We are well on our way into the new year, so that means you have kept up with your new year’s resolutions, right? Most individuals begin the new year with a resolution that they are going to participate in healthier habits, whether that be eating right, drinking more water, or exercising regularly. After the first few weeks, it can be hard to keep yourself on track. I know that I tend to fall short when I make meal and snack choices. Follow along below to learn more about why it is important to make healthy choices, as well as how to keep up with these healthy habits!
Why should I make healthy choices?
That is a great question! As a busy mom of two, I am always trying to balance work, school, family, and our social calendar. Your eating habits can contribute to physical movement, sleep, health, energy levels, and education. I can tell a large, positive difference in my overall attitude, energy levels, and sleep when I am making healthier choices. This is not something that someone can force upon you. Only you can make the decision to make these changes.
When you say healthy choices, what does that mean?
This does not mean “diet” or that you cannot have the cookies or ice cream. Busy people don’t have a lot of time to prepare and eat healthy meals. It can be helpful to have a quick list of ideas to maintain healthy eating. It is important for you to balance your meals. Consider eating at least 3 of the following every day: dairy, fruit, grains, healthy fats, proteins, or vegetables. Check out MyPlate to learn all about healthy eating habits, food groups, and how to shape your meals to you. Foods in moderation are okay but try to not overindulge.
Some high protein breakfast ideas:
Boil eggs at the beginning of the week and offer them with a low-sugar, high-protein cereal, and an apple to go.
Make breakfast burritos filled with scrambled eggs, cheese, chicken, or beef on a Sunday and freeze them.
An egg sandwich, a cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese with fruit, and peanut butter on wholegrain toast can all be eaten on the way to school.
If I keep junk food in the house, I tend to eat it. I always make a point to keep healthy snack options available rather than boxes of junk food. Healthy snack options at home include fruits, vegetables, and healthier beverages. Soda is high in sugar, so to help cut the sugar, I keep water, milk, and pure fruit juice in the fridge. (NOTE: Fruit juices contain natural sugars, so they should also be consumed in moderation.) It is easy for me to make those choices since I am the adult that goes grocery shopping.
Ideas for healthier alternatives:
Instead of fried chicken, try baked or grilled chicken.
Instead of potato chips, try baked vegetable chips or nuts.
Craving something crunchy? Try carrots or celery.
Craving something sweet? Try vanilla Greek yogurt with some fresh fruit.
Craving something salty? Try popcorn or edamame.
On top of eating from different food groups, cut down on fats or sugars and remember to drink lots of water. Your body is unable to continue functioning properly without fluids. Staying hydrated may seem like a difficult task, but it is extremely important for us to stay hydrated for optimal health and performance throughout the day. Drinking enough water each day is crucial for many reasons: to regulate body temperature, keep joints lubricated, prevent infections, deliver nutrients to cells, and keep organs functioning properly. Being well hydrated also improves sleep quality, cognition, and mood.
What about exercise?
It is extremely easy to come up with excuses as to why you cannot exercise.
I don’t have time.
It costs too much.
I don’t like physical activity.
I can’t do this by myself.
Your new healthy habits should be made a priority. If you cannot take care of yourself, then you will not be able to take care of others. Physical exercise does not always have to be drastic. Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking an extra block to work or around the neighborhood, or standing up instead of sitting.
How do I hold myself accountable?
Accountability for your new healthy habits can come in all shapes and sizes. The most helpful way that I have found is tracking my progress. This helps me find strengths, areas I can improve on, and helps me stay on track. You can record what you ate, how much water you drank, as well as any activity you performed. Try record keeping on an app, online, or the old-fashioned way – with pen and paper. There are several apps for your phones and websites online that will let you tailor your calorie and physical activity plans to reach your personal goals within a specific time period.
Simple outdoor activities help children and adults get exercise while spending quality time together.
Photo Source: UF/IFAS
When you look at your children, do you see a picture of a healthy, active child? The United States Pentagon just released a report stating “77% of young Americans would not qualify for military service without a waiver due to being overweight, using drugs, or having mental and physical health problems.” Even worse, this is a 6% increase from the previous study. No matter the wish of a parent or youth as to their desire for military service, this study paints a disturbing picture of the health of our youth in the United States. Where have things gone wrong and what could be some simple corrective actions?
