Hello! Have you been getting enough sleep since the last post? I am still working on it!
Today is a very simple post!
DAY 4: STOP SMOKING
Although this is a simple post, it can be a very hard task!
I found a women’s site to help you stop this unhealthy habit called Smoke Free Women.
They have a nice site especially for women that want to quit!
They also have groups you can join!
Commit yourself to a healthier lifestyle with Smokefree Women. Accept the Healthy Monday Challenge today.
We are looking for women to follow as they quit smoking. Are you, or someone you know, interested? Check out the flyer for details!
Take the Smokefree Monday Pledge to stay focused on quitting, celebrate your progress, or make a fresh start.
1977 women have pledged so far!
There are many ways to connect with other Smokefree Women just like you!
Good luck ladies!!!
You can do it!
In case you missed any days so far…
DAY 2: EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES
Have a healthy day,
Welcome back! Thanks for all your sweet comments about this series! I am loving it too!
DAY 3: Get enough Sleep!
This is another simple health tip and yet it is often overlooked!
I now I am guilty of skipping out of my sleep for sure! If I am busy, which is like everyday, I seem to always sacrifice my own sleep. I am totally a late-night person and love the peace and quiet that only happens when everyone is asleep! I am going to be working on this one with you this month.
How much sleep should you get?
Well, according to the National Sleep Foundation, adults need 7-9 hours of sleep a night.
It is best to be sleeping from 10pm-2am for the best REM cycle.
While you are working on this for yourself, please make sure that your children and getting enough sleep! Even though I don’t follow the rules for myself, I am a total stickler when it comes to my kids’ sleep schedules! I read the book, “Happy Sleep Habits, Happy Child”, and it changed my life FOREVER! I had a hard time with my daughter’s nap and bedtime routine and I needed something new with Michael. This books made sense to me and it worked like a breeze for us. All of my kids go down between 7-8pm and sleep through the night. Before Michael turned 2 he has taking 2 naps a day and going to bed at 5:30pm and sleeping until 7am. (I have so much to say about this that it could be a post by itself.)
Anyway, back to you!
There are a ton of reasons to get your sleep including looking and feeling better (we all want that, right?), repairing your body, reducing stress, putting you in a better mood (this is extremely important as a mom, in my opinion, because nobody wants a cranky mom) it helps with your memory and controls your weight, (oh yes ladies, did you hear that? sleep helps control your weight!!).
One way thing that helps our family’s sleep pattern is to create a night routine. After dinner, we slow things down. We will play a family game, finish homework and then we read as a whole family. We will dim the lights and quiet the house down. After that, we get ready for bed and do more reading in bed. Grace will read aloud and then we will read a little more to the kids. Also, this is a great time to talk one-on-one with our kids. I find that they open up and talk to us when we are with them in bed with them and we are giving them 100% of our attention.
After we put the kids to bed, we have adult time to talk, read, go on the computer, take a bath or shower or whatever else we want. We usually don’t watch TV because we think it is a waste of time and money. Remember, we don’t have cable or the dish. Now I just need to work on being in bed by 10. I just love staying up late but then I usually pay for it the next morning, haha!
If you are having a hard time sleeping, I know a couple of people that have really benefited from taking this natural Gentle Sleep Complex.
What time do you go to bed?
What time do your kids go to bed?
DAY 2: EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES
Have a healthy day!
Hello! I am back today with another quick health tip but first I want to know if you drank more water yesterday and today! How did it go? Do you feel better yet?
Today, I want you to keep on drinking more water but I want you to add fruits and vegetables. Fresh is the best but if this is new to you, cooked would be an improvement to!
DAY 2: EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGGIES
This might be easy for some of you and for others, this might be very difficult. It is recommended that half your meal is from fruits and veggies.
We try to add a fruit and veggie with every meal if we can. For example, this morning we made eggs with onions and fresh salsa with fruit on the side.
We have found if you put it out, the kids will eat it. They actually like it! Just try not to buy all the bad foods. (That is a whole other post by itself.)
If your kids don’t like fresh fruit or veggies, try to make it fun looking…
Just make it available for your family so you won’t grab the junk!
Everyone loves a veggie tray. If you hate cutting vegetables, this is a great option.
I shared a lot of recipes with you!
You can add fruit to your yogurt.
You can sneak veggies into a wrap.
You can sneak strawberries into your pancake breakfast.
You can make a fruit smoothie.
And then freeze your leftovers into a popsicle.
You can add cucumber into a chicken pita.
You can make a fresh nacho platter.
You can make a delicious Black Bean and Corn Salsa.
You can make your own homemade applesauce.
You can make a strawberry, mandarin orange salad.
You can make your food fun.
You can make yummy sides for your roast.
You can make a Greek Cucumber Tomato Salad.
You can make Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.
You can make Cranberry, Walnut & Gorgonzola Salad.
You can make a healthier Mac & Cheese.
You next goal is to add fruits and vegetables with every meal for you and your family! You can do it!
Do you eat fresh fruits and veggies with every meal?
Have a healthy day!
Hello everyone! I am so excited about this new series!!!
I am joining the Nester with her 31 Days of Change and I really want to help you and your family make small changes daily during October. Some posts will be short and to the point and others might have more detail. Like I explained here, I am Certified Personal Trainer and really enjoy helping people getting healthy, fit and toned! So if you want that, then join me here this month and don’t forget to grab a button for your blog too!
Today is day one and I wanted to share an easy and free tip that can really help you achieve better health today!
DAY 1: Drink Water
I know this might sound dumb to some of you.
But you need to ask yourself:
“How much water did I drink so far today?”
“Do I measure how much I drink daily?”
What did you answer? Was it good or bad? Go grab a glass of water and come back to finish reading this!
Ok, now ask yourself this:
“Do I feel hungry?”
“Do I have lots of energy?”
“Am I fatigued?”
“Do I have a headache?”
“Do I have a dry mouth?”
“How many times do I go to the bathroom each day?”
“Do I have dry skin?”
“Do I get dizzy?”
If you answered YES to some of those questions, you may be dehydrated!
Did you know that if you are thirsty today, it is because you didn’t drink enough yesterday? Are you drinking your water yet, lol?
Here are of important things water can do to help your body:
- Transports nutrients and oxygen into cells
- Moisturizes the air in lungs
- Helps with metabolism (hey, who doesn’t want help with their metabolism)
- Protects our vital organs
- Helps our organs to absorb nutrients better
- Regulates body temperature (I think as women, this is huge, right?
- Detoxifies (I love to detox!)
- Protects and moisturizes our joints
So, How much water should you drink each day? Well, 6-8 glasses a day is recommend but a rough rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 ounce of water for every pound per day. You will need extra if you workout, if you are pregnant or a child.
Tip: If you are trying to lose weight, drink a glass of water immediately right when you wake up. (I keep one on my nightstand.) This will help flush toxins and jump start your metabolism each morning!!
What kind of water should you be drinking? Well, we love our Reverse Osmosis System but you can also use a filter like this one because it will remove the bad stuff including lead (the only one on the market) and it will save a lot of plastic bottles by not buying the individual water bottles.
So, what do you think? Can we all make sure that we drink enough water today?
To make this series really fun, you can post about your small changes that you are making and link back to my blog/post and I will add your link to my facebook page.
Now, go drink your water to better health today!!
