Invest in Your Health

When you decide to take control of your health, start eating healthy, start getting active, reducing stress in your life and finding something to believe in you will want to make sure every bit of your hard-earned time and money make a dent in your goals right? ABSOLUTELY!! You've made up your mind, set your sights high and there's no turning back now!! So how are you going to do that? What's going to make this time different from the last time you were ready to "make a change"? Well let me tell you! THIS time you're going to have a plan, you're going to invest in your future and you're going to set yourself up for success!!

Let's start with eating healthy...

We live in a society that is BOMBARDED with food. There's a Starbucks on every corner, fast food next to every school, playground and library, billboards flashing the newest $6 Burger from Carl's Jr. It's EVERYWHERE!! These businesses are strategically placed as they know in our fast-paced society we need to grab a quick meal and run to the next activity.  They even have us believing that if it's "grilled chicken" it MUST be healthy! WRONG...it may be a healthier option than say a Big Mac but it's loaded with sodium, carbs and not much nutritional value at all!! And literally, at what cost, are we willing to keep doing this to ourselves? Starbucks coffee ranges from $4-$7+, Fast food value meals are $6+, heck even a chicken salad is $5. But it's QUALITY that is lacking in these foods. You are NOT investing in your health when you visit these chains I promise you that! So what can you do about it?

There are several things you can do about it! The first thing is to PLAN YOUR MEALS. I can't stress this enough!!! If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. It's as simple as that! You've decided to invest in your health and that will require a little foot work on your part. No I'm not talking working out...that's coming next. I'm talking about a little thought, planning and preparation!!

You need to set aside some time for yourself on Sunday morning (or whichever day works best for you) and think about the week ahead of you and do some meal planning. Do you have after school sports? Book club? Boy Scouts? Date night? Now take out your blank meal planning template and jot them down. Next plan which meal you will be replacing with Shakeology so you KNOW you're getting the healthiest meal of the day and you don't even have to think about it. Jot that down and list any ingredients you'll be adding to your shake. Next plan the rest of the meals and snacks. If you know your family gets bored easily with left overs try a new dish or two each week, but don't overwhelm yourself. This new chapter in your life is supposed to be reducing stress too!! Rotate in some family favorites with some new recipes and remember left-overs make great lunches the next day!

Now that you've got your meals planned out, create a shopping list and hit the store! Another great way to invest in your health is to STICK TO YOUR LIST!! Don't get distracted by the bakery section or the ice cream freezer. Just get in and get out...you'll be saving money and saving your waist line! Once you're home I highly suggest washing, chopping and bagging all of your produce. You can bag everything individually so that on those days that you have a million errands to run or lots of after school activities you know you have your cooler packed with healthy eats in the car so you dont have to swing by any drive thru.

How about we throw in some exercise???

You don't have to be the next Iron-Man contestant to start exercising. If you belong to a gym, run around the neighborhood, workout to home DVDs or pull out articles from your favorite fitness magazine, JUST GET MOVING!! I think it's a false belief that so many people have that just because you get older you have to get fat or gain weight...That's so FALSE!! Adults tend to gain weight due to lack of physical activity. They're no longer participating in high school or college sports, not running around after their little ones, hitting too many drive thru's and becoming A-1 couch potatoes!! But that stops today!! So what can you do about it?

There are several things you can do about it!

First let's start with the workout gear. We all like to look good no matter what we're doing. So head out and get some new workout gear if you don't have any or yours needs a makeover. It doesn't have to be super expensive, Ross, Old Navy, Forever 21 and Target have some really cute workout clothes and shoes!!

Next you need to pick a workout that you enjoy. Don't worry if it's something different than what your friend or neighbor is doing, do what YOU enjoy!! I promise the more you do something YOU enjoy the more likely you will be to stick to it. If you're not sure where to start you can search Pinterest or Google for some great at home workout tips like this... Pick a few each day and slowly start to add a few more as time goes on and you feel stronger!! Or maybe you prefer a workout DVD you can do in the privacy of your own home like P90X, TurboFire, or Insanity. The best thing about these is that you can do them at whatever time works best for you! You dont have to try to get to the gym on time or wake up super early. The more you make it work for you the more you will stick to it!!

My third tip for investing in your health is to PAY YOURSELF!! Yup, that's right!! EVERY time you do a workout give yourself a tip!! But before you start think about a BIG goal that you want to use that money for. Is it a summer vacation? New workouts clothes? A new outfit? Whatever it is find a picture and print it out. Hang it on the wall over your Tip Jar and let that DRIVE you to workout each day!! When you are thinking about hitting the snooze button REMEMBER that goal you're working so hard towards and go after it!!

My final tip for you is to join one of my 21 day or 60 day accountability groups!  They are an excellent option for support, motivation, and accountability! Not only will you learn the tips I discussed here but we will go over in more detail tips on how to eat clean, stay healthy and lose weight through the summer and how to boost your nutrition for optimum weight loss!!

 

If you are considering joining one of my Challenge groups and getting my 1:1 support with Clean Eating, working out and achieving your health and fitness goals?  Then, contact me about my next challenge group!

My focus is going to be the next 60 days getting you through the summer, helping you lose weight and keep it off for the rest of your life. Then, really helping you get through vacations, picnics, weekend road trips, emotional eating, temptation and more!  My goal is to arm you with the tools to find your will power and be strong!

To be considered for my next group please fill out this application below