5 lifestyle changes to increase your fitness success dramatically

Thank you Eat Smart Workout Hard for this information! 🙂 It’s great info!

So, you want to make progress with your health goals — but, how can you do that effectively?

The main areas to think about are always going to be healthy eating and sticking with your workouts — these are extremely important but just as hard to maintain over the long haul.

However, there are other important lifestyle changes which will help take your progress to a whole new level. and eventual all else will fall into place.

Here are 5 lifestyle changes to increase your fitness success dramatically:

1. Improve your sleep quality
Your sleep quality is essential for success… maybe that sounds crazy but that’s what I’ve found this past week while attending the Mayo clinic health and wellness symposium.
Sleeping poorly at night, or staying up too late, is not only going to make you crave more carbohydrate rich foods, but you’ll be more likely to struggle in recovery from your workout sessions, not to mention how it will effect your daily activities.

So, how can you do better with your sleep?
Try these tips :

-Get comfortable — mattress, pillows and bedding.
-Reduce noise-
-Sleep in a cool, well ventilated room.
-Make sure the environment is dark enough.
-Reserve your bed for sleeping — no work allowed!
-Some researchers believe that people who do not have a TV in their bed rooms sleep better.

2. Focus on daily movement
The gym is not the only exercise you need to get in. While intense workouts are extremely important, it’s those people who are more active on a daily basis, who really notice a difference in their overall body composition. So keep it moving.

3. De-stress regularly
Stressed out? If so, it’s time to take control of that, before it starts to control you!

Stress is one of the leading causes of psychological and physiological problems, so looking after yourself now is certainly worthwhile.

Tips for avoiding stress, include:

-Deep breathing techniques.
-Exercise — Pilates, jogging, or whatever you find de-stressing.
-Positive thinking, reducing negative thoughts within.
-Going to a quite place, taking a bath, reading a book.
-Avoiding “toxic” people. AKA Haters
-Laughing — even when you don’t feel like it.

4. Eat something new
One reason for getting bored with “healthy eating,” which I’ve discovered in my own fitness life. As a result you end up bored with your clean “diet,” and not eating enough fruits and vegetables, etc.

To help solve this problem, begin making an effort to try one new piece of produce every week.

Whether it’s a new seasonal fruit for a snack between meals, or a vegetable you’ve been meaning to have for some time, doing something different like this on a regular basis will help you stick with the plan and avoid boredom.

5. Set micro-goals
This probably should have been number 1. This journey is a slow step by step process. SO many people try to take major leaps uo front and burn out then quit. This journey is about sustaining. It is not a race. Setting daily mini-goals can really help you move forward to reach your goals.

These should be small statements, which you want to accomplish. Think of them as tiny steps closer to your end goal, bit by bit reaching your potential.

These micro-goals should be simple and entirely possible for you to achieve that day. For example, “I will eat 2 portions of fruit, and 5 portions of vegetables today.”

Micro-goals are wonderful, because they really boost your level of self-belief, in other words, you start to believe you can ‘get it done’.

Over time, this could mean the difference between you staying the course, or falling off the wagon, because you don’t feel like you’re progressing fast enough.

So, there you have it, 5 small steps to success!

What challenges do you face in trying to change your lifestyle?