Unwinding Bad Habits, One Step At A Time

Our environment has a huge impact on how balanced we feel while trying to manage the ins and outs of our daily lives. One of the easiest ways to impact our feeling of balance is through what we put inside of us - our nutrition. It seems natural that more balanced food will create a physical satisfaction that improves our mental state and allows us to balance responsibilities and roles more easily.

Today we are excited to share guest writer Aundrea Tucker. Aundrea is a Certified Holistic Health Counselor from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. She has great ideas about how nutrition plays a role in life balance and she is sharing some useful information with us today at :simple:balance:. You can learn more on her website, Pure Potential Wellness.
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Photo by La Tartine Gourmande

How many weeks, months or years did it take for you to gain excess weight before your health started to hold you back or until you noticed you didn't feel so hot any more? It didn't happen overnight. The reality is that the changes took place, little by little, one lifestyle change turning into a habit, one step at a time. Is it time to rewind?

Taking that same perspective to get healthy, it wouldn't make any sense to attempt to change everything in one fell swoop. You'll be setting yourself up for disappointment when life interferes. Attempting to maintain dramatic changes over a long period of time is often just too difficult.

So, how do we begin to move into the right direction? You guessed it. One step at a time. Believe me, it's much easier this way. It may not sound as exciting as a “total make-over,” but this is really how transformations occur. Eating right, exercising, getting enough rest and water doesn’t necessarily have the appeal of "lose 7 pounds in 7 days," but neither do erratic moods and temporary weight gain/loss that come with deprivation, denial and restrictive dieting.

Here is a simple plan to get you started:
· Pick ONE goal to focus on for one to two weeks
· Once you’ve accomplished the first goal, reward yourself with a non-food celebration, and then...
· Choose another goal to focus on

Here are some suggestions to try:
· Drink more water (drink half your body weight in ounces daily)
· Exercise for ten minutes a day (and increase the time gradually)
· Eat regular meals (three distinct meals, with two to three healthy snacks)
· Eat fresh veggies in at least one meal a day (increase fruits and veggies over time)
· Start the day off with a hearty breakfast (avoid sugary breakfast foods)
· Pack a nutritious lunch for work twice a week (and increase to at least three days)

Pretty simple, huh? But each step is important. It adds up and begins to create a lifestyle that builds health and reduces your waistline. The hardest part is just getting started … one week in, and you’re on your way!

What suggestions do you have for unwinding not-so-great diet and lifestyle habits?