SiSU Health Group Healthier 2020 Routine

How to create a healthier 2020 routine

Creating lasting lifestyle changes to set you up for feeling great this year.

The New Year often sparks motivation to live healthier, be more active and focus on eating well to feel and perform at our best. Whether it’s to lose weight, feel more energetic or get better quality sleep, staying committed to these goals can prove to be quite difficult as we start to get back into our normal schedules or return back to work. In this article, we share some tips on how you can create a routine to support healthier lifestyle changes that you can stick to throughout the year.

Know what you want.

It’s much easier to stay committed to a goal if it’s something that is something that you really want and not something based on what you perceive others to want of you. Health and exercise goals need to be meaningful to you which will support a healthier mindset and help you to find the determination to keep going and achieving your goals over a long, sustainable period of time.

Be specific.

Being specific can help you stay accountable and focused on what your goal is. By being specific, you can implement tangible ways to achieve your goal over time. If your goal is to be more active this year, you can set aside 30 minutes each day to go for a walk. If your goal is to reduce your alcohol consumption you can decide to reduce your intake to one glass of wine with a meal three nights a week. By being specific with your goals you are able to measure easily whether you are on track and eliminates any grey areas.

Reward yourself.

Rewards can help you celebrate progress over perfection as to make small errors when changing a habit is normal and part of being human. Furthermore, research says that if you can pair an immediate reward to a health activity such as exercising with a friend, you will be more likely to persist in long-term health behaviour changes (Woolley and Fishbach, 2016). The more you can celebrate your success will help you stay positive and determined to stay on track.

As you continue to make progress and celebrate the small wins your self-esteem will continue to grow and it will become part of your ongoing ritual – setting you up to feel fantastic in the long term and to reduce your risk of chronic health conditions from developing.

 

Track your progress with a 4-minute SiSU Health Check!

Measure your progress over time by completing regular SiSU Health Checks. Find a SiSU Health Station near you for your free 4-minute Health Check to ensure you are keeping track of and improving your important health information.

 

References:

Woolley, K. and  Fishbach, A., 2016. For the Fun of It: Harnessing Immediate Rewards to Increase Persistence in Long-Term Goals, Journal of Consumer Research, Volume 42 (6) 952–966