With the start of fall, and the kiddos back in school, there is often a welcome sigh of relief to get back into a routine. While it’s great (and even necessary) to break out of routine from time to time, having routine can help to keep one grounded, focused, and even allow for the momentum to accomplish goals. Part of developing a successful routine is having healthy habits, and I might even say kicking bad habits to the curb.
You may have heard the saying:
“Good habits are hard to form, but easy to live with.”
“Bad habits are easy to form, but hard to live with.”
Isn’t that the truth!
While it is human nature to focus on our ‘bad habits’ and think about how much we need to change them, it is often more productive to develop good habits, and then let them replace bad habits. Starting with easy to implement habits, can also get the ball rolling and give one the feeling of success. For instance, instead of committing to getting to the gym four times per week, just start with one time per week.
Here are just a few healthy habits that are easy to implement and can add momentum to developing a healthy lifestyle that will propel you towards your larger health goals.
- Walk (or exercise) outside each morning for ten minutes – this not only gets your muscles moving, but also allows for morning light to hit your eyes, which is good for your circadian rhythm. It also promotes good sleep at night. Add more minutes as time allows.
- Schedule exercise into your day, and treat it just like you would any other important appointment.
- Start your day with quality protein. Thinks eggs or a protein shake or even Greek yogurt and berries. This will help stabilize your blood sugar, and give you the nutrition to start your day off right. Check out my favorite protein powders here to add to your morning shake.
- Add two to three vegetable servings to your lunch, so you are sure to hit your daily goal of at least five servings by the end of the day. An easy way to do this is to make a salad with dark greens like spinach or baby kale, and topping with various other veggies like radish, carrot, red cabbage, or onion. Eat the rainbow! Read more on easy ways to boost your veg.
- Batch cook on the weekends and stock your fridge with the right foods. Make a few dishes ahead of time, so you have easy dinner options when you come home on weeknights and don’t feel like cooking. Being prepared is more than half the battle to making good decisions. I recommend this meal planning tool to help make meal planning easy.
Okay, your turn. I’d love to hear from you.
Tell me, what is the one habit that you should start to develop right now that will help you achieve your most important health goal?
Start working on doing this every day (or week) until is becomes automatic.
Here’s to a healthy you,
Shana
