so accustomed to, these high fructose corn syrups that have been packaged to us as happiness in a can, are quite harmful to our bodies. We know this, yet we still consume them. Why? The truth is we have become somewhat addicted to them. It is the glorious sugar rush!
There is, however, an alternative that is not only healthier than the fizzy drinks we often have but is actually healthy. Kombucha is a fermented tea that contains probiotics. It has countless benefits such as boosting the immune system, increasing gut health and in some instances aiding weight loss. It comes in different flavours and served chilled, so no, I am not suggesting that you become an instant tea lady. It also has an effervescent effect because of the fermentation process, so you still get the slight fizz sensation.
2. PROGRESSIVE EXTREMISM
This is a psychology hack developed by Nir Eyal, a Behavioural Design expert. The idea is to make extreme changes progressively. One of the pitfalls of dieting is that it trains your brain to anticipate scarcity and when your brain perceives scarcity it heightens its awareness toward the thing that is limited. The problem is that when you are on a diet, the things you are meaning to stay away from are not limited and your brain, based on its intuit scarcity mechanism will bring these things to your attention. In other words, all the junk food you are trying to stay away from is the only thing you will see - and because diets are for a specific time period (eg. 4 weeks), when that time elapses you are most likely to binge eat due to feelings of deprivation or pride as you might feel you deserve a reward.
The solution?
Choose something you can give up easily and never have it for the rest of your life. Extreme! For instance, decide that you will no longer have marshmallows - over time you add to your list. Progressive!
Making the decision empowers you, giving you the sense that you are in control...because you are.
You want to make permanent lifestyle changes that are geared toward your health - there is no point in giving something up then later returning to it when it, in fact, wanes your well-being.
3. DON’T KEEP JUNK FOOD AT HOME
When you have had a long day and start to experience a dip in your energy, your blood sugar levels have dropped so you automatically and intuitively want to consume something that will make you feel better and give you a spike in energy. Junk food provides these things almost instantaneously and is also very convenient. Convenient but obviously not good for our bodies. When the junk food is easily at our disposal, we reach for it almost mindlessly. Not having the food in your home has two benefits. The first is that by creating the extra step of having to leave the comfort of your home, you decrease the likelihood of consuming it. And secondly, you set up your environment to support your goals.
Note this: the state of your home supports the habits you currently have; If you want real, lasting change your surroundings must begin to reflect and aid your desired outcome.
4. INCORPORATE NUTRIENT-DENSE WHOLEFOODS
Our bodies have nutritional requirements that must be met through the food that we eat in order for us to be sustained. A nutrient is defined as a substance used by an organism to survive, grow and reproduce. This is the fundamental reason why we eat.
The issue we are faced with in our fast-paced society and in turn lifestyles is that the food that is readily available to us contains little to no nutrients. We munch down the processed foods and get the sensation of being full yet we have not been nutritionally fed. This is the reason you feel hungry soon after you have eaten, for instance, a burger from a fast-food joint.
Incorporating whole foods that are high in nutritional value fuels your body and keeps you satiated, which means you are less likely to overeat or have cravings. So stock up on those fruits, vegetables and nuts. This is not meant to be torture, so buy the kind that you enjoy and experiment by trying something new every once in a while. Remember this, your health and well-being will be radically improved by adding more of the good stuff than it will be by eliminating the bad stuff.
These tips will add value to your life and simultaneously evict bad habits. Be radical and take them all up at the same time or ease yourself into it by choosing one habit that is most appealing to you, and let it be the one thing that completely transforms your health and fitness journey.
