Having worked closely with people trying to improve their health, I’ve noticed something important: the real challenge with trying to get healthy rarely come from not knowing what to do.

The basic building blocks are well known – move more, eat well, get enough rest and manage stress. Yet, in practice, many people find themselves stuck. Even though you can access more health information than ever before, making lasting changes can seem frustratingly difficult.

It’s not about willpower or a lack of motivation, it’s often the challenges of managing your everyday life.  With mounting work commitments, family responsibilities, and essential daily tasks, trying to find the extra time for yourself seems impossible.

For instance, finding time for exercise isn’t just about carving out space for the workout itself. What might seem like a simple 30-minute gym session actually demands a much larger commitment from your day. By the time you’ve packed your gym bag, travelled there and back, changed your clothes, and showered afterwards, that half-hour workout has quietly expanded into a two-hour time investment.

Understanding these barriers is crucial. When we can identify what’s truly holding us back, we can develop practical strategies to move forward. Let’s explore five key obstacles that often prevent people from making the health changes they want – and more importantly, how to navigate them.

Let’s be honest – time is probably the biggest headache when it comes to taking care of ourselves. Most of us are barely keeping our heads above water with everything life throws at us. Between rushing to meet work deadlines, making sure the kids are where they need to be, keeping the house from looking like a tornado hit it, and just managing the basics of daily life – well, it’s no wonder that looking after our health often ends up at the bottom of our to-do list. It’s not that we don’t want to be healthier; it’s just that there are only so many hours in a day, and they’re usually spoken for before we even think about squeezing in that workout or preparing a healthy meal.

And let’s talk about being a parent. Your own health needs often take a back seat to your children’s schedules. Between school runs, homework help, meal preparation, and managing activities, finding time for your own wellbeing can feel like an impossible luxury. Even when a quiet moment appears, the exhaustion from caring for others can make exercise or meal prep feel like too much to handle.

You might see it in those daily decisions – reaching for convenience foods when cooking feels overwhelming, postponing exercise because other tasks feel more pressing, rescheduling medical appointments again and again. It shows up in rushing through meals while working, or cutting into sleep just to fit everything in.

The evening brings its own challenges. After a full day of work and family care, you’re faced with a tough choice: use those precious evening hours for health activities, or take the rest you desperately need.

Making progress despite time constraints requires a strategic approach:

Instead of trying to carve out large blocks of new time, find ways to build health choices into existing routines. This might mean:

• Walking during phone calls
• Doing simple exercises while waiting for the kettle
• Involving children in food preparation
• Using lunch breaks for short movement sessions
• Preparing extra portions when cooking to save time later

Be realistic about time – those small pockets in your day matter more than you might think. A quick 10-minute walk around the block counts. Five minutes of squats and push-ups while waiting for the kettle to boil, counts. Spending 15 minutes chopping vegetables for tomorrow’s meals counts.

A “proper” workout or meal prep might not look the way you originally envisioned, but those shorter moments of effort are far more valuable than waiting for the perfect opportunity that never arrives. A few minutes of movement or a quick prep session may seem insignificant, but over time, they become routine – creating lasting changes without disrupting your day.

Success isn’t about carving out massive blocks of time – it’s about working with what you have and making those minutes count. When you look back, you’ll see how these small actions have quietly added up to make a real difference in your life.

Keep it simple! Make things easier by creating easy systems that save you time and mental energy. Think about ways to reduce those small decisions and preparation tasks that eat into your time.

Keep a packed gym bag ready to go. Plan your meals for the week ahead, so you’re not staring at the fridge each evening wondering what to cook. Set up routines that run on autopilot – maybe it’s automatic reminders on your phone, or a Sunday afternoon spent prepping ingredients for the week ahead. Find those healthy convenience options you can turn to when life gets hectic – whether it’s a trusted takeaway place with nutritious options or some emergency frozen meals.

The goal isn’t perfection; it’s consistency. When health fits into your life rather than disrupting it, you’re far more likely to stick with it. Over time, those small, sustainable choices become second nature, proving that progress isn’t about intensity, it’s about showing up in whatever way you can.

Our environment shapes our choices far more than we might realise. Even with the best of intentions, when our surroundings make healthy choices harder, we’re constantly working against the grain.

