Small Changes That Can Get You on the Path to a Healthier You
How do you get started on a path toward a healthier, fitter you? There is such a thing as over-complicating the process or doing so much research that you are suffering from information overload—then you end up spinning your wheels, dreading ALL the things you need to accomplish.
Let’s .. Slow .. It .. Down!
Here are some simple things you can that don’t have special equipment, food, or Herculean effort as a requirement.
Our challenge to you? Try it for a week. Then try it for a month. Then tell us how you did.
Make a date with yourself to do a physical activity. And keep it. Aim for 20 minutes of good, brisk walking, one yoga class, one trip to the gym, one aquafit session—whatever activity you want. Whatever it is, just get there and follow-through on the commitment. You will be glad you did. Focus on how good you feel having accomplished this small goal and plan to do it again, soon. How about twice this week?
Say no to takeout this week. Take time in the evenings, no matter how tired you might feel after a long day of work or a long day of taking care of those around you. When you are packing your lunch or making sure you have some easy snacks available to you as you run errands throughout the day know that investing the time this evening is going to save you calories and money tomorrow. Bonus points if you pack something high in protein.
Hydrate! Fill up your water bottle and take it with you wherever you go. Many of our clients find that having a water bottle in the car helps curb their desire to stop for a high-calorie specialty coffee or soda. Plus, sometimes when we think we’re hungry, it’s actually thirst—nip those unnecessary snacks in the bud.
Sleep like a baby. Take bedtime really seriously this week—pick a bed time that will give you at least 8 hours of uninterrupted rest and stick to it. Shut off the TV, put down your phone, leave the tablet in the living room. Get a real snooze. Spray some lavender on your pillow, listen to soothing sounds of the ocean, whatever it is that helps you relax and get a good night’s rest.
Portion control. Removing foods from your diet can be really hard; one of our clients was really struggling because she loved pasta too much to say goodbye. Her strategy? “I still eat pasta, but I have one portion—like, I actually measure according to the guidance on the box—and I compromise by using fibre enriched pastas and adding lots of protein and yummy veggies to my sauce. I used to eat 3 servings of pasta at one sitting and make really rich sauces, but now that I follow the recommended portions and load up on the ingredients that are super nutritious, I don’t feel bad when I have a pasta dinner on a weeknight.” Another one of our clients uses this trick at restaurants: “Typically when you go out to eat, you get ENORMOUS portions. So what I’ve been doing is asking for a takeout box as soon as I get my meal. I put half of my order in the box and enjoy it for lunch the next day. This means I can still have some of my favourite meals out, but I’m not overeating.” This way you aren’t buying special diet foods or making drastic changes to WHAT you’re eating, you’re changing HOW you eat to gain some momentum.
Get started on the path to a better you. Of course we’re going to tell you that a consultation with a nutritionist and fitness coach is the best way to get a handle on your health and fitness, but there are small tweaks that you can do (and YOU CAN) that will help you feel better. If you stumble, keep going. Small steps in the right direction are better than no steps.
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