By: Kerri Brown, Certified Personal Trainer, Nutrition, Sleep & Mindset Coach
We are all a sum of our daily habits. If you smoke cigarettes, drink beer and eat pizza everyday, you won't be a very healthy person. Most people know this, but oddly enough many people don't truly realize how important it is to have set daily healthy habits to keep your body and mind functioning well. And if you cannot implement these 5 basic habits, worrying about sauna, cold plunge, fasting, or the latest fad diet, is a waste of your time. You need to have a strong health foundation of simple daily habits in order to succeed in the long run!
Water Intake: Start your morning with an 8oz. glass of water and drink a minimum of 2L (67oz.) throughout the day. Your body is made up of mostly water and for some reason the average person hardly drinks water anymore. We need to stay hydrated in order for so many processes in the body to work, like your digestion, muscle contractions, organ functioning, releasing toxins etc. It's important to note that if you drink coffee, tea or other beverages with caffeine, you'll need to drink more water as those actually dehydrate you. The same rule applies for alcohol, if you choose to drink it. Try adding 1 glass of water per beverage that dehydrates you to your daily total. So if you drink 2 coffees a day you'll need to add 2 glasses of water to replace the coffees, which brings your daily total to 83 oz. of water. If you struggle to drink water, here are some tips to help: try different temperatures of water (cold, room temp, hot), add real flavours (lemon, lime, cucumber, mint, etc), add reminders to your phone throughout the day, drink a glass before each meal, get a drinking cup you love and will support your water intake, and do your best! If you are currently drinking 1-2 glasses a day, don't expect to jump to 10 glasses right away. Be ok with slow progress until it becomes an easy daily habit for you to drink enough water.
Protein: Eat 20-50g of protein at each meal. Most people are struggling to get that amount in a day vs at each meal. Our society is so wrapped around simple carbs like muffins, bread, cereal, pasta, rice, crackers and potatoes that you end up missing protein and always feeling hungry, tired, stressed, sad etc. The best thing you can do is plan your meals around protein (meat, fish, eggs, Greek yogurt, tofu etc.) then add in your veggies, healthy fats and complex carbs to create a well balanced meal. Here are a few examples: Breakfast: Greek yogurt parfait (yogurt, hemp hearts, blueberries, almonds, granola) Lunch: Tuna Wrap (1 can of tuna, cucumber, celery, spinach, avocado, whole grain wrap) Dinner: Chicken Stir fry (Chicken breast, red pepper, zucchini, broccoli, chopped peanuts, wild rice)
Daily Sunlight: Get morning sun before any screen time and try to adjust your day with sunrise and sunset as best you can. This can vary depending where you live, but the goal is to wake up and within 15 minutes get direct sunlight into our eyes to help set our circadian rhythm, which will improve our sleep and hormone cycling. If you are awake for hours before the sun is up, then we want to avoid screens or use blue blockers until the sun comes up. Mid day you should also go outside for 10min of sun time and then if you can watch the sunset it triggers our body to prepare for bedtime. Once the sun is down we want to avoid screens, use candles or soft lighting and avoid any cortisol spikes.
Exercise: Move your body throughout the day, this could include a set workout or sport but can also be simple such as walking, taking the stairs, playing with your kids, dancing, jumping jacks, skipping, stretching etc. It's important to find things you enjoy doing and add those in but also making sure to have a variety of styles throughout the week. See the example below for a good week of variety in your types of movement: M: 30 min walk T: 45 min HIIT workout W: 1hr yoga Th: 45 min strength workout F: 20 min bike/run S: 20 min stretching Sun: Hike with the family There are tons of options, you can plug and play what works for you. You can also walk daily and add other types of movement on top of that.
Create a sleep routine: Having a set bedtime and wake time that allows you 7-9hrs of sleep a night is ideal. This doesn't mean getting into bed at 11pm and waking up at 6am counts since you need to allow time to fall asleep and possible wake ups throughout the night (pee breaks, kid interruptions etc.). Creating a bedtime routine that works for you, allows you time to unwind and prepare the body for sleep is the first step. This may include reading, meditation, praying, chatting with your partner, journaling etc. These are things that you can do while laying in bed before dozing off to sleep that don't spike your cortisol and help your body release melatonin to support a good sleep cycle. Start you bedtime routine a minimum of 30 min before you should be asleep. And don't forget to allow time for brushing your teeth and other necessary things you need to before getting into bed. If you can avoid any screen time 2hrs before your set bedtime, you'll be setting yourself up for success. And yes that includes phones, lap tops, computers, tvs etc. If you really need to use them in that window make sure you have a blue light filter on or blue blocking glasses on. Here is a sample sleep routine: 9pm: Take a warm shower, brush teeth, skincare, pjs on, pee one last time etc. 9:30pm: gratitude journal & read a book 10pm: fully asleep 6:30am: set wake up time and start morning routine: glass of water, wash face, get dressed, prep food, 5 min mobility, sunlight outside etc. When you can complete all of these daily habits easily your body will be running so much better, you will notice increased energy, weight loss, improved mood, better digestion, improved brain functioning, less aches and pains and so much more! Check out this daily habit tracker to get you on track with everything mentioned above. After building in these basic habits there are so many other things you can layer on top to get you to your goals. We are all individuals and trying to reach different goals, so the way to get there can look very different for each person. That's why working with a coach can make a huge impact! If you want help with anything mentioned above, you can work 1:1 with me or join a virtual challenge. Check out some options here.
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