We all know we need to eat fruits and vegetables every single day, get eight hours of sleep a night, drink at least eight glasses of water, eat breakfast, and exercise. Many, however, struggle even with just drinking enough water in a day.

While the importance of nutrition and physical activity to one’s overall health is widely known and recommended by experts, it is also common knowledge that there are barriers that affect adherence to healthy habits.

In my over two decades of private practice as a registered nutritionist dietitian, I have encountered the following barriers to adopting healthy habits:

People don’t have time to exercise, prepare home-cooked meals, eat breakfast, or drink water or sleep due to never-ending deadlines and so on. But is time really the issue, or does it have something to do with setting priorities?

A person either just doesn’t know the purpose of living a healthy lifestyle or simply lacks the energy to do something about it. Motivation is a mindset. While support is very helpful, motivation must come from within. Oftentimes, an individual may not feel self-confident in becoming healthier.

Adapting healthy habits may be overwhelming. A person who hasn’t had any experience in cooking may get intimidated by following a recipe and just resort to ordering take-out. A person who hasn’t stepped into the gym all their life may just be too overwhelmed to even go for a free trial. If a task seems too much, the temptation to put it off for tomorrow is so great that it’s easier to succumb. Waiting for the time when it will feel right for you may never come.

Healthy food is more expensive. This is true especially when you dine out. A bowl of salad costs double or triple the amount of a fried chicken and rice meal that also comes with a drink. Paying for annual gym memberships can possibly be tantamount to paying for a school tuition fee. Buying exercise equipment or ordering from diet delivery services can be costly. The list goes on. These are undeniable facts, but they should not be a deterrent to living a healthier lifestyle because there are other options.

We grew up with habits that have already been ingrained in our system. It’s difficult to let go of these habits. Like adding sugar to coffee, drinking milk, using oil in almost all dishes that we cook, and more. When we think of the word healthy, we instinctively think that it’s boring, unappetizing, and too much work. Healthy food is deemed not delicious. Exercising is perceived as exhausting. Furthermore, we may make attempts to eat healthy, but we go about it the wrong way and choose the wrong stuff because we lack proper knowledge. Not everything that you search online is science-based. For instance, you drink fruit juice and think that it is healthy since it has fruit on the label. Unfortunately, if that fruit juice is not 100 percent fruit juice but has added sugar and other chemicals, then you are just drinking refined sugar. Have you ever thought that cereal and milk are healthy breakfast options? They are not.

If you wish to become healthier, even if deep inside you feel hopeless, why don’t you give these practical tips a chance? Tell yourself that you don’t need to aim for perfection. All you need is a little progress one day at a time. Until your body feels more comfortable with the changes and you begin to eat more life-giving foods and less junk food, feel more energetic, and become more physically active. Quit the cycle of deprivation and overindulgence. Don’t try to eat clean for a week only to find yourself giving in to cravings the next coming weeks. Don’t immediately do an hour of high-intensity exercise only to feel faint in the middle of the workout and vow never to do it again. Start slow, and gradually progress in your lifestyle habits.

1. Learn to carry a water bottle and mindfully take gulps throughout the day. Staying hydrated will help with metabolism, prevent food cravings, and keep you feeling fuller. After all, the brain mistakes thirst for hunger.

2. Don’t stock junk food at home. Buy fresh fruits instead and bring them as a snack. You can allow yourself small treats, but remember to reduce the portion size. If you are used to eating a large bag of chips or an entire chocolate bar, just buy one small bag of chips that you can eat in a span of two days instead of one sitting. Get a bite-sized chocolate that you can have once a day. But first, eat your fresh fruit, or you can have a fruit smoothie at home too, after work or before you leave for work.

3. If you don’t eat breakfast, practice having a warm soymilk or nutmilk with fruit or oats before leaving the house. That way, you begin to reset your body by helping stabilize blood sugar, hormones, and your gut microbiome early in the day. You will crave less later in the day.

4. Incorporate vegetables into one-pot dishes. Don’t cook anything complicated. For example, if all you have time for is to cook an egg and rice, simply chop some vegetables like tomatoes, bell peppers, and the like, and add them to the egg. Make a vegetable omelette. If you just have time to cook one dish, for example, tinola or sinigang, make sure that the portion of vegetables is more than the portion of animal protein.

5. Eating vegetables may not be appetizing, but we should eat for health reasons, and pleasure is secondary. Eat the vegetables at the start of the meal and leave your favorite dish towards the end of the meal as a treat. This way, you eat less of the less healthy options.

6. Take five to 15-minute walks at least three times a day before or after a meal or in between work or school. You can do it inside your room, house, or office. You can walk in place while watching TV. Stand whenever you can, take the stairs. Begin with these mindful movements, and you will improve in stamina to prepare your mind and body for future structured exercises.

Become a healthier version of you, one bite and one step at a time.