Building Healthy Habits That Last

When it comes to improving your health, consistency is what matters most. Quick fixes and fad diets can be tempting when it promises fast results, but small sustainable habits are what can make you the most successful. Have you ever started a health journey, and then a few weeks in you found yourself back in your old habits; you are not alone and this is common. “I’ll start on Monday” or “I will start next month” is a common statement that Registered Dietitians hear when people are overwhelmed and not sure how to make sustainable changes. 

Starting small is the biggest piece of advice. Healthy habits are not about how big of a change that you can make, rather the right change to fit your lifestyle and make you the healthiest version of yourself. Focus on consistency. What you do most of the time matters most, and this will look different for everyone. 

For someone this can look like adding in an extra vegetable with dinner three nights a week, for another it may look like having a vegetable as a snack. 

Starting by walking for 10 minutes after dinner may be a small and specific realistic goal for one person, but for another person 5 minutes of yoga in the morning may work better. 

Creating small, sustainable habits is about your lifestyle, and what you can squeeze into your life. This will look different for everyone. Stacking new habits into habits that you already have in place can help if you struggle with lack of time. Picking up a book while you walk on the treadmill can be a way to implement more reading, without having to find additional time in your busy schedule. 

Tracking progress is the best way to watch your progress overtime and execute all the promises that you made to yourself. Keeping a journal or calender and marking when you hit your water goal, or step goal can be an easy but measurable way to track progress. It can take up to six months to form a habit and have it stick, so don’t be hard on yourself if it is taking longer than expected for this habit to stick. Focus on how you feel after you complete this new habit you are adding, and how far you have come. You got this!