You already know a healthy lifestyle will lead to a better quality of life but did you know that in order to achieve a healthy lifestyle it’s absolutely necessary to be intentional about creating and implementing good health habits?
I’m a busy homeschool mom and just like you I get tired and overwhelmed. I often find myself simmering on the back burner.
I’m the mom of 4 kids; 2 are adults and 2 are still in our homeschool. Throughout my homeschool career, I’ve tried to make exercise and healthy eating a priority, especially when my family and I got chronic Lyme disease.
Creating a healthy lifestyle is not going to just happen, it’s going to take action, determination, diligence and intentionality.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Alan Lakein
Here are 5 practical ways you can be intentional about creating great health habits.
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Decide that you need to make your health a priority.
It’s not enough to think about making changes, you have to make up your mind and decide that this is the best thing for you and your family. Go ahead and grab a piece of paper. Take a few minutes to write down all of the benefits you’ll get from exercising and eating well.
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Make a plan for how you will achieve your goals.
After the birth of my first daughter, I realized I needed to lose 60 pounds to get to my goal weight. Before her birth, I had two miscarriages and ended up letting myself go. When I chose to take back my health I taped a “skinny” picture of myself on the fridge, I put together a healthy meal plan and I made the decision that I was going to exercise daily. If you want to achieve your goals you must have a plan.
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Just Do It!
Writing down a plan is a very important step but that’s not going to make it happen. You must do the hard work of getting out of bed to exercise, to choose a plate full of healthy protein and veggies instead of greasy pizza and to adopt a positive outlook on life. These things take hard work. It’s not easy but you really do have to “Just Do It”! If you think about your choice for too long you may just decide to give in and take the easy way out.
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Have an Accountability Partner
Each time I stop exercising for a period of time, I’ve had to find someone to hold me accountable to get back into a good routine. In the past, my accountability has come from either a friend or my husband, and most recently my teen daughter who is diligent about exercising and not afraid to motivate me. If your accountability partner holds you accountable, make it easy for them and get to work.
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Remind Yourself Often Why You’re Doing This
Self-talk is one of the most important aspects of being intentional with anything. Those negative messages need to go! You need to tell yourself that you can be consistent, lose weight and feel better! That giving up those chocolate cookies or going for a walk when you’d rather veg out are the very things that will help you achieve your goals; to have more energy, to feel better and to be a better mom.
If you’re homeschooling and not taking care of yourself you are doing your entire family a disservice. Put the oxygen mask on yourself first so that you can take care of those you love the most. Your entire health lies in the balance of every choice you make.
There are no neutrals when it comes to your health. Every choice you make will either work for you or against you.
If that’s not enough to motivate you, remember, the choices you make also impact your children and potentially your grandchildren. You are pouring yourself out to give your children the best education at home and we all know that our children learn best by example. So set a great example for your children and be intentional about making healthy lifestyle choices. You’ll be thankful you did and so will your family.
I would love to know what steps do you take to create great health habits in your own family?
Click here for all the rest of the posts in the Intentional Life Series.
is a coffee loving homeschool mom, passionate about her family and their health. She spends most of her free time blogging about Lyme disease, health, homeschooling with chronic illness and how her faith carried her through it all.
8 Comments on 5 Intentional Steps to Creating Great Health Habits
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Having an accountability partner is a great idea but it should be one who is not too hyper or cruel with you when you miss out on a workout or eat calorie rich food, they must reprimand but also should be encouraging.
John Gatesby recently posted…Long COVID Syndrome
Way to go! This is indeed a great plan. For me the biggest challenge is to stop myself from succumbing to the temptations of having a late night salty or sugary snack.
John Gatesby recently posted…Coronavirus Induces Oxidative Stress Leading to Autonomic Dysfunction – Part 5
Good reminders and good tips. Without good health (physical, spiritual, emotional) we can’t give to any other area of our life. So important!
I’m glad you found these tips to be helpful. We all need to be reminded, I know I sure do!
Thanks for sharing these tips Tricia! I’ve been creating new healthy habits this year and I was beginning to run out of steam so this is a very timely post for me.
forest rose recently posted…How I Use Essential Oils for Homeschooling
Wonderful Forest! We need regular encouragement to stay the course, don’t we? Keep up the good work!! <3
Tricia recently posted…Getting Real About My Neurological Lyme
Great and valuable advice, Tricia! Thank you!
Amy recently posted…Grammar Galaxy
Thanks, Amy!