There are lots of healthy habits to feeling better. I’ve realized it takes time to build habits and that I need to be patient with myself. I’ve now been working with my health coach Michael from Thrive Culture for 6 months. The biggest thing I’ve learned is:

consistency is KEY.

From the very beginning of this program I’ve known it will be a slow process with the goal to build healthy habits one at a time leading up to a year worth of healthy habits. Some habits came easy to me, like, not drinking calories. Other habits were very difficult, like, eating slowly and getting the correct mix of protein, fruits, veggies and good carbs.

Over the past 6 months I’ve paid attention to when I fall off my habits and how that affects my progress and how my body feels. For example, I had been eating clean for 2 weeks while working out consistently and felt great. One Sunday, driving home from Chicago, I saw at least 5 Dairy Queen billboards on the highway. Ice cream was calling my name and I gave in. My thought process: ‘If I’m going to break my healthy eating, I might as well have a full meal of bad choices.’ I got a burger, fries and ice cream. My body HATED me afterwards. I felt dizzy and my heart was pounding out of it’s chest. My body wasn’t used to that much sugar and carbs all at once and it told me. The entire next day I felt bloated and lethargic and I knew I didn’t want to eat that way anymore.

Everyone is different in regards to how their bodies react to food and exercise. The huge secret is finding out how YOUR body reacts and how to keep the good habits consistent in your life.

My most important healthy habits to feeling better:

Meal planning and prep:

I’ve mentioned this before but the most impactful habit is to meal plan and prep food for the week over the weekend. I am most successful when I meal plan and order our groceries with ClickList on Saturday. Sunday I will pick up the groceries first thing in the morning and prep. For us, because we do not like cooking, I chop all the veggies and brown all the meat during prep. I write everything on the calendar in our kitchen and make reminders on my phone if I need to put something in the crock-pot before work. Having all these reminders and doing this prep on the weekend allows our family to enjoy a full 1.5 hours together in the evenings every single week night.

Scheduling time each day for me:

If I am able to have time to myself each week for working out, walking outside, meditating and stretching, I am a happier person. Right now, my body is happy doing an hour workout 3 times per week with outside activities on the other 4 days. If I throw in meditation even a few times per week and stretching outside of what I do for my workout, I’m golden. It’s such an easy thing to make sure I am able to do these things. On Saturday, after I meal plan and put it on my calendar, I look ahead to the week and schedule out Me TIME. Physically adding it to my calendar makes it 90% more likely to happen than if I hadn’t put it on the calendar.

Having a sleep routine:

This seems a bit extreme to some. Sleep routines are for children who need consistency to thrive. Adults also need consistency to thrive. Just like exercise and food, everyone reacts differently to sleep. For me, I require 7-8 hours of sleep to be on my game the next day. To make sure I’m able to hit the 7-8 hours regularly I have an alarm on my phone that tells me when to settle down. Plugging in my cell phone for the night, turning off the TV, turning off the computer and changing the music are requirements. I make sure to leave time to change into my PJs, wash my face and brush my teeth before I get too sleepy. I may put on my diffuser or light a candle to help me calm down if I’ve had a rough day. Think about the things that you used to do for your bedtime routine and what made you calm. It’s likely the same thing that will make you calm now.

After working on these habits for 6 months I’m still not perfect at achieving them every week. There are always parties and travels that stop me from being able to do these habits but the parties and travels are why I’m doing these habits. I want to be healthier and happier so I can have more parties and travels during my life.

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