5 ways to improve your health in 2019

Every new year we make goals, resolutions, and expectations for a better year ahead. I have a ton of things that I want to get better at this year and hopefully I’ll be able to make some of it happen. While some of my goals may be hard to achieve within 1 year, I am looking at those goals as something that I want to strive towards and make strides to achieving some time in the near future. Instead of making too many crazy demands on myself or resolutions that I know I can’t hold up to, and that I’ll never meet, this year I made more realist goals. One of those goals is to work on having a healthier lifestyle. The funny thing is I’m writing this healthy goals/ fitness post, while I’m eating Taquitos and Taki’s… yeah, not healthy at all. But that’s the point! I’m writing this post not only to help you, but to help myself… I need to improve my fitness and there are a couple things that I’m ready to do to help improve my fitness this year.

The first thing is to drink more water. I have the hardest time drinking water everyday! I drink coffee every morning and then I may have another coffee throughout the day, and possibly some wine at night- but water, barely ever. I felt dehydrated so many times this last year, and I probably was. Water is one of those things for me that I forget to drink. But water is essential for a healthy body and lifestyle. There are so many amazing benefits of drinking water on a daily basis, such as promoting healthy weight management and weight loss, improving your complexion, flushing out toxins and boosting your immune system. I have made it a personal goal to drink my pink 40oz water bottle everyday at school. If I happen to drink more water, then so be it, but if not, at least I’m drinking more water than I was before. So far I’ve been doing really well on this goal, however I need to get better at drinking the water throughout my whole day verses chugging the remaining half a bottle before I leave school. It’s a work in progress. Here are a couple tips to help you drink more water:

• Buy a cute water bottle to take with you everywhere
• Fill up your water bottle at night and set it out to take the next day
• Buy a Brita filter and re-fill your container after filling your water bottle, so when you’re thirsty again, you’ll have water to drink
• Buy a container of disposable water bottles and store them at your work
• Set a timer on your phone or watch to remind you to drink water

The second thing is going shopping! Okay, to be more specific… going grocery shopping. I know this is a total duh, but I find that when there’s food in the fridge, I tend to eat better and I don’t eat out as much. Better for my body and my pocket book! (Who says pocket book, anymore). But this by far one of the most dreaded trips I have to make. I absolutely hate thinking about meals for the week or what I need to pick up. But I know from experience that once you get in the habit of getting food specific times and cooking, it gets much easier. So look at your planner, think about your schedule, plan out when to go grocery shopping and what you’ll need. They say 80% of your fitness goals have to do with food, so its the first step to better health. Also- has anyone tried the new car side grocery pickup services??!!! I haven’t yet, but I’ve heard its amazing… that may be my next move after picking a time to shop and planning out food/ meal choices. Dave is actually the cook in the family, but another goal I have made is to cook at least 2 times a month, so I better get to planning.

The third thing is to stop eating out and meal prep! This tip kind of ties into the grocery shopping part, but it’s taking it a step further and working on meal prepping and thinking about smart snack choices. I am horrible at this and I WANT to get better! I am very much an ” on-the-go” person and if I don’t plan ahead, (which sadly I don’t do very well when it comes to food,) I will eat out. It’s easy, convenient and I love me some Taco Bell. But, lets get real… my pants are definitely starting to show it and I just don’t feel as great as I could! While you’re at the store, think about easy go-to snacks that you can take with you if you’re an “on-the-go” type of person, like me. I personally have been loving protein packs with cheese, nuts, fruit and even a boiled egg inside- they are a healthy, easy snack when I am super busy. Put those in your fridge at work for whenever your afternoon hunger urges arise. Another easy snack to have on hand are vegetables and fruit. Take some time out of your weekend to cut and separate veggies and fruit into containers for an easy afternoon snack, or mid-day meal.

The fourth thing is Exercise! That’s the other 20% of getting healthier! Pick something you enjoy doing or know that you’ll be able to make time for every week! There is no perfect, it fits all, best way to work out, but anything will always be better than nothing. Experts say you should be trying to workout 3 to 4 days a week for at least 30 minutes. I would love to have a membership at a gym or be able to take hour yoga classes at some amazing studio, but right now in life, I don’t have enough time. While it sounds amazing and that may be what others can do right now, I don’t want to invest money in something I can’t invest enough time in. So instead of making crazy fitness/ workout goals, I again thought about my life and made some realistic goals. I plan to do workouts at home: twice a week I’ll do a yoga video and walk the neighborhood three times a week. I didn’t do as well last week as I wish I would’ve, but I am glad I started small.

The fifth thing is to take a mental health day! Everyone needs some time for themselves every once in a while and this is a huge part of being healthy. Now, you can totally take a whole day to yourself if that’s what you need, but taking a mental health day for me really is more about taking some time for myself. I absolutely love to take bubble baths and giving myself some time to watch my favorite shows. Maybe for you it’s just going out shopping alone, or grabbing your favorite coffee, or maybe its taking yourself to lunch and reading your new favorite book- whatever it is, just give yourself some time to enjoy and take care of yourself. Check out a week of wellness and mental health ideas here.

I am so excited about this new year and trying to live a healthier lifestyle. Do you have 5 ways to get healthy in 2019? What are some of your goals or ideas to maintaining or living a healthy lifestyle? Comment below with some of your ideas! I love hearing from you all, my followers and friends! Cheers to healthier living in 2019!

Xoxo-