Making A New Normal

What is a normal day for you?

Is normal eating poorly, rarely exercising or feeling terrible?

Or is normal feeling great, being active and eating well?

Let’s take two examples.

Example one is Jack.

Jack gets up at 6am, races to get ready to leave for work. He grabs a coffee on the way to work and eats a few pastries to get the day started.
​
At work, he grabs another two coffees before lunch being so tired from a lack of good sleep. Time for lunch and the local McDonalds is looking like the takeaway choice for today.

On the way home, Jack grabs a pizza to eat and smashes it down with a few beers whilst watching some TV. He stays up until about 1am watching a variety of shows only to repeat it again at 6am the next day.

Example two is Sam.

Sam gets up at 5am like always. His gym gear is ready at the door and he heads out for a quick 45-minute weight session from 5:30-6:15. He returns home and grabs out his blender to make a smoothie that only takes him a few minutes.

He heads to work feeling refreshed and well-nourished. Lunch comes around and Sam grabs out his meal from the work fridge that he prepared the night before.

He travels back home and grabs out his dinner from the fridge and heats it up for 10 minutes before having a nice relaxed meal. At around 10 he goes to sleep after having prepared for the day ahead.

In both cases this lifestyle is NORMAL. It is what they both do every day.
It is not really any harder for Sam to do what he does than it is for Jack. It is what they are used to doing.

It was hard for Sam initially to implement these changes. But now that he has been doing it for years he doesn’t really have to think that much about it.
If you want to stay healthy for life, it is all about making healthy NORMAL FOR YOU.
 
What is normal becomes easier

Normal is our default mode. It is the mode we go for automatically. In the example above, Sam is not finding it difficult to do what he does. In fact in many ways he finds it easier than Jack as he is well nourished, well rested and exercises each day. This makes him feel great and re-inforces the positive cycle.

This is an important thing to understand. When we look at how far there is to go it can become demoralizing.

Take it one day at a time

Habits are not build overnight. They are the result of a day at a time. 1 day becomes 2, becomes 3 and so on until years have passed and you forget how you were ever unhealthy.

It will take some discipline

If you want a certain result such as being healthier and fitter, then your normal needs to become that of the person you want to be. This is the HARD part of it.
I am not going to tell you that it is easy to make this transformation.

What I will tell you is that every decision you make in the right direction is an INVESTMENT. It builds and builds over time.

The more good days you have, the easier these good days become. The more you put in place to ensure that you have a good day, the easier it becomes.

Making a new normal is about building habits

You need to build healthy habits in a few areas. First you need to identify what your normal mode is. Then you need to work out how your normal 'should' look. From there you can start step by step working towards making that your normal life as much as possible. 

Eating

What is your normal mode for eating?

What do you currently eat on average every single day and week of your life?

What do you want your new normal to look like?

The healthy habit of eating is one that can be hard to change. If you have been eating a certain way for 20 or more years then it is a massive habit to eat junk as normal!

The good news is that it CAN be changed with consistent effort!
 
Exercising
 
Do you currently exercise at all? Is your normal to not be active and shy away at the first stage of discomfort?

If so, then what is your new normal? Is it somebody who is fit and healthy?

Then you need to begin by making exercise a daily/weekly habit! 

Sleeping
 
How well do you currently sleep? 

Is it normal to stay up late watching TV, playing games or just generally wasting time?

Does the healthy person you want to be do that as their normal?

Conclusion

If you want long-term results, then a healthy lifestyle has to become your normal.

You cannot maintain the healthy body that you want without regular adherence to eating well, exercising regularly and maintaining all the other lifestyle factors that are attributed to feeling your best. 

Take stock of where you are now and where you want to go! 

Then, start taking the daily actions that you need. 

Before you know it, you will be living the healthy life you want and it will seem totally normal to you!