The most common difficulty I hear from people is their ability to follow through with a new good habit or diet plan. There’s no magic pill and no secret method to setting and keeping your intentions; there are however a few helpful tips to keep in mind that will lead you to following through .

The first and most important step in following through to reach any set goal is being ready. Being ready means that your heart and head are in agreement. I find that the majority of the time people want to be healthier, they want to lose weight, work out, eat less, eliminate sweets or junk foods, cook more, stop thinking about food…etc. but in their heart, they’re not ready-not 100% committed to making the changes that are necessary. They find excuses why they should wait another month, why they ‘cheated’ [I hate that word], why they can’t do it, how and why everyone around them habits’ interfere with their intentions; the list goes on.

It’s important to sit quietly alone and decide what you want to do and how you think you can go about actually doing it. Make lists, pros & cons, do’s and don’ts, can’s and cannot(’s) and decide your personal route. It has to come from you, from your heart, then your head has to understand and agree. Once you’ve become dedicated to yourself you can do it!

Other important tips are:

• Finding inspiration to follow through whether it’s a daily reminder, daily intention/mantra, following posts on a particular blog, FB page or Twitter account or checking in with a friend daily or weekly.
• Stop finding and making excuses for why you didn’t or why you can’t today. I know how it can be, I’m not perfect, I know how temptation feels, but I also know how great it feels to not give in and to feel self-satisfaction of sticking to the plan – you can too!

If you begin a particular practice and realize that it isn’t working for you or you it’s ok to change your plan of attack. You will find that you can reach goals when you tailor a plan around your lifestyle, schedule, abilities and personality. A health coach is a useful mentor to help guide you through your journey.