Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is easier than it looks. People back away from it because they feel overwhelmed. It needs discipline, determination, and patience to do it. These are things that most people have trouble practicing consistently.
Commitment to achieving and maintaining a healthy YOU takes time to get used to. If you ever managed to successfully incorporate healthy living into your daily life, then the next thing you must do is to get your family to support a healthy lifestyle.
Convincing yourself to live a healthy lifestyle is one thing. Getting your family to follow suit is more complicated than it sounds. The word “healthy” has always been synonymous to “not fun”, “tedious”, “bland” and “difficult”.
With society seeing healthy living in a negative light, convincing other people otherwise will be an intimidating task. You even have trouble convincing yourself. The only difference with the situation is that you went in this lifestyle blindly while they, on the other hand, will have you to guide them.
If you get your family to support a healthy lifestyle, then you should have a game plan. A game plan can help you reach out to the different age groups, personalities and health conditions of your family. Each member of your family will have a unique, personal take on healthy living.
One member may fully accept the changes while the other may completely reject it. Either way, a different approach must be taken. However, there are ways to convince your family in a very general manner. To help you, here are some tips.
3 simple step to get your family to support a healthy lifestyle
1. Do not be obnoxious about your healthy lifestyle
It is perfectly okay to advocate a healthy way of life, especially for your family. What’s not okay is to be obnoxious about it. Constantly getting into someone’s face and shoving down facts about your healthy lifestyle down their throat will not convince them to switch. It will only push them away from it and, at the same time, you will not be a popular guest in family gatherings.
ALSO READ: Orthorexia: 10 Signs You’re Taking Your Healthy Eating Too Far
2. Less Talk, More Show
Let your healthier body do the talking for you. People who live a healthy lifestyle enjoy a lot of perks in their physical appearance and capabilities. You will look younger, sleeker, blooming and overall ooze with good health. You will also have more stamina, strength, and durability. In time, people will notice, and they will ask you about your secret so you should be ready with your pitch.
Scroll down for more info on how to get your family to support a healthy lifestyle.
3. Make It Sound More Fun
Most individuals who practice healthy living will have someone interested. People who are interested will ask you about your lifestyle. You try to explain it but you bore them out, and they lose interest.
Discussing your lifestyle should focus on how fun it is not how frustrating it is. Instead of saying that you don’t eat pizza or burgers anymore, try saying that you lessened it.
Tell them about activities that your body can do now and how much energy you have to do more things.
Talk about all the new amazing flavors you discovered and how the changed your family’s life.
ALSO READ: How to Become a Better Cook, for some great tips on how to cook healthy, nutritious and flavorful meals the whole family will love.
A little personal story
To tell you the truth, my hubby wasn’t an enthusiast from the start either. Especially because he was the biggest carnivore I knew, so convincing him to reduce meat to 3 times a week took time… a lot of time. But that’s fine. “One bite at a time” is our motto.
But you should see and hear him now. He simply loves all the new flavors, but far most he loves how it changed the quality of his life. Not only does he feel better, but he was also able to get off his weekly sick-making Multiple Sclerosis injections.
He has been flare-up free for years now and since 2014 he hasn’t taken any medicines/injections to control MS, no issues whatsoever. He has actually never felt better in his entire life. If that isn’t a big motivator!!!!
UPDATE 2017: Since September 2017 we have been eating a nearly 100% plant-based or vegan diet and we both feel great. But again, this choice is up to you. Only when you feel ready for it.
Remember, living a healthy lifestyle shouldn’t feel like a chore or create extra stress within your family. No need to go to extremes and follow the hype of going the vegan way. Life is already complicated enough as it is. The flexitarian way has shown great success with almost all families, and if you decide to go vegetarian, or even vegan, then that’s fine too, but again remember not to push your family into it or they will turn away.
Life should be fun, right? And if you have been living the flexitarian way for a while, maybe you will choose to go vegetarian or even vegan. It is up to you. Meat or fish can be a healthy part of your diet, it’s the elimination of processed or chemical-laden foods you should concentrate on.
ALSO READ: Semi-Vegetarian: What is Flexitarian or Semi-vegetarianism?
In the end, the decision of your family to transition into a healthier lifestyle still belongs to them. All you can do is persuade them to do it. Hopefully, the tips above and your motivation can help you get your family to support a healthy lifestyle too. It is, as cheesy as it sounds, but it is important for their future.
Looking for a way to live a healthy lifestyle while eating delicious, colorful meals and losing or maintaining weight the healthy way, CLICK HERE
Thanks for reading. I hope this information was helpful. Until next time!
Amy Goodrich
Crazy cat lady, life and food lover, certified biologist, and holistic health coach.
