As the calendar turns another page, the New Year offers a compelling opportunity to embark on a journey of self-improvement and well-being. While resolutions often accompany the start of a new year, the key to lasting change lies in cultivating healthy habits. In this guide, we will explore some tips to help you build a foundation of positive routines that contribute to a healthier, more fulfilling life.
Make a plan.
Make it clear. Write it down. Take notes of the three main actions you need to take to achieve your goals. Be specific with the actions. You won’t achieve your goals by taking one huge leap, rather you will be taking many small steps towards achieving your goals every day. Write these down, be as specific as possible. For example, learning to cook new healthy meals will include steps such as finding new recipes, buying a new cookbook, learning new cooking skills, maybe buying containers as lunchboxes, and finding out about new vegetables you haven’t eaten before. When you are specific in your plan, you can refer back to your plan all the time. This also leads to accountability.
Make yourself accountable.
Whether that’s writing your goals down at the start of the year and keep going back to them as a reminder, or whether it’s keeping a daily diary or keeping your progress on an App, it is important to make sure that you hold yourself accountable for making sure that you are achieve building your healthy habits in 2024. For example, to achieve weight loss, go to your local GymPlus gym or PT to keep accountability. If you want to embark on building a new healthy daily diet, come up with a small range of healthy recipes that you can cook and enjoy eating, making sure to cook from this selection at least four days every week.
Enjoy the change and make it work for yourself.
You won’t keep new habits if they don’t suit you or you don’t feel like yourself anymore. This may seem obvious but can get lost in the overall ambition to make big changes in 2024. I always repeat back to my clients our goals and what it takes to get there. I always make sure to get affirmation of my clients. Only once you are fully on board and understand how the changes can fit into your own life will you stick with it and also enjoy the change. Make sure to adjust your goals slightly if that’s what it takes to keep you going strong. Don’t worry about taking sideroads or twisty turns on your way to achieving lasting healthy change.
Acknowledge your successes.
We are all too good at criticising ourselves and being our harshest critiques. However, that negative self-talk is not going to lead to long term success. Instead, you should get used to getting into the habit of praising yourself for all those little steps you have taken to get to your goal. Remember, it’s the many small steps that make up the way to get you to reach your goals. Make time to pat yourself on the back for every small step taken successfully.
You want to build healthy habits in 2024 but don’t quite know where to start?
Here are some top ideas:
- Learn to cook simple, quick meals. Visit our recipe section for healthy recipes and tips for a healthy lifestyle.
- Eat more fruit and vegetables. Make it your task to include at least one fruit and one vegetable you don’t normally eat into your weekly diet. Try out new varieties.
- Join the gym. Get moving and get active. The easiest way to achieve this is to sign up to your local gym and make an appointment with one of their Personal Trainers to set you up and keep an eye on your progress.
- Get out into the sunshine and take time out to enjoy simply being in the moment, and remember to praise yourself for your successes.
- Get a health checkup if one is needed. Adults over the age of 40 should get regular health check-ups. Contact your GP for more information.
