The idea of improving your health, fitness and diet often looms large at this time of year, but changing your eating habits or starting to exercise is often a struggle. Before long, you’re back to square one and out comes the chocolate!
You Need Patience and a Routine
When good intentions go astray, we tell ourselves we’re too busy, tired, old or unfit to get results. In truth, none of these are real reasons.
First, you have unrealistic expectations (and we’re all guilty of this). You want results quickly and you get disillusioned when this doesn’t happen – and then, you just give up. Change takes time, whoever you are and whatever you hope to achieve.
The second stumbling block is the lack of routine. You charge off in a burst of enthusiasm, but this quickly wanes. For it to stick, the new thing must become a part of your daily life. This is how we make our new routine manageable rather than overwhelming.
Habit Stacking
A great way of building and maintaining a new habit is to attach it to an existing one (habit stacking). For example, every day you get out of bed, have a shower and eat breakfast. This happens daily; it’s just something you do. If you always follow breakfast with a short walk, it becomes part of your morning habit.
Repetition builds good habits and associating the new action with something you already do is a great way of maintaining it.
Start with Baby Steps
It isn’t possible to change your routine overnight, however good your intentions. A brand-new diet or several hours of exercise are too big a change to make in one go.
At this stage consistency is key – intensity is something you build up to. Small actions are far easier to do and maintain, so this is how you should start. They won’t immediately change your life or mess up your daily schedule, but you’ll be surprised how quickly they build up to give you positive results.
How to Begin
Here are some small but effective ways to improve your health and wellbeing.
- Start the day with five minutes of stretching
- Add an extra vegetable at dinner
- Go to bed ten minutes earlier
- Walk to the end of the road and back
- Snack on nuts or fruit rather than chocolate
- Go easy on social media – only check it at certain times
Reward Yourself with a Treat Day
There’s nothing wrong with having a day off from exercise or indulging in a tasty dessert now and again. It’s great to have something to look forward to, and it acts as a reward for your efforts. Choose a particular day of the week to have your treat and that will become part of your routine as well.
Track Your Progress
It’s inspiring to see a physical record of your progress. There are many apps to help you keep a note of your new habits. Alternatively, simply hang a good old-fashioned calendar on the wall and note all the days you avoided cake or went for a walk.
The Benefits of Regular Maintenance at Feet By Pody
Even gentle exercise will benefit the new you, and you need your legs and feet for that. Regular check-ups with one of our experienced podiatrists keep everything ticking over nicely.
If you have a specific issue, we can help with that as well.
Don’t leave your health to chance. Come to one of our London foot clinics.