Develop Healthy Habits That Last

So many people have the desire to lose fat and adopt healthy habits in their lives. The go-to solution is usually to begin a diet program and begin exercising. While the intentions may be benevolent, many people set themselves up for failure from the start. Follow these dieting and fat loss tips to set realistic goals and see sustainable results.

1. Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew (Pun Intended). While it may be tempting to begin a diet, join a gym, and reduce alcohol consumption at once, start with just one goal. Focus on establishing a healthy habit in one facet of your life before adding another.
2. Set Realistic Goals. Starting a diet program might sound good, but if you don’t have the time or energy to cook, then chances are you won’t finish. Joining a gym might be easy, but if you don’t know how to workout or can’t establish a routine time to go, that money could be better spent elsewhere. Before you decide to make a change, assess whether or not you will be able to maintain that change when motivation, resources, or time are low.
3. Set Yourself Up For Success. Pick the change that will be the easiest for you to implement. Doing the “Whole 30” diet for one week and quitting is less effective than committing to walking 10 minutes per day for 2 months. Joining a gym that you can only attend after a long day’s work may be harder for you to commit to than following along to an at-home workout video. Find the “smallest effective dose” to begin building your healthy habit. In other words, what is something you know you can commit to and are not likely to quit? Here are some ideas:

When it comes to building habits, going from 0 to 100 rarely works. Start small, build confidence through adherence, and progress over time.