Wellness is a lifelong journey and January is a great time to begin yours!
New Year’s resolutions, should really be called life shifts in my opinion. When you think about it, any change that is going to last will require you to make permanent adjustments to your daily living.
You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.
-John C. Maxwell
The following is a list of 5 suggested life shifts that are easy to integrate into your daily living. If you remain committed to them, they will add up to great results overtime. They do however require diligence and consistency on your part.
You can do it!
1. GETTING ENOUGH SLEEP
The importance of adequate sleep cannot be overemphasized. This is probably the single most important variable of your wellness journey. When your body has been given sufficient rest, you become better equipped physically, mentally and emotionally to deal with life’s stuff. Set a regular bedtime and STICK TO IT.
2. DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
It has been said a zillion times, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate.
Try to drink a full 16oz glass of room temperature water as soon you wake up everyday. The glass can sit on your nightstand. This rush of water will trickle down into all of your organs and wake them up-especially your colon. Next, fill a 32oz water bottle and drink it all throughout your day. Throughout is the key word here-not all at once.
It is one thing to say you must do it yet another to actually fill your bottle and tote it around with you all day. DO IT. Your body will thank you.
3. CONTROLLING FOOD PORTIONS
You don’t need a fancy food scale to get this under control. It can be as simple as using your eye to gauge and reduce the portions you have been accustomed to consuming (if you are trying to lose weight).
This is likely the most challenging of the life shifts outlined here in this post. We get hungry, I get it. We have cravings and temptations are everywhere but you are the only one who can take charge of this shift. You need to get your eyes and your stomach to work together here. If weight loss is your goal, you need to eat less, it is as simple as that. Try to eat smaller portions of food from all the food groups and tell your stomach it is enough. We don’t need nearly the amount of food that we often consume. Our bodies do quite well with smaller balanced portions. For those of us in midlife, it has been said to move double and eat half. Food for thought (pun intended).
4. ADDING STRENGTH TRAINING
Strength training is crucial to your well-being in that it creates and maintains muscle mass. Muscles are important because they help support your body and move it around. Your daily activities become much easier when you have built up all your major muscle groups even just a little. In addition, the more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn while you are at rest. SCORE.
As we age, we all lose muscle mass. Inactive people will lose between 3% and 5% of muscle each decade after the age of 30. A small amount of regular strength training can offset this decline and keep you strong and vibrant for longer.
It does not have to be intense. Try to target all the major muscle groups twice a week in a 20 minute workout. These include: biceps, triceps, shoulders, core, quads and glutes. There are a ton of suggestions for exercises for each muscle group all over the internet. You can pick and choose which ones work best for your body. It doesn’t take much. Within the first month, you will see and feel the difference in your body shape and your ability to move throughout your day. True story.
5. GRATITUDE
Last but not least on this list of suggested life shifts is making the concerted effort to adopt an attitude of gratitude.
I know we see and hear this everywhere but gratitude really is a game changer. This practice of deliberately directing your thoughts to what you have to be grateful for can flip your script, help to settle a funky state and make you see your life through a different lens. Focusing on the good and being grateful creates an immediate positive spiral.
My wish for you is that you put these life shifts in motion and make your way towards a year and lifetime of wellness.
Happy 2019!
Peace
Coaching with Susie 