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Healthy Lifestyle Choices That Make a Difference
Leading a healthy lifestyle is important for so many things: reaching your goals, feeling your best inside and out, learning new habits. It can be hard to get everything in order for leading a healthy lifestyle but we're here to help.
Here are our 5 tips for making health a lifestyle to work with everyday.
1. Plan to Eat
You may have read our post on food prep and discovered that food prep can be an important part of success when trying to be healthier. Even if you can't do a full meal prep every week, it helps to have some foods on hand for when you get hungry. Roast up some vegetables, cook up some proteins and keep plenty of the foods you need to succeed in the house. If you like to snack, don't keep food in your house that you don't want to eat or that you can't portion out appropriately. Instead, keep fruit or cut up veggies, or things like rice cakes or protein bars on hand. If you know you're going to be out for a while and not eating, either pack something to eat or have something before you leave: It will keep you from grabbing convenience snacks when you're starving.
2. Plan to Exercise
When planning to exercise, think of it just as you do work or school, or anything else you do. Knowing when you're going to the gym in advance helps you to look forward to it instead of thinking of it as a task or chore. Set exercise into your schedule just as you would anything else-you can even add a reminder or alarm to your phone when it's time to get that workout in. Whether it's 15 minutes or an hour, every minute counts. If you can't get to the gym or do a real workout a few times a week, take a brisk walk, do some squats or jumping jacks to get your heart rate up and your blood flowing.
3. Rest When You Need To
Sometimes when you get in a routine, it can be hard to deviate. In addition, most of us go-go-go with pets, kids, work and everything else. This might seem like a good thing but it could actually hinder your progress. Your muscles recover the most when you take a rest day, as does your mind. Taking a day off doesn't mean you have to sit around all day. Take a walk with the dogs or do some stretching to allow your body to reset. If you feel sick, take a day off and don't stress about it. It can be easy to feel guilty when you can't work out but that feeling isn't good. Taking one day off when you don't feel well is better than spending a week out of commission when you get too run down. Stress can be a major factor in fat loss so managing that is key when deciding whether to hit it hard or take a day to recoup.
4. Be a Little Flexible
Being healthy doesn't mean perfection. Your body won't crumble if you miss a workout, eat something that you might not normally eat or every treadmill is full and you usually only run. Our weight can fluctuate up to a few pounds a day too--give it some settle time after eating too much salt, a hard workout, not enough water or a million other factors. Health isn't just about your body, it's about your mind too. Being rigid only creates a disconnect between your brain and the rest of you which in turn, makes you unhealthy. Being healthy is a balance.
5. Change It Up (+HAVE FUN)
Doing the same thing every day can get a little boring, no matter what it is. Look for fun recipes or play around and create your own. On the days you go to the gym on your own, try a class or look for some new routines to try. Do intervals one day and weight machines another day. Eat broccoli one day and cauliflower the next. Experiment with different methods and beliefs. Read websites, blogs, books. Monotony is a key way to prevent you from making a lifestyle change and new habits. Spend time learning, get interested, incorporate new things, make the family join you. Most importantly, HAVE FUN.
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