For Long-term Success, Make Healthy Habits By Shana Hopkins, MS, CN, WAC Nutritionist
It is the New Year once again—Do you feel obligated to making huge life-changing resolutions? This year, take a step back. Instead, set one small attainable goal that can easily become a healthy habit. The key to long-term success is maintaining your goals. Therefore, begin with changes that can be easily accomplished with some effort and mind-set. Once this one small goal becomes a habit, it will naturally become part of your lifestyle, and then set a new goal. By the end of the year you will have achieved numerous goals that have become healthy habits.
Here are some ideas: - Park your car at the back of the lot.
- Drink eight glasses of water per day.
- Take your nutritional supplements every day.
- Save alcoholic drinks for the weekend, and then set a 2-drink maximum.
- Eat one piece of fruit as a snack daily.
- Start each meal with a green salad.
- Cook a low-fat soup or dish on the weekends—this gives you healthy leftovers.
- Take a 15-minute walk every day.
- Opt for fresh-squeezed fruit/vegetable juice instead of that java fix.
- Save that sugary treat for once per week.
– AJCN 2000; 72:929
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