Small Changes to Becoming Your Best Self

Evolution by definition takes time, a lot of time. The Earth and the living things in it didn’t become what they are today overnight; it took millions of years. And you didn’t become how you are overnight either. This transformation also took years, or maybe just nine months like it did for me; in the middle of my journey. But this blog isn’t about me. This blog is for you if you ever:

• Struggled with finding a balance between enjoying life and living a healthy lifestyle.
• Struggled with losing body fat, gaining muscle.
• Struggled with controlling health without medication.
• Struggled with being healthy and happy.

I am here to tell you that unless you have always lived a healthy lifestyle, it’s going to take time. But it can be done. It’s actually better that it takes time; making small changes over a longer length of time will almost guarantee a smoother evolution and make those healthy changes more sustainable.

WHERE DO I START?

The answer to “where do I start” of course, is at the beginning. It sounds simple, but so many people don’t know where the beginning is. So they fall into the diet habit; pick a diet, stick to it for a month, fall off the wagon and give up; gain all the weight back. Or maybe they stick with it for the whole duration of the diet. They lose all the weight they were trying to lose, only to gain it all back when they get off the diet. This happens because they don’t really make any long term changes. You didn’t gain all the fat in six weeks, so you can’t expect your body to lose the fat in six weeks and keep it off. The same can be said for gaining muscle.

DON’T GET CAUGHT UP

So many of us get caught up in the end (or how we envision the end) that we forget about the start, and all the stuff in between. Changes takes time. Being healthy, happy and fit cannot be accomplished with a six week fat blaster diet. Becoming your best self will take work and time. I keep saying that word “time” and that’s because I’m trying to make sure this point stick. And in time the work will not feel like work anymore, it will just be a part of who you are.

MAKE A SMALL CHANGE, NOW

The changes you make to become your best self will work for whatever your goal is, as long as you start small and make them lasting habits. Change one small thing in your life right now. Seriously, right now. What small change can you make immediately? Think about it for a couple minutes, but not too long. Here are a few changes you can make right away, with little to no effort.

• Cut back on the number of sodas or sugary juices you drink. (If you drink four a day, cut back to two.)
• Have a small piece of cake instead of the big piece in the corner (you know the one I mean.)
• Instead of eating a big bag of potato chips, eat a smaller bag.
• Add a serving of vegetables or fruit to one or two of your meals. (I have a friend who started doing this, and now he eats produce with every meal.)
• Buy more food that has to be cooked or prepared.
• Buy two or three more whole foods on your next shopping trip.

Maybe it’s a fitness goal you want to reach, or maybe you just want to start working out in general. Start small, and build from there.

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator, even if it’s only one flight to start with.
• Stand at your desk, and get up to stretch every thirty minutes.
• Go for walking breaks if possible.
• Instead of eating (or smoking) on your next break, go for a walk.
• Do some sit-ups, squats or lunges during the ads on YouTube, instead of skipping them.
• Go to a fitness class at the local gym. (Some gyms will let you try out a class at a lesser fee than a regular day pass.)
• Follow a fitness channel or website, try out the exercises at home. (My website has a section with exercises.)

DRASTIC CHANGES ARE SHOCKING

These small changes over time will give you the confidence to move forward and make more changes. This evolution will snowball into bigger changes. Here are reasons it is more beneficial and sustainable to make small changes over time, as opposed to big changes all at once.

• It’s less shocking to the body. Your body’s natural reaction is to defend itself when you make a sudden change.
• Suddenly eating 1000 more calories per day to gain muscle? Yes, you will gain some muscle (mostly newbie gains,) but the majority of those calories will result in fat gain. This happens because your body thinks it’s going into survival mode.
• If you eat drastically less calories than before you went on the diet, you will lose weight. However, most of that weight will be water, muscle and only some fat.
• Fat has more calories (which translate to energy in the body) than carbohydrates or protein. Making these changes over a longer length of time will allow your body, your nervous system and brain to adapt, evolve and understand that these are positive changes that will benefit your overall health and wellbeing.
• You will be more likely to make the changes into habits, and eventually the habits into your lifestyle.
• Given time you won’t even think about the things you do, in order to live a healthy life.

So take your time when making changes for the betterment of your health and wellbeing. Your mind and body will thank you by being the healthiest it has ever been. Make the small changes over time and I can almost guarantee you will see results that will last your lifetime.