You wake up one day and decide that it’s time to make some changes in your life. You’re tired of the fact that you never exercise and you don’t eat right. Instead of sitting around watching TV and eating potato chips all day, you decide that you’re going to start running and eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
So you buy a brand new pair of running shoes, the most technologically advanced fitness tracker on the market, and sign up for organic produce to be delivered to your door step on a weekly basis. Congratulations! You are now healthy!
Well… not quite.
Buying a fitness tracker doesn’t automatically make you fit. Buying running shoes doesn’t make you run. Buying fresh produce doesn’t do you any good if it just sits in your refrigerator until it spoils.
These are all important first steps to healthy living, but they’re not enough on their own to improve your health. Healthy habits can’t just be purchased. You have to work hard to develop good and healthy habits. Yes, having fresh fruits and vegetables in your house makes it more likely that you will eat better, and wearing a fitness tracker can help encourage you to exercise more, but they don’t work like magic.
If you anticipate your motivation to exercise hinging on the fact that you buy a new pair of shoes, you may be in for an unpleasant surprise. You could spend a hundred dollars on a new pair of shoes that just collect dust in your closet. You have to make the effort to see those healthy habits through. There’s a difference in wanting to be healthy and actually taking the steps towards better health.
Don’t buy a fitness tracker thinking that it will make you exercise more. Instead, have the mindset that a fitness tracker will help you monitor the exercise that you will do regardless of whether or not you have a tracker. Don’t buy fruits and vegetables thinking that if they’re in your home you will have a healthier diet. Look up recipes and plan out snacks and meals that based on fruits and vegetables.
In other words, don’t think healthy habits create themselves. You have to develop those habits that will lead to a healthier lifestyle.
Regular meetings with your primary care physician can help promote wellness and healthy living. People sometimes have the misconception that you only need to visit the doctor if you’re ill. Meeting with your physician at least once a year can help you stay fit and avoid health problems. You want to prevent health issues rather than wait until they occur to try and address them. Request an appointment today!