10 Tips to Get and Stay Healthy

Regardless of how active or inactive you might currently be, each new day brings with it the opportunity to take a few simple steps toward developing healthy habits. Healthy living is more than a seasonal diet or a nutritional craze.  Healthy living is a lifestyle which can not only make you look good, but more significantly, can afford you a better quality of life – today and down the road.  Here are 10 tips that can help you achieve and maintain a healthier you.

1. Set Realistic Goals. Come up with a simple, realistic list of goals you hope to achieve each week.  As you accomplish these goals you will feel improved self-esteem and will develop a drive to keep at it and even expand your horizons. Try taking a brisk 30-minute walk a few times a week. Invest in a pedometer and try to walk a set amount of steps each day. Or, if you’re really ambitious, try adding two resistance training sessions each week. Remember that muscle is more dense than fat.
2. Plan Ahead. Add your walking or workout schedule to your Outlook, email or mobile phone calendar. Make a deal with yourself that these appointments simply cannot be canceled.
3. Record your results. There are many websites that allow you to monitor your food, exercise and weight progress. NutriMirror (www.nutrimirror.com) and Live Strong (www.livestrong.com) are two examples of free sites that are easy to navigate; the latter even has a mobile phone app that will sync your data between the web and your phone.  
4. Keep your eyes on the prize.  Write down your goals and review them frequently to remind yourself about what it is you hope to achieve.
5. Cast out the evil. If you have items in your fridge or pantry that are not healthy and cause you to yield to temptation, cast them out of your home! Buy nutritious food: fruits, vegetables, lean meats. Try to keep your consumption of sweets, pastries, candy and processed foods to a minimum.
6. Early to Rise. After a long day at work it’s often difficult to find the motivation or energy to work out. Assuming you don't have a 6:00 a.m. call, try exercising before your work day begins so that you will have added energy and you’ll never feel guilty for not hitting the gym after work.
7. Birds of a feather. Seek out those who have healthy eating habits and exercise regularly. You will be motivated to emulate their healthy habits.  
8. Water, works. Drink lots of water all the time. Aim for ten 8-oz glasses each day. Water not only keeps you hydrated and cleans out your system, it also keeps you feeling full, and if you feel full you’ll eat less.
9. Keep it in perspective. Try to make your workouts fun. Remember that each second you exercise is a second you have invested in yourself.  Never lose sight of the fact that it’s never too late to adopt healthy habits.  Having a goal and working toward it will absolutely show results.
10. Just do it! Honor this commitment to exercise and honor this commitment to yourself. Even if you’re tired and don’t feel like putting the time in for a workout today, just go anyway. Once you begin exercising it will be difficult to find a compelling reason not to finish. Showing up is most – if not all – of the battle.