10 Tips For A Healthier YOU !

We are so excited to have Karli Cleaver here today sharing some great tips on how to help make us healthier and happier people this year! She’s a great example and she continually inspires us… hope she inspires you too!

1. Prepare: Whatever your goals are for this year-physically, spiritually, relationally, or any other ‘‘ally’’-making a plan is absolutely vital.  Writing it down and putting it somewhere you can see it daily puts you ahead of the game by a large margin. Proper preparation also includes prepping the people in your daily life and your environment so you can be armed for greater success.
2. Hydrate: Water is totally underrated & so incredible!  Getting enough is one of the best gifts you can give yourself.  Start with 64 ounces a day as a foundation and build up to half your weight in ounces daily.

3. Food: this is generally the toughest part, but also one of the most important. Personally, I just want to eat all the food all the time…but that doesn’t go over so well, so I’ve had to learn some healthier habits. Just google healthy eating and you’ll be inundated with more information than you could ever imagine!  Whatever plan you choose (PS-I know a great one!), make a plan, buy the groceries, commit, and follow it.  For more than four days.  Give it a minimum of 30 days before starting something else.

4. Move: Whether you’re trying to shake it off like T Swift or you’ve got moves like Jagger & Maroon Five, you can enjoy an impromptu dance party from the comfort of your own home. Just crank up some tunes and dance!  Try holding a plank pose while you read or study.  Do air squats or sit-ups during commercial breaks.  Walk whenever and wherever you can.  Aim for 20-60 minutes of intentional activity daily. The key is to make it something you enjoy.  Case in point: I have never liked traditional exercise. Physical fitness and I have always been frenemies.  (I knew it was beneficial but loathed doing it).  Enter CrossFit.  I began doing it at home in February and joined a box in April.  Yes, that was NINE months ago.  And I’m still going 3-6 days a week!  I have never been consistent for 9 months with any form of exercise.  And guess what?  I don’t loathe it, I crave it!  The point is to find something you love doing that benefits you physically instead of forcing yourself to do something you hate because that likely won’t last long.

5. Read: spend at least 10 minutes a day in a self-development book.  Personal growth leads to healthier individuals.  Some of my 2014 favorites were: Take the Stairs by Rory Vaden and The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson.

6. Support: ask your spouse, friend, sibling or co-worker to join you on your quest for health.  Tell people what you’re doing.  Ask them to be in your corner and not to sabotage your efforts. Join a class or gym or find a health coach to help encourage you (I’m happy to help in this area!) If you need some extra incentive, join our Healthy Games challenge starting January 12th-it’s going to be so fun! Call or email me for info or join HERE.

7. Accountability & Tracking: Keep yourself accountable by checking in often.  Report to your health coach or chosen friend/spouse/neighbor. Take measurements every 4-6 weeks and weigh every 1-2 weeks. Track your progress through monthly photos, too.

8. Be Realistic: expect progress, not perfection.  Health is a journey, not a destination.  This is probably the greatest lesson I could have learned personally in 2014.  If you’re like me you probably find it easy to give grace to others, but have a hard time extending it to yourself.  I have struggled with binge eating for years and finally focused on stopping that habit in the Fall of 2014.  I went over 30 days without a binge, which was HUGE.  Then I had a relapse one day.  Instead of falling into a vicious cycle of binging and negative self-talk for weeks or months like I’d always previously done, I accepted it, moved on, and got right back on track the next day. A healthy and realistic mindset allows for occasional treats, fallbacks, free meals, and days where we just aren’t up to par.  And it tells us that we’re okay despite not being perfect at our plan at all times.

9. Sustainability: In order to make healthy changes that will last for a long period of time [read: forever going forward], a couple things need to happen.  First, the new habits need to be fun.  If you look forward to what you’re doing, you’ll be more likely to keep it up. Next, don’t go full speed ahead and spend 17 hours a day in the gym & eat only whole and organic foods all day and expect to sustain those efforts without getting a bit burnt out at some point. Start small and most importantly, be consistent.  Commit that whatever you choose to do, you will stick with.

10. Celebrate: Recognize the small victories and especially the nanoscale victories [fitting into a smaller pair of pants, wearing your wedding ring again, crossing your legs comfortably, etc.] and allow for non-food rewards to be built into your progress.  A new book, outfit, massage, pedicure, magazine, or movie date.  Remember that progress is progress no matter how small, to celebrate the positive things YOU do!