Be Healthier Now, Part 1

I’m so excited to have Shannon Ambroson as a feature writer on my site for 2 editions of “Be Healthier Now!”  We all know that I love living a healthy lifestyle and making healthy choices, but I’m no expert, so I brought an expert in!  I hope you enjoy it and connect with Shannon if she speaks to you!   Shannon is a Wellness Coach and Independent Team Beachbody Coach and blogs regularly about health, fitness and wellness  shannonambroson.com.  She is a 32 year old military wife and mom of two, and self proclaimed coffee addict, working to make the world and her friends a bit healthier, one day at a time.

For some reason, people have the mentality of, “If I can’t go all in, it’s not worth it.”  But what the mentality of, “To get anywhere you have to take the first step”??  Who says you have to do it all HARDCORE or it won’t work??

I put together a list that for most of you will seem like “duh” tasks… but are you doing them?  If you’re considering making a change in your life–including losing weight–here are some things you can do right NOW to get started.

1.  Drink water.

I know, how no brainer is this??  But are you drinking enough water every day?  I mean plain water (not soda, which you may tell yourself kinda sorta contains water…)!  You should drink half your body weight in ounces of water.  So that means if you weigh 200 lbs you should drink 100 oz of water at a minimum each day.

Water is excellent for digestion, boosting metabolism, clearing up your skin and clearing your mind.  Without enough of the stuff, you might find yourself with headaches, fatigue and unnecessary cravings for sodas and sugary foods you definitely don’t need.

TIP:  Infuse your water.  If you don’t have a water infuser ball, you can purchase one on Amazon or just add fruit to a pitcher, allow to infuse in the fridge for a couple hours and strain as you pour.  You can also freeze fruit into your ice cubes (just drop a few blueberries or mango pieces into the ice cube tray, fill with water and freeze) for a hint of flavor while keeping your drink cold.

2.  Walk.

This could mean the obvious… just head out your door with your favorite sneakers on and walk.  Go enjoy the scenery!  Plug in your headphones and listen to your favorite podcast while you scope out the neighborhood.  Or use a treadmill and add in an incline.  But for some, it’s as simple as parking farther away and walking to the door to the office, or grocery store.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Walking is pretty low impact and needs no equipment at all other than the shoes you already have on your feet.  It’s cheap and incorporates almost every muscle in your body.

TIP:  Add in strength training twice a week to ensure your muscles are strong and able to properly carry your body every day.  This means bodyweight training (yoga, planks, squats) as well as actual weight training (even 3 lb weights to start will help you rebuild your muscle, which will make you leaner and help you keep active).  You can find free videos on YouTube to get you started.

3.  Clean out your pantry.

You know all those boxes of Hamburger Helper in your cupboard?  Toss them, along with any other highly processed or boxed foods.  You don’t need them.  Cooking from scratch, using fresh ingredients, doesn’t take much longer and is SO much healthier for you.  Use websites like 100daysofrealfood.com to help you cut out the processed and switch to whole grains and fresh, real ingredients.  After you’ve done the pantry purge, remember when you go grocery shopping to be conscious of what’s going back into your home.  Stay away from the foods that don’t properly fuel your body—you just don’t need them.

TIP:  Use a website like Allrecipes.com to help you use what is already in your pantry to plan meals.  You can do an ingredient search to help you find new recipes.  When you meal plan, it’s always best to shop your pantry first!
Connect with Shannon! 

website: shannonambroson.com
fb: shannonambrosonCOACH
e: shannonambroson@gmail.com
ig: shannonambroson
pinterest: shannonambroson