Meeting goals can be a complicated nut to crack, but approaching your goals as a habit change is the most likely to lead to success. It’s never too late to start a new healthy habit. We are still at the beginning of the year and a lot of changes can take place between now and the end of the year. So how do we incorporate healthy habits in a sustainable and enjoyable way? Here are a few helpful tips to help you in this.

Healthy Habits for a Healthier Lifestyle

1. Have breakfast – often time people skip this part of their day, but getting energy early in your day not only gives you energy to use your body and keep your brain alert, it also kick starts your metabolism. This keeps you from overeating later and keeps you feeling more energized throughout the day. Studies have shown that adults and kids perform better at work and in test if they’ve had breakfast. This doesn’t need to be a bit thing. Fruit or granola bars can have the same effect.
2. Plan your meals – sometimes sticking to a specific diet, whether it be cutting back sugar or incorporating more protein, meal prep can be a time set aside to pre-think about all these things. You’ll know exactly what goes into your body if you’re the one planning it out. Feel free to get help on this from Freedom Home care or whatever in home care you might have.
3. Drink plenty of water – this is a tale as old as time, but it’s true! Drinking water can have such an impact in your daily life, from your energy levels to the health of your skin. If you don’t like the taste of plain water you can mix it up by adding fresh orange or cucumber slices to the water. This way you are avoiding the high sugary content of many drinks, while still enjoying different flavors.
4. Exercise – making exercise a daily habit will keep you healthy both mentally and physically. This doesn’t need to look the same every day. You could even plan your exercise out for the week ahead of time or when you start your day you can think of a way to turn an activity active if you don’t already have an active plan. Here are some exercise habit examples: if you’re going on a walk, keep it brisk. Ask a friend to go to a class with you and turn exercise into a social activity. Your exercise doesn’t need to be all at once. You can incorporate three different ten minute slots throughout your day. Another idea is to turn your sit down into fit time by doing simple exercises, like lunges, squats, or leg lifts, while watching TV.

Here are some other areas to keep an eye on for a healthy lifestyle:

• Get consistent sleep by going to bed around the same time and waking up around the same time.
• Get offline. Turn of the screen and try to think of something else to do even if that’s tidying up your space or folding laundry.
• Learning something new is an opportunity to get out of the house and do something active. For example, try to learn to dance or to paint.
• Don’t smoke! This one may be harder or easier for different people, but feel free to ask your health care provider with help with this if you’d like make a change here.

Never too Late for a Healthy Lifestyle

We are a couple months into the new year, but healthy habits can start anytime and continue on through the rest of your life. Once you’ve established a new habit you like feel free to mix it up or pick up some new ones. As always, remember you are not alone in this. Get friends and family to participate with you or simply ask your certified caregiver for ideas and ways to incorporate your new habits. Freedom Home Care can help you in your goals with home modifications, we are here for you.