Be Healthier Today With These Skills
When we see the healthy person it’s easy to assume they were born that way or that they’re inherently special or different from people.
Although genetics plays a role in our predispositions and strengths, how we treat ourselves influences the expression of those genes.
It goes both ways.
In the second episode of The What’s Fit Show, our guest, Theresa, told a story about a friend who’s parents never had any form of illness or disfunction. They didn’t have high blood pressure, arthritis or cancer so they lived their lives like they were invincible.
On the other hand you have people who know their predispositions and try to do everything they can to stave off whatever may run in their family.
The choice is yours. For you to be your healthiest the first thing you need to do is take control of your life.
Enter today’s blog. These small habits can help your body become it’s healthiest.
Being healthy is a blessing but it’s also built on a set of non-negotiable habits that allow your body to function optimally.
Look at these habits as skills.
Although the suggestions today may seem like common sense the fact is we bet you’re:
Not doing them at all;
Not doing them consistently;
Not doing all three, all the time.
We call these skills because they actually take practice! Please, keep this in mind. It’s so easy to write off these suggestions when you stumble (and you will) and say they’re not worth it. Just like any skill (playing an instrument, cooking, driving a car) there’s a learning curve and your ability to persevere will allow you to hone that skill and make it a part of your life.
These skills/habits ARE WORTH IT!!! Don’t be “too cool” for the basics, even though we’re sure you’re pretty cool already.
Skill 1: Hydration
Do you drink enough water? Do you get that 64oz a day like you’ve heard your entire life?
Drinking water is a skill! Our members are people with busy lives and when you’re busy the “simple” things are the first things that go out of the window. That’s kind of the theme of this blog, actually.
Water helps with everything from digestion to metal cognition. The British Journal of Nutrition and The Journal of Nutrition both published studies sighting the correlation between diminished mood and cognition while dehydrated (i, ii)
Here are three things to consider when making hydration a priority?
1) How much water should you drink?
If in the past you’ve “tried drinking water” and it only resulted in you running to the bathroom more frequently, that’s natural but it shouldn’t deter you from working on it. Overtime your body will adapt to the amount water you drink.
64oz is the minimum amount of water people should have each day but it shouldn’t stop there.
We encourage people to work up to drinking half their body weight in ounces ever day! If that sounds like an astronomical amount of water, we understand, but let’s work at it because it does make a HUGE difference!
Add 5-10oz of water every 1-2 weeks. Assess where you are, if you’re not at 64oz make that your first bench mark then go up from there.
2) What’s your daily and weekly schedule?
For example we work with a lot educators. They can’t drop everything and run to the rest room. So what is your schedule and what are some limitations you may face when trying to be better hydrated?
If you have a job or a lifestyles that’s regimented and inflexible one of our favorite tips is front loading the day with water. Drink 16-32oz before your day starts rolling. Then, depending on how much water you should be drinking daily (we’ll get to that shortly) you can plan out the pacing of your day to hit your goal!
The same rule applies to the weekend. With the weekend being less structured it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. Next thing you know it’s bed time and you’re insanely thirsty. Front load the day to give yourself a fighting chance!
3) Do you have a “To-go” cup?
Just like buying new workout clothes makes going to the gym more exciting, the same thing can be applied to hydration.
Do you have a sexy water bottle or carafe? Get one! First suggestion would be buying plastic water bottles of different sizes to test how much water you like to drink at a time. Then buy a glass or metal bottle or cup of the same size!
Now your water bottle is an accessory not just something you lug around because you “have to”.
Skill 2: Steps
Walking is a skill?
Similar to hydration, steps are a tool taken for granted for someone working to be healthier. Studies have shown between 4,500-7,000 steps per day can decrease chances for morbidity in women [iii].
Walking is also a natural stress reliever tied back to our primitive roots. Walking is a contralateral exercise which our body naturally prefers (think right arm swings as the left foot steps forward). Crawling and other ground based movements can fall into this category as well!
Unfortunately with our lives becoming increasingly sedentary from computer based jobs steps feel like they’re harder to come by. Here are a few things to consider when diving into getting more steps!
