With the fast paced society we live in today, it’s easy to get caught up in the latest quick fix fad or diet. Each one promising FAST results or extreme lifestyle changes, but there’s a reason that they fail. Each type is encouraging an extremist mindset, all or nothing. So while some may work for the short term, most people stop or fail and can’t incorporate their new found way of life as a realistic lifestyle.

But the good news is it has nothing to do with your willpower or willingness to get healthy. It has to do with taking on more than we can chew in a short period of time. Progress takes time, lifestyles are meant to impact your entire life and not just your wellness for a few weeks at a time. But small changes to your health and daily life will lead you to bigger results. Long lasting, life changing results for good. Here are 5 great ways to incorporate healthy living into even the busiest of schedules.

1. Focus on your Can & not Can’t – We all have time to make healthier choices when it comes to nutrition and fitness. Start talking to yourself more and more when it comes to making choices on what to eat and how to spend your time. For example, if you have an hour or even 30 minutes to yourself, tell yourself YOU CAN workout instead of sitting on the couch watching TV. When you head to the fridge, YOU CAN grab a healthy snack and water if you’re hungry.
2. Slow Down – Most of our life is rushed through to get to the next activity or thing on the schedule. But when it’s time to eat just sit down and make your meals/snacks more intentional. Acknowledge, what you are eating, how it’s making your body feel in that moment and be thankful for the food you are consuming. So many of us multitask and eat mindlessly which has been proven to attribute to our over/distracted eating and it could be sabotaging your health.
3. Grab your Bible – So many of us need to start our day in the word. Thanking God for our beautiful bodies, minds and spirits. Asking him to keep us nourished and living the life that he has planned for us. God made sure each and every one of us were fearfully and wonderfully made, so lets not steer away from that and get back to the person we were intended to be. If your early morning routine doesn’t allow that time in the word, use small prayers throughout your day, each time before you eat, make a decision, before bed and more.
4. Plan ahead – Pick a day to do some small meal preparations for the week. Maybe that’s washing your fruit/veggies, chopping or even preparing meat that you may need for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Allowing yourself the time to prep, even if it’s just for one meal will allow you to make a better choice for what you are putting into your body. If you’re not familiar with meal prep, start small and just purchase your fruits/veggies and wash/chop them up if needed, then the next week you can add an additional meal prep step to your time and so on.
5. Sleep – For some of us this may be tricky depending on the season of life we are in. But it is so important to get rest even if you can’t sleep through the night; you can always take naps when your little ones nap. But something that has helped was having an early bedtime! One way I was able to do that was by setting an alarm on my phone to “turn off” all of my apps (aside from text or calls) so I could decompress and get into my nightly routine. That one simple change has helped me get to sleep easier and quicker for the night!

One thing to remember is not to overwhelm your self by trying to change everything all at once. Make small changes can eventually lead to big results or to the results you’ve always wanted to see. Anything worth sticking will take some time to develop and change. So give one of these small changes a try this week and see how you feel!