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This is the health plan that I finally followed through with to see real results. It’s so simple.
I used to make my health goals too general or too complicated and I wouldn’t stick to them.
Now, I have figured out how to keep my health plan so simple that I enjoy the progress.
The goal should be to have a health plan that leads to a complete healthy lifestyle change. I believe it should be fun and doable.
In this post, I will share with you how I finally followed my health plan and continue to live a healthy lifestyle beyond the plan.
How To Follow Through With Your Health Plan:
1. Dump The All Or Nothing Mindset
The first thing to do is dump the mindset that you have to be perfect at following your plan.
I used to write this elaborate plan and felt the need to do it perfectly.
When I would fall off track by eating something that wasn’t on my plan I would use that as an excuse to continue eating unhealthy foods.
I would then feel guilty that I was eating those foods and yet I’d continue to think that my health plan was ruined.
Now, if I eat something that is not on my plan it’s no big deal. I just eat healthy the next meal.
Remember, if you want to make this a lifelong change then it’s about what you do most of the time over the long haul that makes the greatest changes.
2. Set Habits Over Goals
Instead of having goals such as: “I will lose 10 pounds. I will have ripped abs. I will eat a specific diet.”
I set daily habits that were simple and doable.
This made knowing what to do on a day-to-day basis so simple.
I instead set habits such as: “I will work out 10 minutes a day. I will do abs on Mondays and Wednesdays. I will eat veggies in three meals each day.”
Setting and doing these habits was so simple that I would end up working out longer once I was already in motion. I would easily add veggies to my meals.
I made my health plan all about habits over results. This helped me to stick to living a healthy lifestyle over a temporary health plan. It also helped me build the habit and I would end up stacking more healthy habits once those original ones were natural.
3. Don’t Be Restrictive
Having a health plan is great for knowing what to do to be healthier. The problem is when you become so restrictive that you don’t enjoy life.
I remember when I first started on my health journey I would not join my friends at a restaurant. I would only eat the meals I prepared.
While I did see results this was not a healthy way to be. I now enjoy “unhealthy” meals with friends, enjoy life, AND still eat my home-cooked healthy meals most of the time.
Being too restrictive can cause eating disorders or cause you to give up on your goals because there is no fun to it.
Once again it is about a lifestyle change for your overall health.
4. Do Workouts You Enjoy
I believe that a health plan should be enjoyable. It shouldn’t be something you force on yourself. That is why I think you should do workouts you enjoy.
If you love to run, do pilates, walk your dogs, lift weights, or prefer working out at home, you should do that.
Maybe you are not sure of what you like to do for your workouts yet. Thats okay. Try new workouts and see what you like the best.
One month you may enjoy going to workout classes while another you may prefer short home workouts. There are no rules. Just do workouts you enjoy and you will see that it’s easier to live a healthier lifestyle.
5. Keep Your Meals Simple
If you are not a wizard in the kitchen then that’s okay. I am not either. That is why you will want to have staples in your kitchen.
For me, that’s healthy proteins such as chicken, beef, turkey, and eggs. I also buy healthy fats such as avocado, nuts, seeds, olive oil, avocado oil, and grass-fed butter. Lastly, Complex carbs such as potatoes, rice, beans, and quinoa.
With these staple items, I can mix and match them to make healthy meals. Once you have built the habit of eating these simple meals you can get fancy later( if you desire).
Also, I don’t keep too many sugary items in my pantry so when I’m hungry I eat what is there: healthy food.
You can also meal prep if that is easier for you than making daily meals.
6. Immerse Yourself In Learning
When I was just getting started with building my health plan I began to listen to podcasts, and YouTube videos and read books all about health
By immersing myself in information from people who are health experts it made eating healthy, working out, and paying more attention to my health easier.
I was constantly hearing about why I should take care of my health, I also heard from others who reversed health issues and it made me want to live a healthy lifestyle. It was very inspiring and made it easier for me to take purpose-driven action.
Each year I create a simple and effective health plan that I actually stick to and you can too. I eat foods I enjoy, do workouts I like, and enjoy a healthy lifestyle over short-term results.
With this being said, there is nothing wrong with doing 30-day food challenges or 30-day workout challenges to build up habits. I have done some in the past that have been fun and beneficial. The point is to enjoy a healthy lifestyle over remaining in a restrictive health plan.
