Leyla Weighs In: Do it now—Things you can start doing immediately to benefit your health
Why wait until the New Year? Resolutions are so old school!
Here are four things you can do now to help you on your way to better health.
Drink pure water. Ditch your plastic water bottle habit and drink pure filtered water. There are so many brands out there as well as to-go bottles that aren’t plastic. Get a water filtration system in your kitchen (if not your whole house). If you don’t want to make the investment or don’t have the space, commit to a filtration pitcher you can keep on the kitchen counter or in the fridge.
Wake up at the same time every morning. Open the curtains and pull up the shades and get sunlight on your face. Go outside. This helps to set your circadian clock so you can have consistent energy throughout the day and restful sleep at night. Commit to getting to bed at a reasonable hour so you can get the requisite six to eight hours of shut-eye—if you’re an adult. Adolescents and children need more sleep.
After waking, do some functional exercises like planks, squats and push-ups. Do these to fatigue. You only need to do them three days a week (ie., Monday, Wednesday, Friday). These particular exercises work your major muscle groups, keeping you fit and strong. No gym membership or even sneakers required!
Whether you’re having breakfast within an hour of waking or practicing some intermittent fasting, commit to making that first meal of the day—whatever time it is—a protein and fat bomb. Nothing starchy like bread or potatoes, and nothing too sweet like tropical and dried fruit—unless it’s avocado. Don’t use any sweetener in your morning beverage either. This way, you get to keep the stable blood sugar you achieved during the night while sleeping for a better part of the day. No blood sugar spike after breakfast means no insulin spike (read: no fat storage hormone). This also means less cravings later. Indeed, you CAN impact your metabolism to your advantage.
Do this now. Why wait? Improved health awaits you.
To your health!
Leyla Muedin, MS, RD, CDN
