How to Stay Motivated to Live A Healthy Lifestyle

Let’s face it, it can be hard to stick to our goals when we feel like we’re in it alone. Especially when we’re trying to live a healthy lifestyle but everyone around us doesn’t necessarily want the same thing.

I’ve been down this road many times. It can be frustrating but that’s never a good reason to throw in the towel. Instead, it should be even more reason for you to really push yourself to achieve those goals and live a healthy life.

First things first, I’m no health nut what-so-ever. I don’t obsess over eating clean all the time, adopting a very strict diet in order to reach specific goals, spending tons of hours in the gym to stay in shape, or anything like that.

I simply want to be healthy and live a healthy life to the best of my ability.

This is what fueled my passion for health and wellness years ago. While my goal is to inspire others to make their own health and wellness a priority in their life, I also understand that not every single person will make a connection to it.

But what if they don’t? What if they don’t see the value or meaning in living a healthy lifestyle just as you do? What do we do then?

Simply let it be. And here’s why.

Just like you’re choosing this new lifestyle for yourself, they have to choose it for themselves too. If there is anything this journey has taught me it’s that you can’t force people to adopt a new lifestyle for your own benefit.

There are so many reasons why it’s necessary to care for ourselves daily. Not only does doing so help us have tons of energy, great skin, better sleeping habits, a better working immune system, and a healthy gut, but it also teaches us the discipline of staying focused and committed to our goals.

It is because of this I’ve had to train my brain, and redefine my values to be more realistic to my overall goals personally, and not something that I’m constantly trying to influence others with. Which has actually helped me stay motivated to continue to live a healthy lifestyle to the best of my ability.

So today I’m going to share with you how you can to stay motivated to live a healthy lifestyle when others don’t want to get on board with you.

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1. Understand your reasoning for wanting to be healthy

The most important part of any journey is to understand why you are participating in it. What are you driving reasons for wanting to live a healthy life?

For me it was all about simply wanting to be the best version of myself all time. Growing up I had really poor eating habits, I never exercised, and I honestly never made an attempt to be active on any level.

Then shortly after getting my college degree all of this changed for me. I was struggling figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, I gained weight that I was uncomfortable with, and ultimately, I felt so uncomfortable in my own skin.

I wanted to live a healthier and more active lifestyle as a means to simply feel better about myself on a daily basis.

That was my “why” for choosing to live a healthy lifestyle, which is why I couldn’t force or try to influence anyone to want to embark on the same journey as me. It was completely personal. That’s what this whole experience has to be for you.

Take a moment to really think about your “why” for wanting to live a healthy lifestyle.

Is it a health issue? Maybe it’s an image issue? Does it have to do with improving your energy levels? Or improving your sleeping habits?

Knowing your “why” behind your decision is going to make living a healthier lifestyle easier.

2. Budget/shop for yourself

This is a big one. You may have heard that eating healthy is expensive, and while it can be expensive the reality is that it doesn’t have to be. The trick is to literally only shop for yourself, and if possible, to shop at farmer’s markets.

Farmer’s markets really just provide you with fresh food straight from the ground. It’s genuinely 100% organic, you can trust that it’s not processed or contains GMOs of any kind. And, honestly it can be way cheaper than buying food from the grocery store.

On top of shopping at farmer’s markets it’s would be wise to only shop for yourself.

Think about it this way, if no one else in your household is wanting to eat the same foods as you, don’t force it. Instead, respect their decision and stay committed to yours by only shopping for yourself.

But this also means that if you’re not financially in a position to buy food for yourself and others, you need to place the responsibility of buying food for others in the house onto someone else.

This can also help you save a ton of money because you eliminate having to shop for X amount of people to only having to shop for yourself. In doing so you also open up the opportunity to get more food for yourself that you might not have been able to get shopping for a whole family.

You’ll also find that you may be able to budget better and more efficiently. This is because you’re able to get foods that are not only healthy, but also possibly cheaper than most foods.

In other words, take all that money that you would normally spend at the grocery store for others and invest it elsewhere.

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3. Make a weekly meal plan for yourself

This will make budgeting for yourself so much easier. Something I like to do is make a meal plan for all my meals weekly. This includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any snacks that I am going to have for the week.

I’ve found that doing this helps me to only spend money on the foods that I am going to need for the week. This also helps to eliminate any guesswork about what I’m going to be eating and when, and allows to me to stick my goals by eating foods that are in favor of my chosen lifestyle.

To accomplish this, I try to take about an hour and a half every Sunday to plan and shop for my meals for the week. Sometimes I also just buy foods on the spot if I wasn’t able to do this on Sunday.

Doing this can help you stay motivated to life a healthy lifestyle because you’re planning meals for the week just you. This allows you to be able to try new things and basically eat whatever you want to eat without having to worry about making compromises of any sort.

Creating a weekly meal plan can also help you reach your goals a lot faster.

Since doing this I’ve found that it’s easier for me to maintain a consistent weight, it’s curved a lot of my bad eating habits, and I’m snacking on more fruits and veggies during the day (which is one of my biggest goals).

You may find that taking the time to do meal plan can help you achieve goals such as these, and any other health related goals you may have.

4. Remember your goals

This is something that I struggle a lot with. I find myself having to revisit my goals constantly in order to keep myself on track.

This isn’t a bad thing. In fact, I think it’s good to revisit your goals in order to constantly be reminded of what they are.

I do this almost daily. This is mainly because I have a big family, which means that it’s really easy for me to lose focus and have my mind immediately go to whatever the easiest, quickest, and fairest option for everyone is.

However, when I do this, I’m losing sight of my goals.

If you find that this may be something that you tend to do then this tip is for you. There are tons of ways that you can be reminded of what your goals are. My two favorite ways are to say them aloud to myself, and to write them down.

Doing either technique allows for you to recall not only why you set the goals that you have, but also helps you to shift your focus to them. A lot of the time when we lose sight of our goals it’s because our mind has been shifted to focus on something that is not aligned with them.

For me this is always making sure my family has food to eat. For you this may be something different.

It took me a really long time to realize that living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean I have to think of others. The honest truth is that you kind of have to be a little bit selfish if you want to reach your goals.

Again, just because it’s something that you want for yourself doesn’t mean everyone else has to be on board with it. They can very well support you but that doesn’t mean they have to adopt the same lifestyle as you.

In moments when you may feel defeated or misunderstood, go back to your goals and remember the value they hold for you.

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5. Stick to a consistent routine  

Lastly, perhaps the one thing that I have found to be most effective for me, is establishing a consistent routine. This routine is something that you do daily to help you start your day.

While it may seem silly, the fact of the matter is that having a consistent routine can help you develop positive habits. For me this was developing habits that were related to my goals.

For example, part of my routine consists of me exercising in the morning, having a cup of green tea with my breakfast, and meditating for five minutes. This helps with my goals because I’m exercising daily and I’m practicing daily wellness through meditation.

Of course, your daily routine doesn’t have to look anything like this, and I hope that your routine is more personalized to meet your needs and fulfill your goals.

Sticking to a consistent routine will train your brain and body to do a specific set of things every day at a specific time. This consistency is what helps you create habits.

Again, this may be something that you want to get everyone on board with, but you can’t.

Your routine has to be completely personalized and related to your overall health and wellness goals in some way. Which means that even if getting your whole family to sit and meditate with you for 5 minutes allows for peace, you can’t rely on that quiet space to work towards your goals.

You have to adapt to your environment and train yourself to find those moments when you can work on your goals in any way that you find to be most effective.

This is why it’s important to have a daily routine. It disciplines you in finding that time and space, it keeps your goals at the front of your mind always, and it allows you to work on your goals daily through little baby steps.

Conclusion

It can be frustrating when you want to live a healthy lifestyle and you feel like those around you aren’t supporting you in doing so.

I’ve felt this way since the start of my journey. The truth is that it’s not that they don’t support you, they just don’t feel it’s necessary for them to adopt a healthy lifestyle a well.

While I do think that it’s great when people close to you choose to be a teammate by participating in the same things as you every now and then, I’ve also come to learn that it’s your journey to experience, not theirs.

While it’s nice to have someone working out with you every day, eating the same foods as you, going on multiple walks throughout the day, hiking every weekend, and whatever else may constitute as living a healthy lifestyle for you, it’s not necessary nor is it required.

Instead, you have to remind yourself that living a healthy lifestyle is a choice that you have made all your own. Therefore, you have to be willing to (and okay with) stepping out on your own and being selfish during the times when it matters most to you.

Buy food for yourself and save money by visiting the farmer’s market every weekend. Take the time to plan out all your meals for a week. Create a daily routine that allows you to take baby steps towards reaching your goals. Also remind yourself of what your goals are and why they hold value to you.

Keep in mind that everyone around you doesn’t have to adopt the new lifestyle that you want for yourself in order for you to remain committed to it. You just have to accept right off the back, or at least early on, that this is a decision you are making for yourself and there will be moments when you have to go at it alone.

And that’s ok. It’s all about the experience and what it means to you. This is a daily reminder to me.

Stay strong, keep your head held high, and your eyes on the prize. It’s a lot easier than we may think it is, all we got to do is focus.

How do you stay healthy when those around you don’t understand your lifestyle choices? Let’s help one another out.

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-Xo

Kimora