5 Common Issues Everyone Has With a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE: How to Solve Them

Living a healthy lifestyle is important for a lot of reasons. Getting healthy can seriously improve your mood and make you feel like a million bucks, amongst other great things.

Unfortunately, living a healthy lifestyle is not always easy, and there are challenges that people face every day when transitioning to a healthy lifestyle.

In this blog post, I’ll discuss five common issues with a healthy lifestyle and how to overcome them.

• 1. Feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start
• 2. Struggling to find the time to cook or exercise
• 3. Giving up after a few weeks or months
• 4. Not seeing any results or progress
• 5. Feeling like you can’t stick to it forever
• A Healthy Lifestyle Isn’t a Fad
• Questions You May Have

1. Feeling overwhelmed and not knowing where to start

Changing your entire lifestyle is challenging, especially when junk food is so readily available and affordable. This causes a lot of people to give up before they even start because they feel like it’s too much work, but the key is to take small steps. 

Instead of trying to overhaul your entire diet, start small by cutting out one or two processed foods and replacing them with whole foods, like fruits and vegetables. Once you’re comfortable with that, you can make other changes, like cutting out red meat and eating less sugar.

Taking baby steps will make the process less daunting and more manageable, which will make you more likely to stick with your healthy lifestyle.

How to fix it?

Create a plan for what you want your healthy lifestyle to look like in six months, one year, and five years. Doing this challenges your brain to think about the future and what you want to achieve.

Create milestones so your journey doesn’t become overwhelming.

For example, your first milestone could be to eat breakfast every day for two weeks. After completing that goal, you can add another challenge, like cutting out processed foods for two weeks alongside your fist challenge and before you know it eating breakfast will become a habit.

Check in with yourself every month to see how you’re progressing and make any necessary changes to your plan, so you’re doing exactly what brings you joy.

2. Struggling to find the time to cook or exercise

Adding cooking or exercise time to a schedule that’s already packed is asking for trouble.

Something’s got to give, meaning you have to create the space and time to incorporate the things you want to accomplish on your health journey.

For example:

I used to wake up at 5 a.m. to run 1.5 miles around the track because when I was finished with my day, I’d be too drained to think about working out. So I sacrificed sleeping in and prioritized working out, which surprisingly resulted in better sleep during the night.

I knew if I waited till all my day’s errands were complete, I’d never take the time to get a good workout in for the day. Ultimately, this is what you’ll have to do to incorporate some healthy practices.

Maybe instead of waking up earlier, you cut down your TV binge time and follow along a few cooking videos to start meal prepping.

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. In fact, it’s more efficient if it’s not all or nothing. Find what works for you and your schedule.

How to fix it?

Create a habit of scheduling your life in a planner that is visible every day and includes all aspects of your life that are important to you.

When you plan your day in advance, it’s easier to see what time is available for exercise or cooking. Make sure that you schedule it into your planner alongside everything else.

By planning and knowing what’s coming up ahead of time, it will be easier to stick with your goals.

Treat your schedule like a job, show up on time and create penalties if you missed a workout or didn’t make time to cook.

3. Giving up after a few weeks or months

Breaking unhealthy habits takes time, and it’s common to feel discouraged when the results you want aren’t coming fast enough.

This is where the real challenge lies. Are you going to throw in the towel even though you’ve done the hard part already by starting your journey, or are you willing to stick it out?

The challenge you’ll face is the ultimate test of your willpower. Your body, mind, and spirit want to know how committed you are.

How to fix this?

If you’ve created a plan with milestones before starting your journey, you only have to think about getting to the next step.

Focus on the journey and not the destination, one step at a time, one milestone at a time. This way, you can appreciate all the changes you’re making, even if it’s slow.

Your journey is not a race, it’s a marathon. The more you stick it out, the more insights and benefits you’ll gain.

4. Not seeing any results or progress

This problem is common because we humans crave instant gratification and want results immediately.

The truth is, the results come with time. If you’re not actively tracking your progress, you won’t notice the changes that have already taken place.

For example:

Say you’re trying to eat healthier and cut out all processed foods. It might be hard to see the progress if you don’t have a before photo to reference your kitchen cupboards.

Maybe two weeks ago, the only things in your cupboards to snack on were potato chips and soda, but now you’re eating more fruits and vegetables as snacks.

You’ve made progress, but if you don’t have anything to reference, it’s hard to tell.

The same goes for your body. If you don’t take measurements or photos, it’s hard to tell if the new workout regimen is working.

You may never notice the changes until you see a photo of yourself that leaves you dumbstruck. I’ve been in that position before where I’m unaware that I may be losing weight until I see a photo from a month ago, and I’m left in awe.

How to fix it?

Check in with yourself periodically to see where you’re at in comparison to where you started.

Progress photos are the best way to visibly see changes that have taken place in your environment and your body.

You can also track your measurements, weight, and fitness goals in a journal or spreadsheet. This way, you can reference it to see your progress, and it will help to keep you accountable and motivated.

When you have the data that something you’re doing is working, it creates an excitement within you, which in turn boosts your motivation.

5. Feeling like you can’t stick to it forever

Giving up is always easier than seeing it through till the end. It’s a lot easier to go back to old habits than to stick to the new ones you’ve been working diligently to create.

Feeling like you can’t live a healthy life forever means that you doubt your abilities and show that you weren’t in the correct frame of mind when you started this journey.

A healthy lifestyle is not a diet or something you start and then end a few months from now. It is a lifetime commitment.

If you want your health to thrive, you must live a healthy lifestyle. It’s as simple as that.

How to fix this?

Change your mindset!

If you think you’re going to fail, then guess what? You will fail!

When you change your negative thoughts about a situation, you’ll begin to see the silver lining.

In this case, it means that you can live a healthier life and your goal is attainable if you truly commit to it.

Take things one day at a time, and make small changes. If you think it’ll be impossible to break out of old habits or stick with new ones, then make baby steps toward your desired future.

You already created a plan. So your only job is to stick with it.

Suggested Article: How To Develop A Healthy And Positive Mindset

A Healthy Lifestyle Isn’t a Fad

It Does Not Have an Expiration Date!

You Can Live and Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle by:

1. Making it a priority. When you make a healthy lifestyle a priority in your life, it shows that you value your wellbeing more than anything else.
2. Setting goals. Goals give you direction and help you stay focused on your end result while taking the necessary small steps.
3. Being consistent. When you’re consistent and do the same things day in and day out, it becomes a habit and isn’t as difficult to maintain anymore.
4. Tracking your progress. If you don’t track your progress, then how will you ever know if you’re making any headway? Checking in with yourself keeps you accountable and also motivated.
5. Adding a fun element. A healthy lifestyle isn’t supposed to be boring. Trying new things like different styles of workouts, different cuisines, and new hobbies all make your journey more exciting and keep things from becoming stale.

I hope these tips will help you overcome some common issues you’ve been facing with your health journey and help you achieve your goals.

In the comment section below, let me know what your biggest challenge is when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle and how you overcame it.
I look forward to hearing from you!

Questions You May Have

Pin It!