What is a healthy lifestyle and how do I get one ?
I often introduce myself as a healthy lifestyle coach, my online membership is a healthy lifestyle club, one of my categories on my professional insurance is “lifestyle coach”.
So what is a healthy lifestyle and what is involved ?
I think it is easier to start with what it is not ;
It is not a collection of fad diets and yo-yo dieting, that never bring long-lasting results.
It is not depriving yourself of foods that you love forever more and watching others eating their pudding whilst you are having a piece of fruit.
It is not spending hours in a gym nor taking selfies of your flat abs and strong thighs (unless that’s what motivates you!).
It is not enduring exercise classes that you hate, whilst watching the “pro’s” in the front row moving in perfect synchronicity.
It is not calorie counting nor portion control (is that really all I can have ?!).
It is not weighing yourself obsessively and striving for that perfect weight and dress size (that differs from shop to shop and scales to scales).
It is not leading a sedentary life then using pills, cosmetic surgery and “magic” formulas to fix those “problem” areas.
A healthy lifestyle really does make you feel great about yourself, on the inside and outside. It is a lifetime of feeling light, fresh, energetic and positive. It is never having to “diet” again, enjoying your food and your regular exercise and listening to your body and mind, because your body really does know what it needs to be healthy - you are just not listening to it or you are drowning it out with your unhealthy cravings.
A healthy lifestyle is ;
Making good food choices that nourish you, provide you with energy, taste great and satisfy you (and having the odd treat or two).
Recognising and accepting that there are days where you do not eat so well and knowing that is fine because you will be back to your healthy eating ways as soon as possible.
Maintaining a positive, can do, optimistic attitude whilst accepting the odd down day or moment.
Taking regular exercise that strengthens and mobilises your body.
Making the most of the beautiful outdoors and fresh air.
Feeling confident in yourself and looking after yourself.
Finding your natural, healthy weight that feels comfortable.
Not being scared to dream and then take action to achieve it.
Enjoying an active life.
Feeling full of energy and enthusiasm.
Sounds great doesn’t it ?!
That is because it really is great – I have lived this way for years and it has been the foundation of my success, it is helped build my confidence and self-esteem and I am sure it has prevented me from getting all manner of infections, colds and illnesses. On an external level I wear what I want, I never grow out of my clothes (saves me a fortune!) and to be honest I do look pretty good ! I never weigh myself – I go on how I feel, I never diet – I naturally crave healthy food over unhealthy food the majority of the time (being a woman I do have times when only chocolate will do, or a big glass of wine !), I never endure any form of exercise that I do not enjoy in some way – the majority of what I do is free, outdoor exercise and I recognise my “negative” emotions and allow myself to work through them before thinking “Come on Lis, you’ve had your cry, you’ve felt sorry for yourself for a little while, it’s time to buck up and get on with it.”
That’s great Lisa but you’ve been doing this for years, I don’t even know how to do a squat, what on earth is quinoa - my go to healthy food is the fruit in a Pimms and the only time I feel positive and energetic is when I am drunk and dancing to some old 80’s pop song. Ok, this may be a bit of an exaggeration but you get what I mean. How do you get to the stage where you crave healthy food and exercise, where you automatically look at the positive in any situation ?
Answer : you take small steps each and every day to establish healthy habits that improve your mind, body and spirit. You talk to yourself as you would a best friend. You make conscious decisions based on your goals. You repeat your efforts most days until it no longer takes much effort at all.
You ;
Become aware of exactly how unhealthy, unfit, miserable and negative you really are.
Decide that you have had enough of feeling lethargic, heavy, stiff, stuck, bloated, unhealthy.
Recognise what you are doing or not doing that is contributing to these undesirable feelings.
Start small and focus on making one or two changes / improvements at a time to your diet, to your exercise regime and to your outlook. For example ; start drinking more water and substitute a couple of your current go to snacks for a lighter, healthier option, start walking rather than driving or try a new exercise class / dvd / You Tube video, start recognising when you are complaining and moaning unnecessarily and start focussing on the things you have that you are grateful for.
Increase your healthy food options by trying new recipes, foods and drinks.
Increase your activity levels by walking more, trying new ways of exercising.
Remind yourself every day of all the wonderful things in your life.
Start thinking about what you really what from your life and asking yourself how you can achieve it – there is always a way.
It does take a bit of effort to get going. You have to become aware of how you make decisions with regards to what you eat, what you do and how you feel, make a conscious choice to change these decisions and make the effort to stick to these changes. However, it does get so much easier as you start to form healthy habits, because your body and mind start to help you out. You start to realise how good you can feel when you look after yourself which motivates you to continue and enables you to snap back to it when you inevitably have a dip. Your body naturally craves good food and regular exercise, your mind prefers to be positive, productive and active.
Just give it a go, what have you got loose ? Apart from maybe a few pounds, your default miserable look and your lethargy ?
For more guidance ;
If you haven’t already downloaded a copy of my Healthy Lifestyle Quick Start Guide and Checklist, you can do so here :
If you feel that you need a bit more support with establishing and maintaining your new, healthy lifestyle have a think about joining my membership club.
If you have tried lots of different things in the past and feel that you need more, personal, accountable support do contact me with regards to 1:1 coaching.
Whatever you do, make a conscious decision right now to make at least one small change to your diet, exercise and / or outlook that will improve your health and life and act on it ! Complete the sentence below, write it out and stick it up somewhere that you will see it at least a couple of times each day :
I am committed to becoming healthier by ………………………………………….(complete the sentence detailing the action you will be taking immediately).
And get going – your life is your responsibility and only you can make the changes you desire. So stop making excuses, putting it off, waiting for someone else to do it for you. Take action and make it happen. Your healthy lifestyle is ready and waiting for you.
Lisa x