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Twelve Habits for Improving Health

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m working on giving up sweets this month. While this doesn’t mean that I’m giving them up forever, it is a way for me to prove to myself that I can give them up. After my month is over, I’ll likely indulge occasionally, but I’ll know that the cravings are something that I can manage.

Twelve Habits

I was thinking that it might be useful to throw out a list of other habits that are beneficial, in case you’re interested in trying a new habit this month as well and giving up sweets doesn’t appeal to you.

1. Give up a “weakness” food. We all have them, the not-so-healthy food that you just can’t resist. For me, it’s chocolate, in just about any form. Whatever yours is, can you give it up for 30 days?
2. How about junk food? Can you give up chips and such?
3. Work on getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet. Maybe you can plan on trying at least one new vegetable or fruit a week during the month. Try to have a serving of vegetables and fruit and almost every meal.
4. Exercise daily.
5. Walk 10,000 steps a day.
6. Give up second helpings. I did this one a while back, and the habit has still stuck. I think this has done more than anything else to help me keep my weight steady through the stress of the last months.
7. Switch to whole grains. You’ve probably heard this one before, but change from white bread, rice and pasta to the whole grain versions.
8. Switch to a lower fat dairy product. Whether it’s milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. Try a lower fat version for a month.
9. Give up sugared drinks. If you can’t stand diet drinks, switch to water.
10. De-stress. Whatever you choose to do, take time each day to wind down and deal with the stress of your daily life.
11. Eat breakfast. If you’re not eating breakfast already, you should start. It gives you the energy to get started and gives your metabolism a jump-start.
12. Close the kitchen. Set a time every evening when the kitchen is closed, and commit to not eating after that time.

It’s no accident that I listed twelve habits. If you were to choose your own twelve get-healthier habits and commit to one per month, how much better off would you be this time next year? I bet a lot better off.

Getting There

I’m a firm believer in setting up rewards to help get through the rough spots. The only trick is, don’t make it a food reward!

I like to give myself a small daily reward for staying on track, such as getting to spend some time doing something I enjoy. For each week, I like to plan something a little bigger, like a movie or another outing. For a monthly treat, I usually plan on buying myself something I really want, but I don’t break the bank.

Decide on a healthy habit you want to build and commit to doing it for a month. Then, plan out some rewards to help you along the way. Post in the comments and let us know what you’ll be working on.