By Schuyler Corrigan

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July 14, 2022

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10 Tips for Making A Positive Change In Your Health (UPDATE 2022)

 

Every day is a perfect day to make one positive change

The thought of overhauling your diet and lifestyle to reach your wellness goals may feel unobtainable and overwhelming, especially if you hold yourself to doing everything at once. In a time when social media and online wellness advice iare completely saturated, it’s hard to know where to start and what may be the best option for you. Instead of drowning in fad diets, supplements, or expensive programs, take a step back and assess where you are and where you want to be with your health and wellness. Take an honest look at your lifestyle, behaviors, nutrition, and habits, and check in with your gut about what you know you can do to make positive changes. Start slow, and with one thing at a time. 

Remember, it may have taken you years to get where you are now in your health. It may take another year to get you back into balance, so patience and small steps are the key practice. Small changes go a long way over time. 

Start here: Back to Basics 

Here are some tips to get you going and staying on course for making positive health changes:

1. Set some short and long-term goals. 1, 3, 6, and 12-month health goals are a great benchmark strategy to keep you on track and not so overwhelmed.
2. Make sure you have resources to make your goals attainable such as food markets that sell appropriate foods for you, parks, gyms or yoga studios you feel comfortable with, available practitioners/nutritionists/health coaches/doctors to guide you through areas you are not familiar with, and books or website that you can count on for credible information.
3. Write down your motivation for making this change in the first place. Keep this in a place where you see it regularly (on the fridge or the bathroom mirror is a useful spot). Motivations may change over time, and that’s OK!

Read More: The Mental Health Benefits of Movement and Exercise

1. Try not to make all of your goals or changes about food. This can draw a bitter wedge between yourself and food happiness. Health encompasses nutrition (obviously) and also community, spiritual practice, your emotional state, your job, your hobbies, your family, your sleep/dream time, and exercise/movement. Pick a few extra areas here to focus on and make some positive changes and goals for each. 
2. Find an accountability partner to either go through this change with you or someone to check in on you to hold you accountable and keep you on track.
3. Find daily inspiration to keep you motivated. This can be pictures of joyful things, blogs that really inspire you, delicious recipes that you keep on hand or mantras every day to repeat to yourself.
4. Focus on things that are going well, not what you are doing without. It’s really easy for folks to lament the discontinuation of 2 hours of couch time at night or sugary pastries or even the hourly cigarettes. Make a point every day to take note of what’s going well and be grateful for the little things (like the beautiful weather, the project at work that went surprisingly well, or the beautiful family you come home to every night)
5. Start small. Take one step at a time or one step every month to focus on. get comfortable with one major change before you move on to another. For example, if one of your long-term goals is eliminating sugar, try this for one month and focus on this task before taking on your other long-term goal of also going gluten-free. Taking on too much can be extremely discouraging if you don’t have the time, resources,or willpower to get yourself through. The next month you can take on starting a weekly yoga practice or joining that meet-up group you’ve been eying.
6. Plan it out. Look at your calendar and set a start date. You may have already come up with a great plan, set your goals, and stocked your pantry… and if it’s right before the holidays and you feel like you’re going to struggle right from the get-go, maybe start at a more appropriate time. It’s OK to wait until you feel completely ready to make the commitment.
7. Ask for help when you’re struggling. Breaking habits and making new habits is no small task, and it’s completely normal to feel lost and overwhelmed and ready to throw in the towel. It’s at these times when you need people to cheer for you, throw some extra inspiration your way and keep you on track. It’s also helpful to have an honest look at your goals and make sure they’re reasonable and change them if you need to.

Read More: One-on-One Nutrition Support