5 Tips to Taking Back Your Health
Living a healthier lifestyle doesn't need to be super difficult. Instead of trying to change everything all at once, focus on these 5 tips to taking steps towards a healthier lifestyle.
1. Drink Your Water:
Our bodies need LOTS of water. Water helps with digestion, removes toxins, regulates body temperature, and nutrient absorption. You do not want to waste your time eating healthy, nutrient dense foods with not giving your body the tool to help absorb them. Water helps keep up our energy levels, and level of focus. It has been shown that when you need more water you’re more likely to have fuzzy memory, and a difficult time focusing. Next time you go to grab a soda or diet soda, think about your body’s need for water.
Tip: You should aim to drink your half of your body weight in ounces of water. For example, if you weight 200 pounds, you need to consume 100 ounces of water. This recommendation does not include any exercise.
2. Eat Your Veggies
Vegetables provide our bodies with tons of vitamins and minerals that they want and need. Vegetables may help lower blood pressure and prevent many different diseases including, heart disease, stroke, heart attack, and certain types of cancers. Make sure to eat a variety of different colors to give your body a mixture of nutrients that it needs. Remember the Skittles commercial? "Taste the Rainbow" -- this same concept applies for veggies; aim to eat all colors of veggies!
Tip: If you can get just one serving (about a fist size) per meal, you will give your body a great mixture of nutrients.
3. Get Up & Move
It is recommended to get at least 20-30 minutes of physical activity a day. Whether that be 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes at night, it does not matter. We understand that sometimes life gets busy and it seems impossible to do so, but there is a way. Do jumping jacks during commercials, walk/bike instead of driving to work, do leg lifts while cooking, even a wall sit while brushing your teeth. There are days when you are not able to get a full length, go to the gym, type workout in and that is okay. Any movement is better than no movement. I have even heard of people doing squats when they go to the bathroom, or getting up and walking around the office for a few minutes to get out of their desk. The benefits are endless but a few are: improves mood, boosts energy, promotes better sleep, fights off diseases, and it can be fun!
4. Get an Accountability Buddy
Some days it can be very hard to motivate yourself, but having someone there with you can make it one-hundred times better. When you have someone counting on you, then you are more likely to show up everyday and give it your all. Reach out to a friend or family member and take back your health TOGETHER!
Tip: If you don't go to the gym solo or with one other person, be sure to check out what group classes your gym or health club has to offer. The community aspect in health and fitness can go such a long way.
5. Eat the cookie, piece of pizza, chip, candy, and so on!!!
Out of all of these this one might be the most important. You NEVER have to give something up, restrict, or ban a food to get back to living a healthy life. Find a balance that works for you. Restricting a certain food group only makes cravings stronger, and put you at a higher risk for binging on a food later. Listen to your body and what it wants and needs, sometimes that is a cookie and that is alright. There are no foods that are bad, just bad thoughts around great tasting food. There should be no shame or guilt around food. I promise life is more than fitting into a pair of jeans. Enjoy the birthday cake, going out with friends, the holiday food, and so on. Life is very short, and we should enjoy each moment of it.
Tip: If you have two bad eating days per week, you are putting in 70% effort, so expect to get 70% results, or even less. If you can work at saving the cookies, chips, or alcohol for one specific time or meal during your week; your percent effort is much improved. Think about this, if you have three meals per day, three of those meals during the week are 'bad' meals, you are still at 85% success rate. Just think about it before you eat it.
