Eating clean, healthy foods and exercising are part of the puzzle. A new study reveals a positive attitude and mindset could be the missing piece. In this study of over 1,000 people, they refer to a positive outlook as a "promotion focus." These positive participants focused on pursuing and engaging in healthy behaviors.

The study found these people were more likely to have good nutritional habits than those with a slightly more negative outlook, what they termed a “prevention focus”. People with a prevention focus were described as those who were more concerned about avoiding unhealthy behaviors. So essentially the difference is between focusing on the positive or the negative.

According to the research, consciously choosing to focus on the beneficial things you can do for your health like having a green smoothie in the morning and meal prepping on the weekend, as opposed to focusing on the things you should avoid, like sugar, junk food and carbs, could result in healthier habits over time.

And in order to make any nutritional changes that will actually benefit you long-term, you have to be in it for the long haul. The changes need to be ones you can sustain over time. This is true if you are trying to lose weight or just clean up your diet and eat better.

There is a very strong correlation between emotional health and physical health so working to improve your mindset and attitude and make them more positive will benefit you mentally and emotionally as well as physically. Meditation has proven to be one of the most effective ways to improve in this area. Even simply reflecting deeply on what is most important to you and why can help you shift your mindset and make healthier changes.

Author's Bio: 

Ann Musico is a holistic health coach, author and health and wellness facilitator who works with women of all ages to empower them to exemplify lives of vibrant health and wholeness – spirit, soul and body - in a way that is simple and effective, in order to be a positive influence in their world. Her focus is on nutrition, detox and healthy, long term weight loss because she believes those areas are most often the root cause of so many other problems. And she addresses them not only from the physical but also the spirit and soul as well, which are often overlooked. Learn more on her website (http://www.threedimensionalvitality.com) and follow her on Facebook and Twitter as well!