Healthy Habit Change in 10 Minutes: It’s as easy as 1-2-PLAN

There’s a strong chance that you are here on our blog and website

looking for helpful guidance on how to make the right decisions that

lead to a healthier, fitter you, whether that means eating healthier

or being more active. And you may have the strength to make the

healthy decisions you need to when confronted with challenges to

your health and fitness goals. But you also might not. In fact, you

might not have the willpower to choose what they believe is the

healthiest meal for you when you know it will better their health, or

to get out of bed and be active when you feel the good thing for you

is to get up and move. So what's the easiest, most impactful thing

you can do? Plan, just ten minutes a week.

Here’s how it works:

One the same of each week, sit down for ten non-distracted minutes

and look at the next seven days. Writing down challenges you

know you’ll face (work dinners, travel, a conference that last all

week, every day from 7am to 7pm) as well as what usual or unusual

challenges might arise, strategize how you'll stick to your healthy

habits as best you can. Keep this paper with you in a place where

you’ll see it at least in the morning and evening (ex. a table or desk

where you sit, the bathroom counter, your organizer, etc.)

Depending on what your goals are, here are some examples of

what you can do:

1. Schedule your activity/exercise time and protect it like it’s

your baby, a very vulnerable baby.

Just put it in your calendar; it can be as little as 20 minutes a

day. A 20-minute walk or fast or fun workout circuit is much more

productive towards accomplishing activity and performance goals

than nothing, and you’ll have more energy. Will you benefit from

stretching and moving some tight muscles from sitting all day at

that conference? Make sure it’s in your schedule.

2. Plan your meals, and BE CONFIDENT in them.

Plan: Take a look at the rest of your week - what meals will you

have control over the most, which ones will you be able to cook at

home / order anything you want? Which meals will you are eating

out? If you know what restaurant you'll be eating at, how can you

eat healthy there, what will you order?

Be confident: be comfortable with your order when dining out with

your friends and family or co-workers. Your health and goals are

just as important (if not more) than any judgments your fellow

diners can make about what you and don't eat/drink. As a general

rule, your healthy order will do you more well less damage than

giving in to the peer pressure of your dining cohorts. And you

might even inspire them to order healthy!

At the end of each week at your next planning session, review your

strategies. What did you succeed with? What didn’t you succeed

with? And (most importantly) why or why not? Understanding why

you make certain decisions and don’t make others is the real

benefit of this exercise. And if you can’t stick to your 80% or more

of strategies, you likely need support from a coach.

So, take the next step: put your ten minutes of focused planning on

your calendar for one day, every week, and safeguard it. And each

time, write your strategies down, and evaluate your past strategies

and successes.

About Author –

The thriveSF Fitness experience positively encourages a lifelong

healthy lifestyle through unique exercise routines and movement

training, physiological and performance assessments, nutritional

guidance, and well-being support. Experienced Personal Trainer

San Francisco - Andrew Duffy with wide range of expertise in

fitness industry with injury and weight loss domain! For more

information visit - http://www.thrivesffitness.com