Take the "Healthy" Out of Your Life

Summer time is coming around and you've decided that it's time to get ready for swimsuit season. After all that little belly pudge from Thanksgiving and Christmas isn't going anywhere. So you've made a resolution to eat better, excercise more and just generally be healthier. Things are going great for a couple of weeks... then you go to a party and your friend has made your favorite double-chocolate chip cookies (or whatever your particular temptation may be) and you decide to indulge yourself just this once. So, you have one cookie....okay two... wait, it was actually three. But if you count the really small one it was four. But actually, you grabbed one as you were heading out the door as well... so that's... five double-chip chocolate cookies. When you get home you've got a small stomach ache and big guilty conscience. After all, you're supposed to be practicing healthy living! You just ruined it! How dare you! You were doing so well and now you've blown it to bits, might as well give up.

Does this situation sound familiar to you? Too many people put all their energy into a resolution, into being "healthy" and then when they fall off the bandwagon they become incredibly discouraged and simply quit. It's a common mistake. This article is going to help you avoid that pitfall. Right now is the perfect time for it too. It's late in March so many people have already gone through this routine with their New Year's resolution and many people are getting ready to practice the same routine again as they try to ready for swimsuit season. This time, you can break the healthy/guilt habit.

Don't put all your energy into it.
Too many people let "being healthy" take over their lives. They're constantly thinking about what their going to eat at their next meal, when they're going to fit in their next workout, or how many steps they've put on their pedometer. These are all beneficial things to think about, just not when they're constantly floating around in your head. Don't think about it. Ideally, you'll figure out these things in advance. You'll pack a lunch before you head off to work (cost-efficient and healthier) and you'll schedule a time to work out. Once you've prepared, don't think about it. Pretend these habits are already so much a part of your every day routine that you have no reason to think about them.

Don't feel guilty.
Don't feel guilty if you slip up. Everybody does. It's not the end of the world. Remind yourself that it's ok to make mistakes. Of course, you don't want to believe this too much because then it may become an excuse. If you make a mistake acknowledge it, find a way to correct it or avoid it next time, and move on. So the next time your friend has a party with dozens of double-chocolate chip cookies.... make sure you have one of those cute baby carrots in your hands at all times. Just keep your hands busy. Be creative and find your own solutions.

Find other ways to be healthy.
Too many people focus on eating right and excercising as the only ways to be healthy. However, if you're going to truly commit to being a healthier person, you need to commit to a healthy mind and healthy emotions as well. This will actually help your whole body to healthier. A happy person with positive emotions and a stress-free mind will be less inclined to reach for the comfort food. Take some time to relax when you're stressed. Take a breather. Take a nap. Stretch. I've found that when I wake up, if I make an effort to start the day well, the rest of my day goes rather smoothly. Even if you're day starts badly, sometimes it can be enough to tell yourself it's going well. The mind is a powerful instrument. Use it.

Be healthy once a day.
This piece of advice works best if you're already mostly healthy and have only one or two bad habits. This also involves not putting all your energy into being healthy. Example: I've decided that the only healthy part of my day is after I get off work. I head to the gym and then I have a light dinner, usually a tasty salad sans fatty cheeses, croutons, and thick creamy dressings. That is the only part of my day where I concentrate on being healthy. It helps that I don't have too many other bad habits so it becomes easier to be healthy only once.

In conclusion, don't stress it. Don't worry about being healthy and it will come easier. If you isolate it to one part of your day you don't have to worry about it so much. The part of your day that's healthy doesn't have to stay the same every day either. One day it could be your meals, the next day it could be a morning walk. However you decide to become healthier, don't focus on it too much, it's actually counter-productive.