Are you thinking about making some lifestyle changes and becoming a little bit healthier than you have been recently? If so, you need to think carefully about how you’re going to approach this because there are lots of ways in which you can get things wrong if you’re not being careful about it. If you take the wrong approach to give up unhealthy things, whether that means cigarettes, alcohol, or certain types of unhealthy foods, you will end up lapsing back into old ways.
We’re going to help you get started with the process of giving up unhealthy stuff for the good of your health. It’s not something that you can afford to put off any longer because your health and general wellbeing are on the line. If you want to get this right and come out the other side a changed and healthier person, you need to read on and learn about what it’s going to take. Don’t be daunted or scared though; you’ll get into the swing of things in no time.
Know What You Need to Give Up Most Urgently
First of all, you need to be clear about what you want to give up. There might be lots of changes you want to make in your life. Maybe you want to give up alcohol, caffeine, and processed foods. It’s probably not a great idea to tackle all of those things at the same time though. It’s probably going to be wiser to choose the one that you want to give up most urgently for whatever reason and then approach the other things at a later date when it will be more manageable for you.
Have Clear Reasons for Wanting to Give Up
As well as knowing what you want to give up, you will need to make sure that you have clear reasons for wanting to give up those things. Without a clear reason for wanting to give it up, you’ll probably struggle to motivate yourself going forward once the going gets tough. Maybe you want to make sure that you’re able to play with your kids and get active with them so you want to give up smoking to improve your fitness and stamina. Whatever your reasons are, make sure they make sense to you.
Find Ways to Focus on Those Endpoint Goals Each Day
Motivating yourself to keep working each day of the week might just be the hardest part of all this. You need to make sure that you’re able to keep your eyes focused firmly on the prize. That endpoint should be withinside, and you need to have a way of visualizing it or making it real so that you keep moving in the right direction every day of the week. You could find some images that reflect what you’re working towards and put them somewhere where you’ll see them each day.
Let Everyone Know
It’s a good idea to let your friends and family members know that you’re going to be giving something up. That way, they can be more understanding of your position and why you want to spend time making improvements to your lifestyle. People might tempt you with the things you’re giving up without even knowing what they’re doing if you don’t let them know what you’re trying to give up. It’s always best to keep people in the loop as much as you can.
Know When to Remove Yourself From Certain Situations
Sometimes, you simply need to remove yourself from certain situations if you want to make sure that you don’t end up caving in and failing in your efforts to give unhealthy stuff up. It’s about not putting yourself in positions where you’re going to be faced with real temptation that’s hard to resist. So get to know the situations in which it’s best to step back and stop biting. It might be difficult to bring yourself to do this, but it’ll be worth it.
Find a Healthier Replacement to Use as a Crutch
When you’re trying to give something up, it can really help out a lot if you have something else to fall back onto when you quit something. For example, if you’re trying to give up smoking right now, this source here might help you. Switching to e-liquids is far preferable for most people trying to give up cigarettes. This same principle can also be applied to plenty of other things, so don’t be afraid to find a crutch that you can rely on while you’re adjusting to the new reality.
Feel the Benefits
Once you start to get used to not having the things that you’re trying to give up, you will also start to feel the benefits that come from this. You might feel healthier, more able to get around, or less tired throughout the day. It doesn’t matter what the benefits are; the fact that you’re able to benefit at all from this suggests that it’s worth putting your time and energy into. When you start feeling these benefits, it spurs you on and gives you that added extra innovation.
When You Suffer Setbacks, Refocus and Go Again
Setbacks are a part of making any kind of change in life. You can’t expect things to go for you 100% of the time. What really matters is how you respond and deal with those setbacks. You can let them take you down completely and throw you off course, or you can refocus and try to go again, aiming for better outcomes this time. Suffering big setbacks doesn’t need to be the end of your efforts, so don’t condemn yourself too much if you do cave into temptation.
Get Support From Those Around You
Having people around you who are being supportive can be really helpful, and it can be even better if these people are willing to give up the same things as you. It then becomes something that the two of you can be pursued together and get competitive with. This kind of support is always the best kind, so see if you can find any friends, family members, or colleagues who will be willing to do this for you.
