5 Healthy Habits to Start Today

In fitness and in life, I encourage people to take baby steps. I have learned that making small changes at a time really do lead to a great impact. Trying to do everything 100% and all at once can create an overwhelming effect that can back fire.

Below are five healthy habits that you can incorporate slowly into your daily life. Again, start small and increase when you are comfortable. Rome was not built in a day, neither will your body be.

Water

Hydrating the body is a necessity of life. Without water, we cannot function. The ultimate daily goal here is 1/2 your body weight in ounces. For example; a 150 lb person should try for 70 ounces of water a day. If this sounds overwhelming because you aren’t drinking nearly that amount, aim for 1/2 of the total and increase the amount every few days till it becomes part of your daily routine. Are you dehydrated?

Prepare Your Food

If you’re like me, Monday mornings start out the week with a bang and often does not let up till Friday. Having food prepared for meals on the go or prepped for easy to assemble dinners will not only make your life easier, but they will be much healthier than last minute take out or unhealthy choices you pick up on the way home for convenience and stress relief. Some ideas may include; hard boiled eggs, cut up veggies, wash and store fruit that can go bad in the fridge, cut up pineapple, melons, and have a variety of berries and bananas on hand. I love to grill a bunch of chicken breasts, make a big batch of black bean quinoa salad, cut up sweet potatoes for easy to bake fries. I also make sure I have Greek yogurt, frozen fruit and coconut water on hand for quick smoothies. Also, be sure to have cans of tuna or salmon for quick meals.

Think Positive

Did you know if takes more energy to think and act negatively than it does to send positive thoughts into the world. We sometimes may act in a positive way and do nice things for people but internally, the way we talk to ourselves is often negative and self sabotaging. I challenge you to stop every once in a while and really think about what your internal thoughts are really projecting. See if there is any way you can turn that thought into a more positive expression or way of thinking. You might just surprise yourself. Also question if you are judging, not only people but places, things, situations, ways others do things and even dress or talk. If you can’t think of a positive thing to think about someone, stop thinking about them. Move on. The longer the negativity resides in your head, it is stealing time away from you living a healthy and happy life.
I follow http://www.marcandangel.com/ on Facebook an Twitter for great. Positive content.

30 Minutes of Activity Daily

People often think if they can’t get to the gym, than their workout for the day is blown. The truth is, activity can come in many shapes and sizes. Walking from meeting to meeting, gardening, grocery shopping, etc. if you are moving, that is activity. I would love to see you get 30 min a day at least. And yes, if you can raise your heart rate a couple of times a week and for longer, bonus!

Connect Live

I’m not who coined the phrase social media, but it seems to me to be anything but. Sure we communicate via text, posts, tweets, and email, but nothing beats the experience of human interaction. A video that, funny enough went around social media titled “Look Up” is a great example of how our lack of face to face communication is creating a void and detachment both internally and externally that we are on the verge of incredible isolation. If you find you would rather hang out at home on Facebook and Twitter than interact face to face, it might be time to cut back on the screen time. You owe it to your health and happiness.

The post 5 Healthy Habits to Start Today appeared first on Prime Women | An Online Magazine.