Habits. We all have great ones. We all have some bad ones. However, in our quest to achieve all of our health, fitness, and lifestyle goals, we do our best to implement habits that will propel us forward in achieving those goals. Now, I know that habits may not be easy to stick to begin; I’m a true testament to that. I myself have fallen off the bandwagon and several times at that.

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Don’t believe any fitness guru or fitness professional that can’t admit to falling off the bandwagon. If they aren’t keeping it real with themselves, how are they going to keep it real with you. ” quote=”Don’t believe any fitness guru or fitness professional that can’t admit to falling off the bandwagon. If they aren’t keeping it real with themselves, how are they going to keep it real with you? @thedeesnell ” theme=”style1″]

But you wanna know the key to falling off? Don’t stay down. Get back up, dust yourself off and keep pressing forward. Do what you want to do and gotta do to achieve those goals.

Here are some of my habits that I’ve implemented throughout my health and fitness journey that has helped me tremendously in achieving my goals and continuously help me when I put them into action.

Create a sense of community

You may not have a dedicated gym partner or a run buddy, however having a community of people around you who want to achieve the same goal as you make it easier to achieve them. Accountability and discipline is a big factor in achieving anything that we put our minds to, so it helps to have somebody in your corner and on the same track. It’s a two-way relationship, you can’t just take, you got to give some too. That’s what community is about.

Vision the end goal

Vision the end goal that you have in mind reinforces why you’re implementing these habits. It’ll make it much easier to keep the habits going and to make it a part of your daily routine. It doesn’t even become a second thought as to why you’re doing it, you just do it. However, I do want to give you a tip.

[click_to_tweet tweet=” However, I do want to give you a tip. If the goal is all physical, which there’s nothing wrong with that, it may be a lot harder to keep the habit going once you reach that goal. -@thedeesnell” quote=” However, I do want to give you a tip. If the goal is all physical, which there’s nothing wrong with that, it may be a lot harder to keep the habit going once you reach that goal.”]

I’m challenging you to think outside of the scope of physical benefits that you’ll get from your health and fitness journey, and think about the mental, emotional, and spiritual effects it will have on your life. Overall, you’ll find yourself succeeding in so many more other areas in life, professionally and personally, that contribute directly to the sustainable healthy habits that you created.

Eating more vegetables, especially the green ones

Remember when our parents always said to eat all the vegetables on your plate? They had a good reason. Over the years I have grown to love vegetables and I know it’s still a drawback for a lot of people, however, the benefits and the feeling you get from eating more vegetables definitely makes it worth it in the long run. There are so many different ways that you can cook vegetables and make it appetizing. You can steam, bake, roast, and occasionally some people like to fry. The diversity of cooking vegetables just increases the likelihood of remaining on your journey. It also brings joy to the journey of your health and fitness. Not to mention a lot of vegetables that you can consume have loads of fiber, which is really imperative for digestion You don’t want the food to just go through you. You want to consume the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that the food provides from eating it.

Swapping instead of eliminating

If you ask anybody who knows me, I have never been a fan of eliminating an entire food group. It just doesn’t make sense to me generally and nutritionally. I love food, and I don’t want to deprive myself of something that I really want. You’ll notice a lot of times people extreme diet, either don’t last long, bounce back to where they start, and sometimes worse than they were when they started. Now there are some people who have certain health concerns and have to eliminate certain foods, but if my doctor suggests that I eliminated an entire food group, I probably might question that prescription. I am a big fan of swapping instead of eliminating. You’ll find me swapping the “unhealthy stuff” for some healthier substitutions. Ghee instead of butter, tea instead of coffee, water instead of tea, cauliflower instead of potatoes. The list goes on. Substitutions keep things alive without taking the joy of enjoying a great meal.

Increased my cardio

In my fitness journey, I have never been a fan of steady-state cardio. However, I know the benefits that come from running, jogging, or walking so I’ve made it a habit to implement it in my fitness regimen. I don’t run for leisure on an everyday basis, but if I’m in an area with a nice trail, I will take advantage of it. Last year, I set a goal to run one 5K a month and I smashed that goal with the consistency of implementing the habit of running when the opportunity presented itself.

Increased stretching

Working in an office environment can be taxing on the body. I made it a habit to continuously stretch my body, joints, and limbs throughout the day. In addition to some stretches, I’ll take a heated yoga class and it does wonders for my body.

Drink more water

Water. Good ol’ water. It’s the elixir of Youth. I can’t get enough of it. We don’t drink nearly enough that we should. When you’re working out, you should definitely increase your water intake because of the amount of water that you’re losing from the body. Now, I know there are some people who don’t like the taste of water, however, the benefits that you do get from it will definitely help you reach your goal much faster. If you’re not used to drinking it, like all goals, start small. One of the tactics that I like to tell my clients that don’t like to drink water is to start small. Make it a habit to put the water bottle to your mouth a certain amount of times a day. Then with every moment you put that bottle to your mouth, take a certain amount of gulps. I like to recommend 10 gulps. I can guarantee you will finish a bottle of water within 3-5 times that you bring it to your lips. You’ll start in taking so much water that you won’t even realize it, but you’ll instantly notice that you’ll feel better, you curb hunger cravings, and your skin will start looking better as well.

These may be some habits that you have thought of implementing, have implemented, or never thought to implement to reach your goals. Take a look and give me your thoughts.