5 tips to make healthy habits stick 5 tips to make healthy habits stick

Let’s be real – even with the Centr Team behind you, if you’re starting out on a fitness journey, it can be pretty intimidating and overwhelming. Or maybe you’re looking to make a few new positive changes in your health and fitness, like more resistance training, sticking to the meal plan or mastering all forms of burpee (we believe in you!).

Whatever it is, even when the ultimate goal is exciting, a long, unknown road lies between you and that goal.

Maybe you’re nervous about the big changes (“Can I ever eat pizza again?”), you’ve heard leg-wobbling stories about Da Rulk workouts, or you’re just not sure how you’ll manage to prioritize fitness enough to see results. But don’t let yourself get so worked up about failure that you feel like giving up before you even really get moving.

Whatever your health and fitness goal, it all comes down to building a habit, and we’re here to help you get those healthy habits falling into place. Follow these five simple strategies to maximize your chances of success and soon you’ll be smashing workouts, hitting milestones, and wondering how you ever struggled with push-ups.

1. Dream big, start small

You don’t have to shock the system with a full lifestyle overhaul from day one. Maybe you’re switching to the vegan meal plan to try a plant-based diet. It’s a big change, so don’t feel like you’ve failed if you end up having the occasional vegetarian or even meat meal at the start of your journey. You could set a goal for three plant-based days in your first week, then four the next, and so on.

If you’re completely new to Centr, your journey starts with your planner, which clearly lays out your training and meals for the week. If you’re coming straight off the sofa, begin with three workouts a week, taken at your own pace, to get into the habit. Choose a few healthy new recipes to get your head around, and break down your bigger goal into smaller, achievable actions. Accomplishing these stepping stones along the way will help you know you’re making progress and encourage you to keep going.

2. Know your ‘why’

Whatever you’ve decided to change, there’s a reason behind it. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, build muscle or just be the fittest and most capable version of yourself, your ‘why’ is the motivation that will pull you through. Write it down, stick it to the fridge, your cupboard, your bathroom mirror. Don’t let yourself forget it. This ‘why’ will give you the momentum you need to keep moving even when the going gets tough.

3. Find the fun

Whether it’s an epic pump-up playlist, roping in a workout buddy, taste-testing all the different choc brownie recipes or sharing your journey with our Facebook community, find what makes this fun for you. You could even find someone to buddy up with for a challenge and make it a competition (a healthy one, of course).

Start this journey by inspiring yourself. It’s not all hard work and being able to enjoy it is what will make short-term behaviors stick and keep you on track in the long run.

4. 80/20 principle

The 80/20 split doesn’t mean quitting your old habits completely cold turkey but cutting back to get yourself on the right track. It’s simple: 80% of the time you stick to workouts and healthy meal plans, and 20% of the time you treat yourself. Treats aren’t scheduled on your Centr meal plan, but you may find it better to set treat times rather than risking a two-large-pizzas super session.

Whether you’re starting out or pushing yourself further with fitness, you should also take at least one rest day per week. Even if you’re used to exercise and think you can power through, your body needs rest, especially if you’re making changes to your regular routine.

By allowing yourself well-planned relaxation and little indulgences, you’ll be less likely to fight the lifestyle changes.

5. Be good to yourself

We want you to love this journey with Centr, and that means going easy on yourself, even if you start slowly or make a few missteps. After all, if you see a fitness journey as a struggle or a punishment for ‘letting yourself go,’ chances are it’ll end up feeling like a chore and you’ll fight back against your own restrictions.

If you’re challenging yourself to try something new or push further, don’t be disheartened if you don’t progress as easily as you were expecting. Just because you’ve always found cardio easy doesn’t mean that resistance training will be a breeze. And you might be a pretty great cook when it comes to steak, but mastering the plant-based life could mean working with unfamiliar ingredients. You’ll get it eventually, so don’t worry!

You might think that putting extra pressure on yourself or obsessing over everything you get wrong will push you to do better, but actually it will make it even harder to stick with it, and will stop you from forming healthy habits.

Use our breathwork exercises and soundscapes to find calm and focus. Being less stressed will help you rest and recover better, which will make everything from workouts to cravings much easier to manage. Lifestyle changes aren’t easy, but they don’t have to be rough.