How To Get Healthier in 5 Minutes a Day
Try these simple daily habits:
Fill up a water bottle & sip all day.
Drink water with coffee, soda and alcohol
Take your dog or yourself for a walk
Start or end each day with 5 minutes of stretching or movement
Increase steps by parking further away and taking the stairs
I'm usually the first person to roll my eyes at unrealistic diets and silly programs that make overblown claims about weight loss, fitness, and nutrition, but when it comes to improving overall health, small steps make all the difference.
Last week, I talked about why you shouldn't wait for motivation to get started working toward your goals.
But I know some of you reading this might be staring at the start of a new week, pledging to FINALLY get things together this time, and what I'm about to tell you will help you do that.
First, you're going to need to be patient and trust the process. This is the hardest part, so let's tackle it first.
As humans who have been spoiled with instant gratification thanks to technology and the conveniences of today's world, we're not used to being told we must wait. We want to order ourselves a new attitude, a new look, a new energy, and have it delivered TODAY.
That's not how fitness and health work.
They take a little more time, but the good news is they don't have to take a lot more effort, at least not at first.
The hard part is being patient and trusting the process, so we need to make doing the damn thing as easy as we can.
If you want to improve your health this week, pick ONE thing to make a habit.
Do NOT make that thing "Workout every day this week" or "Take two classes at the gym every day" or "Cook every meal at home."
That's the motivation part and that's the part that gives out when the going gets tough (or life just happens!)
To build consistent healthy habits, we start small. Smaller than small. Teeny-tiny.
What can you do in FIVE minutes that would improve your health?
How about:
Drink a glass of water in the morning before coffee or after coffee or before you leave the house
Take a water bottle with you and sip throughout the day
Microwave some oatmeal or take a protein shake in the car for breakfast
Grab a banana or an apple on the way out the door
Park further away and take the stairs to get extra steps
Take 5 minutes at lunch time to get some fresh air and move around
Get outside with your spouse or your dog for a walk after dinner
Spend 5 minutes before bedtime to set up for the next day
Jot down a list of everything on your mind before heading to bed so you can offload those thoughts and have more restful sleep
When you choose one thing that doesn't take too much time and effort, you can do it over and over again. And then it just becomes a thing you do.
Setting one small habit, then another, then another, is what makes big differences down the road. You might not see or feel the change right away, but that's kind of the point.
We want to incorporate the changes into our real, actual lives, not the lives we want or envision but which don't actually exist yet.
That's the problem with making major lifestyle changes or trying to change too many things at once. There's no foundation, so when work gets busy or the kids all need to be in 7 different places at once or something else goes off the rails, all those positive changes and rigid diets don't stand a chance.
Start small. Build your foundation now. Make it part of your life. Add tiny changes, one by one, and if you stay patient and stay the course, you'll see major differences before you even realize it.
Let me know: What ONE tiny thing can you do this week that will improve your health and well-being? Email me: coachjustineh@gmail.com for extra accountability.