This shows up in very real ways. At home, exercise equipment gets buried in a spare room, making it less likely to be used. Healthy ingredients get pushed to the back of cupboards while quick, processed foods stay within easy reach. Work setups often encourage sitting for hours, and social connections might centre around pub visits or meals out where healthy options are limited.

These aren’t just minor inconveniences. Each small barrier adds friction to healthy choices, demanding extra energy and willpower – resources that are often already stretched thin.

Consider your kitchen layout. When you’re tired after a long day, are nutritious ingredients easily accessible? Or does making a healthy meal require moving things around, reaching into hard-to-access spaces, or clearing cluttered surfaces first? These small obstacles can tip the balance toward choosing whatever’s easiest.

The same applies to movement. A desk positioned without space for stretching, workout clothes stored out of sight, or a living room arranged around the TV rather than activity – these subtle environmental cues guide our behaviour more than we think.

Making changes doesn’t require a complete life overhaul. Small adjustments to your environment can make healthy choices more straightforward:

• Keep exercise equipment visible and accessible
• Arrange your kitchen so nutritious options are easiest to reach
• Create a dedicated space for movement, even if it’s just room for a yoga mat
• Set up your workspace to encourage regular movement
• Look for ways to build activity into your existing routine, like keeping a pair of trainers by your desk for lunchtime walks

The key is to work with your environment, not against it. Rather than relying solely on willpower, make your surroundings support the choices you want to make.

Health advice is everywhere – and that’s part of the problem. The sheer volume of information about what we ‘should’ be doing can be paralysing. Eat clean, exercise daily, meditate, track steps, drink more water, get eight hours sleep, manage stress, take supplements – the list seems endless.

When faced with so many changes to make, it’s natural to feel stuck. Many people respond by trying to overhaul everything at once. Monday arrives with a new meal plan, exercise routine, and meditation schedule. By Wednesday, exhaustion sets in. By Friday, they’re back to square one, feeling worse than before.

Others get trapped in endless research. They save articles, bookmark videos, and download apps, but never quite feel ready to start. There’s always one more thing to learn, one more expert to consult, one more approach to consider.

This overwhelm shows up practically in several ways:

• Shopping becomes complicated as you try to remember all the ‘rules’ about what’s healthy
• A simple decision like what you’re going to eat for lunch, can turn into a mental battle
• Exercise feels daunting because you’re not sure if you’re doing it ‘right’
• Every health choice feels loaded with pressure to get it perfect

The solution isn’t more information – it’s a simpler approach:

Choose one small change at a time. Not the most important one, or the one you think you ‘should’ do – pick the easiest. Perhaps it’s having a glass of water with breakfast, or taking a five-minute walk after lunch. Master this single change before adding another.

Focus on systems, not goals. Instead of saying “I’ll exercise more”, put your trainers by the door. Rather than “eat better”, keep fruit in a bowl where you’ll see it. Small, practical changes to your daily routine often work better than grand plans.

Track less, do more. Rather than monitoring every aspect of your health, choose one metric that matters to you. It might be how many days you go for a walk, or how often you cook at home. Keep it simple and achievable.

Remember: progress isn’t perfect. Small steps forward, even with occasional steps back, still move you in the right direction. The goal isn’t to do everything right – it’s to do something better.

While we often focus on physical aspects of health like diet and exercise, emotional wellbeing can make or break our progress. Many people find their health efforts derailed not by lack of knowledge, but by stress, low mood, or difficult emotions.

This manifests in very practical ways. Stress might drive you to grab quick, processed foods rather than cook. Anxiety might keep you from trying new activities or joining group exercise. Low energy from poor mental health can make even small changes feel impossible.

The link between your emotional wellbeing and physical health is clear in daily life:

• Comfort eating becomes an automatic response to difficult days
• Exercise plans get abandoned when feeling overwhelmed
• Meal preparation feels impossible during stressful periods
• Sleep suffers when anxiety is high, affecting energy for healthy choices
• Self-care drops to the bottom of the list when mood is low

What’s often overlooked is how emotional wellbeing affects our capacity for change. When we’re struggling emotionally, even simple healthy choices require more effort. It’s like trying to fill someone else’s cup when our own is empty.

