We heard it from our parents and gym teachers growing up, but in case we ever forget, reminders are around us every day: television commercials, magazine articles, billboard ads for gyms or fad diets. If the world has it down to a science and it’s as simple as drinking a smoothie and hitting the gym, why do so many of us struggle to sustain this healthy lifestyle?

More often than not, falling off your healthy trend, or worse, never reaching your health goals, is because these “quick fixes” being shoved in our faces every day are not realistic. They’re simply not sustainable for the average person’s busy lifestyle.

In order to achieve our healthy lifestyle, we need to find balance between the extremes and learn to be flexible. After all, something that becomes a lifestyle should be both nourishing AND satisfying, right?

The good news is, once we find healthy habits that are adapted to our individual lifestyle, they truly become second nature and are more enjoyable. Simply put, they feel less like work and more like our comforting routine. So, how can YOU learn to adopt new healthy habits while keeping up with your busy schedule?

No matter what harsh and misleading messages mass media marketing has led us to believe, diets just don’t work. It can be difficult to say no to the idea of quick-and-easy results, but here’s the thing, all of these extreme diets end with the same outcome: exhaustion and feeling like a failure.

The truth is, the only way to continue an extreme diet is to continue extreme habits, and let’s be honest, that’s just not sustainable or fulfilling. Once you end the diet, voluntarily or accidentally, people often revert back to their original habits, sometimes leading to the other extreme of overeating and indulging in things we shouldn’t. It’s a natural behavior after depriving ourselves of what our bodies need and what we crave. Being able to differentiate between these is where we learn to find balance.

The best way to transform your life is to start with a shift in mindset. Why? Because you can’t shame yourself into a happy, healthy life. If you continually tell yourself you are fat, ugly, unworthy or worthless, sooner or later you’ll begin to believe it. The result of negative self-talk is making poor choices based on these thoughts.

To create a healthy interior, we need to become aware of how we view and perceive ourselves. Think, “Does this perception serve me?” “Does it help me to grow as an individual?” “Does it allow me to love myself?”

When you notice you’re treating yourself unkindly (negative self-talk), start infusing your thoughts with positive words or statements that’ll motivate and excite you, rather than discourage you. It will take some time, but if you truly make the effort and stay consistent, you’ll notice a change in your level of happiness and positivity.

If you want to create long-term healthy habits, it’s important to ONLY implement actions you can see yourself continuing, and wanting to do, for the foreseeable future. Visualize what changes are realistic, fit into your lifestyle, are enjoyable and are something you’ll be able to sustain. If you don’t see yourself doing it long term, ditch it! Find what works best for you and your family and then put your plan into action.

We know, this is easier said than done, but we can prepare our minds for these occurrences and put a plan in place for when they strike. There will be times when your kids are sick, you’re swamped at work or something comes up and you just can’t make healthy happen.

If there’s anything I’ve learned over the years, especially after starting a family, it’s that to flourish you HAVE to be flexible! Yes, in theory a plan is great, but sometimes (actually many times) you have to deviate from the plan and adapt to the situation.

If getting ready and going to the gym for an hour isn’t an option, put on a 15-minute workout video or do a few stretches before bed. If nothing else, fit in 60 seconds of exercise. (If you need a little nudge in the right direction, check out FULLforLife’s Facebook page, where we share a 1-minute workout move every morning.)

Before completely throwing in the towel, think about how you can find a way to be flexible and make things work. Remember, something is always better than nothing!

Have you ever completely cut out a food or food group? How did it make you feel? Irritable, distracted, depressed?

Asking yourself to eat healthy, whole foods 100% of the time is unrealistic. Let’s be honest, life without chips or a little cake just isn’t enjoyable either! Rather than completely depriving yourself, aim to make healthy choices 80% of the time. This teaches you balance and moderation, a concept that doesn’t exist in fad diets. By allowing yourself to indulge 20% of the time, you’ll feel satisfied without the crazy cravings or the need to count calories.

The math is simple: If you eat three well-balanced meals a day, that’s 21 meals total in a week. That leaves four of those meals (about 20%) reserved for you to indulge in your favorites (remember, portion control is vital). This concept allows you to feel good about your food choices without guilt or restrictions.

You have the power to choose how you look at your day (and your healthy habits), with positivity or negativity. Similar to your self-talk, the perspective you take becomes your reality. You can radically transform your journey (to a much more enjoyable one) when you begin to see things in a different light. Instead of feeling like you “have to” eat better or become more active, shift your mindset by visualizing what those healthy choices look like (not only for you, but also for your family).