3 Easy Steps to Get Healthier

Effort is the enemy of change. It feels hard to do something different because entrenched habits become a virtual autopilot. Everyone day-dreams about how much better life would be “if this one thing was different.” That’s the easy part. You might even get some warm-fuzzies from the thought. How do we break negative habits holding us back?

Change requires action. Action requires effort, but the right plan has a natural flow to it opposed to pushing a stone up a hill. Often we end up in a willpower battle when trying to make a change, which can be fought for a while, but never won. For any change, when the needed effort feels overwhelming the attempt will sooner or later become another, “yeah I tried that.” We must make it easier. Smaller steps will keep you on the path.

Every goal regardless of size has a first step. If the first step is easy, the second step might happen. To pick the right first step we must know where we are going. Let’s define healthier. I can do it in six words: Lose Fat, Move Better, Feel Good. There are just three factors to meet this definition, and if done consistently success is virtually guaranteed. Certainly everyone knows the following points, but to ensure this blog post is long enough let’s go over them:

Eat Better – Quality and quantity are very important considerations. Quality is defined be nutrient density (vitamins, minerals… all the good stuff our bodies need to function correctly relative to total calories) veggies are a great example of a food with a high nutrient density. Quantity matters if you eat too much or too little, both extremes can cause problems.

Move More – For so many reasons, be active. Find something you enjoy (tolerate) and do it regularly. The only other consideration is to avoid activities that cause you injuries. 

Improve Mindset – Positive vs negative self-talk is crucial here. If you live in negativity about the food you are eating, the activities you are doing to change won’t stick.

Each of these factors are important parts of getting healthier. It may seem to be a short and simple list, but trying to do everything all at once is too much and doomed to failure. Pick one thing to work on. Make it specific. Build a plan of action. The other option is the technique in the video:

Easiest and fastest way to change.

Yes, finally, we are at the three simple steps to get healthier. Once you can get the song from the video out of your head, pick out one simple healthy habit. Then follow these steps to build a workable plan to implement the change:

Find the Time – When are you going to do it? Want to workout out more? It sounds nice and can definitely help, but put it on your schedule. Carve out the time or it won’t happen.

Clear the Path – What obstacles are in your way? Want to eat better, but somehow still end up at McDonald’s for lunch? If you pack a lunch so you have healthy food with you, you might very well end up eating better. Just hoping you won’t encounter any problems isn’t a plan.

Celebrate All Successes – Didn’t lose 100lbs this week? If you are only focused on the large goal with the long time frame it will feel like an impossible task. Reframe it, “I lost 1lb this week and I was able to walk a little further than the previous week.” Any progress is success. Don’t ignore it because it’s seems insignificant. Large successes are really just a bunch of small successes added together.

Make one change. Turn it into a habit. Then work on the next change. Build enough positive habits and you can achieve a real lifestyle change. At Cascade Peak Performance we help people do this every day. Thank you for taking time to read this, and please CONTACT US if we can help.