Train Your Body to Accept the Changes
When you’re giving up something that your body has been used to getting and craving for so long, it can be really difficult to overcome those urges to consume the things that you’ve been trying to avoid. It’s all about getting your body into new habits and new routines that can then be established and reinforced. Eventually, you will be able to train your body to accept the changes you’re forcing on it.
Don’t Make a Big Deal Out of It
Finally, you should remember to just take most of this in your stride. There is no point getting stressed out by something that’s relatively minor in the grand scheme of things. You will also be much more likely to achieve positive outcomes from all this if you keep things low-key and don’t make a big deal out of things. Take it all in your stride and don’t get stressed out.
Going without something that you enjoy or have come to rely on is not easy, but where your health is concerned, you need to be willing to make sacrifices. Your body will only remain healthy and fit for as long as you look after it, and if that means giving up a few things, so be it. It’ll benefit you massively in the long term.
I have given up wine recently and feel so much better! These are some great tips, thanks for sharing!
These are such great tips! I always go back and forth about quitting sweets, because the rational side of me knows that sugar can be toxic, but the irrational side won’t let me
give up cookies! LOL. I’m trying to scale back by using less sugar in my coffee, no soda, etc. Your tips will help!
I was planning to give up too much sweets for the better me. I think it will benefit me a lot> Not only that I will get to save some money, I will also be saving my body from diabetes.
What a cool post! This advice is suburb. Some people should be more open to change and we could all be healthy. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Great post, sometimes we definitely need a reminder. Giving things up to make healthier choices is really hard sometimes and there are days when you have setbacks. It’s okay to start over!
It is always difficult to make healthy lifestyle changes, whether it is food or fitness goals. Setting realistic goals and not being too hard on yourself with setbacks is key.
This was really useful. I do find that the best way to do it is to replace the “bad” food with an alternative “good” food. This motivates me to continue and not slip off the path!
Giving up our favorite things is always a struggle. But if we tackle just one at a time instead of a massive sweeping change all at once, we’re more likely to be successful in reaching our goals of living a healthier happier life.
Great points. Saying “no” is very freeing and healthy.
So important and we usually don`t do this. Last year was the first year I started to say NO more and getting rid of stuff and I feel great!
I always appreciate your advice and openness. I think we could all use it and I know first hand how hard it can be to make changes.
This is such good advice. I find that if I don’t have peace about something, then it’s time to give it up for the sake of my well being. lovely post!
I find when I am focussed on something it’s easier to give up things I have previously been addicted to.
When it comes to giving up stuff for the sake off one health, trouble often creeps in. Trouble in such a way that we tend to go back to them if we lack proper support from loved ones and more so, if we haven’t actually decoded to quit them. It is such a sacrifice!
I didn’t learn to remove myself from certain situations until far later in life. Oh how much easier it does make things!
This is a great post, you really need to be in the right headspace to make changes as otherwise, you fail before the first hurdle I always find.
Sometimes it is hard to give things up! We recently gave up a lot of processed foods and soda.. hard at first but it feels so good!
Hard to give up but good if give up. Thanks for the post.
This is good to keep in mind. I don’t think I’ve had to give anything up so far. I mean, I do try to watch the chocolate I consume.
I definitely agree to letting every one know. It is a great way to stay accountable!
So important to have that support and not try to go it alone!
It is so essential to give up things that are bad for us for the sake of good health! Some people have such a hard time with this concept, I’m sure your post will help help them!
I am trying to give up dairy to see if it will help with my allergies and asthma. I have told my family and that has helped as they remind me that I cant eat pizza right now.
It’s indeed a new dimension to the concept of giving up. Wonderfully crafted article.
I’ve always wanted to eat healthy because I keep on eating oily foods, but I don’t have the courage to change my eating habit. But, actually my main problem that needs changing is my tendency to stay in a relationship where I am undervalued. Love is the only thing that I get addcited to and it’s too difficult to just give up.
It is so hard to make changes, even when you know they are for the good of our health. These are great tips to help take the leap.
Nice advice, to focus in life and to pick from where you have left if any adversities happen..! thank you
Some great advice – I definitely need to make some lifestyle changes so this is really helpful, thanks!