1) Track it to change it!
Do you have a way to track steps? This is a great place to start! Pedometers and smart watches run anywhere from $25 and up so there’s no reason not to invest in even the simplest device. Typically the device not only tracks your steps daily but also logs them so you can see your trends over time.
In the beginning we influence members to just increase their weekly steps total. Knowing what your cumulative steps should be per week will help you break it down to a range per day. This will give you a consistent level of activity each week to help manage weight more predictably.
2) Make You Life More InefficientWe sit at our desk. We get up to go to the nearest rest room then sit back down. We have groceries and other necessities sent to our homes.
We’re not suggesting abandoning all the modern conveniences of daily life but for a lot of us they come to a detriment to our health. Making your life more inefficient is a great way to build daily activity into your day without having to buy a treadmill or take extra time to go for a walk (even though those are great solutions, too)
3) Make your life more inefficient by:
Parking farther away from the store
Going to the bathroom farthest from where you sit
Having a smaller container for water that forces you to get up more often
Fashion or buy a standing desk
Set a timer for 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of walking
You’ll see your steps increase by a couple thousand steps per day just by implementing a few of these strategies!
Skill 3: Sleep
BUM… BUM… BUM!
Maybe you felt this one coming.
If there was a supplement you could take daily that would improve performance, body composition and mood would you buy it?
Good thing is that you don’t have to because sleep does all of these things. It’s the most abused and underutilized lifestyle factor we have the potential to control. Many of our members “don’t sleep well,” but when we dig deeper we come to find they’ve never really tried to address it.
Sleep is a skill, because just like walking and drinking water, it’s easy to write off and takes a considerable amount of effort to control and improve.
Let us reassure you, the juice is worth the squeeze!
Here are some tips for improving sleep!
1) Find a Routine
This is the first big block to this whole sleep thing. Without a routine improving sleep will be a little hap hazard. What does this mean? Choose a bed time and wake time and stick to it as many days a week as you can. Have a bedtime ritual like drinking tea, journaling, reading, coloring, listening to calming music or breathing exercises.
2) Kill the Lights
Ambient light has a big impact on our sleep quality. Whether it’s the alarm clock, light on or from our television or lights from outside our room, our brain can sense light through our eyelids which affect our sleep cycles. So cover or turn off every light you can. Find a way to sleep in the pitch dark.
3) Avoid Devices
You knew this one was coming as well, didn’t you?! Blue light from phones, tablets and televisions, just like the light from other devices influences our sleep cycles. Also, the activities we do on those devices are stimulatory, whether it’s reading your Facebook feed or playing a game. You invest all this time in your routine, don’t ruin it!
To help yourself invest in a decent pair of blue light blocking glasses. Night time versions are actually orange! We recommend the Swanwick brand.
Does any of this sound very difficult? Even if it does, does it sound impossible?
Improving these lifestyle factors sets you up to improve your performance, body composition and health. Our society leans on medication and short term solutions while we move, drink and sleep less and less.
Focusing on these three skills over time will have a big impact on anyone who tries for long enough to have the successes and failures that come with adding a new routine into your life. Like we started the blog too many people try for a week, have a “hard time” making it a habit and quit when they don’t see the immediate benefit. Don’t be that person!
Index:
[i] Ganio, M. S., Armstrong, L. E., Et. Al (2011). Mild dehydration impairs cognitive performance and mood of men. British journal of Nutrition, 106(10), 1535-1543.
[ii] Armstrong, L. E., Et. Al (2012). Mild dehydration affects mood in healthy young women. The Journal of nutrition, 142(2), 382-388.
[iii] https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2734709?guestAccessKey=afffe229-3940-4dd1-94e6-56cdd109c457&utm_source=jps&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=author_alert-jamanetwork&utm_content=author-author_engagement&utm_term=1m
Your Fitness After Forty Specialists
It’s difficult to change on your own but we’re here to help! We want to learn about you.
If you’re ready to become the person you dream of fill out the form below and we’ll contact you within 24 hours to see what we can do to help.