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Is it just me or is it really overwhelming to think about overturning your entire life in order to be more healthy?
It’s just flat out confusing! Do we eat carbs, or not eat carbs? Can we have a cheat meal, or no cheat meal? Is fruit good or bad? Do I have to buy a juicer and make green smoothies every morning? Like, where the heck do I even begin?!
That sort of overwhelm is exactly what stops us from focusing on our health. We’re getting umpteen million different messages and we don’t know who to listen to!
How To Be More Healthy
When I started my massive weight loss journey, it felt impossible. I wanted to lose weight, and needed to lose a LOT of it. But thinking of taking on such a monumental task just paralyzed me!
Eventually I reached a breaking point and mustered up every drop of desperation I had, to propel me into a health journey. Over time, I lost 160 pounds. Crazy, right?! But more importantly I adopted a healthy lifestyle and learned the balance of eating well and exercising, but not obsessing.
A man by the name of David Allen once said, “you can do anything, but not everything…” And that’s exactly what I want you to think of when you’re trying to be more healthy.
I want you to decide to do what you can do. Today. Don’t think about doing allllllll the things. Just think about what you can do today.
Eat Real Food
Before you grab for that protein bar, or head to the vending machine at work. Pause. Ask yourself, “self? Is there a better choice?”
Snacks, protein bars, protein shakes, prepackaged goodies, you name it, are fine in their place. But they almost always contain ingredients that aren’t working in your favor. They’re easy in a pinch, and when you’re starving they can be a real life-saver. But their convenience can sometimes cost you, and put a hinge in your journey toward being healthy.
It’s tough to think of when things are crazy and busy, but a great rule of thumb is simply choosing to reach for actual, real food. A banana, an apple, some fresh-cut veggies, nuts, nut butter, avocados, hardboiled eggs…
Eating real food will satiate you for longer and will make your insides happier.
If you’ve been in a rut lately (or rummaging through your kids snack bin in the pantry a little too often), pause and reach for real food instead of something overly processed, or pre-packaged.
Move Your Body
It doesn’t need to be structured, cute, or even sweat-breaking! Moving your body, even in the smallest of ways, has huge benefits. It will help your mood, get your blood circulating, and can help with that energy slump that creeps up in the late afternoon.
Wave your arms around a few times. Get up and walk around. Go outside and walk to the end of your street and back. Get on the floor and hold a plank. And of course, if you want to go a step further and sneak in a more intense workout, then by all means! Go for it!
Whatever you can do to move your body, do it! You’ll be glad you did!
Listen To Your Body’s Cues
Believe it or not our bodies are constantly telling us what they need. The problem is that we’ve gotten really good at ignoring those cues.We eat food because it’s convenient, or because it’s noon and we always eat at noon, or because we’re too busy to stop and think about it.
But learning to be more attentive to what our bodies are telling us they need, is a fantastic way to be more healthy.
Before you reach for that next snack or meal, stop and ask yourself. Am I hungry? Am I bored? Am I tired? Am I actually thirsty? Am I stressed? Am I super happy? Or am I legitimately just hungry??
Lots of times, you’ll actually be hungry! In which case, go back and ready the first tip I gave, above. Then make a food choice, and enjoy every bite!
Lots of other times, you won’t actually be hungry at all.
Learning to listen to your body will set you up for success because it will make you a much more mindful eater.
Being More Healthy Starts Today!
It doesn’t have to be hard. Just do what you can! Once these three things turn into habits, you’re ready to move on to new ways to implement healthy living! You’ve got this and I’m rooting for you!!!
