With the new year in full effect, what better time than right now to create long-lasting healthy habits you can incorporate into your life? Certified Personal Trainer, Evelyn Arguelles @livewellwitheve shares her easy tips to help you stick to your health goals and create healthy habits with her favorite greenhouse grown vegetables! Learn how to change your mindset and adding small actions everyday you can stick to those goals you recently created all year long.
A new year is underway and it is the perfect time to set some healthy habits and stick to them to make sure you are staying on track with your wellness journey. As a personal trainer, I have seen a lot of discouraged clients when progress toward their health goals does not come quickly enough. This frustration causes many to quit before they even give themselves a chance to succeed. I tell them all that the key is creating healthy habits!
SET YOURSELF UP FOR SUCCESS –
We all want to accomplish our health goals, especially in January, however, many of us have gone about it the wrong way. Building a habit or sticking with it can be more difficult if we do not know how to set ourselves up for success.
Did you know 81% of New Year’s Resolutions fail over a two-year span? 1 Ever wonder why that is? Most people believe that only motivation and willpower are needed in order to create a habit, but those traits will not always be at their peak and will go up and down over time. It is easy to feel demotivated when we don’t see results right away.
In 2023 let’s focus on goals that create long-lasting habits, not just quick fixes. Our wellness journey never ends, it is something we will have to work on our whole lives, and all throughout the year. Which means we are here for the long run.
START BY ADDING SMALL ACTIONS –
When creating health goals, focus on adding and not subtracting to create healthy habits. What do I mean by that? Instead of trying to change everything in a day or a week, start by adding small actions into your already existing routine that will improve your quality of life over time.
One of my main health goals this year is to include Pure Flavor® greenhouse grown fruits & vegetables in every meal. This is easy because all of my favorite greenhouse grown tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers are available all year round! This subtle change in a diet brings so many benefits that are an important part of a healthy, balanced diet. They are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which can help to protect against a variety of diseases. They are also a good source of fiber, which helps to keep the digestive system healthy and promotes feelings of fullness all day long!
MAKE INFORMED CHOICES –
Knowing where your vegetables are from is important for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it ensures that you are consuming safe, healthy produce that meets strict food safety standards. It also allows you to make informed choices about the environmental impact of your food choices. Additionally, knowing where your veggies are from enables you to make sure you are getting fresh and the most nutrient-dense produce possible. This is why I choose to incorporate Pure Flavor® greenhouse-grown fresh fruits and vegetables into my everyday meals.
Adding veggies to every meal is a simple change that goes a long way. Remember we want to focus on making small but steady progress. BJ Fogg, a behavior scientist at Stanford University and author of the new book Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything, says that the idea is to make behavior changes so small that they are easy to do. For example, instead of following a strict meal plan add veggies to every meal. When you try to take on more than you can handle, you can easily end up feeling frustrated. They may even leave you feeling so defeated that you stop trying to adopt the new habit. When you start small you are setting yourself up for success in the long run. Make it easy enough so that even when you are not feeling as super motivated, you can continue to get it done.
HOW TO GET STARTED –
If eating more vegetables every day is a healthy habit you’d like to try this year, there are so many ways to get started! Delicious snacking vegetables like Uno Bites™ Nano Cucumbers can be a fresh and easy snack! They are perfect on their own but also great for dipping into hummus, or other dips. Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers can be stuffed with cheese and ground beef as a light meal or appetizer. One of my favorite ways to add veggies into my meals is by making a Veggie-Packed Pasta with Aurora Bites Mini Sweet Peppers. This pasta is not only delicious but also very filling. You will have to give it a try! Making subtle changes in what you eat in a day, like eating more greenhouse grown veggies, can make a big difference to your overall health and well-being!
~ Evelyn
