Changing your health habits starts in your head. Getting your mindset right and setting clear, attainable, realistic goals is critical to success, especially in the early stages of habit-changing. I have had hundreds of clients over the years, and the ones that have been the most successful have a great attitude, a plan and set attainable goals.

I discuss it at length in my book The Reset Plan. Having the right attitude can help you “think yourself” fit. If you want to be successful with your fitness goals and change your eating habits, you need to look at the habits and patterns in your life getting in the way of your success. When you are trying to improve your diet and lifestyle, most people do OK, until some life event occurs they can’t control and triggers them back into their old patterns.

Tips to enhance your fitness and weight-loss efforts:

1. Identify your behaviors that lead to weight gain

Goal: Change one habit per month

For example, if you are used to watching TV with a bag of potato chips, enjoy an apple with almond butter instead. If you’re really craving chips and an apple and almond butter just won’t do it alone one day, grab a handful of potato chips and put them on a plate. Ditch eating out of the bag — portion your serving and enjoy each chip at a time. At this point, you should know how hard you are physically working to burn it off, so enjoy every crunch. Do leg lifts or squats while watching television. Get rid of the empty-calorie foods in your house and replace them with healthier options.

The key is that changing your overall lifestyle isn’t necessarily about one or two major life changes; it’s about the numerous, small habit changes you can implement every day. 

2. Be realistic and set attainable, small goals
Goal: Make 2-3 small nutrition-focused changes each week

If you want to lose 20 pounds and you can look ahead one year, then that is really only 1 to 2 pounds per month — something doable and manageable, even with a busy lifestyle. Like they say in AA — one day at a time. I believe the same is true with food addictions.

If you don’t go moment by moment, you are going to give up when you’re having a bad day and are tempted by doughnuts. It’s so easy to allow one small slip-up, like having a slice of pizza, to snowball into having three slices and a bowl of ice cream.

Don’t be so hard on yourself. Make a list of mini-goals to help you reach your ultimate goals. Do little things, such as eating more fruits and vegetables or getting more physical activity in your day. Order a side salad instead of french fries. Take the stairs instead of the elevator at work. Change is hard, and it can be more difficult if we try to make too many changes at once. Start small and gradually make lifestyle improvements. Stay in the moment and slay one goal at a time.

3. Supplement your diet

Goal: Reevaluate your current supplementation plan

It’s nearly impossible to get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients your body needs from diet alone. It would be great if we could, but food and our habits have changed so much that supplementation is a necessary and great way to get what is missing from your diet. But not all supplements are created equal. Don’t be fooled by the discount supplements on sale for $9.99 at the store. Trust me, those aren’t giving you what you need. I recommend all my clients take a regiment of pharmaceutical-grade, clinically proven supplements. I typically recommend the multi-vitamin, omega-3, probiotic and a plant-based, vegan protein supplement from Previnex. It’s a brand that I know put science ahead of profits and uses the best ingredients and manufacturing processes possible.

Shanna Ferrigno is a Previnex Fitness Ambassador and the founder of Ferrigno FIT.

Story by Shanna Ferrigno