Living a healthy lifestyle isn’t just about working out and eating right—it’s also about being able to keep a positive attitude, strong mental health and a healthy self-image. Here are some KEY tips!!1. Drink more water. Most of us don’t drink enough water every day, but it is essential for our bodies to work properly. Water is absolutely necessary for carrying out our bodily functions, removing waste, and transporting nutrients and oxygen throughout our bodies. Since water is expelled every day through urination, bowel movements, perspiration and breathing, we need to replenish the amount of water in our bodies constantly. The amount of water we need depends on a variety of factors, but generally an average adult needs two to three liters a day. A good way to tell if you are getting enough water is by your urine—which should be either colorless or pale yellow.
2. Get enough sleep. When you don’t sleep, You tend to eat more. Usually only junk food. You will also function so much better when you get good rest, not only physically, but mentally.
3. Exercise. Not just a few times a week, but 4-5X per week. Or if you can’t physically exhaust yourself through strenuous exercise, at least get moving. By moving your body in some way for 30 minutes a day, you will lower your risk of disease, create higher bone density and potentially increase your life span. I always tell my clients, keep going for a couple weeks straight, until you stop and you feel like you are missing something, you have then become addicted to working out! It’s the feeling that it gives you after the work out that makes you not want to stop and keep going! Its amazing what working out does to you not only physically, but mentally!
4. Eat more fruits and vegetables. All fruits and vegetables carry vitamins and minerals, components essential to your health. It’s suggested that we consume 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day to maintain health. Eat as many veggies as you want, and keep fruits to no more than 2-3 servings per day.
5. Mind your portions. Eat small healthy meals and snacks through out the day to keep your metabolism going. The worst thing you could do is not eat all day and have then binge later on something unhealthy and go crazy. You will feel bloated and like crap afterwards.
6. Cut down on processed foods. Processed foods are simply not good for you…cut them out as much as possible. Anything in a package, box, or bottle. Yes, it is hard to avoid them all together, but try to cut them down as much as possible. Most nutritional value is lost in the making of processed foods and the added preservatives are bad for our health. These foods contain a high amount of salt, which leads to high blood pressure and heart disease. In general, the more ingredients on the label, the more processed the item. Look for ingredients with just a few ingredients and you should be able to pronounce them.
7. Avoid negative people in your life. A positive mentality is key for a healthy life. You don’t need negativity in your life. If you feel that a person or friend is negative, just let him or her go. You always have that one friend who is totally draining you weather its with their problems or maybe they just always have something negative to say. Be with friends/partners who are going to uplift you and have a positive mindset. Bad energy exudes bad and positive energy is just as.
8. Avoid negativity within yourself. You don’t need negativity from yourself, either. Let go of all negative thoughts within yourself. I have a lot of clients that have came to me saying they were depressed or they went through a bad break up and began to overeat which is what led them to gain weight. I get things happen and life happens, but you have to do things that will make you feel better afterwards, not worse. Having a positive state of mind, you cut out an unhealthy dependence on food to be happy. Work out, go for a walk, talk with a friend/counselor, do something you enjoy so that you will in return feel better and not worse.
9. Be realistic. You could go on a crazy diet for a week or two, just to cleanse, but its not going to be something that you can stick with for the rest of your life. So do something that you can live with and be happy with and stick to. You may want to start off by taking baby steps. For example, instead of going out to eat every day, try just a couple times per week.
10. Take your time eating. Your brain, not your stomach, is the organ responsible for feelings of hunger and fullness. If you take your time during meals and eat more slowly, you allow your brain adequate time to send the “full” message to your stomach and allow your food to be fully ingested. Don’t rely on a clean plate to tell you when it’s time to stop eating.
11. Meal Prep. When you prepare meals yourself, you control exactly what goes in to them. I preach this to my clients ALL the time, when you meal prep, it will help you stay on target with eating right when you have healthy meals readily available. Especially for people with busy schedules, it will make it so much more convenient to have these meals ready to eat. This makes it easier for you to make the right healthy choices for your body. If you don’t cook, you a meal prep company. You will still end up saving money and eating way healthier by hiring a company to prepare meals for you.
12. Know that you can still enjoy food. Eating healthy is about learning balance and still allowing yourself to enjoy the foods you love..just in moderation. Yes you can still have your favorite meal now and then (or make a healthier version), yes you can have your favorite cookie every now and then, and its okay to actually have a soda every once in a blue. Do it! Don’t deprive yourself, just find balance.
13. If you fail, don’t punish yourself. A lot of times when people fall of by having a horrible weekend by eating and drinking crazy or fall off and don’t work out for a week, they feel so awful about it they give up and then just return to their bad unhealthy habits. Instead, gather yourself, get it together, and go harder the next week..do a couple extra sprints or eat super clean and drink tons of water after. You will feel so much better even after just one work out or a couple days or eating right, you will feel back to your new healthy self.
14. Make working out fun. Don’t let working out feel like a chore or something you HAVE to do. Do it because you enjoy doing it. Yes, its hard at first, but once you get into it, I promise you won’t want to stop. Start out by jogging with a friend and have an accountability partner or take a spin or yoga class. If you like being outside more, go out to a trail or a park. If you prefer the indoors, make sure your inside environment is a positive environment you want to be in. If you aren’t comfortable in a huge gym, get a trainer to help push you and make you feel comfortable with working out. Plan and look forward to your work out sessions!
Getting started is the hardest part, but when you start living a healthy lifestyle, everything will change for the better. Don't wait for tomorrow..get started TODAY
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