Since the start of the New Year, we have all started to realize that living a sustainable, healthy lifestyle is not exclusive to the fortunate and the health conscious, but more so for those who are daring enough to make the necessary sacrifices needed to live a healthy lifestyle. If you are brave enough to take the plunge then it’s important to figure out what being healthy means to you.

For many people living healthily can mean ‘clean eating’ and exercising daily. While for others it may mean cutting out the simple pleasures in life such as sugar, oily foods or other substances. Once you have decided to get into a healthy lifestyle, it may be best to start off with some habit formation techniques. Especially if you want something more sustainable.

Below we have formulated a list of 3 tips and tricks to get you started on building a good foundation to creating a healthy lifestyle.

Tip # 1: Un-pack your unhealthy habits

When adopting new healthy habits to maintain a sustainable lifestyle it’s important that you think about why it was so easy to adopt unhealthy lifestyle habits in the first place. Was it beneficial? Did you engage in this habit because it was trendy and accessible at the time? Once you figure out where these habits came from, it will be easier to recognize any triggers that may stand in the way of creating a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Tip #2: Look into alternatives

If you are looking to create a sustainable healthy routine, it may be best to clearly define the aspects of your lifestyle that you want to work on. For example, if you want to work on losing weight and eating healthily, you will need to look at the things that you need change and cut out. The trick here is to be realistic. Habits are hard to keep when they aren’t achievable, so if your plan is to totally cut out sugar or unhealthy foods then perhaps replacing them with healthy alternatives without totally cutting them out may be the best first step. A great alternative to sugar is coconut sugar, or even stevia.

Tip # 3: Be future orientated

Practice mental visualization! One of the most exciting things about changing your lifestyle is knowing how beneficial it will be once you start living the way you want to. When you start seeing how your body changes after working out or how your immune system starts to get better, it can be easy to keep healthy habits, thus improving your lifestyle.