Addressing this barrier requires a practical approach:

Build awareness of your emotional patterns. Notice what situations drain your energy or trigger unhelpful health choices. Perhaps work stress leads to skipped meals, or lonely evenings prompt snacking. Understanding these patterns helps you prepare for them.

Create simple coping strategies. Instead of relying on willpower, have ready-made plans for difficult days. This might mean keeping healthy frozen meals for when cooking feels too much, or having a ten-minute walking route for when you need to clear your head.

Prioritise Rest and Recovery

Sometimes, the healthiest decision you can make is to rest. Pushing through exhaustion isn’t a sign of commitment, it’s a fast track to burnout. Learning to recognise when you need to step back and recharge is key to long-term progress. Rest isn’t a setback; it’s an essential part of a sustainable approach to health.

Make Space for Support

Good health isn’t just about what you eat or how much you exercise, it’s about support for your emotional wellbeing as well. Whether that’s talking to a friend, jotting down your thoughts in a journal, or reaching out for professional support, having the right people and tools in place makes all the difference. Support is something we all need. Taking the time to recognise what helps you feel grounded and making space for it can make life’s challenges feel a little easier to manage.

Managing stress, processing emotions, and prioritising self-care create a stronger foundation for any physical health changes you want to make. When you take care of your mind, your body benefits too, making every other effort feel more manageable and sustainable.

Perhaps the most subtle yet powerful barrier to getting healthier lies in how we see ourselves. The stories we tell about who we are – and who we’re not – can either support or sabotage our health efforts.

These self-perceptions show up in everyday thoughts and comments:

• “I’m not really the sporty type”
• “Our family has always struggled with weight”
• “I’ve never been good at sticking to healthy habits”
• “Being health-conscious just isn’t me”

While these might seem like simple observations, they actually act as invisible boundaries. When we don’t see ourselves as someone who can be healthy, we often unconsciously make choices that confirm this belief.

This plays out in practical ways:

• Hesitating to try new activities because “that’s not for people like me”
• Feeling out of place in health food shops or gyms
• Automatically dismissing certain healthy options as “not my thing”
• Giving up quickly when changes feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar

The challenge isn’t just about changing behaviours – it’s about expanding our sense of what’s possible for us.

Making progress here requires a grounded, practical approach:

Start by noticing your automatic responses. When you consider a health change, what’s your immediate thought? Do you automatically assume you’ll fail? Do certain activities or choices feel “not you”? Simply becoming aware of these reactions is the first step.

Look for evidence that challenges your current story. Perhaps you’ve successfully made other changes in your life. Maybe you’ve surprised yourself by enjoying a new activity. These experiences, however small, show that change is possible.

Make changes that feel authentic. Rather than forcing yourself into someone else’s version of healthy, find approaches that fit with who you are. If you’re naturally social, try group activities. If you’re analytical, you might enjoy tracking progress. Or, if you’re creative, experiment with new recipes.

Build a bridge between who you are and who you want to be. Instead of trying to become a completely different person, look for ways to extend your existing strengths into health-related areas. Love problem-solving? Apply those skills to meal planning. Enjoy learning? Research topics that interest you.

Remember that identity can evolve. Just as you’ve grown and changed in other areas of life, your relationship with health can develop too. This isn’t about becoming someone else – it’s about growing into a fuller version of yourself.

These five obstacles – time pressures, misaligned environments, overwhelm, emotional wellbeing, and self-identity – often work together, creating a complex web that can feel impossible to untangle. You might find yourself short on time, in an environment that makes healthy choices harder, overwhelmed by information, dealing with stress, and doubting your ability to change – all at once.

But understanding these barriers is the first step to addressing them. Rather than fighting against them or trying to power through with willpower alone, we can work on steadily removing or reducing each obstacle.

Start with what feels most relevant to you. Perhaps time is your biggest challenge, or maybe your environment needs attention first. There’s no single right approach – what matters is beginning somewhere that feels manageable.

Remember that small changes add up. You don’t need to overcome all these obstacles at once. Each small adjustment – whether it’s finding ten minutes for movement, rearranging your kitchen, simplifying your approach, addressing emotional needs, or challenging old beliefs – creates momentum for further change.

The way to better health isn’t about an overnight transformation. It’s about making steady, practical changes that fit into your real life. By recognising and working through these common challenges, you can move forward in a way that’s both sustainable and meaningful.