Think of it this way: you’re scared for your mom’s health and your own, so why not take control NOW and take things into your own hands? You may not be able to convince your mom to do this with you (right away) and get healthy, but you can be a role model for her.
The best way to start out a health journey is to start building healthy habits, one habit at a time. Have a soda addiction? Start cutting out soda. That’s all you need to start with. Often times people don’t stick with their healthy lifestyle because they try to do too much all at once (I’m guilty of it too!). Research has found that it takes around 21 days to build a new habit or break an old one. So give yourself 21 days to stick with just ONE new healthy habit. Then start with the next one. This isn’t a race to lose as much weight as quickly as possible – it’s a marathon to ensure you keep the weight off and create a healthy lifestyle for yourself.
Here are some ideas for that first initial habit you can introduce over the next 21 days:
– Stop drinking soda (replace with sparkling water like La Croix or plain sparkling water with frozen fruit added when you have a soda craving)
– Start working out 2-3 days a week (If you’re trying to build a habit of working out 5-6 days a week, start with just 2-3 days a week for the first 21 days. If you can stick to that for 3 weeks, then add in an additional day for 3 weeks, then another day for 3 weeks, and then you’ll be working out nearly every day)
– Be mindful of your portion sizes (Something simple to start doing – measuring out your food. If a serving size is a cup, measure your food out in a cup. You don’t necessarily have to track your intake, just start my measuring it out)
– Track your food intake for 21 days to get a good idea of where you’re at (I use myfitnesspal and track my food – don’t worry so much about the calorie level MFP sets for you, just use it as a food journal to see where your nutrition is coming from each and every day)
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