This post was sponsored by Nature Made® as a part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central.
Even though it’s been several months since we all buckled down and created our resolutions for the year, it’s never too late to build healthy habits. There’s a saying that never fails to motivate me: A year from now, you’ll wish you started today. With that mentality, I can push myself to prioritize what I want out of life and start now… no excuses.
So this spring, it’s time to get my butt into shape again. I don’t think I’ve properly recovered from the holiday snacking and baking, followed by Valentine’s Day and my birthday— so many excuses to fall off the healthy living wagon. But when I’m exercising regularly and eating clean, I feel my best… and I want to get back to that!
It only takes 21 days for an action to become a habit, which is nothing in the grand scheme of things. So while I start to rebuild my healthy habits, here are some tips for you to start your own.
1. Make Short Term Goals
While having an overarching end goal works for some people to get started with their healthy habits, I find it to be counterproductive. If you truly want to build healthy habits, don’t put an expiration date on them. A few years ago, I lost 30 pounds before going on a trip to the Caribbean… but lo and behold, when I came back from vacation I started letting those habits fade as I had already passed my end goal. Continually making short term goals as you go can help keep you motivated as time goes on. On top of that, short term goals are typically more quick to achieve and can help keep your morale up.
2. Create Simple Daily Habits
To start, find easy habits you can incorporate into your daily routine that contribute to your goals. Two of the simple daily habits I’ve been working into my routine this season is reaching 10,000 steps a day, and taking vitamins. Adam bought me the newest FitBit for my birthday a couple weeks ago, which I love for keeping track of my activity throughout the day. It gives me insight on how much I’m moving and sends me reminders every hour to get up and do something active! Definitely a must-have for someone who works at home, on the computer.
As for vitamins, I’ve been taking Magnesium and the Super B-Complex from Nature Made, supporting nutritional gaps in my diet. It’s the #1 best-selling brand of vitamins, minerals and supplements* (and the #1 pharmacist recommended in 9 categories**), and I picked them up super affordably at Walmart at the beginning of the month. The world of vitamins can be a little daunting, especially when you’re standing in front of a huge wall of bottles like they have at Walmart, but the Nature Made bottles have the purpose of each supplement smack dab on the front of the bottle, which makes it a lot easier to choose what’s right for you.
3. Get Rid of Distractions
Don’t keep any temptations out in the open that can steer you off track. For me, this meant keeping junk snack foods out of the house. Don’t wait until you finish the bag of chips or box of cookies— bring it into the office or to a friend’s house and get them off your hands. They’re just extra reasons to “start tomorrow” or reset completely.
4. Track Your Progress
I really like tracking my progress with new habits to see how far I’ve come over time. One way to do this is to create a chart you can fill in daily as you complete the habits you want to stick. The habits I track include cooking all three meals at home, working out, no sweets, cheat days, and when I get 8 hours of sleep a night.
5. Reward Yourself & Stay Motivated
When you meet one of your goals, reward yourself! You’ve earned it! Nature Made is trying to help reward you as you build your habits with the 30-Day Healthy Habit Builder challenge. You can choose from a list of health goals, and pick four new habits to help you get there over the next month. As you progress, you can log in for daily tips and motivation to help you stay on track. If you sign up before March 31st, 2016, you’ll be automatically entered to win $5,000 to help you maintain your habits!*** You can also sign up for the Nature Made Daily Boost program to receive simple suggestions you can apply to your life every day for better overall wellness.
Reward yourself even more by entering to win one of 20 Walmart gift cards worth $50. Enter by choosing a sharing option from the widget below. Influence Central will randomly select 20 winners from all program entries and will handle fulfillment of the winning prizes.
*Based in part on data reported by Nielsen through its Scantrack Service for the Vitamins Category for 52-week period ending 1/02/2016, for the xAOC Market.
**Based on US News & World Report – Pharmacy Times Survey, Nature Made is the #1 Pharmacist Recommended Brand in Nine Categories – Letter Vitamins, Omega-3/Fish Oil, Coenzyme Q10, Flax Seed Oil, Herbal Supplements, Cholesterol Management-Natural, Garlic, Diabetic Multivitamins and Mood Health Supplements
***NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE 50 UNITED STATES (D.C) 18 YEARS AND OLDER.VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Enter by 3/31/16. Internet access required. 1 Grand Registration Prize (actual value $5,000) and 30 Challenge Prizes (each actual value $250) available to be won. For Official Rules, prize descriptions and odds disclosure, visit HealthyHabitBuilder.com. Sponsor: Pharmavite LLC, 8510 Balboa Blvd. Suite 100, Northridge, CA 91325. The sponsor of this sweepstakes is Nature Made. WebMD is not related to or responsible for the sweepstakes.