Do you want to make some changes for better health but you are confused by all the information we have at our fingertips? Yeah, google anything related to nutrition and fitness and you get so much information. Too much information. Some of it is conflicting, some of it seems overwhelming and some sounds crazy. Even the stuff that sounds reasonable may or may not be grounded in science. Most of the time we just can’t figure out how to prioritize the changes that will make the most impact for the long term. Think of it like a ladder, each step up gets you closer to your goal but without the foundation of the first steps you won’t be able to reach the top, and stay there. Here is how I would incorporate small changes into my everyday to reach a healthier you, come the summer:
**Before you start, you need to make sure you are sleeping. Working on getting 7-8 hrs of sleep and managing stress with meditation and/or gratitude practice underlies each step in this series. This is not trivial and takes a concerted effort. Put a nighttime routine in place, deep breathe, dim the lights, put the screens away, stop the to-do list by thinking of a happy part of your day or week and reflect on that feeling. Start with a couple nights a week and try to get to most nights. Exercise will help with both sleep and stress...**
Step 1. Start by adding....not restricting.
Nutrition: Add more vegetables and more water to your daily routine. Get veggies in at every meal and at least one snack. Raw, roasted, frozen, fresh, all the colors, its all good. Find some you like and experiment with new ones! Drink water. Add lemon, cucumber, drink it sparkling or plain, just drink some more water.
Fitness: Add more movement to your day. You’ve probably heard me say this 1000 times but, just move. More steps, get up and sit down a bunch of times (hands free), use the bathroom on another floor, go for a walk with your coffee if you’re on a break. This doesn’t require time or a gym membership, just an effort to get up. Try to get 3 mins of movement every 30 mins of being awake. “For every 30 get your 3.” (I didn’t come up with that.) It’s very sustainable to work more movement into the hours we’re not in the gym and not sleeping. There’s no time commitment, it’s just life.
Tips for implementation:
Ways to get in more veggies: Dip raw veggies in hummus, peanut butter, guacamole or make a dip out of plain greek yogurt. Roast a tray of veggies a week. I always roast come cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and/or brussel sprouts on one tray (sometimes I add tomato too), and I make another of starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, carrots and/or other root veggies. Roasted veggies are always delicious. Add veggies to eggs, but also think out of the box at breakfast. Have some cooked broccoli or cauliflower with some grass-fed butter. Its delicious and will get you on track for the day!
Ways to drink more water: Drink a bunch of water with lemon or cucumber right when you wake up. Drink water while you are preparing meals. Get a nice water bottle that you like. I love my stainless steel one, it seems that water always tastes better in it. Try sparkling water if you want something different.
Ways to move more in your normal day: Add in 2 mins of stretching when you get out of bed, park far away and walk to the door, before you’ll be sitting in a meeting, take 3 mins and walk around the office, fidget a bit in your seat, take multiple trips in with groceries or bringing up laundry, dance around your house when your jam comes on, ask Alexa for some exercises to do while cooking dinner, stand up and sit down for the commercial breaks, when you pick stuff up off the floor squat down to pick them up instead of rounding the back and bending, go for nature walks with the kids, stand when watching your kids game or convince a friend to do some laps with you while they play, sit less, stretch for 2 mins before bed.
Once you have that down, come back for your next step...and let me know how you’re doing with step 1!!
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