By: Ciara Abbott
Throughout the several years of girls Fitness Challenge classes, I’ve picked up and learned a couple pretty good healthy habits. I’m not saying that everything I do is healthy, but I do try to at least make an effort to keep things on the healthy side. You would be surprised at the difference just one little habit can make.
Habit 1: A little exercise in the morning can go a long way.
Let us get one thing out of the way: I am NOT a morning person. I am a night owl all the way. But I’ve found that working out in the morning is a great way to start the day for multiple reasons. For one, it jump starts your metabolism and gets it moving faster. Two: working out releases endorphins. Endorphins are chemicals that your body releases that create a feeling of well-being. If you are like me and hate waking up early, exercising in the morning is a great way to start the day off and improve your mood. And lastly: by making working out in the morning a habit, your body learns to do the same. Your metabolism will speed up even while you are sleeping so you’ll find yourself waking up more energized. Your body’s hormones will regulate heart rate, blood pressure, and blood flow to prepare your body for exercise.
Over the next week, write down everything you eat each day. Don’t cheat and be like “this cookie doesn’t count…” Count everything. Even drinks. Now at the end of the week, look back at what you have eaten. Next to each item, label if the food is a carbohydrate, protein, or fat (healthy or unhealthy). (If you don’t know what the food is, look it up on Google. Also, if you had something like, for example, pasta, don’t forget the other things in it such as cheese. Some things you eat will have carbs, proteins, and fats in them.) I’m going to bet that you eat mostly carbs. This is why many people have problems losing weight. We Americans overload on carbs. Cut back on them! It isn’t that hard. Just start being a little more aware of what you eat.
Habit 3: Water, water, and more water…plus a cool bottle
In my last article, I explained a few of the benefits of drinking a lot of water so check it out if you don’t remember. One person should have up to eight glasses of water a day. Drinking water is a hard habit to start. But what I’ve found, is that if I have a cool water bottle, I will be more inclined to carry it around and drink from it. Spend a couple extra bucks on a water bottle that you think is cool or fun and carry it around with you all day. You will be surprised at how much more water you will drink!
Habit 4: Cut certain foods out of your meals.
One thing I cut out completely from my meals is pop. There isn’t a single thing about it that is healthy, so why do we drink it? The answer is simple. Corn syrup and glucose syrup. These are used in food to make it you addicted to it and crave more. Look at food labels before you go to eat/drink something. The more things on the back that you can’t pronounce, the worst the food is for you. Cut back on candy. Quit eating cheetos and bonbons. Twinkies can last for about 50 years out in the open; do you really want that inside you? Just think before you put the food in your mouth. Ask yourself questions like: This is good, but is it good for me? Do I really need this bag of -insert name of food here-? Is there something healthier I could eat instead of this? Gain control over your cravings and you’ll see a huge difference with your body!
Of course, there’s many, many more habits that are healthy that are good to start but these are just a few to get you started. If you would like to find more, start by checking out the books Breakthrough or Knockout by Suzanne Somers. You can look stuff up online, but just make sure its legit before you go nuts with it. So now go forth, and start being healthy!