Being healthy is a challenge. It means giving up some of the things that you want today for an uncertain payoff in the future.
For instance, if you choose to eat an apple instead of a piece of cake, you have to give up the idea of eating the cake and instead believe that you will benefit from consuming the apple in years to come. It’s a tall order, and not many people want to accept it.
Making healthy decisions needs to be more comfortable. People don’t think thirty or forty years into the future – they’re most concerned with the here and now.
Here are some motivational ideas for staying healthy that you can implement today to make a difference in your life in the future but without the pointless suffering.
Have Your Cake And Eat It Too
There’s a tendency in our culture to believe that anything good for you tastes bad, and vice versa, but that’s not true. For many people, going on a health kick means drinking green smoothies and eating lots of broths and soups. But those foods are bland, boring and, in some cases, downright disgusting.
With modern recipes and cooking, however, you can have your cake and eat it too. You can literally bake a healthy cake with nothing bad in it whatsoever, and still enjoy something that tastes delicious.
All you do is get the sugar from dried fruits, the egg from flax and the fat from nuts or avocado, and then whip the whole lot together. There are dozens of recipes on the internet showing you how to do this.
By the end of the process, you end up with a cake that not only hits the spot but doesn’t hurt you either.
Forgive Yourself
People aren’t robots who do the same thing every day, no matter how they feel. Sometimes they have moments of weakness and indulge in ways that they know aren’t good for them.
The people who are most motivated to stay healthy, however, accept their quirks and know that from time to time, they will probably order a take out pizza. But instead of beating themselves up about it, they move on. Tomorrow is another day.
Celebrate Every Day
What is cancer good for? The answer is not much except for encouraging people to celebrate every day that they are alive. All of a sudden, life becomes a lot more precious, and you don’t want to waste a single day.
Don’t confuse the goal with the journey.
Your life is about more than having children, gaining a promotion, or getting enough money together to retire. There are also the daily joys that make the process worth it. Never forget that aspect of being healthy.
Make One Simple Change
Going all-in and changing your diet and lifestyle overnight is a massive challenge (not to mention a shock to your body). Many people who do it successfully, start by making one small change at a time. It could be something as basic as no longer buying potato chips from the store.
The science-backed strategy I tried last year; intermittent fasting, has served me well this festive season. I’ve managed to keep my weight down simply by skipping a meal a day. Yay!
This year I’d like to pay a little more attention to another strategy I learned last year, HIIT (high-intensity interval training).
Which strategies have worked best to keep you healthy? What have you given up in order to remain healthy? What have you added to your daily self-care routine? Share in the comments below.
Image Credit: Pixabay – CC0 License
