I get asked fairly frequently about my eating and exercise routines, and while motivation and discipline might be the first stimuli to healthful living it is in fact making it a habit which should get all of the credit for its long-term achievement. Your first response to that opening statement if you’re like most of us is “Well that is all fine and dandy but with the time to make it a practice? I work, I have a family and the holidays are here!”

Let’s start

Believe it or not you don’t need hours per day to lose weight, get fit, change eating patterns, be joyful or less stressed. 30 minutes a day is adequate and short enough of a time period to make it a priority, that’s where the motivation and discipline come in. Research from US space agency NASA shows habits take just 30 days to make. So in case you take 30 minutes every day for those 30 days you can transform your health and wellbeing long-term as they will have become a habit! Once a habit it is more likely you will stick with it and you won’t be easily enticed to each diet or fitness trend that comes along.

What about those bad habits that are so tough to break? Try replacing old patterns with new ones. For instance if you always eat lunch at your desk begin taking a walk somewhere to eat your lunch. This new pattern of moving your body can inspire you to join a gym and sweat a bit at lunch. Try waking up 10 minutes earlier so you can pack your lunch as opposed to always buying it. This new pattern may direct one to perusing cookbooks and surfing the web for recipe inspiration in dinner so that you can pack the leftovers for lunch the following day.

Habits

Habits have to be achievable, rewarding and enjoyable; and it starts with inspiring your mind. If you do not take the time to create a mindset of where you want to be and what you need to achieve, it is going to be tough to choose what your new habits ought to be. Take some time to consider your values, goals, what drives you and where you need to be in 30 days. Define your goals and write them down.

Habits are simpler to make and make stick when you’re well rested. So sleep. When you get enough zzz’s you’re more energized, less stressed and your immune system is stronger. Consistent sleep patterns stabilize hormones so that you’ll also find it easier to shed weight. What can you do in thirty minutes every day for a month to make life long wellness habits?

Take note

• Go through your pantry and fridge to get rid of less than wholesome, stale, out of date foods. This doesn’t mean you deprived yourself (a sure way to fail in developing a habit), instead for 30 days dedicate to be sure foods i.e. cookies, ice cream, processed foods, refined carbohydrates a cure as opposed to a daily occurrence. When the craving hits, purchase 1 serving and eat it in the source where you’re purchasing.
• Once a week, plan what you would like to eat and items required to inventory your pantry/refrigerator. Browse your favourite cookbooks, peruse the web and magazines, and of course subscribe to my website that’s a compact aid in meal preparation and recipe inspiration.
• A couple of times a week, go shopping with a list for all those healthful foods as opposed to rushing last minute to the grocery store and picking up in a panic a lot of convenience foods as you’re behind the eight ball or worse hungry that promotes spontaneous purchasing.
• Prepare your food! Since you’ve completed ideas 1-3 this ought to be effortless and enjoyable.
• Move your body! If this is new to you, begin with a manageable action that you find fun. Or simply add more walking into your daily life- in lunch, around the block, park in the rear of parking lots when running errands, walk into an errand. Once your body is used to motion, you may wish to move on to harder or new activities. Aim for at least 3xs each week as soon as you reach this point.
• Chronicle your progress. There’s nothing like taking the time to write down everything you’ve done in achieving goals/changing or creating habits. Having the ability to visually see a list of your accomplishments is pretty impactful – record it all – big and small because it is all important!

Conclusion

Now that you’re ready to create new healthful habits for long-term health, I’ll give you this inspirational quote from Jim Rohn, popular instructor on achievement and happiness,”Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going”. I created the entire Meal with a vision of teaching others in mealtime preparation focusing on delicious, healthy and easy recipes. By creating the entire Meal I’ve taken the guesswork and stress out of preparing healthy, tasty meals. For great advice on whole food recipes visit the entire Meal.