I Claim Healthy Habits

Feb 15

I'm sure you're familiar with that US Weekly segment, They're Just Like Us! Kelley Tyan, this week's guest on You're Such a Catch is just like us. "I know what it's like to crave sugar. I know what it's like to crave salts and want the fries, but I've had to ask myself how I want to feel as I get older? Do I want to feel better in my body, or do I want to feel crappy? So it really comes down to making choices at any given moment because we all have them to make, and we have to choose what's going to benefit us."

Kelley is an Accountability Coach and the Podcast Host and Author of Addicted to the Climb. She's been in the health and fitness industry for 20 years, helping women achieve their goals, one step at a time. On this week's episode, Kelley teaches us how we can claim healthy habits that are sustainable no matter what season of life we're in. She doesn't sugarcoat (pun intended) her approach, stating we can make excuses or we can find a way to make things work—but it all starts with a commitment to ourselves to want to change.

"Don't try to say I'm going to eat the salad; I'm going to take the sugar out. I'm going to start working out five days a week, and I'm going to run a 5k in a month, and I'm going to drink water because, listen, it's not going to work. It just doesn't. That's too much for our brains. We'll give up easily. One thing at a time. Start with something and take action so you can go to be feeling proud and wake up feeling proud of what you did the day before."

This episode couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me. I've been struggling with reinstating my routine post-break-up, and I have goals I'd like to accomplish this year regarding my health and fitness. This conversation with Kelley reenergized me and helped me prioritize my day to claim healthy habits in my life. If I can do it, you can do it too.

Here's my commitment to myself for the next thirty days. Now, it may look like I'm biting off more than I can chew, and we know from Kelley that isn't advised but keep in mind that I already did some of these things, so I'm simply adding to the solid foundation I've built over time. I will asterisk the new additions for transparency.

Healthy Habits

2 Liters of Water*
Calorie Deficit
30 Minutes of Self-Help (reading/podcast)
5+ Gratitudes
5 Affirmations
45 Minutes Cardio*
No Alcohol*

After successfully doing this for 30 days, I'll assess if I want to continue. The most important thing with this is doing the best I can and showing up for myself. It feels good to follow through for me. Any results or changes to my body, scale, or overall health are a bonus.

What healthy habits do you want to claim?

Takeaways from this episode to stash in your tackle box:

You don’t need a gym or a structured workout to move your body. Take breaks throughout the day to stand up and walk for five minutes at a time. You can do body squats and other simple exercises from the comfort of your home, or office.
Ask yourself how you want to feel when you’re considering what to eat. Nutrition is important and asking yourself this will better guide you when choosing between a burger and a salad.
If you have a really hard time with nutrition, ladies, this is me, try making a shake with greens. It’s easy, doesn’t require any advanced preparation, and is packed full of nutrients your body needs.
It takes time to break bad habits. Give yourself up to two weeks to really start to see the results of your new healthy habits.
Faith or a belief in something greater than yourself is important. There will be days when staying the course seems next to impossible. Having faith means you don’t have to do it alone.
Don’t try to make too many changes at once. That never goes well. Make gradual, sustainable changes and celebrate all milestones even if you feel like they’re insignificant. They’re not. Be proud of your progress, scale, and non-scale victories.