By Traci Brosman
In today’s world it is not easy to live a healthy lifestyle. Food manufacturers genetically modify our food, hide fillers, sweeteners, sugars, chemicals and other ingredients that make us fat, harm our health and make the food we eat addictive. We drink beverages full of caffeine, sugar, artificial sweeteners and/or alcohol that rob our bodies full of nutrients, wreak havoc on our organs and leave us dehydrated.
Our nation is the heaviest it has ever been plus it is moving less and sleeping less. All of this is adding too much stress on our bodies leaving us sick, depleted and over medicated. It is time for a change! It is time we leave our excuses behind! It is time we take individual responsibility for our own health!
Changing your behavior is difficult. It is even more difficult to change this behavior when society consistently wants you to conform to its eat and drink junk philosophy. All is not loss though. You can change your habits and you can change the destiny of your health by eliminating your excuses. Why you don’t eat healthy, why you are not exercising enough, why don’t you get enough sleep and why you don’t take the time to relax and manage your stress. Once the excuses are gone than it is just a matter of doing it and making better choices one hour at a time, one day at a time.
Here are a few things that make it easier for me to eliminate excuses and live a healthier life.
- Drink Protein Shakes – These are quick, easy and nutritious meals. I will often have one for breakfast and lunch. My favorites are Designs for Health’s PaleoMeal, PurePaleo and Whey Cool protein shakes. I like Design’s for Health because they use the highest quality ingredients and Albion Chelated minerals for maximum absorbability.
- Exercise Challenges – I like challenges that start out small and add an exercise or additional reps each day over a 21 day period. This makes it easier to start and to stick with it. Plus you often notice a difference in stamina and muscle tone afte just a few days.
- Sleep More – I track this with my Fitbit Charge HR and will often sleep later or make sure I get a nap in if I find that I did not get enough sleep during the night. My goal is to get at least 7 hours of sleep in each day.
- Stress – Take a few minutes each day to breathe deeply. I like to breathe in for 7 seconds, hold my breath for 7 seconds and breathe out for 9 seconds. After doing this for several minutes I always feel better.
I hope you will join me and begin eliminating the excuses that are preventing you from feeling really good and living your life to its fullest.