The Reason Your Health Kick Isn't Working

It happens to the best of us - you see a photo of your goal body, see a healthy recipe you'd like to try, or just get fed up with being unhealthy, and go on a sudden 'health kick' to change every single habit you have in exchange for a healthier alternative. And, surprise surprise, it doesn't last longer than a few days, maybe a week if you're lucky. It's just not sustainable. Trying to kick one single bad habit or introduce a new healthy habit is hard enough, let alone entirely changing your lifestyle. It's hard to resist though; when you're in the mood to try and be healthy, you want to do it all. It doesn't feel worth it otherwise. But trust me, if you hold yourself back, that's how you stop yourself from getting burnt out and you can actually make progress.

So, how do you do it?

As a first step, you need to figure out what changes you want to make. What habits do you want to start and stop? What do you want to change about your current habits, lifestyle and routine? Make a list of it all, big and small. In a perfect world, what would your life look like (of the things you're in control of)?

Then, figure out the order you're going to do it all in. What's the easiest to start with. Maybe something you already do that you just want to alter slightly (e.g. adding in flossing to your teeth brushing), or a quick, simple habit like stretching in the morning. Start off simple and easy, something that doesn't require much motivation or much extra effort than you'd normally put in. It's especially good to do something tied into a habit you've already got, since it'll work as a prompt to do the new habit, and you'll have the mindset of 'I've already done this, might as well do that too'.

Give yourself a few days to adjust to each habit. Sure, there's that thing that says it takes 21 days to form a habit (though some people say more), but if you spend 21 days on every single thing I'm sure you'll be spending years on this. So, take it as it comes and make sure you're sticking to the habit each day. Once it gets to the point where you do it without even thinking, or it feels like the next step in your routine, or it just doesn't require the same motivation as it did when you started, then move onto the next one.

Slowly, introduce bigger changes, like exercising and diet changes. But, don't start small and get bigger and bigger until every change is a big one. That'll still end up leading to burnout. Make sure to space out the big changes with small ones, to give yourself some reassurance that you can complete these habits, and to give yourself more time to adjust to the bigger ones.

Also, with the bigger changes, let them happen slowly. Don't start running everyday or suddenly upheave your entire diet. Maybe start with a quick, 10 minute run every few days or once a week, and build it up as you get more confident. Or start doing a certain number of squats each day, then add in more exercises as each one gets easier and fits into your routine better. And in terms of diet, if you're in a really bad position, you've really got to be careful to go slowly; not just for the sake of your mental position on it, but sudden changes in diet will upset your entire digestion and make it that much harder. First, stop getting takeaways (if you have them more than once a week, first reduce it to once a week, then a fortnight, then a month). Then, stop buying pre-made, processed food. Then stop buying frozen food. Then, transition to more vegetable-based and whole grain-based dishes. It'll be a long process, but a lot easier on you in the long run.

The whole thing will be a long process, but this is for big lifestyle changes that will affect your entire life if you do it right. So it's worth the time and effort, and you'll feel better for it in the end.