Falling off your grind is nothing to be ashamed of, and it is actually quite common due to busy schedules or unforeseen circumstances.
As humans, we are creatures of habit, and when we dedicate ourselves to eating healthy or working out, we tend to stay on top of it so long as we’ve consistently done it for over a month.
Within our rotation of habits, you can find small tasks such as brushing our hair, showering, and even sleeping. When we stop doing things such as working out or eating healthy on a daily basis, we will struggle to add it back into our rotation of habits due to our minds being occupied with small tasks.
The best way to get your health back on track is to avoid delays, take the process slowly but start immediately. Often we will convince ourselves to start in the morning, start on Monday, start next month and start on January 1st. This is a cycle we have to break; instead, we start at any time of the day and have the willpower to stick to it.
It takes a lot of strength and determination, but it is so worthwhile for both your mind and body. Take it slow and add simple, fun things into your rotation of habits.d
1. Morning Walks
Morning walks are possibly the easiest way to raise your fitness levels.
Committing to a 30-minute walk feels much more attainable in your mind compared to a 30-minute gym session.
This is because a walk can be done close to your house and doesn’t require the effort of driving, parking, and being in an overwhelming environment.
Set your alarm for the best time that suits your schedule in the morning, and then get awake without snoozing the alarm. Motivate yourself with a treat or an extra long weekend if you successfully complete your walk.
Walks are super easy; take it at your own pace and don’t focus on how many steps you are achieving. Just put your headphones in and walk for a set amount of time.
You will find this time with nature will ground you, relax you and leave you with a clearer, more focused mindset for the day.
These walks are easy to sneak into your rotation of habits, and eventually, you can make them longer or choose harder routes such as hills. Before you know it, your endurance and leg strength will have massively improved, and you might even feel motivated and confident to start hitting the gym.
2. Fill Your Plate With Vegetables
Making the switch from unhealthy, comfort food to healthy food is a huge step. Slow this process down into attainable chunks allows a greater success rate. Adding an increased amount of vegetables to your breakfast, lunch, and dinner plates is one of the easiest ways to do this.
Vegetables provide us with valuable vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. These nutrients can reduce our chances of heart problems, strokes, and diabetes.
Adding vegetables to our diet will also give us a higher fibre intake which is needed for healthy bowel movements and a healthy gut.
Food high in fibre will also keep you satisfied for longer, reducing the need and craving for unhealthy snacks.
Vegetables are generally low in calories. When we fill our plates with vegetables alongside small portions of protein and fat-filled foods, we will be consuming fewer calories while still being full.
Examples of how to increase your vegetable intake include adding kale, spinach, and mushrooms to a breakfast omelette or having a huge salad for lunch.
It is easy to pre-prep vegetables, so you are more likely to use them. You can even buy frozen vegetables, which saves you both money and time.
3. Find A New Hobby
A new hobby can be the catalyst to getting your health back on track. Life can become mundane, especially if we do not switch up our routines every now and then. New hobbies can inspire us and motivate us to become more active, focused, and organised.
A few active hobbies you can pick up:
- Gardening
- Dancing
- Open water swimming
- Rock climbing
- Hiking
- Football
- Rugby
- Cricket
Having an active hobby that you participate in, either daily or weekly, can significantly improve your cardiovascular health. Sports such as football and rugby will increase your leg muscles and your overall stamina.
Open-water swimming is a great way to increase your endurance while strengthening your core muscles and easing any joint or back pain.
Most hobbies listed above do not require much equipment other than suitable clothing.
However, if you decide to take on open water swimming, ensure you have chosen the right tow float, found a safe location, and that you are a confident swimmer.
These active hobbies should be enjoyable for you, which will make you more excited and dedicated to sticking to them in the long run. Before you know it, you will be in great shape and feeling happier.
4. Let Go Of Expectations
The biggest thing in our way when we try to get our health back on track is ourselves. Our expectations are often rooted in our downfall.
Perfection is the goal, and when we see people online who seemingly achieve it, we can be really hard on ourselves when we don’t achieve the same. This will knock us off our path, and we can end up indulging in unhealthy habits in an attempt to comfort ourselves.
Letting go is the secret to getting back on track and sticking to it. Letting go of ideals, letting go of failures, and letting go of anything negative that halts our progress.
Instead, we must focus on our little achievements, such as completing a workout, eating a healthy snack, or resisting the temptation of a takeaway. Focussing on this will allow your mind to feel accomplished, positive and motivated.
It is super refreshing for your mind to live without restrictions and expectations. Slowly integrating this into your mental rotation of habits will help you get back on track and feeling good from within.
Collins Nwokolo is a human physiologist, writer and health enthusiast. He loves writing helpful articles on health and fitness, which he enjoys sharing with everyone.
