Day N+1: How To Sustain Your Healthy Lifestyle
One day you stop and realize: I DID IT! I lost the weight. I reached my cholesterol target. Or simply…I feel great! I’m so proud of myself! It’s a light-as-air feeling you never want to lose again.
But now what? How do you make sure you feel that way for the rest of your life?
Our coaches share what science and real-life experience tell us about keeping the habits that led to this wonderful outcome:
Surround yourself with like-minded people
When you’re around people who share your values and priorities, healthy choices naturally fall into place, without stress or anxiety. Opportunities to move your body, eat home-cooked meals, and restore your emotional equilibrium surround you. You don’t have to go to extra trouble to find them!
And believe it or not, others following in your steps will value your experience and insights as an informal mentor, someone who’s been there.
If you realize that more and more of your friends are drifting more and more toward less-healthy choices, think about how you can expand your circle to people who share your commitment to taking good care of themselves.
Open your mind to the new and different
Over time, how you choose to eat, or move your body, or restore and recharge your mental and emotional resources will change. Walks with your kids may be perfect right now, and learning tennis may be perfect in a year or two. Maybe you’d like to experiment with yoga — or zip-lining, or hiking, or disc golf.
You always said you hated oatmeal — until you had a wonderful breakfast at a B&B, and now it’s part of your daily routine. Who would have thought it?!
Meditation and mindfulness — too woo-woo, right? Or…you might really enjoy it.
Before you say no to something new, try it. At least a few times.
Don’t fall into the negative-mindset trap of reflexively dismissing an activity or a food just because you haven’t done it before.
Expect change
As your life continues to evolve, your healthy habits will evolve. This is a good thing, not a bad thing.
You may have promised yourself that you’d walk every day for the rest of your life…but once you moved to Minnesota, joining the rec center’s masters swim club made a lot more sense, because it’s C-O-L-D in January in Minnesota!
Maybe all last year you loved healthy smoothies for breakfast — but this year, you’re kinda over them. It’s OK. Part of life is growth and change.
Set new goals
Many of us do best when we have a goal in front of us. If you’re comfortable walking 3 miles a day — how about 3.25? Or maybe you’d like to start mapping your miles and take a “virtual walk” over the next year to an exotic location!
Or maybe you’d like to experiment with a “digital cleanse” — turning off your phone one day/month — or a new way to relax and unwind.
Love to cook? Challenge yourself to try a new cuisine every month, or a new technique, or a new ingredient — and to share the results on social media!
Watch for red flags
No, not that dessert you ate this weekend! Here, we’re talking about any new, significant external influence on your life that requires major changes in your daily routine. For example:
- The arrival of a new baby
- A radical positive or negative change in your job situation
- Your reliable 5-days/week workout buddy moves away
- Your elderly father’s health is declining rapidly
These events nearly always require rethinking your daily habits. Take the initiative and work with your health coach to figure out new strategies.
Never use age as an excuse
If you catch yourself thinking that “I can’t do ________ because I’m too old,” think twice.
Age and ability are two different things. Marshall Ulrich ran across the United States when he was 57, and he’s just a regular guy, not a Superman.
Assuming you can’t do something just turns possibility into inability.