There’s one big secret to living a healthy lifestyle (spoiler: it’s not broccoli)

The benefits of a healthy lifestyle are clear: Eating well, staying active, prioritizing sleep and caring for mental health doesn’t just boost daily energy—it reduces the risk of chronic illness and increases the chances of living well for longer.

But it’s not always easy to make these choices. Let’s be honest, the behaviours often associated with prevention and wellness can feel like work. No wonder healthy living has a reputation for being a bit of a drag.

But experts say wellness doesn’t have to be—nor should it be—all discomfort and deprivation. With the right outlook and routines, healthy living can be fun—which will help make those healthy habits stick.

Behavioural change expert Jaclyn Pritchard is a Registered Dietitian at Cleveland Clinic Canada, Manulife’s medical director, where she leads the development of organizational wellness programs. We asked her why so many people associate the pursuit of wellness with sacrifice, and how instead to adopt a more enjoyable—and sustainable—mindset.

Pritchard: Many people see health as something that requires suffering and extremes: For example, they’ll get an idea that you can’t lose weight without cutting every carb and gram of sugar from your diet or adopting a punishing workout routine.

I don’t fault anyone for having this mindset. It’s reinforced by a lot of things we see and hear, especially on social media. And the loudest voices tend to be from people who have gone to extremes like fasting and multiple workouts a day. But you can make wellness less about perfection and more about consistency, less about suffering and more about pleasure and fulfillment. For example: It doesn’t have to be all green juice and burpees—sometimes it’s just working a few more veggies into your dinner and going for a long walk with your dog afterwards.

Pritchard: We as a society tend towards all-or-nothing thinking. But extreme deprivation-based regimes are very hard to sustain. We feel good for a while, but when we inevitably fall off track—which is normal and okay—it can lead to a sense of shame and failure.

Say you’ve been avoiding sweets, and you eat a big cookie after lunch. If you’re used to thinking in extremes, you might feel bad about it and decide to eat only vegetables for dinner. But that is likely to result in being hungry at 10 p.m.—and then maybe making another “bad” food choice, which furthers your feelings of guilt and shame. 

That’s why I think we’re better when we back away from extremes and find a gentler way forward. We have to give ourselves more grace: You didn’t fail at wellness because you ate a cookie. You’re human. Let’s move on.

Pritchard: It makes habits much easier to sustain. When you find something that you can really connect with and enjoy, it stops feeling like something you have to suffer through. And that sense of enjoyment is so important for our brains and our longevity.

Pritchard: Start by shifting your mindset. I encourage people to stop thinking in “shoulds.” We all know the feeling: “I should meditate.” “I should run.” “I should go for a walk.” If you want to make sustainable changes, I think it’s more effective to instead think about what fires you up. Choose healthy activities or behaviours because you actually enjoy them, not because your partner likes it or because your colleague does it or even because your doctor said you should check it out.

If you really dislike broccoli, don’t eat broccoli. If you don’t like running, don’t run. There are so many options for healthy living out there. You don’t have to do something you hate.

Pritchard: Even when we’re doing activities we like, we all need incentives to keep going. I find little treats can be very effective in sustaining healthy behaviours. Small rewards can reinforce neural connections that make us want to keep working towards our long-term goals. Think of a few squares of chocolate in the afternoon, or an hour or two of your favourite reality TV show after a long day. They don’t have to be elaborate or expensive, but small rewards can really help your brain stick to healthy habits for the long term.