Stop the fad diets and do this instead...

Eva “helps” me always in the kitchen and I honestly love it.  Things tend to take me a little longer than if I were just to do it myself, but she's learning. 

No matter what I am cooking up, she wants to help and try it.  When we juice, she will take bites out of celery, cucumbers, apples, and even spinach.  When I chop potatoes, like every other day, she will try to eat a raw one, haha

She may not swallow it, but she is at least trying them.  She is seeing me cook and learning about food. Growing up, I ate a TON of fast and frozen food.  My parents were always busy and on the go, running their own businesses.  I got to college, and I literally didn't know how to cook.  So I bought a cookbook and just cooked my way through it.  I had no idea what a lot of the ingredients were or how to prepare them, but I learned along the way.

So many of our eating habits are learned behaviors from our parents and what we learned growing up. 

What behaviors did you learn, and what are you passing down to your family?  Are they good ones? 

It is NEVER too late or too early to start. Here are 10 ways to start living healthier (and cardio isn't one of them).

#1 Cook at home.

You probably know by now that I share tons of healthy recipes that are quick and easy to prepare.  

Cooking at home saves you a ton of money but it also allows you to control exactly what is going into your food.  We have all been there when we are tired and don't feel like cooking, so we grab take out or order a pizza.  

There is nothing wrong with that, as long as that doesn't make up most of your meals.  And here is why…

Restaurant meals are typically higher in sodium, saturated fats, and have more calories than the same meals cooked at home.  1 meal out at a restaurant can have 1000’s of calories in just one meal.

That’s why studies have shown that people who cook for themselves more often than they eat out tend to be healthier overall.

Tip: There are a TON of meal delivery services out there now that deliver fresh ingredients right to your door- Hello Fresh, Blue Apron, etc.  There are also companies like Amazon Fresh, Shipt, and Instacart that will do your grocery shopping for you, and deliver it the same day.

#2 Any food, any time of the day.

Traditions and society have given us an idea of what different meals SHOULD look like.  Think about it. 

Breakfast: pancakes, waffles, cereal.

Lunch: Sandwich or salad.

Dinner: a hearty warm meal, often meat-focused. 

Guys, one of my favorite things is breakfast for dinner.  Bacon, eggs, and toast! 
This is just a reminder that you can eat any foods, any time of day!  Many clients and friends I know cannot eat eggs.  So their breakfasts look more savory or what some may think as an untraditional breakfast.  They often will have sausage with potatoes, peppers, and onions.  Or a stuffed sweet potato!  Get creative, with your meals!  This leads me to my next tip!

#3 Eat veggies at breakfast.

Breakfast is usually our most beige meal of the day.  Mainly for the reasons I mentioned earlier.  You will be doing your body so many favors by incorporating more veggies into your meals!

By adding in some veggies, and color, you are getting in a ton of nutrients and vitamins.

Saute some spinach into your scramble, use the leftover veggies from dinner to eat on the side.  Heck, even a side of greens dressed with lemon juice and olive oil!

#4 Hydration.

I know you’ve heard it a million times, but drinking water is so important for your body.  Arguably, the cheapest thing you can do to start feeling better today.

Often you will hear people talking about drinking lemon water or apple cider vinegar in their water in the morning, but to keep it simple, just drink plain water.

Drinking a glass of water in the morning before reaching for your daily coffee or tea will increase your mental clarity, alertness, and jumpstart your metabolism for the day.

Drinking water first thing in the morning is a great first step, but KEEP drinking it throughout the day!  Aim for half your body weight in ounces of water for the day.

Tip: Try keeping a refillable water bottle with you at all times.  If it's with you, you will be more inclined to drink it!  Also drinking from a straw, as strange as it sounds, helps you drink more water :)

#5 Keep healthy snacks visible

If you are a person who tends to snack between meals this one is for you.  If you find yourself going to the fridge or pantry and opening it up for a snack, you usually grab one of the first things you see, right? If I were to open the pantry and the first thing that was looking at me was my dark chocolate bar, then, of course, I would grab that!

What if you kept the healthy snacks front and center.  Fresh fruit or veggies precut or chopped.  Healthy snack bars or packages of nuts that you can grab and go.

Keep healthy options that you can grab up at eye level and in the front.  Therefore, keeping not so healthy snack options lower and out of sight will make them less tempting to grab.

I jokingly say, I am hiding this from myself, and I put things in the freezer.  I know they are there, but I honestly do forget about them!

#6 Meal prep and plan.

It should come to no surprise that meal prepping and planning is in here, I talk about it all the time, but I do this for 2 main reasons:  It saves a ton of time during the week, and it makes it easier for me to put together healthy meals!

Planning ahead is the KEY to living a healthy lifestyle and making healthy choices.

Whether you are prepping complete meals into containers or just bulk cooking some produce and protein, whatever you can do to save your future tired self some time will be SO helpful!

Tip: CLICK HERE TO GET the replay of my meal prep + planning training if you want some more info on this!

#7 Move your body.

Now, more than ever, we as a society are spending a TON of time sitting.  The human body was made to move, and spending most of our time sitting is not doing us any favors.

Movement is so crucial for maintaining bone density, flexibility, and muscles and helps support our immune system.

Focusing on moving multiple times throughout the day does not mean a workout.  The movement could look like stretching or standing.  Take a walk to the mailbox, go outside with your dog or kids, or do a short yoga session.

The more you can move and get the blood pumping through your body, the more you are helping to reduce your stress levels, help balance your hormones, and help prevent illness.

Tip: check out the apps like Time Out or Pomodoro if you need reminders to move.

#8 Get outside.

Getting outside into nature sounds cheesy, but there's so much that could be said about the natural remedies found outside.  There is something so rejuvenating and re-energizing from surrounding ourselves with greenery.

When we get outside, our brains get a little rest and reset and so do our bodies—getting in Vitamin D for energy and fresh air to boost the immune system.

I try to aim for at least 15 minutes outside per day!

#9 Limit screen time.

Our lives are so connected to technology today that I know it can be a struggle to step back and turn it off, but that is exactly why it’s so important to make it a priority.

Looking down at our phones can not only throw our bodies out of alignment, but it’s not so great for our mental health either.

Try setting boundaries with screen time, turning off popup notifications, and even having some time to unplug completely.

Social media and your emails will still be there tomorrow, but you may find with your newfound free time, you can now try out some recipes, read a book, or take a walk outside.

#10 Prioritize sleep