Plenty of people eat veggies, exercise regularly, and sleep well, so why is it important to make additional lifestyle changes? Perhaps the healthy habits are in place, but there aren’t many results, such as losing weight or improving moods and body inflammation. It turns out that health is incredibly complex, and there are many small changes to add to daily habits to live a longer life with more energy and happiness, to name a few benefits. In the Body Reboot book we discuss how a high fat, low carb diet can help you jumpstart healthy changes. You deserve to lose weight, gain more energy and feel healthier and happier. Start with these small steps below and soon enough you’ll be on your way to achieving all of your health goals.

Ask a Big Question

Harvard Health recommends asking yourself a big question, which is if your dreams align with your goal. If your goal is to lose weight before running a marathon or getting off your medication, for example, perhaps it was time you discovered your “why” before taking the plunge.

Ask a big question. Do I have a big dream that pairs with my goal? A big dream might be running a marathon or climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, wiggling back into a closet full of clothes you love, cutting back on blood pressure medication, or playing games and sports energetically with your children. One word to the wise: if you can't articulate a big dream, don't get hung up on this step. You can still succeed in moving toward your goal through these other approaches.

Set up a Support System

Remembering to build a healthy support system is crucial to weight loss success. That’s why Jillian Michaels recommends filling in your loved ones by telling them what your new low carb diet entails and how they can help you stay on track.

You are responsible for your own success, but we all get by with a little help from our friends and family, right? That's why it's important to build a healthy support system. Share your goals and how you're planning to accomplish them. Give them the lowdown on the types of foods you're eating — and no longer eating — and your new workout schedule. Let them know how important it is to you to have their support.

Enlist your coworkers too. They can keep you on track on the job by cutting back on leaving the unhealthy treats around. Chances are you'll find someone else looking for support too. Hello, new exercise buddy! Lean on your network when you feel discouraged or unmotivated, and celebrate with them when you hit a milestone.

Commit Yourself

It’s hard to commit yourself to change if you don’t make a promise to yourself and others. That’s why Harvard Health provides the idea of writing down a commitment to yourself so that you follow through. You also need to make smaller goals, such as exercising once a day.

Commit yourself. Make a written or verbal promise to yourself and one or two supporters you don't want to let down: your partner or child, a teacher, doctor, boss, or friends. That will encourage you to slog through tough spots. Be explicit about the change you've chosen and why it matters to you. If it's a step toward a bigger goal, include that, too. I'm making a commitment to my health by planning to take a mindful walk, two days a week. This is my first step to a bigger goal: doing a stress-reducing activity every day (and it helps me meet another goal: getting a half-hour of exercise every day). I want to do this because I sleep better, my mood improves, and I'm more patient with family and friends when I ease the stress in my life.

Blood Numbers

If you’re unsure of your blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, Web MD reminds us to get that tested. Even though you plan to make healthier life changes, it’s still important to find out what your target numbers are and whether you’re in a healthy range.

If you don't know your cholesterol (including the breakdown of LDL and HDL), blood pressure, and blood sugar, it's time to see your doctor. Generally speaking, for a healthy adult they should be:

Blood pressure: less than 120/80
Total cholesterol: less than 200 mg/dL
Fasting blood glucose (or blood sugar): less than 100 mg/dL
Your doctor may have different target numbers for you depending on your current medical situation and any lifelong conditions you have.

Get Fat in Your Diet

If you’re going to take a leap and make healthy changes to lose weight, you should give fat a try! A high fat, low carb diet like we mentioned in the introduction can help you shed the pounds and live a healthier lifestyle. Nutritious Life reveals why eating healthy fats are a good thing for your body.

No, this is not license to make fried food a dietary staple (please, please don’t do that). But good fats from foods like avocado, olive oil, fatty fish, and nuts are essential for immune system function, fat burning (really!), feeling full, and glowing skin. In fact, the fear of fat had a lot to do with a long era of carb and sugar diet dominance, which we now know had all kinds of negative health effects. Let’s leave that behind.

Change Your Mind

Even though you’d love to get a head start on that low carb diet and make better lifestyle changes, in general, to begin with, you need to make sure you’re in the right headspace. Jillian Michaels explains why changing your mindset will help you eliminate destructive patterns such as negative self-talk.

The first step is no sweat — literally. It's all in your head. Realize that you have the power to change your life by changing your mindset. We all have the ability to choose our paths, reach our goals, and build exceptional lives. The challenge is in BELIEVING you can.

Get real: Look closely at how your emotions and behaviors are affecting your health. Are you feeding something besides your hunger, like your feelings? Examine your self-destructive behaviors and work on minimizing the negative self-talk. Oftentimes, journaling, positive affirmations, visualization, and other techniques can help improve your self-esteem and move you closer to your goals.

Take a Probiotic

Nutritious Life also recommends adding a probiotic to your daily vitamins, as it can give your healthy body bacteria, resulting in a robust digestive system.

Which supplements you need and don’t need can be super confusing, but science is increasingly pointing to the vast health benefits of a healthy gut, from a better mood to a strong immune system. One easy way to start working on your microbiome is to pop a high-quality probiotic daily.

Choose Foods Over Supplements

Even though taking supplements is a good thing, Gaiam says you should always choose food over supplements. Your body responds to the real source more better than taking vitamins every day.

Supplements are not a substitute for a good diet. Although many health experts recommend taking a multivitamin and mineral supplement that provides 100 to 200 percent of your recommended daily value, each and every supplement should be carefully evaluated for purity and safety. Specific supplements have been associated with toxicity, reactions with medications, competition with other nutrients, and even increased risk of diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

Exercise Daily

Perhaps exercise is already a part of your routine, but on a low carb diet, you may need to go for short, intense type of activities as opposed to regular cardio. HIIT is a great exercise routine for keto dieters, and Gaiam also recommends other ways to workout.

Did you know that daily exercise can reduce all of the biomarkers of aging? This includes improving eyesight, normalizing blood pressure, improving lean muscle, lowering cholesterol, and improving bone density. If you want to live well and live longer, you must exercise! Studies show that even ten minutes of exercise makes a difference — so do something! Crank the stereo and dance in your living room. Sign up for swing dancing or ballroom dancing lessons. Walk to the park with your kids or a neighbor you’d like to catch up with. Jump rope or play hopscotch. Spin a hula hoop. Play water volleyball. Bike to work. Jump on a trampoline. Go for a hike.

Wait until you hear this – right NOW we are giving away copies of the Body Reboot book! Help us cover the cost of shipping, and we’ll send you a FREE book. Deciding to improve your health is the first step you need to take to get your life back on track. You deserve to look and feel better inside and out. Check out this page to find out if there are any copies of our book left.

Sources: Harvard Health, Jillian Michaels, Nutritious Life, Gaiam, WebMD