Achieving your health goals often requires a change in lifestyle. Whether you are aiming to lose a few pounds, build your strength, or kick an unhealthy habit a strong resolve, an unwavering commitment, and the willingness to put in the work every day is essential. As with anything you want to succeed on, you will need a strong strategy to help you. Here are six strategies that you can use to achieve the goals that you have set for a healthier you:
Establish milestones on your way to your big goal
Big health goals are great especially when you need a big transition to a healthier lifestyle. However, big goals can be intimidating. Most of the time, people never get backslide or never start at all because of how daunting the challenge ahead is.
If you need to lose 20 pounds, assign a smaller number for each milestone. Need to change your entire diet? Start by gradually swapping unhealthy food with better options. Measure your progress in terms of these milestones and don’t forget to celebrate the small victories.
Set realistic goals
One of the pitfalls that most people encounter when achieving their health goals is setting goals that are very unrealistic. For example, if you set out to lose 20 pounds within a month, this is not only unrealistic but also unhealthy. Make sure to separate your wishes from actual goals. Set a goal that you can achieve in a healthy way and learn to adjust your expectations accordingly.
Persistence will get you through
Your health journey may not always go according to plan. Just because there are a few hitches, eating that bag of potato chips or saying yes to that slice of pizza, doesn’t mean that you need to give up altogether. Go easy on yourself. If you stray off course, make adjustments instead of giving up. Learn from your mistakes and persist.
Find your tribe
When you are doing something that is challenging such as pursuing your health goals, it is important to seek support. Find people who have similar goals as you and pursue them together. Whether you find them at the gym, in the office, or online, the support from people who are also trying to achieve their health goals will be helpful to you.
Focus on one thing at a time
Changing multiple behaviors at one time is a common pitfall most people encounter on their health journey. For example, if you are trying on a new diet, starting a high-intensity exercise, and attempting to quit smoking at the same time, you are destined to fail. Pick a target behavior to change and go easy on the others. Then, when you have one goal achieved, focus on the next one.
Reward yourself
Changing your lifestyle to give way to more healthy habits is not an easy task. It requires resolve, commitment, and a lot of hard work. Once you have accomplished one milestone, reward yourself by doing something you enjoy. Use this reward as your motivation to knock down your next goals.