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5 Tips For Starting A Healthy Lifestyle

Writer's picture: Matthew GayMatthew Gay

Starting to create a healthy lifestyle can be extremely overwhelming, but with the correct perspective, it's much easier. I remember years ago, when I started working out and eating with intention, how stressful it was sometimes. I didn’t know what I was doing and had big dreams. It was trying, to say the least. But as I became more equipped with knowledge and experience, I felt more excited to exercise and confident in the kitchen. This led to some amazing results in my body, which I have continued to build on. It's hard to believe it's been 13 years since I started!


Over the years, I’ve accumulated tools that have enabled me to empower many people through my coaching program while continuing to see great success in my own life. If you’re starting your health journey, whether to lose weight, get stronger, or transform overall, this blog will reveal five profound pieces of advice to take heed of. Here are five tips for a successful start on your health journey


5 Tip For Starting A health Lifestyle

#1 Make It About The Process


To fixate on the prize can be defeating and frustrating. However, our outcome goals give us a bit of direction they are not meant to sustain us. As believers, we must be open to the direction of the Holy Spirit and committed to his will before our own. It's in the process that we learn and grow in ways that surpass physical change. If you are only focused on how far or close you are to reaching one specific metric, such as you’re weight, it will lead you astray. You may search for ways to speed up the process and create a problem. You may lose motivation to do the healthy things you've been because you’re close-minded to the ways God is building you if it’s not reflected on the scale. The process is more along the lines of what your life will be like if you truly commit to a healthy lifestyle. The destination has an end, whereas the process does not. Life also does not have a designated end regarding your need for health habits other than death. So, basing your habits and building your approach to health and fitness around one or two specific goals, which may or may not be reached, is a potential setup for failure. Embrace the process, and in doing so, embrace the lifestyle element of your health journey. Allow the byproducts, which are the desired destination, to be the future result, not your reason for being on the journey in the first place.


#2 Be Real About Where You Are


I remember wanting so badly to be where I saw others my age were. Strong, cut, and confident. I allowed envy to fuel many of my decisions and, therefore, ended up with injuries and other setbacks I could have avoided. But aside from comparison to others, you may feel you should be better off. Stronger, faster, more disciplined, etc. These expectations can serve as a gateway to self-doubt or, worse, defeat.

Don’t expect yourself to be stronger, faster, have more stamina, or perform better than your body currently can. By being gracious to yourself, you reduce your risk of doing things that may lead to injury and prevent the feeling of wanting to give up. To get better, you need to be consistent. To be consistent, you must protect your body and mind.  It is not a race you are running but a journey, so focus more on where you are than where you are going. This is the most productive approach to a healthy lifestyle.


There’s nothing wrong with lighter weight at first. It's okay to be out of breath doing basic cardio. It takes time to get good at healthy nutrition. These are just a few examples, but the point is that the things you may be tempted to beat yourself up over are a standard part of lifestyle transformation. Keep showing up, and over time, you’ll be further along than you ever imagined.


#3 Prioritize habits over restrictions. 


 A healthy lifestyle isn’t about what you can’t do but what you can. It’s so easy to get caught up in what you can’t do if you want to reach your goals. We feel discipline is equivalent to punishment because it means not doing what we want. But remember, your body and life being in a good place are more important to you than the little things you may need to give up. Do your best not to focus on what you have to give up but instead on what you are gaining. These gains come through healthy habits, which should be at the forefront of your approach to a healthy lifestyle. Start your health journey by looking for things you can do better or more consistently. By doing this, you set the tone for the way you approach your lifestyle overall. Habits are created through repetition. Over time, your brain creates neuropathways, making the action more natural. This, in turn, makes living a healthy lifestyle easier. Restrictions are no way to reach your goals. Habits are the way to go. Though health habits may require you to restrict the consumption of certain foods or do what is familiar, the restrictions are not the solution, only a part of it.


#4 Consider Your Tendencies.


We all know what we do that holds us back on our health journeys. It may be that you quit three weeks in; maybe you let the scale defeat you; maybe you hit snooze because the phone is right next to you. You know why you’re not where you want to be for the most part. So what can you do to fix that? It’s not hard to make subtle changes that help us succeed. You can move your phone across the room or meal prep protein sources on the weekend. Create systems that make it easier for you to live a healthy lifestyle. 

You know yourself well enough to know what tendencies could create obstacles for your health journey.  Be proactive, and do what it takes to prevent you from encountering those obstacles.


#5 Progress over Perfection.


No matter how prepared or committed you are, you will have those days and weeks. Perfectionism doesn’t work on your health journey because it's a part of life, and life is not predictable, nor is it avoidable. We all have many things to do, which means time is of the essence. We all have beliefs and memories to untangle, which affect our lifestyles. Many even have physical limitations we must learn to navigate around. Family, work, ministry, and all the other things make it difficult to be the perfect beacon of health and fitness. You don't need to be that. You need to be committed to the lifestyle. This means navigating the ups and downs of your life healthily with intentionality and wisdom.


Give yourself permission not to be perfect and commit to taking one step forward, no matter what happens, where you are, and how far you think you must go. Was this encouraging to you? Let us know in the comments of this blog.


 

Would you like to receive consistent motivation and perspective to help you conquer every giant on your healthy journey? Then consider joining our Fitizens Club! You’ll receive workouts, motivation, nutrition strategy, education, and a solid community of believers to walk with on your health journey. All for only $50 a month with no long-term agreement! Send the word “Club” to matt@fitcoachus.com to sign up!!




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