1. Don’t start a new diet, create better habits.
We are what we repeatedly do.
The small habits that you do every single day to help you eat better and move more add up to big results over time.
This could be eating protein and veggies with every meal, it could be going for a walk during your lunch break, or doing a pre-bedtime sleep ritual to help you get better sleep.
Here are 10 Habit Rules to help you build better habits.
2. Eat foods that you actually like.
There are SOOO many healthy foods out there that you absolutely do not have to eat any specific food just because it’s the “healthiest”.
Focus on healthy foods that you actually like, enjoy, and are willing to eat consistently.
If you don’t like spinach, you don’t have to make yourself miserable by forcing yourself to eat spinach!!!
3. Plan most of your meals.
You can’t hit a target if you’ve got nothing to aim for.
Planning your meals is NOT about having a rigid meal plan to follow 100% of the time with no room for error.
No, planning your meals is about having a list of healthy meals that you aim to eat throughout the week and making sure you have the right foods on hand to make them.
Even if you only stick to your planned meals 70-80% of the time, you’ll likely be better off than if you were simply making it up as you went along.
4. Design your environment.
Design your environment to set yourself up for success by default.
Do a kitchen makeover. If you want to eat less junk food, keep less junk food at home. If you want to eat more healthy food, keep more healthy food at home.
It only takes 5 minutes of discipline while shopping to not buy any junk food and it will save you HOURS AND HOURS of willpower trying to avoid those foods calling your name all day long at home.
5. Calories matter.
You don’t have to count calories in order to lose weight, but calories DO still count if you want to lose weight.
Calorie counting can be annoying and unsustainable, but there are also other ways to control your calories and apply portion control.
You can use simple hand-sized portion control guidelines to simplify things.
Or, you can implement daily habits such as loading up on protein and veggies to make yourself feel fuller, eating slower or to “80% full” to avoid overeating, and snacking as little as possible in between meals to get out of the habit of constantly eating all the time, even when you don’t need to.
6. Being fit and active is more than just doing a workout.
Fit and healthy people who look great don’t just go to the gym for an hour 3 times a week and then slob off for the rest of the time.
Even if you go to the gym for an hour every day, if you’re sitting on your bum or sleeping for the remaining 23 hours then you’re STILL sedentary.
Daily movement habits throughout the day are important, especially if they help you to sit less, get up and walk more, and do something active every day.
7. Getting enough sleep is a true life hack.
Feeling well-rested and energized is a superpower in today’s sleep-deprived world.
Getting enough good quality sleep is one of the most underrated ways to AUTOMATICALLY eat better, crave less junk food, have more energy, and do better workouts.
8. Expand your stress management toolbox.
There’s a saying amongst elite athletes: “There’s no such thing as overtraining, only underecovery.”
As your levels of stress go up, so your levels of stress management and de-stressing activities need to go up too. If things are feeling out of balance, they probably are. You’d be surprised at how much even a simple 5-minute destressing activity can help.
If you always default to binge eating, drinking, and other destructive behaviours then there’s a good chance you don’t have enough “tools” in your “toolbox” to help you properly manage your stress.
9. Something is better than nothing.
You don’t need to be perfect. Something is better than nothing.
Don’t wait for the perfect time or perfect conditions, just get started and take positive action every single day.
