Try Adding before You Subtract

Are you tired of hearing health professionals nag you to stop doing something you enjoy? Are you fed up of beating yourself up about it? Your GP tells you to eat less fast food, television programs highlight the damage that alcohol will do to your health and every time you read the paper there’s another study describing why you shouldn’t spend every evening in front of the TV.

The problem is many people like doing these things and get pleasure from them. Having someone tell us that we need to stop them, or at least reduce them isn’t always what we want to hear. And everyone gets that fed up with all the conflicting advice that eventually we just throw our hands in the air and shout “I give up!”

Don't take anything away until you've added something!

If we do try and stop one of the unhealthy habits that we have, it is often very difficult because we tell ourselves “I can never do this thing that I really enjoy ever again!” We manage it for a while, maybe even a few weeks or so, but it’s very stressful. Isn’t it funny how whenever you’re trying to give up something, you can’t stop thinking about it! It starts to take over your whole life. Eventually the stress becomes too much and you give in to the temptation. You start drinking again or you buy a burger. You miss that trip to the gym or don’t go for a walk and then feel guilty. So you’ve gone from feeling stressed about not being able to do something you enjoy, to feeling guilty about starting to do it again! Is it any wonder these things are so hard to give up?

My advice every time is to add something before you ever think about taking anything away. I always suggest introducing a healthy habit into your life before I start to suggest you might need to stop doing an unhealthy one. That way, you can limit the effect on your stress levels!

Imagine being able to have that wine you enjoy, as long as you’ve eaten something healthy before hand, even if it’s just a piece of fruit. Or what about still having the fast food as long as you did some exercise first? You’ll definitely start to feel good about the things you’ve introduced, raising your self-esteem, and eventually you’ll lose the urge to do the bad things. Think of it as gradually drifting towards a healthier lifestyle without any stress, and all the time noticing the improvements in your health and energy levels.

Always add before you take away!