10 Ways You'll Know Your Healthy Choices Have Become HABITS.

Building healthy habits start with pushing yourself to make different choices but then at some point, it just becomes the way you do things.

When that happens, you've won the weight loss battle for good.

When you first start out on a health and fitness journey, everything feels inconvenient and uncomfortable.  It's a natural part of the transformation process and it's also a big reason why people quit before they reach their goals.  But if you can stick with the process long enough, you'll start to notice that new behaviors and choices become easier, more natural and dare-I-say, even preferred!

Trust me when I say, I was not born ordering salads with dressing on the side.  It was an evolution of my journey through learning how certain foods made me feel awesome while others left me feeling bloated, tired and gassy.

Here are a few of the things I've noticed about my own transformation that I think you might start to recognize for yourself as well.

You know you're building healthy habits for life when...

1. Going out for dinner, you naturally chose healthy items. You order a salad instead of fries, dressing on the side and you pass on the burger bun and desserts.
2. You eat the same on Saturday that you do on Tuesday.
3. Missing a workout is no longer an indication that you've "fallen off the wagon" and that your new lifestyle has gone to hell in a handbasket already. You just pick up the next day with your regular workout schedule and keep going.
4. Staying up past 11 pm at night is no longer an option because you know that getting 7 to 8 hours is critical for controlling hunger and cravings, mood, brain clarity, and your general sanity.
5. When you head off for vacation, it’s not a free-for-all vacation from your healthy habits. You may have a few more treats than usual, but you still get your workouts, veggies, water and sleep in just as you would at home.
6. There's no such thing as waiting for Monday to start over. You just eat, do the best you can at your very next meal and understand that this process goes on forever.
7. You recognize that crash diets usually follow with fat rebounds so you consciously CHOOSE a slow, steady, sustainable approach, and make the journey as fun and interesting as you can.
8. You understand that berating yourself for making mistakes has zero benefits and only holds you back so instead, you focus on building resilience, grit, and self-acceptance.
9. Deprivation is out of your life for good as you realize it leads to binging, so you include (and even plan) preemptive treats into your daily eating plan.
10. You ignore the latest diet craze and do what gives you the best results, works for your lifestyle and makes you feel the best.
11. Bonus Habit - You recognize that this is a lifestyle that will go on forever so there’s no room for suffering, misery or deprivation. Just self-love, nourishment and a profound appreciation for whole foods, movement, hydration, and sleep.

Comment below and let me know which of these ring true for you.  Also, don't freak out if there's something on here that doesn't feel true for you at all. I'm not suggesting these are the only things that are possible - they're just what felt true for me.  I could probably write 50 more as well, but I'll spare you the 10,000-word blog post 🙂