Being healthy isn't hard.
Being healthy in this fast-paced technology crammed world is. Add in a full time job that requires you to work overtime and it's even more difficult. But there are a few easy tricks to still make sure you're getting in at least a small dose of health, whether it be in your diet (which is easiest), or your activity level. I'm here to tell what some of these tricks are.
So while I realize a lot of my friends and family have figured this out for themselves, I kind of felt the impulse to write about it anyways. Maybe someone will have an A-Ha! moment. If so, great. If not, at least this is a cathartic activity for me that isn't self-depleting. Here we go.
Number 1. Go grocery shopping once a week. While it may encourage some of us to spend more money, if you only wrap around the outside loop of the store you'll be fine. This is probably one you've heard everywhere. But you can't even begin to be healthy if you don't have that fresh supply of fruits and veggies, dairy, and lean proteins. And being as they can go bad after a week in the fridge, that's why I said it. Almost anything fresh in produce is fair game, assuming you don't eat 25 peaches in a day and nothing else. The meat department of my life consists of three things: 1.) low fat (90/10 or less) freshly ground turkey/chicken (Jennie-O status), 2.) Wild salmon, or some other kind of fish that's not dirty (i.e. talapia), and 3.) chicken breast. All great places for protein, but not full of that nasty fat like a steak will give you. My very fast go-to protein consists of some deli-shaved ham or turkey breast. Make sure it's not full of additives, nitrates, sodium, and mechanically separated stuff. Ick. While it can be high-sodium, if you look, there are brands that aren't too horrible. If I didn't have it, my breakfasts would be very sad.
Dairy... It's not dairy, but I love almond milk. It's great to drink plain, or in cereal, and only 60 calories a cup (for the kind I get) with a bundle of calcium in it. While there isn't a gob of protein in there (which I'm very bummed about), you can make it up elsewhere in your diet. My go-to brand, because I just think the flavor is better and there are less additives/ingredients is Silk, the original kind. I then of course have my gallon of fat-free milk, and greek yogurt--both high in protein. (Protein is probably the most helpful thing when it comes to eating well, because it keeps you full). Look out for the high sugar content in Greek yogurt though. Anything above 15g for a 6oz cup is a lot. I recently found the mini Chobani cups that are 70 calories and 8 grams of protein. While tiny and not to be used for a meal, they make for great add-ons and snacks to keep you rolling until lunch.
Number 2...Easy way to force yourself to take 30 seconds to be healthy is to sign up for the daily challenges by meyouhealth.com. You can have them sent to your cell phone at a certain time every day. I am enrolled in the Cardio track and get a short challenge that normally only takes 30 seconds sent to me at noon. I'm super busy, but at least I do SOMETHING because of it. If you haven't completed it by 7 they give you a reminder (you can pick what times they text you).
And my final tip today, is a new fitness tracking app called Argus. While I still use myFitnessPal for tracking all of my food (also awesome), Argus is nice because it helps you track your steps and has a very quick format to log your water consumption, sleep, activity, and take pictures of your food. It's free! Hooray...go get it!!!
So my goals for the week: Eat well (your weight is 90% determined by how you eat), and get a jolt of exercise in by doing my fitness challenges and using Argus.
If anyone actually reads this and wants to know something specific, please feel free to comment/ask. I'm not talking out of my ass here, really. Apart from taking a ton of human phys in college, I was a nationally certified personal trainer until I chose to let it expire lol. If I wasn't a teacher, I would definitely be doing this kind of thing.
