HEALTH TIP #11:

Bye Bye New Year's resolutions

Are you following the trend and planning your New Year’s resolutions? Quite often our resolutions are very short lived and revolve around food, diets and exercise. How many New Year’s resolutions have you kept up?

When it comes to lifestyle changes such as healthier eating, losing weight and becoming more physically active, make sure that the changes you make are sustainable and not just a quick fix. If results seem too good to be true, chances are these changes will not be maintainable. Think of how many months or years it took for you to accumulate these unhealthy habits that you would like to change. Studies show that it takes about 21 to 30 days to change a habit.  We are not saying that changes are easy, as it takes motivation and a lot of effort in order to change certain habits that have been anchored in your daily routine for years. However, a healthy lifestyle is crucial for the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension and cancer.

Here are a few tips to help you get started and to make sure that your health-related goals are sustainable:

·         Start by making a list of long term health goals that you would like to attain in the upcoming years.

·         Choose 1 long term goal that you would like to divide into short term goals.

·         Make sure that the short term goals are realistic and that you can maintain them for the rest of your life.

·         Within the list of short term goals, choose 1-2 short term goals that you are willing to work on for the next few months.

·         Every month, evaluate your short term goals to see if you have attained them or not. If not, it is important to figure out why you were not able to reach these goals and what can be done to make them more attainable.

·         If you have attained your short term goals, choose 1or 2 new ones from your list of goals to work on for the following months.

It is important to remember that even small changes in your eating habits or physical activities can make a big difference health wise.

Take care of your health, you’re worth it!

www.360healthmanagement.com

Moncton, NB