Tip of the Week
One Decision a Week: If getting healthy seems overwhelming, try breaking it down into one decision at a time. If you make one decision a day (or a week!) you will incorporate between 52 and 365 healthy adjustments to your life which will change your entire body in a year. So, start today… with this one: Learn What is in Your Food. Read the ingredient labels and make sure your food is REAL food. No more chemicals, preservatives, or “food-like” substances. Eat real only. Your body will work more efficiently and more effectively.
Make One Change A Day
If getting healthy seems overwhelming, try breaking it down into one decision at a time. If you make one decision a day (or a week!) you will incorporate between 52 and 365 healthy adjustments to your life which will change your entire body in a year. So, start today… with this one: Learn What is in Your Food. Read the ingredient labels and make sure your food is REAL food. No more chemicals, preservatives, or “food-like” substances. Eat real only. Your body will work more efficiently and more effectively.
Know What Is in Your Vitamins
It seems like “a vitamin is a vitamin” but if you knew how many vitamins, coated in synthetics, are simply passed through bodies year after year it may astound you. Our bodies can not break down synthetics, much less absorb them. In addition, most vitamins use minerals found in the ground – meaning rocks – instead of plant-based minerals (the kind humans absorb) as a short cut. So, you eat synthetic materials and rocks instead of actual food… thus the non-absorption. Therefore, know what’s in your vitamin! Is it plant-based? Does it use synthetics? (Chemicals like petroleum- !!) If so, you aren’t absorbing it and you are wasting your money and your healthy habit on some pretty pricey poo.
Top 12 Most Pesticided Fruits and Veggies – Steer Clear!
If you don’t want to pay for an all-organic diet (which no one WANTS to but many of us see its value) at least avoid the “Deadly Dozen“. These are the most chemically treated fruits and veggies out there. (DO go organic on these!) They are, in order: apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, nectarines, grapes, sweet bell peppers (red, orange, yellow), potatoes, blueberries, lettuce, kale (and collard greens)
Bananas = perfect food
If you are in a hurry and need a meal on the go, a banana is the perfect snack. It has an amazing amount of nutrients, fiber, and tastes good to boot. So, save money on the spendy pre-packaged snacks and eat a piece of “nature’s candy” for your next portable edible.
Half Caf for Better Health
It’s crazy to think of a world without coffee (at least for me) but a great way to start is by cutting your caffeine intact in half. Mix decaf and full-caf together to lessen your caffeine. You still get a bit of a perk, the delicious taste of roasted beans and lessen the amount of caffeine you take in each day. Your energy will remain peppy and your skin will look better (and you’ll probably have to pee less, too).
Need more “moist” in your cookies?
It seems that cookies, unless under-baked, can be too dry and fall apart or get too crunchy. I, personally, am a chewy cookie fan. Yet without the use of margarine or other non-food items it seems hard to attain. Enter my new favorite all-natural sweetener Agave. Switch out your sugar for 1/2 the amount of Agave and the results will excite you (Agave is sweeter than sugar so do not use an equal amounts! Your chewy cookie cravings will be fulfilled. I tried it with my peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chip cookies and the results were fantastic! Go on… do it!
How Much Water Should You Drink?
According to different trainers and nutrition gurus, there is a simple way to do the math on the water you need to drink everyday. For every pound you weigh you need to drink at least 1/2 an ounce of water every day. (So, if you weigh 150 pounds, you should be drinking at least 75 ounces of pure water* everyday). This will ensure that you have enough H2O in your system for it to function properly and keep you hydrated. In addition, you will notice improvements in your energy and your complexion!
*If you live in an area where the water has a bad taste, try using a purifier on your tap and adding some lemon juice to it to cut the strangeness. Or use a filter that comes with a pitcher and put in sliced cucumbers or lime wedges.
Folic Acid = Needed by Mamas
Be sure that you are getting plenty of Folic acid daily. In the B Vitamin family, Folic acid helps prevent birth defects for babies in the womb, including Spina Bifida and Anencephaly. It also helps increase heart health for mama and baby and has been shown to prevent cell changes that can lead to cancer. So, embrace the “hype” on Folic acid and get some today! For yourself and your baby.
Set a Goal, Achieve it, Repeat
When you exercise it’s not enough to set just one goal. One goal at a time, sure, but only wanting to reach one goal is a lethal ingredient in the recipe for success. Approach health and exercise like an athlete approaches training – set a goal, reach it, repeat. For example – set the goal of walking for 45 minutes three days a week. Once you have achieved that for four weeks, add another goal to it – like “eat three vegetables every day”. Then meet that one and add another – perhaps “eat no refined sugars for one month” – then achieve that one and keep it going! Add one at a time, relatively close together (try one or two food goals and one exercise goal per month – layering them as you go) and you won’t feel overwhelmed OR under-motivated. Goals keep you focused and help you gain momentum. So set some up and feel invigorated by the progress you’ll see!
Know Your Triggers
We may not like to admit it, but most of us have “trigger” foods that can send us into a tail spin of over eating. If you have never thought about it, it’s time to take note of when you overeat and why. Are there foods you begin eating that make you eat and eat? Are they sweet things? Bread and butter? Salty potato chips? No matter what they are log them mentally and steer clear of them on a daily basis. Take them out of your cupboards and be honest with yourself about why you need to get rid of them and for how long (somethings I STILL don’t bring into my house for lack of self control!) Then replace them with different foods – ones that are real food and full or nutrients!