Patience is important

I say this quite a lot! But ultimately, we want healthy lifestyle changes to become habits…. Take ‘I want to start exercisng regularly’ for example…. How much easier would it be if:

• You had time to do it
• It was easy for you to do it
• You enjoyed it
• You felt the benefits from doing it

First of all you’ve got to have a good reason to do something, understand that. Then you’ve got to actually start in order to build momentum… but it is possible to make it easier for yourself and allow yourself time to adjust. Top tips from me would be:

• Schedule workouts in your diary on a Sunday. “I’ve scheduled it now, I know I have time”
• Get your kit out the night before, or keep it on during the day if you can. “I’m already ready, I may as well do it now”
• Find an exercise you enjoy! “I’ll do it because I like it and it means I can see [person] / have time to myself”
• Think about how good it feels after a workout AND after you’ve done what you said you were going to do. “Something is better than nothing – I always feel better afterwards”

If you want to make something happen, you have to start – for it to become a habit, it takes time, but framing it in a way which makes it enjoyable makes it more likely that you’ll stick to it. Be patient but consistent! Change take time, but following these tips should help (and you can apply this to anything!)