Six Ways To Keep On Keeping On

Staying engaged in a healthy lifestyle — like everything else in life — has peaks and valleys.

When you notice that your healthy habits are starting to seem less important or valuable, or just aren’t fitting your life as well as they once did, try one or more of these tips to stay in control:

Peel back the onion. How are you really feeling? Is anything new going on in your life? Sometimes, circumstances change and our lifestyles need to adapt, too. If you’ve got more kids in the house now, you might be less stressed if you tweak some of your family’s mealtime routine to make it easier to put healthful food on the table. Win-win — healthy meals, less anxiety!

Mix up your routine. Variety keeps things interesting and can reinforce engagement in new healthy behaviors. Successfully switched from brownie bites to nuts and fresh fruit? Make this pistachio week, and pick out a fruit you haven’t tried before when you shop!

Reframe healthy habits as your reward. Rough day at work? Tough family situations? Remember, those quiet moments at the pool, playing Frisbee with the dog, de-stressing with a craft project or a tasty, good-for-you meal is valuable “me time” — the part of your day that’s all about you, where everything you do is about treating yourself right!

Commemorate every success. Walked the entire circumference of the shopping mall clockwise and counter-clockwise? Congratulations, you just won the newly-invented “rewind” award! You don’t actually have to buy yourself a trophy, but it’s great to reward yourself when you’ve done something you never did before. Tracking even little milestones helps you stay focused. It reminds you that your actions are still moving you in the right direction.

Just do the fun parts. Don’t feel like going for a long walk? Go for a short one. Not interested in broccoli? How about fresh tomatoes, instead? Sometimes just getting started makes it easier to keep going.

Reach out. Making smart lifestyle choices is always easier when we’re around people with similar priorities. Try a pickleball team or drop your solo walks for now and start walking with your friend while you both wait for the kids to get out of school. Tired of the same old food choices? Look for an interesting cooking class at your grocer, or rope in some friends and try your hand at serving them a new international cuisine.