For many people, bad habits are a part of their everyday lives.
They can range from guilty pleasures like the odd tipple, takeaway or chocolate bar to more severe behaviour patterns that may be damaging to your health or hard to stop.
Some people form habits because they’re unaware of the consequences or they’ve been conditioned to do so. However, when they have fully taken root, bad habits – such as smoking, overeating, drinking too much, or dieting or exercising to excess – can be hard to control and can have a negative impact on your everyday life, put a strain on your relationships and affect your health and wellbeing.
Most people form habits to make their lives easier and more efficient. If they’re not harmful – such as going for a daily walk, eating your favourite fruit or doing something creative – they’re usually not a problem. In fact, good habits can help improve your physical, mental and emotional health.
However, when habits become destructive or trigger a negative response to an event or feeling, they become automatic reactions that happen without any conscious thought. And that’s where the problem lies. Getting rid of bad habits can be challenging, especially if you’ve been repeating them for a long time.
Here, we share our tips on how to shake off bad lifestyle habits and replace them with good ones.
What are the benefits of a healthy lifestyle?
A healthy lifestyle is a way of living that incorporates the right food, plenty of physical activity and other healthy habits. It’s also about ensuring you get enough sleep, managing your stress levels, and having hobbies that help you relax. A healthy lifestyle can reduce the risk of a host of health complications and chronic illnesses, help you maintain a healthy weight and keep your immune system working as it should.
However, it’s not just about the physical benefits. It can also improve your emotional, spiritual and mental health. Adopting good lifestyle habits can lower your risk of depression and anxiety, help you sleep better and be more productive during the day. It can also improve your mood, decrease stress, and make you feel happier overall.
So, how do you develop and maintain a healthy lifestyle and develop habits that hold the key to a happy and fulfilling life?
It’s not rocket science. Eat more vegetables and fruit, cut out the saturated fat and processed sugar, drink plenty of water, avoid processed food, reduce your alcohol intake, quit smoking and exercise regularly. While a healthy lifestyle is key to living a long, happy and productive life, it can be challenging to achieve, especially if you have developed bad habits that stand in your way. Here are some things you can do to break your bad habits and swap them for good ones…
How to swap bad lifestyle habits for healthy ones
Bad habits are usually formed because of a lack of self-control or motivation, stress relief and boredom. They may not be good for our health, and can be hard to break. The best way to stop them is to understand why we have them in the first place and what triggers the underlying behaviour. We’re often unaware of how our habits affect our lives, and we don’t even realise that they are bad for us or their effect on other people. Many things can lead us into a bad habit loop, but there are also ways to break free.
The best way to overcome bad habits is through developing good ones instead, by following these simple steps:
Make a plan
The step is to figure out your bad habits, understand what triggers them, and create an action plan for how you will respond when those triggers arise. For example, if you’ve fallen into the habit of watching TV with a glass of wine after dinner, come up with an alternate activity for when this trigger arises – such as going for a walk or doing some chores. If you do this regularly, you’ll soon break out of the cycle.
Set goals and commitments
This is one of the most important steps for breaking a bad habit. As soon as you set a goal or commitment, you’ll find yourself on a mission and be less likely to fall back to your old ways. Start by writing down your goal or commitment and how long you will stay on track. Hold yourself accountable by posting it on the fridge, having someone else know about it or sharing your commitment with a friend.
Get support
If you cannot break the habit by yourself, seek a support network you can trust with your goals. It might be family and friends, work colleagues or a support group. If your habit is more complex, such as an addiction, you may need professional support. The point here is you don’t have to do this alone, so let people know what you’re going through. Once they can see what you’re trying to achieve, they’ll help you along the way.
Practice self-control
To develop self-control, you need to practice it. When faced with a trigger, don’t give in immediately; try and wait five minutes before responding. If your bad habit is caused by being at home, try changing your environment so it won’t happen again. If you are trying to use this strategy for stress relief, find alternative activities. Many people find that they engage in bad habits when bored. If this sounds like you, try doing something more interesting such as reading a book, cooking dinner, or helping someone else.
Go easy on yourself
Although holding yourself accountable is important, don’t beat yourself up if you slip, fall off track or suffer a setback. Pick yourself up, dust yourself down and start again. It’s all about progress, not perfection, so there’s no point in dwelling on things you can’t change. Just try to do better next time.
It’s also important to remember that no one has the right to judge you, and you don’t need to please everyone or compare yourself to others. If you focus on trying your best, staying in your lane and trusting the process, the results will follow.
How can Lily & Loaf help?
Good general nutrition is vital to maintaining better health. When you feel good on the inside, you’ll find it much easier to overcome bad lifestyle habits. Exercise and a good diet are the keys to living well but complementing these with the nutrients your body needs will help enhance your healthy lifestyle, improve your overall wellbeing and help you to feel fitter, healthier and happier.
So, if you’re looking for a healthy way to supplement your diet and exercise, Lily & Loaf can help. Our natural, nutritional supplements can be used as part of a healthy lifestyle plan to meet your daily dietary requirements, support your wellness goals and help improve your overall general health.
Check out these links to find out more:
- Nerves, Stress, Relax & Sleep
- Adult Immunity
- General Nutrition
