Guest Post: Taking Baby Steps to Achieve a Healthy Lifestyle

July 24, 2013 by Tracy

Today, I’m privileged to have Bridget Sandorford share some practical ways to live a healthy lifestyle.

On my own health journey, my baby step is drinking 64 oz. of water each day. With baby steps, I am seeing baby changes which is so encouraging.

I love how Bridget realizes that we have short bits of time and offers small changes from meals to sleep to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Thank you, Bridget, for sharing these techniques.Though I don’t have a treadmill desk (which really intrigues me), I love the cooking in bulk suggestion.

As you continue on your health journey, I hope you find some encouragement as you read Bridget’s perspective on taking baby steps to achieve a healthy lifestyle. ~ Tracy

Taking Baby Steps to Achieve a Healthy Lifestyle

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Getting healthy can be a lot of work. You have to shop for fresh ingredients (which may mean several trips to the store in a week), cook up fresh meals (no take out), and then find time to get to the gym.

When you have a busy lifestyle (like most of us do), it can be hard to find 10 minutes to go for a short walk around the block, let alone an hour to do cardio and weight training. Cooking usually involves heating something up in the microwave or picking up the phone to place an order.

However, getting healthy has to be a priority, no matter how busy your schedule is. Otherwise, you put yourself at risk of developing chronic health conditions and even disease.

You jeopardize the quality of life you can expect to have. Fortunately, there are a lot of things you can do to get healthy that will fit in with even the busiest of schedules. Here are a few ideas for how you can take baby steps to achieve a healthy lifestyle:

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Cook in Bulk

You may not have time to cook dinner every night, but you can likely set aside a couple of hours on the weekend to make a couple of big batches that can be portioned into individual meals. You can make foods like soups, stews, pastas, rice, stir fries, roasts, and more.

After a couple of hours of prep time, you will have a lot of food that you can portion out and put in the refrigerator or the freezer for use later in the week. Then you just have to pop them in the microwave when you come home from a long day at work. You’ll be sure to always have healthy meals ready to go instead of being tempted by take out.

Order Meals

Takeout food is often loaded with unhealthy fats, sugars, and additives. Plus, it’s usually about 2 or 3 times the size of a normal portion and has far too many calories. However, if you just don’t have the time to cook, ordering takeout is often the only option you have.

Instead of ordering takeout, order your meals from a delivery service. You can get quality, ready-to-eat foods that only have to be warmed up. Services usually are based on weekly or monthly menu plans, but you can likely customize your plan to fit your needs.

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Add More Activity in Your Daily Routine

You don’t have to go to the gym to get your body moving. You’ve heard it before, but now it’s time to start actually doing it: take the stairs (yes, even up those four flights), park at the end of the lot, walk to the bathroom that’s farthest from your desk.

If it’s possible, you can even install a standing desk in your office so that you can get off your butt and burn more calories. If you work from home, you might even consider setting up a treadmill desk. (Yes, that’s a real thing.)

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

Combine Exercise with Socializing

An easy way to squeeze in more exercise without taking more time out of your schedule is to combine it with something else you would have been doing anyway, such as spending time with family and friends.

Instead of sitting around chatting after you meet your friend for lunch, go for a walk while you talk. Instead of meeting for drinks, meet up for a tennis match. Instead of going to a family movie night, go for a family skate night. Whatever you do, you’ll be having fun together, and you’ll be getting more exercise.

Find Ways to Release Stress

Stress is a silent killer. Too much stress over too long a period can start to cause serious health problems, even disease. You will dramatically improve your health by simply finding ways to reduce stress in your life. You don’t have to set aside an hour for meditation (which would likely just cause you more stress by limiting your time even more).

There are many exercises you can do right at your desk that take no more than 5 minutes, such as visualization and focused breathing. Anything that makes you laugh or feel good will also help, and it takes no time at all to tell a joke.

Photograph Credit: Fotolia

Get More Sleep

One of the first things that most people sacrifice in their quest to fit tasks into their limited hours in the day is sleep. Yet sleep is one of the most important things for your health.

Studies have shown again and again that getting less than 5 or 6 hours of sleep at night can have devastating consequences for your health. Getting at least 7 hours, if not 8, should be your goal each night.

If you think that you just can’t make the time for sleep, consider this: Not only will getting more sleep improve your health, but it will also help you to have more energy and to focus more easily; therefore, getting more done more quickly and saving you time overall.

Your health should be your priority. Yet when you are faced with a busy schedule, it often gets sacrificed with a poor diet, inactivity, high stress, and lack of sleep.

You don’t have to overhaul your lifestyle overnight, but it is important to start making changes that can help you to protect your health. These baby steps can help.

Bridget Sandorford is a freelance blog and culinary writer, where recently she’s been researching cooking school online. In her spare time, she enjoys biking, painting and working on her first cookbook.

Guest Post: How to Fit Exercise into Your Schedule

March 6, 2013 by Tracy

Exercise is so good for us and we know it, but finding time within our schedules is easier said than done. I’m with you – as I struggled through most of 2012 trying to fit in exercise in the midst of ever-changing schedules and routines.

