How to make the changes in your own life.
Making change seems like a scary thing sometimes, but it doesn't have to be. Making little changes at a time, the ones that result in a big change down the road, make great change very do-able....and not as scary.
For example:
You drink a soda with every meal.
Try this:
Replace one soda a day for a week ( or however long it takes if you drink more than 7 a day ), with water , until you are no longer drinking soda.
Another small change would be using honey or stevia in your baked goods instead of white or brown sugar. Refined sugar contains no nutrients at all, and actually damages your body over time. It's best to try to change this out.
If you like coffee in the mornings, try using almond milk instead of cream, stevia instead of sugar, or even try drinking it black!
Sugar in the raw is no better for you, as sugar is sugar. Just ditch sugar.
Another really bad thing is iodized salt, try to limit your salt intake. Or better yet, make the switch to using sea salt which is better for you.
These are small changes that can make a big difference.
What worked for me over the years with my changes:
1. Cut out pop, replace with water.
2. Cut out fast food, start cooking at home. The crock pot makes this very doable! The fresher your meals the better too, so a simple chicken salad with balsamic & olive oil is a great meal!
3. I went off of medications ( with Dr. okay!! please don't do without dr. permission).
4. In my case I found out I had Celiac, so that drove me to make more changes. But what you can take from this is : READ LABELS.
Only eat foods with recognizable ingredients! Another good general rule is the less ingredients in a packaged food, the better.
5. I cut out alcohol. I only consume alcohol a couple times a year, in moderations, and it's almost always wine.
6. I quit smoking. This was a huge change!! Night and day. It seems impossible at the moment you quit, but a week after I quit, it felt doable, and 3 years later I am soooo happy I did. In fact, I think I will be able to stay quit the rest of my life....why mess up my healthy lifestyle?
7. Start working out. Even if it means lifting 3 lb. weights and moving up from there, or just going for more walks. The point is to get your body moving.
8. Limit red meat. I have a couple of steaks a year, and that's it. Red meat isn't as easily digested by the body as chicken or fish. I love eggs, eggs are full of nutrients and protein.
9 . Continue to change. Each of these changes is a beginning step that propelled me to where I am now. Learn, research, ask questions.
10. Go a step further in your health, take care of your skin. We have switched to natural soaps in our house. We don't use chemicals in our shampoo, lotions, conditioners, or hand soaps...none. We use coconut oil & Dr. Bronner's soap for a lot.
11. Switch to natural cleaners in your home. Ditch the bleach and other harsh chemical cleaners. Opt for baking soda, vinegar, tea tree oil, etc. Or if you are lazy, buy the eco friendly cleaners at the store instead of the usual chemical ones.
12. If possible, start a garden! It can be fun! I will have a gardening series coming up soon as Hubby and I just started our first garden together!
You don't need to make all of these changes at once. Each of these was 1 step for me over the past 5 years. I recently watched Hungry For Change, this got me to thinking even more about where sugar lurks. Did you know there is sugar in some mustard????
Now, the next step in our journey is juicing.
What steps are you taking to change your life for the better?
With each step, just keep evolving, keep getting healthier. It's hard at first but gets easier & actually is fun! I feel amazing now, and I am sure you will too.
If nothing else, I challenge you to get more water in your day. Not the bottled kind. The kind from a faucet filter if possible ( or one of those filtered pitchers), soooo much better for you than all the junk in the pop aisle.
Do this.
Go from there.
Don't stop.
End your relationship with "Fast" Food.
You've got this.
Be Happy Healthy & Strong,
Lolli
To read the other parts of this post go to the Health & Fitness tab.
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