Anyone can make a healthy lifestyle change for life. However, most people only do it when they are forced to – medical reasons such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and even special moments such as a wedding, class reunion, or vacation will influence the need to exercise and adjust to a healthier diet. In these instances, goals are set for that moment in life, not for the rest of your life, causing results to be short-lived.
I’ve trained hundreds of clients and found that 70 percent of my clients wanted a moment in life change. Those clients who demonstrated sustainable healthy living were those who followed my 11 healthy lifestyle principles consistently even when they were training on their own. Whether it’s Zumba, P90-X, Insanity or simply walking in a park, we all should engage in a daily exercise routine to promote a healthy lifestyle change. Remember, “It’s not what you do; it’s that you do SOMETHING.”
The following 11 principles will help you adopt a healthy lifestyle versus a temporary change.
1. Know your health truth.
Build a sustainable, interactive relationship with your doctor. Understand where you are mentally, physically and emotionally. Understand your family’s medical history and ask questions to help prevent controllable health issues. Commit to routine visits to your physician(s) and take their feedback seriously. Let your health physician know your values, beliefs, fears and concerns regarding any condition or treatment decisions.
2. Understand your WHYs – why you haven’t changed, why you need to make a change.
Change comes with a reason, so when deciding to make a healthy lifestyle change you should ask questions that can influence and help you remain committed to the change. Some common “Why” questions include:
- Why do I neglect my health?
- Why don’t I put myself first?
- Why don’t I exercise regularly?
Understanding the answers to these questions can help you overcome those hurdles that limit you from achieving healthy goals. This also helps you plan in advance for adversity. For example, if you are an emotional eater, then one way to overcome this hurdle is to keep healthy food on hand.
3. Set goals!
Set 4 types of goals: immediate, short, long, and backup goals. Make sure they are realistic!
- Immediate Goal(s): Walk, jog or run a hill you never did before today.
- Short-term Goal(s): Add one more repetition, step, lap or mile each week to your existing immediate goals.
- Long-term Goal(s): Walk 2 miles a day for the rest of your life (in 3 years you will have walked the equivalent of across the country!)
- Backup Goal(s): Walk indoors at the mall when it’s raining outside to stay on track.
Consider the SMART Goals goal-setting model:
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S – Specific
M -Measurable
A – Achievable
R – Realistic
T – Timely
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4. Visualize how you want to look and feel!
Visualization is important because if you can see it then you can achieve it! For example, women admire our First Lady Michelle Obama because of her passion and commitment to living a healthier life. As a role model for many, women often visualize themselves as having those toned arms like Mrs. Obama. While visualizing will help shape your goals, remember to be realistic when setting your goals!
5. Find a role model.
Identify a role model that will influence you to make the right choices in life. This is someone committed to healthy living, someone who will tell you what you need to hear instead of what you want to hear. The key is to seek their mentorship continuously to help support, advance, and hold you accountable for your progress toward making a healthy lifestyle change. Any guidance from your role model should also be considered when setting your goals.
6. Develop a plan of action to effectively execute your goals.
Many people are wishful thinkers, full of hopes and dreams. People spend 90 percent of their time hoping, wishing, and dreaming about what they’d like to accomplish, but never in concrete terms. As a result, we repeat the same ineffective activities over and over again expecting a different result. We should spend 10% of our time developing, refining, and measuring our goals, and 90% of our time executing these goals.
Achieving your goals, even those that seem unattainable, doesn’t require a Ph.D. or pro talent. It does, however, require determination, dedication and perseverance, and most of all, a realistic action plan. If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.
7. Put your action plan in writing.
Put your goals in writing. Write out where you are today and where you want to be tomorrow, next week, next month and for the rest of your life. The act of writing your plan will force you to think in concrete terms. Your plan should include both a meal plan and a workout plan. Break your plan down into small achievable steps and attach a realistic timeline to each step. Determine how you want to measure your progress; these measurements will be your reality check. Also, consider what it will take to reach each step (e.g., time, energy and money).
Your action plan will be a living document that you should monitor weekly to track progress and refine as necessary. It can also be used as a reference to consult with your physician and/or role model.
8. Forgive yourself.
It’s important to remain committed to your goals in making a healthy lifestyle change, but sometimes we fall short. This is where forgiveness is key to our success. For example, if you miss a workout for several consecutive days, this doesn’t mean you’ve failed and it doesn’t mean stop executing your plan altogether. The right course of action would be to pick back up and increase your level of workout that same day or resume your normal workout the following day. Remember, your goal is a lifestyle change, not a moment in life change.
9. Educate yourself.
Continue to educate yourself on healthy recipes (and portion sizes), as well as the diversity of exercise routines, and refine your action plan as necessary to suit your lifestyle and needs.
10. Have an accountability partner.
An accountability partner is someone who shares a common vision with you in making a healthy lifestyle change, and can help you (and likewise them) remain on track towards reaching your goals. Define and implement some guidelines for what accountability looks like (e.g., how many days will you both work together, when to check in, weigh-ins, fitness tests, etc.).
11. Give back.
Success in making a healthy lifestyle change comes with a small cause. Find four charitable events (e.g., Breast Cancer walks, AIDS rides, Diabetes 10k) that you are passionate about to which you can donate your time, money and energy. The idea is to help someone else while helping yourself! Participating in these events quarterly will help promote sustainability in healthy living all year long.
Adrian Williams, motivational speaker and health and fitness training expert, is one of the most respected and sought after fitness experts in the country. Adrian is best known for his Healthy Lifestyle Program, motivational fitness quotes and the “No Excuses” fitness video, where new mom’s work out and get fit with their babies. He is also the founder of The Next Level Fitness Company. Over the course of his 24-year career Adrian has devolved physical education programs for Blue Cross and Blue Shield along with being used as a fitness consultant for numerous companies, organizations, online websites, magazines and television shows.
Adrian has spent the past 24 years researching and developing unique motivational training techniques and nutritional programs that promote optimal physical and mental fitness. Adrian’s expertise is in lifestyle change, family fitness, weight loss management, sports performance training, nutrition and body sculpting. His programs have helped hundreds of individuals from all walks of life achieve their health and fitness goals, including a few high profile celebrities and former pro athletes.
