Easy Practices to Improve Your Well-Being

  How would you like to have that remarkable feeling each day?  Your daily effort is worth the results you receive. It’s normal that you may have some ups and downs.  Daily habits need to be created. The good news is your habits will become natural, improving over time. As you start doing things for your well-being, you will be strong enough to turn negative emotions such as anger, anxiety, and sadness to better feeling thoughts. Why not invest in you so that you feel calmer, happier, and find a feeling of inner peace?  Times where you might have struggled with anxiety, stress, and lack of energy, will begin to be less and less because you begin to master your thoughts and don’t let what others say or do have power over you. You will begin to focus on what you want and begin to no longer sweat the small stuff in challenging times.  

One area of well-being is a healthier eating lifestyle. Begin to make changes one by one. It’s not necessary to change everything at once. In this way, you will avoid being overwhelmed. Don’t be discouraged and hard on yourself when you begin.   An easy way to get started is to simply reduce how often you eat one item that you know is not so healthy for you. This doesn’t mean you deprive yourself of food. Do nothing more than changing one item.    Soon you will find yourself inspired, ready for more changes after you see what you are doing is working.  After you master reducing one of your unhealthy foods choose another item. Decide to commit making a healthier eating lifestyle a priority.  Create routines that have realistic goals.  You may feel uncomfortable at first. All change requires discomfort in the beginning.  If you keep up with healthy choices for most of the time, then you will be successful.  As you will come to realize how much better you feel, you will not even miss those foods that you were eating before

You will want to see what works for your body, not somebody else’s.  Dieting is not the answer. Most fad diets work temporarily because they are not sustainable over the long term. Step out of your comfort zone. Fuel your mind with positive thoughts, make healthy food choices, and create a routine where you move your body.  Start today creating changes giving you an opportunity for a different lifestyle. Modifying your habits towards what you want will be well worth the time you put in. It’s not a race, only a series of good choices that will lead you on a journey to well-being.

Here are some questions with practical examples that will give ideas that hopefully (delete hopefully) motivate you.  You can use these ideas on a regular basis if they resonate with you or modify them, to help you create your own.  Open your mind to these thought-provoking questions.

 

What simple healthier eating options can I choose to include in everyday lifestyle?

Some examples:

• Drink plenty of water. Water helps detoxify the body, helps increase your metabolism and improves your digestive function. Have at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water each day or calculate how much you need based on your weight) To calculate how much water you need, use half your body weight.  For example: if you are 150 pounds, drink 75 oz. of water daily.
• Be conscious to eat only when you’re hungry. Don’t eat because it’s a certain time. Avoid eating because you are bored, stressed or frustrated. These are all only excuses to eat, they are not because you are hungry. Take a few minutes and jot down in a journal, or a notebook, or an app on your phone, what you ate, what time and how you were feeling at that moment. You may discover patterns from the information that will help you change your eating habits in the future. Try this for a week and see what you discover.
• Be mindful to stop eating before you are feeling full. Pay attention while you eat. Avoid watching the TV or focusing on your cell phone.  An easy fun exercise for mindfulness is to eat your meal slower.  See if you can count to 15 before you swallow each bite of your food from start to finish with your meal.
• Start your day with a healthy protein shake. Check out my favorite Arbonne chocolate protein shake full of 20 essential vitamins and minerals.

What helpful practices could you easily do during your day?

• Read 5 minutes about maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This will get your mind thinking about your own well-being for daily inspiration. On some days you may even choose to read more.
• Get adequate rest each day. Give yourself me time to energize yourself.
• Eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats instead of chips, processed foods and excessive salt and sugar.
• Prepare healthy snacks for the week. Keep emergency food near you. Fresh dried fruits, nuts or whole wheat grains are some healthy choices.  Keep unhealthy junk foods as far away from you as possible to avoid temptations.
• Visualize your success. In this way, you will begin to train your mind to think about what you want to achieve. Visualize and let encouraging pictures of well-being fill your mind and body.
• Pay attention to self-talk. Focus your thoughts on what you want instead of the things you don’t want.

What moderate exercise (body movement) can you include in my day?

• Get up 15 minutes earlier than normal. This will give you extra time for you to complete a new daily routine.
• Run in place 2 minutes every morning. Expand on the time by adding a minute each week as you get stronger.
• Choose one exercise to do regularly such as leg raises, sit-ups, squats, or push ups to name a few. After you are confident with completing your one exercise, choose a second exercise and add it to what you’re doing. Set a goal for 15 minutes, mixing up 3-5 different exercises moving your body.
• Get up and stretch for 2 minutes. When you’re feeling stressed or your body feels tense, raise your hands in the air and side to side, or get up and take a quick walk.
• Walk up and down the steps instead of using an elevator at least once a day.

Find an exercise that you can and like to do. Some people like to go to the gym and take a class. I like the stationary bike. I do the bike 5-7 times a week. Start with 2 minutes on the bike and work towards 30 minutes. Start slow and expand on your time. Be careful. Listen to your body in order to prevent injury. As your muscles, in your legs get stronger, exercise will become easier for you. The goal is creating healthy habits as a regular practice. Exercise can relieve stress from your body. Exercise burns calories, increases your metabolism, tones and builds muscle, and help improve circulation. Exercise makes you feel better, healthier, and be more fit.

As you continue your new practices, you will see the improvement in how you feel.  Be open to all the opportunities and possibilities that will present themselves in your healthy lifestyle. Embrace the time you are spending for your self-care enjoying how your journey unfolds.

To your health, wealth, and happiness,

Bonnie

 

 

If you like this article you will love my Free  EBook Grow Your Wealth and Well-Being Ebook