Your Lifestyle Plan

If you are NOT happy with the way your life or lifestyle is at present, you MUST change something. Usually those changes dictate a complete overhaul because the Standard American Diet (SAD) and the Standard American Activities (TV/Video games) contribute to circumstances which ultimately lead to prescription medications and possibly surgery.

There are alternatives! Here are 10 steps as a general guide to getting on the “Road to Wellness”.

• Make a Body Challenge contract and hang it where you can see it every day.
• Don't wait. Commit to a healthy life now. Get your pedometer. Aim to add 500-1,000 steps a day until you reach your daily goal of 10,000 steps a day.
• Start a journal. Keep track of what you eat and when you exercise. It will help keep you accountable to yourself.

2: Customize Your Eating Plan

• Clean up your eating. Read labels! Try to cut down on or avoid high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and processed junk food!
• Cut 250 to 500 calories a day for a 1/2-1 pound weight loss per week.
• Take your supplements daily.

3: Learn How to Regroup

• When life presents you with obstacles, it's easy to let it all go when life gets tough. Instead, develop a can-do attitude. Say to yourself: "Whatever happens, I will learn to work around it."
• Learn stress-management skills and start to practice them this week.

4: Practice Consistency NOT Perfection

• Aim to hit your eating and workout goals 90 percent of the time. No one is perfect, and things can happen to make it more difficult to achieve your goals. Do your best.

5: Use Your Head

• Make the mind-body connection. Learn how to be mindful about your eating and physical activity.
• When you exercise, pay attention to how your body feels.

6: Clean Up Your Living Spaces

• Look around you. You need to hang out with like-minded people. That means people who live a healthy lifestyle.
• Clean up the clutter in your life and you can feel freer to plan and carry out your exercise and food shopping.

7: Sleep it Off:

• Even though you have the energy and life is full of possibilities, remember to get in at least six hours of sleep so that you can wake up refreshed and on track with your self-care.

8: Get Creative

• How about thinking outside the box? Cross-train with different kinds of cardio activities and equipment. Challenge yourself!
• Go all the way and participate in a sports event. Try your first 5K walk or run. That goal will keep you focused and bring it all together.
• For eating, try ethnic food combinations. Go vegetarian for a day or week. Try a hybrid way of eating — become a "fish- vegetarian."

9: Have Some Fun

• Try new sports, sign up for adventures (Outward Bound), climb a mountain. This is the time to explore and play. Your treadmill and gym workouts will help you prepare your body to challenge itself, keeping you both physically and mentally fit.

10: Re-Evaluation

• Remind yourself of your commitment.
• Now ask yourself where you can improve. What are your vulnerable points? Lack of consistency, stress-induced overeating, larger- than-necessary portions, poor planning and scheduling and emotional issues are all things to consider. Work on these tough challenges now.

The key is to see that you have laid down a foundation for healthier living, which you can then refine for the rest of your life. The more you practice these habits, the easier it gets.

To have a thorough evaluation and customized lifestyle/wellness plan developed specially for you, please call and schedule an appointment!