Up-level Your Health

Fast and Easy Ways to Feel Better and Live Better

Research shows that the trick to sticking to a nutrition and fitness plan—and seeing results— is finding the one small change that works for you.  Let’s look at some small tweaks that give big results.

Salads before meals are a great way to increase the amount of greens you get into your diet and to help you feel full at each meal. This is also a great way to achieve more balance if you decide to splurge for dinner.  You will get more nutrients and eat less of the splurge food if you fill up on salad first.

Taste your food before you salt it. You may find it doesn’t need it.  You can also try spicing up your food with lemon or lime juice, garlic, red pepper flakes, or herbs. Stock your fridge and pantry with your favorite herbs so you’ll always have them on hand to flavor your foods.

We all know soft drinks are not a healthy beverage choice, but fruit juices and sports drinks are also full of excess sugar. Water should be your primary beverage of choice, with soda or fruit juice considered a special treat. How much water should you drink per day?  Take your total body weight, divide it by two.  Drink that number in ounces of water each day.  For example, if you weigh 100lbs, you would aim to drink 50 ounces of water each day.

Another simple way to up-level your health is to reduce or eliminate alcohol and caffeine. Alcohol and caffeine can deplete us of nutrients and can have long term negative effects on our liver. Alcohol and caffeine can also contribute to increased anxiety and stress which is never good for your health.

Eliminate at least one item from your life that contains toxic chemicals (all dryer sheets, almost every type of laundry soap, dish soap, “air fresheners,” etc.)  Replacing them with nontoxic natural options will go a long way in reducing your toxic load.  You don’t have to do a total overhaul.  Just up-level one product each week or month.

Soak in a warm bath with Epsom salts. The magnesium in Epsom salts absorbs through your skin and helps relax your muscles and reduce pain levels while contributing to your heart health.

Research shows that we are under more stress than ever before. We have busy schedules, constant input from social and other media and more financial and health struggles than ever before.  Spending just a few minutes a day calming the mind through prayer or meditation has a really big impact.

Pick one new change or habit at a time. If we try to incorporate a bunch of new habits all at once, we will feel overwhelmed. I recommend picking one of the habits above to start adding to your daily routine and once it becomes second nature, then you can go ahead and pick a new habit to work on.