target.fitness • February 17, 2023

Implementing New Habits

Changing old habits and implementing exercise and a more balanced diet into your routine may not be as difficult as it sounds. Here, I’ve put together 5 tips to incorporate new healthier habits into your daily life – and make them last.


Have you ever started living a healthier life, doing regular exercise and having a more balanced diet only to find yourself falling back into old habits after a few days or weeks? If so, you are not alone.


Turning a new healthy lifestyle into a habit doesn’t happen overnight, but the good news is that getting there may be easier than what you think. Here are 5 simple tips that you can implement into your life to get yourself started in training and stay motivated:


1. Take baby steps

Set short-term goals that are achievable, specific, attainable, time-bound and measurable. Building better habits takes time and dedication, but when you set specific goals to work towards and can measure your progress, you help yourself stay on the right track during the process.


Overambitious objectives that will take long time to accomplish could make you give up on the way. On the other hand, celebrating small victories will help you stay motivated. Eventually, the small steps will add up and lead you to achieve bigger and more ambitious goals.

Be gentle with yourself and bear in mind that it’s OK to miss one of the small steps from time to time, just don’t use it as an excuse to also skip the next one.


2. Don’t compare yourself to others

If you compare yourself to others that might be stronger or in better shape than you, you can easily begin to feel inadequate and lose motivation. But remember that they were also beginners once and have probably had to work hard to get where they are.

On top of that, people are built differently from nature. Some people simply get fit more easily than others. But even if you’re not that lucky, you can still improve and get in better shape. Therefore, compare yourself to only yourself and enjoy every bit of progress you make, no matter how big or small. They are all steps on the way towards your goals.


3. Schedule your workouts and stick to them

Allocating specific times in your week for your workouts can be really useful. Put your workout slots in your weekly calendar and treat them as if they were meetings or appointments that you cannot miss. This will avoid you ending up not finding the right time for your training sessions.


To make it even easier for you to stick to your workout routine, you can also prepare for your training sessions beforehand. For instance, having your bag packed and ready the night before, or putting your gym clothes and trainers in your bag and taking it with you to work if your workout takes place right after your work schedule. 


In case unexpected commitments prevent you from training within your allocated time, there’s no need to get frustrated – just find another time slot in the week to compensate.


4. Make it social

If having an appointment with yourself isn’t enough of a motivation for you, maybe having an appointment with another person would make it much harder to cancel your workouts.

Join a club or find a friend or a family member who wants to train with you on a regular basis, or employ a Personal Trainer to give you the motivation to succeed.


5. Make it fun

Forcing yourself to do something that feels like an obligation will make you lose motivation soon. If you make sure your workout routine is playful and fun, it will be much easier for you to get it done. It doesn’t matter what kind of exercise you do, the key is that you do something that is good for your mind, for your body and for your mood. And for this, you need to enjoy doing it.


Additional tip: Get the right fuel for your body

What you eat and drink is the fuel that keeps your engine running. The right nutrition will support your body and provide you with important nutrients and energy to keep you active and motivated. Therefore, you need to eat healthily every day.


Want some help with any of the above?, drop me a message. 

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