How Hard Is It To Make A Permanent Lifestyle Change?
Permanent lifestyle changes can be very intimidating to make. After all, you’re either cutting something out or taking on something that’ll last for the rest of your life, and who knows how you’ll be able to commit to that?! It can be a scary thought, even if it’s a positive change, and you’re going to have moments where you want to drop the whole idea altogether.
However, making a permanent lifestyle change, such as the amount of exercise you do or the diet you follow, doesn’t have to be hard to implement. There’s a lot you can do to make such a change more manageable, which we’ve detailed below to hopefully help you on your positive lifestyle journey. We can make your lifestyle choices simple, as we all have the same goal in mind: to be happier and feel healthier!
It’s All About Baby Steps
If you take your time with the changes you want to make, and implement them in a full 20 to 30 step program, you can make a permanent change much easier to take on. After all, a slow takeover can mean you notice the differences less! And once you’re at the end of your step program, you’ll have so much progress to look back on that’ll make you feel incredibly proud of yourself.
So make a small change, right now. If you haven’t drunk any water today, go and get a glass, and sip it until it’s gone. Go and grab a healthy snack, such as a cereal/grain bar, or get up and do 5 minutes of stretching right now. If you’ve got a few spare minutes, these are all little yet important things you can do – it’s easy to do a small thing when it comes to the big picture, because all of these little details will soon finish the painting!
You Need Some Accountability
Accountability is important when you’re trying to make a change you can stick to, especially if you’re prone to falling back into bad habits. Because it’s quite hard to motivate yourself sometimes, but if there’s a chance you could disappoint someone else, it’s going to be a lot harder to just default to old behaviors.
So ask a friend or family member or a work colleague, or even a professional accountability partner to help you on your journey. These people will give you a milestone to reach at the end of each week or month, and you can support/talk to each other as you both work towards this goal. And if you don’t hit it, you risk having to do things such as cancel plans you were looking forward to.
You Can Find Support if You Really Struggle with Health
A lot of people really struggle to improve their health, for a variety of reasons. However, when you feel like you can’t make a change for the better because of a mental or physical health ailment, it’s important to know that there’s help out there for you. From simple support groups made up of people like you, to doctors and counsellors that can help you to either address a physical issue or reframe your mindset, you have a lot of options on your plate.
For example, if you’re someone who has a chronic illness, such as diabetes, it can be hard to shed pounds and make sure they stay off. And for the good of your health this is often necessary, and can make many treatment forms much more effective in the long term. So, if you’re struggling to get a handle on symptoms you’re experiencing, the necessary support is out there.
It’s why procedures such as a gastric sleeve revision exist; if you can make a physical alteration to your body that’ll help you to eat healthy for the next few years at least, it’ll be a lot easier to address your condition in a constructive way. Your body will change, of course, but it’s a change you’ll undertake with full knowledge of how it could benefit you. And while that may still be scary to think about, such procedures are totally optional!
Making a permanent lifestyle change can be hard to do, and it can take a long time. But if you go day by day, have someone hold you accountable, and also reach out for support when you need it, these positive changes will work out much better for you. You don’t have to struggle alone when improving your lifestyle!