Does getting healthy feel like hard work?

 

Drudgery is defined as: hard, dull, irksome, uninspiring, and fatiguing work.

 

Sound familiar?

 

Yes, it takes work.  I’m not going to sugar coat it… telling you that it will flow easily.  Especially not in the beginning.

 

Habits will develop, and make staying healthy more effortless.  But, creating habits starts with the hard work of resisting temptation.  It takes making a plan and following through even when you don’t feel like it.

 

Making it a labor of love lightens the work, and infuses it with fun!

 

What does it mean to make getting healthier a labor of love?

 

It depends on what excites you.  

 

It means personalizing your plan in a way that keeps you happy and motivated.  

 

I don’t expect you to be happy or motivated every day.  Not in the moment to moment. Nope. Some days you just won’t be feeling it.  But, it’ll help you stick with it for the long haul.

 

It’ll keep you in forward motion.  Two steps forward and one step back is still making progress!

 

Two ways to personalize your plan, and make it more fun:

1.  Lots of celebrations!

You can daily celebrate in a journal, with a sticker on the calendar, or some change in a piggy bank for a big celebration later.  Those are just some ideas to get the wheels turning. How would YOU like to celebrate every day?

 

Celebrate milestones!

For example:

• 7 straight days of consistency on your eating plan
• When clothes become looser
• Increasing the time or difficulty of your exercise

 

Celebrate with a movie night, a manicure (at home or not depending on your budget), or an afternoon of doing what YOU want to do.  Pick something that feels like a treat, that doesn’t involve your mouth. 😉

2.Making health a labor of love also means making what you’re doing to get healthy something you love too!

 

What kind of movement do you most enjoy?  Swimming, dancing, running…?

 

How can you make eating healthy more enjoyable?  Setting a lovely place setting, or trying new recipes, even playing music to make the prep more fun.

 

Making one fun prep day a week could be just the thing to make the meals all week easier.  You could invite friends, involve your family, binge-watch Netflix while you chop.

 

Oooooohh, I’m loving that last idea myself.  I never make time to watch TV just for me. I could finally watch Downton Abbey!

 

Are you excited to make your health habits a labor of love?

 

What ideas do you have to make the process of getting healthy feel like a pleasure?  Share with us in the comments below.