3 Ways to Keep Your Healthy Lifestyle Changes Going Strong in the New Year
Two weeks into your kickass new health journey, you were feeling strong, motivated, and — dare we say?— outstanding! But now it’s two months in and things have started to get boring. Your once exciting healthy lifestyle changes are now bland and repetitive.
Sure, you’re eating better and exercising several times a week — and you know it’s good for you. But your PJs are calling to you, and with each bite of salad, you’re that much closer to crawling back to bed and ordering in.
Healthy lifestyle changes are easy to make but hard to maintain, and figuring out ways to keep things fresh so you stay motivated takes some thought and planning.
Read on for our top strategies to keep your healthy lifestyle changes strong throughout the year.
Don’t Let Your Diet Get Boring
After a month or two of alternating protein shakes with scrambled eggs and salads, meals can start to get repetitive . Before you fall off the wagon and find yourself knee-deep in Big Macs and Slurpees, try switching up your weekly menu.
Meal prepping is a great way to vary your diet because you can plan your meals for the week ahead. Our advice: Find your favorite foodie Instagrammers, TikTokers, and even Pinterest boards for inspiration. Not every meal will be a Michelin-star experience, but you can pretend you’re Gordon Ramsay, which is pretty cathartic!
Today more than ever, you have options. If you’re a vegetarian and you find a meat-based recipe that looks good, swap the meat with tofu. By working with your existing diet, you’re more likely to successfully stick with your healthy lifestyle changes.
Mix Up Your Workouts
When making healthy lifestyle changes, many people’s first thought is to sign up at the local gym. And while the gym offers a variety of equipment and classes and an atmosphere of like-minded people, it requires actual effort to get there. For days when you just can’t, it’s nice to have alternative workout options.
Surf the internet or YouTube for online classes and find a few that you want to try. Most online classes need very little equipment, and many are free. Try yoga, pilates, HIIT workouts… your options really are endless.
To break up your exercise routine, you can also forgo your traditional workout for things you actually like to do: bike riding, walking, dancing, golfing, or even throwing the ball around the backyard for your dog.
No one likes exercising all the time, so giving yourself plenty of options will keep your lifestyle changes fresh and exciting.
Reward Your Healthy Lifestyle Changes
A reward system is an excellent way to keep your healthy lifestyle changes from getting stale. Whether your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, or just move more and eat healthier, rewards give you a focus point to keep going. Here are a few ideas:
—Treat yo’self. Get a massage or take a me-day to spoil yourself if you’ve worked out three times in a particularly busy week.
—Pay up. Every time you make yourself a home-cooked dinner, put $5 — from money you otherwise would have spent on takeout — in a jar. At the end of the month, treat yourself to an extravagant dinner or those shoes you’ve had your eye on.
—Eat the damn cake. No matter what your goals are and how you’re implementing those healthy lifestyle changes, a truly healthy lifestyle means eating the foods you love. Join in on celebrations with your friends and family without worrying about the calories — just have fun!
While we wholeheartedly support spoiling yourself, we don’t recommend overdoing the rewards. Too many can become overindulgent and, you guessed it, boring. Stick to rewarding yourself once every couple weeks to once a month.
Snack With Variety
Snack time might be one of the biggest struggles when trying to stick with healthy lifestyle changes — and there are only so many times you can fool yourself into thinking you actually like carrot sticks and celery. Finding a healthy snack that tastes good enough to choose over chips and candy can be a challenge.
Outstanding Foods are plant-based, gluten-free, and loaded with the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Plus, our crunchable snacks don’t compromise on flavor and have all the health benefits you want.
With over 12 different flavor profiles, our Puffs, Cheese Balls, and Pig Out Crunchies are excellent additions to your healthy lifestyle changes — and we promise they’ll never get boring.
Check out our store to stock up on all your favorite flavors.
