Tip #30: Wrap-Up Overview

• We covered a lot over the last 30 days! We hope you found the information helpful and exciting, and we hope you are motivated to put some of these tips into practice. 
• Some Key Takeaways:
  • Don’t get overwhelmed by the amount of information we shared. Not everything we shared will apply to you or speak to you and that is okay.
  • One positive change in one area of our health and wellness can have positive ripple effects into other areas. 
  • You can’t eat the whole apple all at once! Remember, start small. Pick one of two of these habits that really spoke to you and start there. 
• If you would like additional help with making healthy habit changes in your busy life, schedule a call with us.

Tip #29: Move More During Your Work Day

• If you sit for long periods of time while working or can’t get to the gym like you would like due to your busy schedule, purposely finding more ways to move more and sit less, can not only make you feel better but actually increase your productivity and creativity. 

• When working, whether in an office or from home, here are a few ways to reduce your sitting and move more: 

• Get a standing desk. Hello, happier hips and back! Whether “sitting is the new smoking” can be debated, it is true the more you sit, the greater risk you are for having back pain. Hips in a constantly flexed position tightens them and they pull on your back. Give your hips a break by getting a stand-up desk. 

• Schedule breaks. This may sound obvious but we have clients who just work and work and don’t take breaks. Schedule those breaks, especially to eat. It is these breaks that will actually make you more productive and can help promote creativity.  

• Take walking meetings. If the meeting isn’t a teleconference where you have to show your face or be directly in front of a computer, take your meeting outside or walk around your office. This can apply to both in person or over the phone.

• Use wireless headphones. Free yourself from cords or having to hold a phone to your ear so you can stand or move around while you talk as well as not put your neck in an awkward position.

• Park far away and take the stairs. Pick a parking spot away from the entrance. And rather than take the elevator to your office or place of work, take the stairs. Get those extra steps in.

• These may seem like small ways to move, but it is the small things that add up to big changes over time.

Tip #27: Move More At Home

• The CDC, World Health Organization, and American Heart Association recommends that you get 150 minutes of exercise per week. That balances out to 5 times a week, just 30 minutes a day.  With our busy lifestyles we can find ways to get some extra movement while we are at home.  Here are some tips to help with that:

• Take more steps doing household chores: Put in some extra effort when doing chores around the house. You can move and burn a decent amount of calories while working hard getting those household chores done.

• Involve the whole family: Get creative. Have fun getting more movement around the house with your family.  For example, you can have a dance party while preparing dinner.

• Move while watching a show: You can get your movement in while watching your favorite show. That’s at least 30 minutes right there for you. You can do squats, jumping jacks, lunges, sit ups, etc. 

• Overall focus on making this a fun experience for the whole family.

Tip #26: Pick a Movement You Enjoy

• When working on creating a routine of regular movement, the movement you choose to do needs to fit two criteria to increase your success of getting the activity done. 
• Focus on a movement that, one, you enjoy doing and, two, that is easy for you to go do. Don’t go for anything hard and difficult. For example: go for a 15 min walk, dance for 10 minutes, or ride the stationary bike in the basement for 20 minutes. 
• If you are uncertain what to do, experiment and see what you enjoy plus what fits in your schedule. If you are dreading what you have planned for a workout, you may be more likely to skip it. So plan something you like to do and is easy for you to do.
• To set yourself up for even greater success, prep your environment to make it easier to get moving as discussed in video 10. Have your workout clothes out and ready to put on, clean the space you need to move, set a timer for when to get started. Make achieving your movement habit as easy as possible.

Tip #24: Schedule Your Workouts

• Finding time for extra movement or working out can seem impossible with a busy schedule. When it comes to creating the habit of moving on a consistent basis with a busy schedule, there are a couple of ways to achieve that:

• Schedule time for it: Even if it is short, schedule it. Some movement is better than none, plus it reinforces the importance of this habit in your schedule as well as helping you develop consistency.  If you don’t put it in your schedule and just plan in your head, you decrease your chance of making it happen.

• Make it an appointment you will not cancel:  A non-negotiable appointment. You will see what you have the time for, that it is a priority, and you will get to where you carve out time for movement everyday.

Tip #23: Best Practices For Eating Out

• There are times in a busy schedule where you will be eating out or ordering take out. Maintaining healthy eating when having food from a restaurant can be challenging. Part of developing a sustainable healthy habit lifestyle is knowing how to handle and deal confidently with eating out situations. 

• Here are 5 tips to make eating or ordering out more successful: 

• Have a go-to healthy dish or dishes to order for places you regularly order from. And if you are eating at a restaurant, check out the menu online and decide ahead of time what you are having before you go.

• Pick healthier sides. Veggies or a side salad instead of fries, onion rings, or rice.

• Get sauces and dressing on the side. Sauces and dressing can quickly increase the calorie count of the food you are consuming, not to mention they can be high in sugar and/or poor quality oils. So rather than have them already poured all over the food, get the sauces and dressings on the side. Then dip your fork in them and take a bite of food.

• Ask your server not to bring the chip or bread basket. If you tend to make a meal out of chips and salsa or bread and butter before your actual meal arrives, ask the server not to bring the temptation basket. No meal before your meal.

• Salads aren’t always the healthiest option. Some salads are loaded with fried meat, cheeses, dried fruit with extra sugar, crunchy strips, not to mention creamy or too much dressing. Best to pick salad with not so many extra fancy toppings, made of dark leafy greens, and lots of other veggies. And as mentioned earlier, get the dressing on the side. Or go with lean meat and veggies.

• If you choose to make one of your restaurants or take out meals a treat meal, that is fine. Just make it part of your plan for the week and make it good.

Tip #22: Limit Late Night Snacking

It is 9 or 10 at night and you are starting to get the late night munchies.  Maybe you are craving some chips or that pint of ice cream that has been calling your name.  Here are some tips to help with limiting those late night snacks:

• Drink water: Drink a glass of water if you feel like eating when it’s late at night.  You might think that you are hungry but you may actually just be thirsty.  See if you are still hungry after you drink some water.

• Replace sweets with fruit: At night we might crave something sweet, maybe it’s ice cream or cookies.  Instead of eating processed sweets, try eating some fruit.  It’s more nutritious and won’t make you bloated.  It will also help to satisfy your sugar cravings.

• Commit to a cut off time: Set a time where you will stop eating so you are reminded to drink water instead of to start snacking.  You could set a time such as 8pm as your time, don’t eat anything after 8pm.  Not eating so late at night will help your body to digest better.

• Go to bed earlier: The later we stay up at night, the more hungry we will get.  Getting to bed earlier will help with limiting those late night munchies.