9 Tips for Getting Healthy if You Don't Know Where to Start ...

By Heather

9 Tips for Getting Healthy if You Don't Know Where to Start ...

If you’re making healthy changes to your life and need some tips for getting healthy, let me help you out! Many people who are new to healthy living feel like a piece of sand in a desert with no idea where to start. Trust me, navigating the world of healthy living isn’t too difficult if you know a few good places to start. That being said, here are some of the most simple tips for getting healthy that anyone can use. Start these this week, and add as many as you can. In no time, you’ll be feeling better, have more energy, and be so much healthier as a result.

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1

Get the Right Mindset

The most important of all tips for getting healthy out there is to get the right mindset. No matter how much you weigh, no matter how fast you want to lose weight, and no matter what you’ve heard before, there is no shortcut to getting healthy. Get that mindset out of your brain right now. No pills, no magic bullet. It’s hard work, but it’s the only thing that really DOES work. Tell yourself right now that you’re not dieting; you’re changing your life and choosing to be healthy.

2

Start Moving

You can buy all the diet books in the world, but they can’t get out and move for you everyday. I mean it, get out and move your body ladies! Add 40 minutes of exercise to your day if you can. No matter how impossible this might seem at first, make it happen. At night when you get home, or get up early in the morning to do it before you go to work. Start out with 30 minutes cardio and 10 minutes of weights, yoga, or body toning exercises. As you progress you can add more time to both cardio and strength training, but don’t be afraid to start small. It’s better than nothing and will give you big results pretty quickly.

3

Focus on Adding

Though you’re probably focused on what you’ll be missing from your regular eating routine, instead think about what you can start adding. During my junk food days, I would go to the store and never touch the produce department. Come to think of it, I rarely bought food at the store and instead opted for fast food. When I decided to make some changes 10 years ago, I became attracted to nutrition pretty quickly just by thinking about what I could add. Soon, I began to become curious about what veggies I could put together in tasty meals, and how I could jazz up lean proteins. I learned that Mrs. Dash can make any veggie taste good if you’re new to eating veggies, and with some black pepper and salt-free seasonings of your choice, any lean protein can taste like a restaurant entree. Trust me, when you fill up on the good stuff and think about what you can add, you won’t miss what you can’t - at least not that much.

4

Make Your Money Work for You

Here’s a new way to think about healthy eating. When you buy junk food, you’re not only contributing to your expanding waistline, but also wasting your money. Make your money work for you by buying inexpensive fruits and veggies and sticking to local produce when you can. You’’ll soon feel the effects of your changes, and you won’t be spending $4 on a box of cereal or a bag of chips that has no nutrients of any kind. Instead, make your money work for you, your weight and your health.

5

Get Online

Seriously, there are tons of healthy resources online, so much so that anyone could start getting healthier with just a few clicks. With all the good stuff out there, there’s also a lot of unhealthy stuff too. Go to reputable sources and feel free to visit some of the blogs I have favorited on my own healthy blog, soulfulspoon.com. You can also find great websites from nutritionists like Joy Bauer from the Today Show, and Web MD is also a great healthy resource.

Famous Quotes

If you have a harem of 40 women, you never get to know any of them very well.

Warren Buffett
6

Start with Breakfast

Each new day should start with a good breakfast. It sets you up for a successful day and it fuels your metabolism. I’ve got news for you too. A bowl of Special K, fruit and a sweetened yogurt is NOT a healthy breakfast. Whole grain oats steamed up with berries, stevia and some cinnamon with a side of nonfat plain Greek yogurt sprinkled with cinnamon and stevia? A perfect choice! Lean protein, complex carbs and antioxidants to help you start your day out the right way, not on a blood sugar roller coaster. Foods high in sugar are not the best choices for breakfast and don’t buy diet cereal. It does nothing but leave you hungry and it’s not a whole food - it’s processed. Think about it, those companies are making money of telling you their product will make you thin. Be smart and buy real food. Other great options include green smoothies, so long as you keep it to one fruit per smoothie. Remember, all fruit is healthy for you, but too much sends your blood sugar up and down. This causes your body to produce more insulin and store more fat. Keep sugar as low as possible during breakfast. Eggs are another perfect healthy choice and egg whites are the leanest option.

7

Cook at Home

Dinners don’t have to be fancy when you’re learning to eat healthier, but they should be kept at home. Cook with coconut oil instead of vegetable oils, use salt-free seasonings, and prep easy lean meats like thawed salmon fillets or chicken breasts from the freezer and add some easy veggies. In minutes, you’ve got a great filling dinner that satisfies you and is so much healthier for you than restaurant meals. If you’re still hungry later, have a nonfat Greek yogurt ( plain), a cup of berries, or even a small handful of raw almonds with carrots. Each of these make perfect snacks that are also great for your health.

8

Get an App

If you have a smartphone, it can be your best buddy when learning to live a healthier life. Get an app like My Fitness Pal or Calorie Count. Each of these are great for helping you track your meals and also your workouts. Once you get accustomed to living healthy, you probably won’t need them anymore, but for someone just starting out, they can be a great way to keep yourself accountable.

9

Be Liquid Smart

Lastly, no matter how healthy your diet is, you need to also be liquid smart. Be sure that when you choose beverages they’re two things: alcohol free, and low in sugar. This controls your waist by controlling your blood sugar levels so your insulin doesn’t get out of control and lead to weight gain and diabetes, and it keeps your liver healthy. Alcohol and sugar are both toxic to your liver, which is your fat burning organ. Eliminate both, and you’ve give your body an easy way to lose weight, just through your beverages. Choose water, green tea, herbal tea, black tea, and coffee. Just moderate your caffeine and be smart with what you put in your coffee and tea. The best option? Unsweetened almond milk for creamer, and stevia as your sweetener.

If you’re just now choosing to live a healthy life, don’t feel overwhelmed. Just congratulate yourself on the change and take things slow. So long as you keep your eye on the prize, I promise, weight loss will come naturally, but more importantly, you’ll have more energy, think more clearly, be happier, be more focused at work, and even have a better outlook on life. Trust me, I’ve lived it and I can promise you, as much as I loved my Chewy Chips Ahoy cookies and Jif peanut butter, I woudln’t go back to those days to save my life. If you’re new to healthy living, what questions do you have?

Sources: soulfulspoon.com, joybauer.com, webmd.com

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