Exercise is a word many people dislike. But reframing the chosen exercise activity as a family outing, such as a daily debriefing walk to discuss the day’s events or an indoor activity such as a basic yoga class at a local gym or via video at home, can be a fun, purposeful way to incorporate physical activity without it seeming like “exercise.” The point is to increase the activity level of not just the youth but also the parent or guardian.
Replacing sugar sweetened beverages with water or fruit-infused water is an easy way to decrease excessive caloric intake and provide better hydration. Water is a basic need of the body and performs many roles from joint health and nutrient delivery to cells to regulating body temperature and proper organ functions.
Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future research indicates that persons who frequently prepare meals at home eat healthier. Eating more fruits and vegetable with attention to healthier preparation methods can lead to better health outcomes over time.
It’s time to paint a new picture with you as the role model. Slowly adjusting to the adoption of a healthier lifestyle can take time. Speak openly with the youth in your life and let them help to decide the changes they feel they can make. Place this in writing using SMART goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound. Revisit these goals and adjust them as needed. The reward over time could be a picture of health.
Physical activity is vital for all individuals. Everyone can benefit from being physically active throughout their lives. Physical activity helps to reduce the risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension. Chronic conditions may be manageable by regular physical activity. Being active can help people maintain a healthy body weight as they age or help people lower their body weight, if needed, when paired with a healthy diet. Physical activity can help with balance, which reduces the risk of falling and lessens the risk of injury if a fall does occur.
Socialize and stay on track with your wellness goals by exercising with others. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Photo Library
How much physical activity is recommended? Some activity is better than none—small amounts of daily exercise like walking, folding laundry, grocery shopping, and gardening benefit health. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans recommend that individuals get 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week or 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity activity each week. Moderate-intensity exercise increases heart and breath rate, but the person should still be able to maintain a conversation. Vigorous-intensity movement causes you to become out of breath and unable to hold an entire conversation. It is important to know that exercise is most beneficial spread throughout the week, for example, brisk walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Some people do not have time to set aside a 30-minute block during the day to walk and choose to do 10 minutes at a time three times a day, which counts for 30 minutes of exercise that day!
Physical activity can benefit overall health, including mental health. Grab a friend or two and plan to meet up a couple of times each week to socialize and exercise together. Group exercise can be a great way to maintain healthy relationships and physical health. Research indicates that people with an accountability partner tend to stick with their exercise goals longer than those who do not have an exercise partner. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans also recommend that adults should do at least two days per week of muscle-strengthening exercises, such as lifting weights and resistance training. You do not need fancy equipment; you can use food jars, cans of soup, milk jugs, etc., as your weights. Also, you can use your body weight for resistance training, such as push-ups, squats, and planks. When doing muscle-strengthening exercises, it is essential to work out all major muscle groups each week, including the legs, back, chest, and hips.
Always consult your healthcare provider before beginning an exercise program. It is also essential to keep a few safety tips in mind: be aware of your surroundings, dress for the weather, stay hydrated, and ensure the area is well-lit to avoid fall or trip hazards.
What does your morning and evening routine consist of? Now that we are adjusting to our new normal of staying at home and social distancing, many routines are different than before. How about starting a routine of walking 30 minutes or an hour each day? There are so many positive benefits to even just adding 15 minutes to your schedule and most everyone, including children, can do it.
Walking is a great form of exercise that nearly everyone can do. (Photo source: Lyon Duong, UF/IFAS)
Walking improves your mood and reduces stress and anxiety. Who doesn’t need that kind of positive influence in their life right now? If you walk in the morning, it will provide you with energy for the rest of the day and walking in the evening helps you to sleep better at night. Taking a few extra steps each day can add some time to clear your head and add to your energy level while creating a positive mindset for other activities.