After sharing how I fit exercise into my schedule last week, I am pleased to have Kay Winders guest post again today. After sharing reverse mortgages in January, Kay returns with tips to using time wisely while focusing on your health!

Thanks, Kay, for sharing with us. ~ Tracy

Many people don’t exercise because they just don’t have the time. You have to get up early to beat rush hour traffic. When you come home after a long day, you either want to spend time with your family, or you just don’t have the energy to go to the gym. Weekends are packed with activities you weren’t able to get to during the week and with spending time with family.

But you can’t just not exercise. Exercise is important to keep your body healthy and to make you feel happier, more energized, and more rested. It is critical to find the time to exercise, even with the busiest schedule. Here are a few ways you can find more time for exercise and make your workouts more efficient:

Make Exercise Do Double Duty

There are plenty of chores you can do around your house to get in a good workout while also tending to your home care. Do some work in the garden. Give the laundry room a fresh coat of paint. Get on a ladder and clean out those gutters, or sweep the spider webs that are taking over your eaves.

Choose chores that already need to be done that can help you work up a sweat in the process. You won’t have spent any more time working out, but you’ll get the healthy activity that you need.

Workout with Family and Friends

Make your social time and family time do double duty, too. Go for a walk with your family at the end of the day. Enjoy a family game of touch football on the weekend. If you have been meaning to get together with a friend, schedule a match on the courts or go for a bike ride on a local trail.

You’ll be spending quality time with the ones you love while also getting in good exercise, checking two things off your to-do list at the same time. If you have young children, you’ll also be setting a healthy example and promoting good habits.

Break It Up

You don’t have to spend two hours in the gym in order to get a good workout. Studies have shown that engaging in multiple short exercise sessions is just as effective as engaging in one longer session. For example, getting three 10-minute sessions is just as effective as one 30-minute session. It is much easier to find 10 minutes in your day to squeeze in a little activity. Head out for a quick walk, do some stretches, or even run in place.

Come up with a repertoire of exercises that you can do in short increments. When you find yourself with a few free minutes between activities, engage in one of your “routines.”

Do More Intense Workouts

You can cut your workouts in half by simply adding intensity to them. Instead of walking, try running. Instead of running at a leisurely pace, run faster, or run up hills. When you add intensity to your workout, you burn more calories in a shorter amount of time which helps you get the exercise you need without having to commit excessive amounts of time.

The key to getting in an intense workout is to keep your heart rate up. You do that by challenging your muscle groups and by continuing to move.

Eat a Good Diet

When you eat a healthy diet, you don’t have to exercise as much to maintain a healthy weight or to get some of the other benefits like stable moods and increased energy. Make sure you eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats, healthy fats, fiber, and water.

No matter how healthy your diet is, you will still need to exercise. However, you won’t need to work as hard as you would when trying to counteract the negative effects of junk food and fast food.

It can be hard to make the time for the exercise you need when you have a very busy schedule (and who doesn’t?). You can use these tips to find more time for exercise and to make your workouts more efficient.

Question: How do you make time for exercise? Share your tips in the comments!

Kay Winders is presently the resident writer for www.badcreditloans.org, where she researches the best way for people to pay off their debts without damaging their credit. In her spare time, she enjoys freelance writing, the beach, and gardening.

Ignoring the Scale While Aiming for Healthy

February 27, 2013 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Getting up early to sweat and “feel the burn” is not my ideal wake-up call. In fact, the last thing I want to do first thing in the morning is exercise. Having this idea that exercise needs to be done in the morning before everyone gets up blocked my progress in 2012.

When evaluating and setting my 2013 written goals, I decided to throw out what I thought was what needed to happen. Instead, I looked at my schedule and came up with a few different time slots where I could exercise and tried it out.

With my free printable Exercise and Water Log placed in a prominent spot on my refrigerator, I have encouragement to stay on track. Thus far in 2013, I have missed 3 days of exercise and 0 days drinking 64 oz. of water. For me, there is something about marking off those glasses of water and noting my exercise. I don’t like to have a missed space unless there is a reason.

If I overdo on cleaning or organizing, I tend to tweak my lower back. So, the days I missed exercising were due to soreness. I have doubled up on one day as I had extra energy. With this system in place, I do not feel that I have to exercise each day, but I never regret spending those 20-30 minutes rejuvenating my energy.

Though I am not the early riser to exercise, I fit in my exercise after dropping off my kids at school when my preschooler joins me, after lunch when she naps, or after my children are in bed at night. Getting my exercise done early helps me focus on the rest of the day, but other times are available if that slot gets filled with other priorities.

Next week, Kay Winders is guest posting on how to fit exercise into your schedule. Moving is good for all of us. As I started off exercising in 2013, I gained almost 10 pounds initially. This is usual for me which is why I get discouraged. However, I know I need the exercise, so I’m ignoring the scale while aiming for healthy.

With almost 2 months of consistent exercise, I recently stepped on the scale to find that I have lost 8 of those pounds which is encouraging. I post my progress on Facebook as a help to those of you struggling along this journey with me. Come join me in ignoring the scale while aiming for healthy. Happy moving!

Question: What are your struggles with exercise?