One of the tips I mentioned in yesterday’s post on Enjoying Thanksgiving Happily and Healthily was to not let one day of indulgence make you feel that you can “throw in the towel” on the rest of the holiday season.ย One great way to keep yourself motivated is to simply focus on one healthy habit every single day.ย It makes the whole “healthy living” thing feel a whole lot more manageable, and all those little healthy changes will definitely add up to a healthier you come the end of holiday season! (picture source)
So what little changes can you make each day?ย It might be the same thing every day (for example, drinking more water), and you just re-set your intention every day and get a fresh start.ย Or, you might decide to take on a new challenge every day.ย All I ask is that you do one healthy thing for yourself every day.ย So tomorrow, get in a work out, add in some extra vegetables, limit your added sugar, eat breakfast, or drink plenty of water.ย Just choosing one of those feels like an attainable goal, right? (picture source)
I actually got thinking about the concept of small changes during the holiday season when I joined “Elf4Health,” a 4-week challenge hosted by Lindsay at The Lean Green Bean and Elle at Nutritionella.ย The challenge gives us one healthy habit to follow each day for four weeks, and assigns us an “elf” (another fellow participant) to help keep us on track.ย While the sign-ups to get an “elf” for the first two weeks are over, you can still get an “elf” for the second two weeks if you sign up before December 6th!ย If you’d like to follow along with the entire challenge even though official sign-ups are over, and you feel like you need extra motivational help, I’m happy to send the twice-weekly emails that I’ll send to my own buddy to you, too!ย Just leave a comment on this post, or send me an email via my contact page, and I’ll make you my own personal elf buddy :). ย (picture source)
So tell me in the comments … What one thing will you focus on to improve your health today?ย Do you think focusing on one small goal each day is a helpful approach for you?
I love focusing on one small thing each day – today is to enjoy starting on Thanksgiving dinner without nibbling at everything. I mean sure it’s great to indulge on Thanksgiving day, but no need to do it twice in a week lol
Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving dinner, Jessie? I hope so!! I surely enjoyed mine – indulged a little bit but didn’t feel too over-stuffed! Hope you’re having a nice weekend!
For me, I am an all or nothing person, so setting little goals just doesn’t work for me, LOL. I like BIG GOALS. And I am a GO GETTER so I get them done at least within a week, LOL! But I know a lot of people who do well with setting small goals – I am just a freak, lol!
You’re not a freak! Some people get overwhelmed by big goals, but others handle them really well. As long as you know yourself and know what works for you, that’s great! What is your latest big goal?
I LOVE simple steps to help better ourselves. I think this is great and am on my way to jump over to her Elf page to read all the details. You may be getting an email from me ๐
Are you doing the challenge, Electra? Let me know if you need encouragement!
I’d totally love to be included in your mail roundup- what a great concept by Lindsay and Elle!
One big change I’m making (actually as of today!) is no caffeine after 2pm…I was relying the last few weeks on a pick me up around 4pm but now I have no excuse…if I’m sleepy early, off to bed! Thanks for the inspiration as always ๐
How has the no caffeine after 2pm been going, Arman? I bet without exams it’s so much easier. For me personally, I have one (large) cup of coffee every morning, and then stick to tea if I want or need something later in the day. Even though tea still has caffeine, most of the teas I drink are about 1/3 the caffeine of coffee, so at least it’s somewhat limited! Hope you’re completing some elf challenges!
I love the idea of this – and I really hope that for those who participate it brings them results. For me, I have a few areas I want to work on, and plan to use the one-a-day system to work on those things, and a big part of it is always tracking.
I also think the idea of daily accountability is a good thing ๐ Good luck!
Love this! I really want to participate so I’m heading over to Lindsay’s blog.
Yay! Excited to see you’re participating as well :). Your kettlebells were a great way to complete today’s challenge!
I love this challenge! I just wish I had more time to commit to each of these. I know, I know, it’s just one thing but these days I’m such a flake I have a hard time committing to anything! I’m trying to stick to my being active everyday but not pressuring myself to push myself to the max, so I guess that’s something!
Kudos to you for actually realizing that these things take time, Davida! My instinct is just to pile on more and more (as is yours, too, I know!) and then I’ll end up annoyed with myself if I don’t stick to it – that’s certainly not the right answer! I really admire your dedication to recovery for your leg, and your ability to find the right balance for YOU of activity vs. strenuous exercise.
For me water is a big thing. I just get so busy with work I forget to drink enough. I also mindlessly snack too much, so that’s something I need to work on as well. Perhaps if I drank enough water I wouldn’t be so hungry! ๐ I do agree that little changes are much easier than big, daunting goals.
Tonya, I really do believe that if you’re adequately hydrating, you’ll be less hungry. Of course, if you’re truly hungry, you should eat, but drinking water will help for many of those times when you’re mindlessly snacking without being hungry! Here’s a post I did on water if you’re interested: https://www.thelyonsshare.org/2013/10/06/the-health-tip-that-apples-to-75-of-americans/ Good luck!
I love focusing on one small thing a day because it forces me to slow down. I am one who can try to do 100 things at once and I have had to learn to really SLOW down and live a day at a time.
Today I am going to work one eating healthy, eating clean, and living in the moment. I actually have a pretty busy week ahead so my goal is to take things slow!
I’m with you on doing 100 things at once, Sara! I’m still learning to SLOW down :). I hope you have a wonderful and relaxing Thanksgiving with Wes!
I love this idea!! I also love the Elf for Health Challenge. I’m sure it’ll be a blast. I think my goal for the day is going to be trying to be centered, relaxed, and calm. Life has been crazy for the past couple of weeks, and I really need to remember to just breathe and enjoy my time at home. I hope you’re having a fabulous Monday!
I hope you are still breathing and relaxing, Amy – so well deserved!
so happy you’re participating!
I’m really excited, Lindsay – I love the goal of focusing on one thing per day! You are amazing in your ability to do SO many things and offer so many fun and healthy programs for bloggers. I really appreciate all you do!