One of the other benefits of walking is burning calories. Burning calories may lead to weight loss. It seems that almost every American is always looking for a way to improve the fitness of their body. By exercising during a walk, you build stronger muscles, ligaments and tendons. Physically, walking can reduce your hips, tighten abdominal muscles, strengthen your arms, and tone your legs. Walking gives you a chance to improve balance, coordination and flexibility. Your feet can help to reduce the load on other joints while keeping knee joints healthy and lowering the risk of blood clots. Walking makes your heart stronger and reduces risk of stroke. A research team from the University of Michigan Medical School says that people who are in the 50s-60s age bracket who exercise regularly are 35 percent less likely to die in the next eight years than those who do not. Therefore, some walking each day could help you lead to a longer life.
Now that we have so many reasons to take a stroll each day, we must make sure to walk correctly to avoid injury. It is important to move freely and naturally while swinging your arms to avoid back problems. Keep your shoulder back with your head held high and eyes forward. Position your feet straight and push off with your hind leg to engage your hips. Watch for traffic if you are walking by a highway and of course practice social distancing for now. Maybe later ask a friend to join for a social aspect and to have accountability to someone. Keep a log to track progress. The CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity per week to be considered active adults. That should add up to about 7,000 to 8,000 steps a day but if you can get 10,000, go for it! It is a great time to get into this daily routine and doesn’t require any special equipment or memberships.
So what are you waiting for? There is no better time to start stepping.
For more information on healthy living or other extension related topics, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Agent.
Have you ever thought about how many hours a day you spend sitting? Sitting at your desk, sitting in front of a computer, sitting watching television, sitting in the car, sitting, sitting, sitting. On average, Americans sit approximately 13 hours a day and sleep 8 hours adding up to a whopping 21 hours of inactivity. All of this sitting around may in fact be shortening our lives.
The cumulative effect of daily inactivity, or sedentary time, has contributed to a nationwide crisis of escalating chronic health conditions that include obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, certain cancers, and type-2 diabetes. According to research, including a 2014 Harvard study of over 92,000 women, the risk of dying from stroke, heart disease, and cancer increases with the more time spent standing. In addition, the negative effects of excessive sitting seem to be just as strong in people that participated in a regular exercise regimen!
Standing Has Many Benefits
Our bodies increase a fat-burning enzyme called Lipoprotein Lipase when muscles are activated. This doesn’t just happen during purposeful exercise, but even during periods of standing. In fact, standing burns 30% more calories than sitting still! Regular engagement of muscles keeps them in a more continuous metabolic state that helps improve blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar levels. Regular intervals of standing with minimal movement does all of this and so much more:
Improves posture
Tones muscles
Increases blood flow
Improves metabolism
Improves mood
Increases mental energy
Reduces fatigue
During a typical day at work, experts recommend not sitting for more than 20 minutes at a time with regular intervals of standing. Standing up and walking even for just 5 minutes can lift your mood, increase mental energy and productivity, and can even dull your urge for unnecessary snacking.
What You Can Do
Standing desk. Photo source: Amy Mullins
Get up and move more! Consider some of these ideas to help in your quest to be more active during the day:
Create a culture of health and encourage others in your workplace to support one another.
Purchase a “standing desk” or get creative and make one to meet your needs
Use a smartphone app, wrist monitoring device (such as a FitBit), or just an alarm on your phone or desktop to remind you to stand up and stretch or to walk outside for some fresh air.
Instead of emailing or calling a co-worker, get up and take a stroll down the hall.
On a conference call? Stand, move, stretch, do squats or desk push-ups.
Take the stairs as often as you can.
Forget hum-drum meetings in the conference room! Get creative on your feet and schedule walking meetings.
Skip the afternoon coffee and energize with some office exercises. Consider getting an exercise mat, resistance band, stability ball and light weights.
Wear comfortable shoes and clothing to the office and enjoy part of your lunch break taking a brisk walk and/or stretching.
Bring your own reusable bottle to work and drink more water throughout the day. More water means more times you’ll have to walk to the restroom!
It’s not easy to create positive habits, but your health is worth it. But, making even a few changes to your normal routine can put you on a path to a happier and healthier life. For additional information about healthy habits in the workplace, visit:
