Week 7: Maintain

Welcome to the seventh and final week of Healthy Lifestyle's Healthy Holidays program!  We hope that you have enjoyed your holidays and have acquired some new healthy habits to live by, especially during the holiday season.  This week we are focusing on maintaining.  Sometimes the initial excitement about making lifestyle changes wears off, causing people to go through plateaus.  If you hit a plateau, try some of these tips to help you break through it:

-Remind yourself of your goals.  Consider asking friends and family for support.
-Renew your focus on healthy habits.  Your concentration may have waned, so paying attention to your lifestyle habits may help you identify places where you are starting to get off track.
-Stick with your eating plan. Focus on mindful eating and good nutrition.
-Challenge yourself. Try exercising a little longer or harder, or increasing the number of vegetables you eat each day.
-Change it up. Try a different exercise or some new recipes to make behavior change fun again.  Remind yourself of the progress you have made. Hitting a plateau does not mean that you have failed.
-Be forgiving. Remember that change takes time, effort, and commitment. Believe in your ability to overcome a plateau and continue making progress toward your goal.
-Setbacks are also common.  Unforeseen obstacles will inevitably arise and make it more challenging to reach your goals. If you experience a setback, try these additional tips to help you get back on track with your goals:      

Steps to overcoming setbacks:

1. Accept whatever “it” was that derailed your healthy lifestyle habits. Maybe it was a poor decision, or maybe it was an unavoidable circumstance. It happened and is in the past. Now it’s time to analyze the situation and formulate a plan that will help you overcome the setback.

2. Practice self-forgiveness. A slip-up is a single incident, not a catastrophe. Therefore, it is not a reason to give up.  Resolve to get back on track with your healthy lifestyle habits now.

3. Problem-solve. Instead of criticizing yourself, analyze the situation to identify the problem and come up with possible solutions.  Here are some examples:

• a. Are you bored with your exercise or nutrition routine? Look for ways to spice it up, such as with a new activity, a new recipe, or by adding friends to the mix.
  
• b. Are you too busy to get lunch? Have healthy snacks on hand around the office so that you don’t become famished and overeat later.
  
• c. Are you too busy to exercise? Try including lifestyle activities to stay active, such as parking farther away, taking the stairs, standing while on the phone, or carrying your groceries in a handcart. Avoid adopting an all-or-nothing mentality.
  
• d. Are you eating when you aren’t truly hungry? Figure out why. If it’s due to stress, try doing something else to alleviate stress, such as getting some exercise or calling a friend. If it’s because you’re tired, take a nap to re-energize instead of relying on a sugar rush.

4. Review your goals to make sure they are realistic. Setting manageable goals can help reduce frustration so that you’re less likely to feel like giving up.

5. Recommit to your goals. Sometimes setbacks occur when goals are no longer at the front of our minds. Remind yourself of your intrinsic motivation, recommit, and return to your healthy behaviors.

6. Remember past positive experiences. You’ve had success before, so believe in yourself and feel confident that you have the knowledge and skills for success now.

7. Ask for help. Getting support from others can make it easier to get through difficult days.

This week's challenge:
Pick your favorite goal that you made from any of the previous week challenges to maintain throughout the year.  For this week's challenge, all you need to do is write down one way to overcome any setbacks that may come your way as you maintain your goal.   
***In order to obtain a prize for completing the program you must have completed all seven weekly challenges.
***ONLY if you've completed the program, email healthyholidays@slco.org by Friday, January 15th saying, "I've completed the program", your name and interdepartmental mail address.
Example: I’ve completed the program, John Doe, S2400.

Watch this video below on maintaining a healthy lifestyle:

Post Title : Week 7: Maintain

Week 7: Maintain,