We live in a world where so many people WANT to be healthy and fit, but either lack the drive to GET healthy, the tools and knowledge to BE healthy, and the support and motivation to STAY healthy. Here are some tips to help get you on the right track with your DIET PLAN and STAY on track to get you to your new, healthy LIFESTYLE!

1. Set Goals

The first step is sitting down and figuring out some realistic goals. Make a list of the things that need to be changed in your diet and set them as your GOALS. Consider the goals you have made in regards to your body and plan your diet changes around those goals. Set for yourself 3 types of goals: present, short term, and long term. Take it one goal at a time....step by step, day by day. It’s the tiny decisions that add up over time and will get you to your bigger goals. Write out your reasons WHY you have these goals and share them with family and friends so you have support and accountability. You could even post these goals to your fridge, to your computer, or office, or somewhere that you see often, so you have them as reminders. Post them where OTHERS see your goals and will be motivated by YOUR journey. You may inspire others to join you and make healthier choices all because of YOUR inspiration. As you achieve your goals, make sure you check them off and celebrate! (not with junk food! Haha) This will help motivate you to get to the NEXT goal on your list.

2. Have Realistic expectations

Any diet plan needs to work with you and not against you. Be realistic with the new diet plan. Your plan needs to fit your life and your situation. Make sure it fits your schedule and your budget. If you aren’t following your budget, the cooking costs will be too big of an expense and you won’t be able to stay committed and will have to stop before you reach your goals. If you don’t plan ahead for your schedule, you could find yourself out and about without food and you will scramble and eat the first thing you can find, rather than having a healthy option. Be realistic with your schedule and plan time to pre-cook, and pre-pack to take food and snacks with you. Life WILL inevitably happen and could catch you off guard and derail you. Just stay prepared and manage your time wisely for budgeting, shopping, cooking, and pre-packing....this will take work and effort on your part to make these goals a reality.

3. Be Proactive

Make a list of all the HEALTHY foods you enjoy, what you can take with you on the go, to work, school, etc. Create your menu considering where you will be at what time of the day. NEVER find yourself in a position where you don’t have your healthy food options WITH you. Don’t make excuses and say “only this time I’ll eat pizza or whatever”. You are going to have to PLAN your week and make this a non-negotiable. Your whole plan can be thrown off if you don’t get into this VERY NECESSARY habit of planning and preparing. Being PROACTIVE beforehand is an absolute must!

4. Consistency is key

Healthy habits are formed through CONSISTENCY. Make a plan and stick to it. Let this become like clockwork for you. Eat around the same times every day and keep the same portion sizes and caloric intake. Believe it or not, your body will remember and recognize this pattern and will keep your metabolism going and will keep energy levels high. Eating healthy food consistently will make you feel better and you will get yourself into a healthy routine with your diet. Eating gross fattening snacks to meet uncontrolled cravings will sabotage your workouts, your efforts, and your goals. The time you invest in planning ahead and sticking to your plan with consistency is KEY to a lifestyle change and keeping you healthy for a LIFETIME!!

5. Be flexible

Every now and then, life just happens. Sometimes even the best of plans fall short. When you can, plan ahead for these events. Take a bag packed full of healthy snacks (almonds, apple slices, protein bars, shakes, etc) with you wherever you go. Make sure you are filling your MIND with knowledge on healthy eating. Stay plugged in with resources and groups where you know you will learn and grow in your new healthy lifestyle. Read books, go to the library and thumb through healthy magazines; just keep your mind fixed on learning more and more about what healthy food do FOR your body and what junkie food foods do TO your body. This will help you have restraint when you are in a hairy situation with bad options. This knowledge will also help you make better choices if you are unexpectedly at a restaurant or at someone’s house and you need to make food choices. If you’re educated, you will be more apt to choose wisely!

6. Don’t be so hard on yourself

NOBODY is perfect! If you have a slip up, miss a meal, make bad choices, or have a few bad days, just get back up, dust yourself off, and get back on the plan. You are doing this lifestyle change for YOU! If you beat yourself up over a few slip ups, you could derail the whole meal plan and crash all your goals. Being healthy does not mean you can never enjoy foods that aren’t on the meal plan. So don’t beat yourself up over it and be so hard on yourself. One step at a time.....YOU CAN DO THIS!!

7. Stick with your plan

It takes time to develop a new healthy lifestyle. About a month of consistently eating healthy, you will have developed new habits. You’ll soon learn that everything that seemed so difficult in the beginning, isn’t as difficult the longer you go. Soon enough, you will find that this rountine will become more and more who you ARE, not just something you are trying so hard to do.

8. Have fun

You can change any negative into a positive, by choosing to have a positive outlook on all that you are doing. Find fun ways to keep yourself motivated. Get friends and family involved. Set challenges at home, with friends or at work to start eating healthier. Take the time to cook and try new and interesting recipes. You are making changes for the better, so why not make it enjoyable.

9. Give yourself praise

Do not reward yourself with food or treats. You are not a puppy in training. Changing your eating habits can feel overwhelming for anyone. In most cases, you have probably lived your life with unhealthy eating habits and those habits don’t change overnight. It will take time. Praise yourself for your accomplishments. Do a happy dance of praise. Praise will build your confidence and make you feel good about the choices you are making. Even take it a step further and tell someone else how well you’ve done in eating healthy and making better choices. This will change your view of yourself and help you to stay on the path you have chose to get and stay healthy.

10. Don’t rush into this

Most people have great intentions and want to get healthy right NOW! They rush in and try to do it all at once and then burn out trying to do it all, then quit. Remember that small changes add up and will make a huge difference over time. Master one thing at a time and keep adding to it. Before you know it, you will have formed many healthy habits that all work together that gove you the results you wanted. You will have a healthier, happier, YOU!

11. Focus on the journey and not the destination

Living a healthy lifestyle is never easy. The way we endure on this journey is to learn to love the process. We have small victories day by day that we can celebrate. Those small victories add up. Sone people hit a goal or a destination and they feel their journey is over. It’s not. This is a lifestyle. Not a race with a finish line. We get to love our bodies and treat ourselves with kindness for the rest of our lives!

12. Measure Success and Set New Goals

You have to measure your progress and recognize accomplishments in order to achieve real success. As you meet a goal, you can then set out to achieve the next goal with confidence and enthusiasm. Keep strategizing and pushing yourself to set new goals and meet those goals by breaking them down into doable steps.

I know you can do this! How do I know? Because you were MADE to live a healthy lifestyle. Now go out and make a difference in your life today!!

12 Tips For A Healthier Lifestyle