It's August and that means back to school! Whether you're a student or not- Our Certified WellCoach, Alyea Alldredge, can help make getting healthier as easy as ABC!
Earn a WHALE done! on your next health assessment by following these tips:
Always check labels. And here's a bonus A for effort- Avoid processed foods and artificial sweeteners.
Breakfast. Must eat this every. single day. Focus on fueling your body with foods that will start your day off right---Greek yogurt, fruit smoothie, egg white omelette---ask Noah if you need more ideas----he has this meal mastered and as a Registered Dietitian, can offer more nutritional tips.
Create a wellness vision for your month. What does your ideal self look and feel like? Create a vision board with goals, inspiring quotes and pictures that will motivate you towards that vision.
Drink lots of water!
Enjoy and appreciate the little things in your day- a great cup of coffee, cool mornings perfect for running outside (in August!), fresh fruit, sunshine, our freedom!
Farmer's markets. Visit your local farmer's market to make eating seasonally easy. Talk to the farmers and get to know the vendors.
Goals! Write down 3 goals that you can start working towards today. It doesn't have to be the lofty goal of running a marathon---and can just be the goal of drinking more water. Want more accountability? I can help you with that!
Healthy thoughts. Sometimes our stress and negative thoughts can derail us and make us feel discouraged. Turning a negative into a positive and believing in yourself can go a long way towards creating healthy change in your life.
Imagine your ideal self. Not necessarily your ideal weight, but your ideal self. What activities are you doing? I mentioned this earlier but I can not stress enough, the power of envisioning what it is you want to achieve.
Just do it. So many times we think we have to be ready to make all these huge changes in our life and that we have to wait until the stars align before we can start down our path to our best self. Start right now!
Keep a journal. Food journal, exercise journal, gratitudejournal---I don't care---just keep one.
Like your exercise. Now I didn't say love. I said like. And no, it's not always going to FEEL good...but pick activities that you actually don't hate. You won't continue it if you hate it. Need more ideas for your work outs? The trainers at BigTime can give you all the help you need!
Meal plan. Meal prep. I don't care what you call it---just make a plan. Then go buy your food and snacks.
Notice your small successes. This will help energize you to keep going. Lifted a heavier weight? Ran 10 minutes longer? Did ab work 2 times this week instead of 1? Give yourself a pat on the back---and hopefully you keep the celebration going!
Ouch! Does your workout hurt enough? No, I'm not saying, get hurt or continue doing an exercise if you legitimately are in pain...but you should be getting sore ever now and then from working out hard and pushing yourself. There is not greater feeling than feeling the lasting effects from a great workout which will turn into visual effects.
Pay it forward. Share your successes with others and let them know what has worked for you. I always encourage having an accountability partner. Pick this person wisely---they need to be someone that won't let you off the hook each time you want to skip a workout or indulge in some cake!
Quit making excuses. There are so many reasons whybeing healthy may not be convenient, but start listing the reasons that you want to be healthy! No more excuses. No one has time----but those that make time, make themselves more healthy.
Reduce stress. Reduce your level of stress by delegating, meditating, finding your happy place, and taking time for yourself!
Share Your Goals. Read them out loud to someone. By putting your goals out into the world, you instantly start to work towards achieving them. Plus it keeps you accountable to yourself.
Try something new. Never tried yoga? Boot camp? Salad?!!! Pick something new each day that you haven't ever done before. You never know if you have a new hobby, talent, etc. just waiting to be discovered by you!
Understand yourself better. Know your strengths and build on those. We tend to focus on what's wrong with ourselves and what we can improve upon. While this can sometimes be helpful, focusing on what we are already doing right or good at, can take us from good to great!
Variety. Mix up your workouts and meal plans each week and don't let yourself get bored. Yes, routine is good, but be mindful of when you need to switch it up. Noah keeps me on my toes----always encouraging me to try new foods. I must say it helps.
Whole foods. Keep it simple. While this is hard to do 24/7, ifyou can try and eat real MOST of the time with less fake ingredients, you'll be on your way to better health.
X-ercise. Ok, so this isn't a real word...but you get it. Move as much as you can. This is not negotiable.
Yoga. I used to knock yoga....then I tried it. If you don't feel a "high" or sense of peace after doing it, you're not allowing yourself to truly get into it. The benefits of yoga are many, not to mention the stress-reducing quality it can provide.
ZZZZs. My maiden name was Azeez and when I ran forStudent Body President my senior year of high school, one of my campaign posters said, "Don't sit around catching your ZZZ's, wake up and vote for Azeez!" Ok, so I take that back-----GET YOUR ZZZ's! And get lots of them. Your body does so much restoration while you sleep and it's more important than you think to get plenty of sleep.