Setting out to make healthy changes is a scary, yet necessary process. It’s scary to change because it means we’re leaving something behind and we’re not sure if we can succeed.
Dr. Olivia encourages her patients to make a healthy change because they LOVE themselves rather than not liking themselves. The process becomes easier (and happier!)
It’s important to acknowledge unhealthy habits in your life, though, and making a change toward healthy living is the best thing you can do to move forward. Living a healthy lifestyle means different things to everyone, but there are a few principles that carry through most people’s ideas of health.
We’re going to give you some tips on how to move forward in a healthier direction in this article. We hope that you’ll have a better idea of how to get started after seeing the information below.
Let’s get started:
How to Change Toward Loving Yourself More
There are parts of your life that are already healthy. That means that you probably already understand some of the information below. That said, take the following points as guideposts and see where you stand.
1. Make Note of How Satisfied You Are
It’s pretty well understood that people who are happy and satisfied tend to be healthier. Not only are these people content as a result of being healthy, but happiness is typically a catalyst for stronger health metrics. At the end of the day, happiness and satisfaction with life should be our ultimate goals. Not everyone takes the time to check in with themselves and assess how they’re doing, though. Take half an hour or so (even 5 minutes will do!), grab a journal, and write out how you feel about where you’re at in life. Are you happy? If so, why? If you’re not happy, try and ask yourself why as well. Sometimes journaling seems daunting, but some of Dr. Olivia’s favorite prompts are:
-What made me smile today?
-What is one thing that while I am doing it I lose track of time?
-What is one thing I am proud of?
-What is a simple change my future self would be proud of?
2. Make Your Own Meals
Health has a lot to do with what you eat. It also has a lot to do with how much you eat. Nourishing our bodies with vitamins and minerals IS loving our bodies!
There are a million perspectives on how to diet to get better health, and it’s important that you stick to one that works. Ascend Slim teaches you how to shop for, prepare, and eat the foods that help promote long-term weight loss and a high level of wellness. If you’re not into cooking, or just don’t have the time, Ascend Slim helps you learn how to pick your meals. Evidence-based programs like this are the only ones you should be trying.
When you’re on your own, though, there’s an easy rule of thumb that you can stick to: make everything yourself if possible.
Try not to make a bunch of meals that are stuffed with carbs and processed sugars. Making food at home, though, is a great way to know what you’re eating and get healthy portions.
We don’t see the ingredients that go into gas station food and fast food, and we probably wouldn’t eat it if we understood what we were getting.
We would love to share our favorite recipes with you!
3. Establish a Self-Care Practice
Self-care practice and spiritual practice could be synonymous here. We want to find time (even just a moment!) where you can be at ease in your body and LOVE yourself! This is just a daily or semi-daily process where you sit down and get in touch with yourself.
Many people practice meditation as a way of calming and getting in touch with themselves. The nice thing about practices like meditation and yoga is that they have been proven to reduce stress and anxiety.
Dr. Olivia’s favorite yoga channel is Yoga with Adriene on YouTube. But don’t worry about doing it “good” or “right,” it’s just about having a minute to breathe, check in with yourself, and calm those thoughts going on in your head!
4. Get Active
Another myth about living a healthy life is that you have to become some kind of physical fitness machine.
Sure, hitting the gym like an animal and being as active as possible isn’t unhealthy. At the same time, you don’t have to go that far in order to experience healthy living. Small steps add up!
You just have to get out often. That could mean going for a few walks a week, getting a gym membership, or making a habit of exploring your town’s parks and trails on a regular basis.
What matters is that you’re moving your body and raising your heart rate for around thirty minutes. You can add as much or as little as you’d like. Not only does being active raise your heart rate, but it also raises your mood! We love to workout at Hotworx because the workouts are simple, fast, and the atmosphere is so welcoming!
5. Take Stock of Your Relationships
It’s so much easier to be happy with yourself when you’re surrounded by others who are also positive! Social health requires that you’re somewhere in a network of people. Healthy relationships are essential for our individual health, and it’s important that we work on negative relationships or get them out of our lives.
This can be one of the hardest parts of getting healthy. Sometimes we don’t realize that the people in our lives are negative until we start to move in a new direction. When we change, toxic people don’t like to see us improve.
It’s hard to be happy when we have other people bringing us down. When we notice that this is happening, it’s important to confront the people in our lives and let them know how it affects us. If they don’t think it’s important, then they’re not respecting your boundaries.
If you’re looking for new relationships, try getting out and getting healthy in groups. That way, you’ll meet new people who are trying to lead the same kind of life you are.
6. Explore New Interests
When we stop using our minds to learn new things, we start to experience a sort of atrophy. Atrophy is what happens when we don’t use a muscle.
For example, people who sit on the couch for six months will notice that the muscles they don’t use have diminished in the absence of their use. You might also notice that you’re more unhappy when your life remains the same for long periods of time.
Read new books, explore new trails, take trips, and meet new people. What is healthy living worth if you can’t use it to grow and experience new things?
You will be so proud of yourself if you check a book off of your list or finally download that app to practice your Spanish!
7. Be Forgiving With Yourself
Finally, keep in mind that you’re going to have some failures along the way. Everyone fails, and everyone must find a way to deal with it.
The difference between people who succeed and those who don’t is the way they handle failure. It’s important that you don’t shoot yourself down when you slip up once or twice.
It’s natural. Forgive yourself when you fail and continue to hold yourself accountable. Over time, you’ll see that changes are happening and you’ll be proud of the work you’ve done.
Need More Health Advice?
Healthy living doesn’t have to come without help from anyone else. It’s a tough thing to achieve, but we’re here to aid you along the way.
Are you ready to get started on the path to a healthier you? Learn more with a free consultation with Dr. Olivia to see if Ascend Slim is right for you.
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