Now that the holidays are over, it's an excellent time to assess the past year and make the improvements you want to see in 2019. Here are 5 tips for creating healthy habits and making them stick!
Set Reminders to Take Breaks Often
This might be the single easiest way to create a positive habit for 2019. If you have to look at a screen for long periods of time, take breaks. Develop a habit of taking a 5-minute break every hour by setting an alarm on your phone to remind you. Pro tip: use these breaks to fix your posture and move around!
Get Support
It's time to call up your bestie, coworker, or health coach! When you have a team behind you, decision-making becomes solid and you feel great about it. You can even brag about your victories to those who support you.
Prevent Tech Neck
Over time, you can develop serious muscle imbalances by flexing your neck forward while using electronic devices. Not only is this forward head position damaging to your posture, it's pretty painful. To prevent tech neck, regularly strengthen and stretch your chest, neck, and upper back. Try this quick stretch during your break: tuck your chin down, then slowly raise it upward. Then gently turn your head over one shoulder. Now, alternate to the other shoulder.
Pair Your Habit With Another Ritual
Morning coffee? Getting caught up on your favorite show? Schedule the habits you’re trying to create alongside activities that are already part of your weekly routine.
Pace Yourself
Avoid burnout by keeping your new schedule easy. You want to focus on sustainability. Think endurance, not sprint. Enjoy the journey and keep your new habits as part of your daily life!
This blog was contributed to FitPros by Elizabeth Reyes. Elizabeth is a Health and Fitness Coach based in San Francisco. She specializes in intuitive eating strategies and research-driven workout regimens to yield sustainable fat loss for her clients. The methods she gained from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City combine educating clients on the hard biochemical processes of digestion with the more conscious effort of deconstructing cravings and other body signals. As a lifelong athlete and personal trainer certified by the National Academy of Sports Medicine, Elizabeth applies targeted workouts to impact muscle groups and lower body-fat percentages. She also runs her own personal training and nutrition business at https://www.bodybloom.com.