Stephanie Lammond from our Healthy Lifestyles asks 'What's your why?' in preparation for choosing a healthy habit during Team Up For 2020.

Ok , so the urge to make a new start and break bad habits comes around every single year in January, but what's your why? You see your social media littered with inspiring posts about how people are going to become better or healthier versions of themselves. You might’ve even been swept up in it all and decided that yes, this too, would be your year. You join a gym, you start eating better, it feels good! Exciting even.   But then…it’s someone’s birthday, you miss a gym session, you feel unwell, you’re too tired to make a healthy lunch for tomorrow. Soon, it’s a slippery slope and you’re right back where you started, and it’s not even reached February yet. Sound familiar? We hear ya’! But how, I hear you ask, do you get out of this never-ending roundabout? The answer is simple, it’s finding your why. Your why is the reason you most want to make these changes.  

Sometimes we are highly motivated and that’s great. Other days, life will get in the way and you’ll feel tired, stressed or like you don’t want to. Motivation alone is not reliable. Having your why is what’s going to keep you going on days like that.  So, please, take a minute. Why do you want to lose weight? Or improve your health? For example, if the reason is because you want to look better, ask yourself why? There will be a deeper reason. Here is an example: ‘I want to lose weight’ Why? ‘’Because I want to feel slimmer’ Why? ‘It will help boost my confidence’ Why? ‘Because I won’t feel the need to cover my tummy with my hand all the time. I wont feel I want to hide away and stand at the back in photos or turn down social events with my friends because I feel horrible about myself. I’ll be able to run around with my kids/grandkids, take them swimming and build lots of lovely memories’.

This of course, is just one example. You should all have your own reasons and the goal doesn’t have to be about losing weight, it could be any health goal. Once you know your why (it may take several hours or several days to think of and that’s ok!) write it down and stick it somewhere you will see every day. If you got emotional searching for your why, you know it means a lot to you and that stuff is powerful. So, Oxfordshire, what IS your why?  Why not sign up to one of our FREE services by heading over to our Get Started page HERE!