Nine Tips To Start and Stick to Healthy Habits

We all know healthy habits can be hard to stick to. The New Year seems to be the perfect time to start them, but often as the year goes on, many of us fall off the wagon and realize we may have bitten off more than we can chew! Well, the number one issue that most women face, in my experience, is not just starting healthy habits but sticking to them. In this post, I wanted to share nine tips to help you start and stick to healthy habits. They have helped me over the years, and I hope that they will help you too!

HOW TO START AND STICK TO HEALTHY HABITS

1. KNOW YOUR WHY

This is of utmost importance because when things get tough, your purpose is what will keep you going. Three factors help you to that end:

• Knowledge. If you don’t KNOW why you are trying to make a change and develop healthier habits, you won’t be able to commit. When I was looking to improve my diet, I would borrow books from the library, read blogs by experts, and try to understand why it was necessary to rethink my eating habits.  
• Commitment. Don't make excuses. Commit to showing up for yourself, whether it is to eat better, get more active, or get more consistent in your spiritual practice.  
• Sacrifice. As human beings, we are meant to WORK for what we want in life. Nothing is going to come easy. Unless you want the quick fixes, when my health journey started, I was given hydrocortisone by one doctor to get rid of my mysterious rash, I was prescribed creams and toners by another to get rid of my adult acne, and I could very well have kept that up. Slap on the bandage every time something showed up on the outside. It was only when I started treating the inside that my acne cleared up and my Hashimoto's went into remission. I am medication-free, but I have to adopt a healthier lifestyle and hold myself accountable, and that does take a lot of sacrifice, at least initially.  It wasn't easy in the beginning, but I knew I wanted a life on my terms and not to be medicated for the rest of my life. 

Knowing the purpose of why you’re pursuing a goal helps you follow through. Revisiting that ‘why’ helps keep you on the path.

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2. START SMALL

When I first started my health journey, I didn’t adopt all my healthy habits at once. I first tackled my diet, eliminating just one thing. And that was gluten. I gave up processed foods as well, but I wasn't totally off of the sugar, and I certainly didn’t know that dairy was causing my acne. It was through time, trial and error, research, and elimination that I have arrived at my current position. Doing everything at once only leads to overwhelm. And overwhelm will lead to giving up! 

James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits, mentions what he calls the “2 Minute Rule.” The idea is to start a habit and do it for just two minutes. No more and no less. The 2-minute rule states that this “showing up” will, in turn, lead to the formation of that habit for the long term.

I have recently started a deep breathing routine. I go out to my backyard to get some much-needed vitamin D after I finish my morning prayers. That is where I drink my lemon water, perform some dhikr (remembrance of God), and then conclude with a brief breathing exercise. I am hoping to be consistent simply by showing up for just 2 minutes. 

3. STACK YOUR HABITS

Another concept mentioned in Clear's book is to stack a new habit on top of an old one to make it easier to do. I drink lemon water every morning, and I have decided to follow it with a deep breathing exercise. This promises to make it easy to develop and maintain my new habit.

4. PLAN AHEAD

Benjamin Franklin once said, “By failing to plan, you are preparing to fail.“

Say you want to start a regimen for drinking lemon water in the morning. Prep for it the night before. Lay out your mug, and put some water in the kettle so it's ready to go in the morning. All you now have to do is start it. Make it as easy as possible and minimize the number of steps required to make it happen. And there is science behind this. This is the 3rd Law in James Clear's book Atomic Habits, The Law of Least Resistance. He calls for priming the environment for future use and reducing as much friction as possible to make the habit easier, because, as human beings, we are lazy and often prioritize comfort and convenience. 

Meal planning is another excellent tool for sticking to a healthy eating plan throughout the week. 

5. GET BACK ON TRACK

We are bound to make poor food choices at times. What counts is that we get back up and get back on track. I, like many others, have a 90/10 rule. I permit myself to eat unhealthily 10% of the time because I know I eat well the rest of the time. When I do eat poorly, I always make sure I get back on track without guilt and self-loathing.

6. SET UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT FOR SUCCESS

When it is not there, the temptation will surely be less. Now, although this is a no-brainer, there is scientific evidence to support it. James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, talks about the four laws of behavior change. There are four steps in making a habit stick, and one of them is to make it obvious. In contrast, if we want to break a bad habit, we need to make it not so obvious. For example, if you want to eat healthily, fill your environment with fruits and vegetables, and make water the easier choice by not bringing sodas and other sugary beverages into your home. 

This is how I make it work for myself and my family. If you don't have access to something, chances are very high that you won't be making those bad choices. And on a side note, stop beating yourself up about not having any willpower and control.  Food companies spend millions of dollars creating these non-foods to make them irresistible to you. They create cravings and make food addictive. It involves how your brain will react to texture, memories of eating that food, and ensuring you never tire of it.  According to Steven Witherly, a food scientist, Cheetos is  one of the most marvelously constructed foods on the planet, in terms of pure pleasure." So, food manufacturers count on the foods they create to please you, and when you find pleasure in these foods, you crave them and keep going back for more. 

7. CHANGE YOUR INNER VOICE

A study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, which involved 120 students, concluded that when people say "I can't" to temptation, they are more likely to give in. Conversely, when they put themselves in control and say "I don't", they are more likely to avoid it. Instead of saying "I can't" when faced by temptation, use the words "I don't". Apparently, the shift in this one word puts you more in control. Now this is something I am testing out since learning about this study. Give it a try!

8. HEALTHY HABITS NEED A SUPPORT SYSTEM

There’s nothing quite like a supportive circle of people who can help you stick to the plan and hold you accountable. When you are surrounded by others who have the same goals as you, it's priceless. Try and get a friend to join you in your habit formation journey. I have a chat group where a bunch of my friends and I post every time we have worked out, and I can’t tell you how many times I have found motivation to work out when I have seen a friend has done hers for the day. It’s priceless! 

9. EMBODY THE HABITS OF THE PERSON YOU WANT TO BECOME

This concept is also derived from Atomic Habits. For example, if one of your goals this year is to get healthier, give a thought to a health-conscious person’s lifestyle. What does a healthy person's food look like? They certainly eat more vegetables, and they likely have better control of their sugar intake. They probably have good sleep etiquette and get at least 7 hours of sleep a night. Once you have identified the habits of a healthier future, you can then incorporate them into your own life and achieve that goal. 

IN CONCLUSION

Creating and sticking to healthy habits may not be easy, but I hope these nine tips will make it doable for you in the New Year! And remember to give yourself grace, start small, and seek help if you need it! Good luck!