How to make changes?

Firstly, you need to decide how you want to be?

If your fairy godmother came and said  'I can make you into your dream version of you!', what would that look like?

Obviously nothing is that easy, but you need to know where you are going. For example, you do not usually just get into your car and drive, you know where your destination is. It is the same with health, so spend sometime to decide what you would like.

The stronger your WHY (your reason for change) is, the easier it will be to make changes.

So you have thought about how you would like to be and what you would like to be able to do. This is now your HEALTH  VISION and it is personal to you.

You now need to break that down a little further, to what can I do to get to my vision? Remember it is a journey and will take some time.

You can begin by setting yourself one or more goals for each week, such as the One Step A Week change. 

Can you put a chart on your fridge to tick them off each day, this will help to motivate you. Or do it with a friend and you can motivate each other.

If you find you are struggling, go back and think about the version of you , you would like to be.

Sometimes we may eat when we are not really hungry. We are eating to fill a different space within us, not a food space. So start to check your feelings too, are you actually hungry? Is your tummy rumbling? Or are you eating to give yourself comfort or because you are bored perhaps? Just start to check in with yourself to begin with, to become aware of what you and your body needs. Eat if you want to, but again think afterwards  - how do I feel now? It is so easy to eat for different needs. This may be where thinking about what you are eating is important, can you have a healthy snack instead, treat it is an opportunity to get some more nutrients into your body.

How do you speak to yourself? Would you speak to another person in the same way? Do you forgive yourself if you slip up?

Change is always hard to make, it is stepping out of our comfort zone, and we don't like that much, So be gentle on yourself. If you slip up, never mind, just move on and carry on where you left off.  Just don't use it as an excuse to stop. This is when you need to remember your VISION, to encourage you to keep going.

Remember to congratulate yourself at the end of each week. It is just how you do this that is important. Use some ME TIME if you can, a bubbly bath, read a book, do something you enjoy doing, apart from the obvious of eating an unhealthy treat of course! 

Self care is an important part of health, you have to look after yourself in order to be looking after other people as well as you would like.

It is much easier to bring small changes into your lifestyle. One change a week should be possible for us all. It may not feel like much, but when all the changes come together you should be on your way to your vision.

This is why I started One Step A Week, to encourage you to start making small changes to get to the next version of yourself. It is very general so for you to get to your vision you may need to do more, but it is a great place to start.