The fundamental basics for caring for a body never change: eat right, exercise and get plenty of rest. The challenging part for those of us who don’t have the best habits is to change them. How? Slowly.
Healthy Eating
Start reading about nutrition, healthy eating, calories, vegetarianism, etc., whatever topic about food excites you. Get to the library or your kindle and make the decision (and stick to it!) that you are going to ready 5 or 10 pages per day. Establish a fixed time daily to do this and don’t back down.
Start looking at recipes – again – start with your favorite meals and examine the recipes. Learn just what all of those ingredients are, how they are grown, where they come from, if they are processed somehow – how they are processed. You would be surprised how interesting such research can be. Your interest may be peaked and that will cause you to look further and to answer more questions for yourself about the food that you eat.
Exercise
That’s a another big one for those who don’t do it already. Walking is wonderful exercise. During the summer, do it early in the day before it gets too hot and it kills your motivation. Walk the dog, walk with friends, walk with your kids (it’s a really fun family time), walk to the store if it’s in walking distance. Think about it. If you don’t always have to fire up your car, then don’t!
Stretch throughout the day. Our bodies get stiff when we are stagnant for too long – especially if you are sitting at a desk all day. Get up and stretch – touch your toes, reach side to side, do some squats – anything helps.
Set up little milestones for yourself such as: I’m going to start with 5 jumping jacks and increase by one every day until I can comfortably do 100 – or whatever you decide your goal is.
Are you a gym person? Do you like to go out of the house, be around others and work out? Or do you prefer the privacy of your home?
The key is to start and then continue. Gradually increase what you do and how to do it. If you establish a really good program for yourself and then keep it up, you will start to feel a difference in your body and you’ll definitely want more of it!
Of course – always check with your doctor if you feel it’s necessary.
Rest
Many of us – especially women – have endless days. Our days consist of getting up, getting the kids out, going to work, coming home, cooking dinner, cleaning up —- and before we know it, it’s time to go to bed but you’ve still got a million things to do and you haven’t had any YOU time. We’ve got to find a way to balance things out, let some things go. Recognize that you don’t have to do absolutely everything. If you have kids, make sure they have their fair share of chores. The same for your spouse!
Be sure you have YOU time every day. Even if it’s during your lunch break where you get to go sit quietly by yourself. At night perhaps you can designate a time that is for you and only you. Take a hot bath. Close your bedroom door and ask not to be disturbed or even step out for a nice little walk around the block.
Sleep is essential. But, if you spend 90% of your day being emotionally tired and drained, then no matter how much sleep you get, you’ll still be tired. So, relax, release and let go.
Do you get an annual check up with your doctor? Some people don’t have insurance or can’t afford their copays for doctor’s visits. If that’s the case, then you need to get some quotes to make sure that you can keep family and yourself covered, if possible. Meanwhile, do the best you can to keep yourself healthy and strong.