The power of consistency for a healthy lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is all about consistency. Those behaviours we do consistently – daily, weekly, monthly and so on – that keep us on track towards our health goals. These are the little things we do that become second nature, that become habits, and help us to build and maintain a regular routine that supports our health and wellbeing.
No matter what your health goals are, being consistent will help you stay on track and moving towards your goals. When we are busy, having competing demands on our time, feel more stressed or tired, these can all make it hard to be consistent with our healthy lifestyle.
But there are some things we can do to help harness the power of consistency.
Balance and variety
Find balance and variety in what you eat and ensure you are getting enough high-quality protein, complex carbohydrates, dietary fibre and healthy fats to meet your body’s energy needs and to feel energised. Regularly mix up the food you eat and consume a wide variety of whole, real foods, lots of colourful, non-starchy vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, high-quality protein, legumes, wholegrains and limit or avoid consumption of processed foods, especially ultra-processed ones.
Healthy eating is not about being restrictive, good vs bad, boring, bland, expensive or time-consuming. Healthy eating is about the enjoyment of food and we should focus on providing nourishment to our bodies and all the nutrients it needs to keep us happy, well and energised.
Tip: To help find balance and variety, make it a habit to try one new recipe each week. Pick one day a week where you are a bit more relaxed or have more time available (Sunday’s are often a good day for this) and prepare a meal using a new recipe.
Adopt healthy habits
Even small habits can make a huge difference to how we feel and support our body to perform and feel at its best. Some simple ones you can try include:
- Eat regular meals – skipping meals can have a negative impact on our health and wellbeing as our bodies need regular nourishment to maintain our blood glucose levels and our metabolism likes to work to a schedule. If we experience hunger, this can often lead to poor food choices or overeating later in the day and also depletes our energy levels, concentration and focus. On the flip side, if we snack too frequently, this may impair our digestive system which likes to focus on digesting and absorbing one meal at a time. Try to spread your meals throughout the day, eat mindfully, and aim to consume your largest meal around noon as this is when your digestive system is as it’s peak. Also, aim to eat your evening meal about 2 hours before bedtime to allow time for digestion prior to sleep.
- Practice mindful eating – in our busy lives, we often pay little attention to what we eat. Be more conscious and present when eating, eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly. By being more conscious of what we are eating and taking time to focus on what we are eating (the texture, taste, smell and so on), we tend to eat less as our feelings of satiety, fullness and enjoyment of our meals is increased.
Tip: To help eat more mindfully, make it a habit to put your cutlery down between mouthfuls, which helps to lengthen the time it takes to eat.
- Stay hydrated – we can never underestimate the importance of hydration and specifically water to our health. Our body needs a good amount of water each day as about 60% of our body is comprised of water and some organs have an even higher concentration, so if we aren’t getting enough water, our body systems won’t function properly. When we consume a good amount of water, we quickly begin to notice positive changes to how our body behaves, looks and feels. We feel fresher and more energised, our digestion improves, we are able to regulate our body temperature more efficiently and can also help reduce hunger and sugar cravings.
Tip: To help ensure you are hydrated, make it a habit to have a glass of water on waking every day.
These are just a few of things you can do to help harness the power of consistency. The key is to make some small changes and do them regularly, make them second nature. It is the consistency of our behaviours that drives our healthy lifestyle and provides lasting and long term change and health benefits.