Tip: Staying motivated once the novelty of making changes wears off can be challenging – reinforce your successes, revise your plan to fit your changing needs and fill the gaps left by discarding old habits to keep moving forward toward a lifetime of feeling your best. By the Chef Marshall O’Brien Group After a couple weeks following your Personal Wellness Plan, you are falling into a rhythm and you have had some success. But when the novelty of making lifestyle change wears off, it is easy to slip back into apathy and old habits. This week, we discuss ways to stay motivated and what to do when you feel yourself slipping. Look over your completed 2-Week Personal Plan Towards Wellness before addressing the items below. Keep moving forward so your first two weeks become a permanent new reality of healthier living and feeling your best! Reinforce Your Successes First and foremost, recognize the goals you have met over the past couple weeks and examine what enabled you to succeed. Making permanent changes is challenging, and you should feel proud when you successfully take a step to improve your life. The longer these changes are part of your routine, the easier and more natural they are to maintain. Reinforce your successes by rewarding yourself. Steer clear of food rewards; choose something that supports your wellness and motivates you to keep working towards change:

• Buy a new workout outfit
• Pamper yourself with a massage or other body treatment
• Carve out some time for a favorite hobby