Getting healthy doesn’t have to be complicated, you don’t have to drastically change everything you are doing right now, and it’s not “All or None” Here are 3 suggestions of what you can change today to start feeling better tomorrow
1. Start your morning with gratitude
2. Drink your water
3. Increase intake of dark leafy green vegetables
In the morning practice gratitude. When you wake up and step out of bed, start the day with a thought of one thing that you are grateful for. Make sure to really feel that gratitude. There is no wrong answer here it could be “I am grateful for my health” or it could be “I am grateful for coffee” whatever it is, starting the day with gratitude will set you up to have an amazing day. When we show we are grateful, more things to be grateful for happen. Having gratitude changes your emotional state; you can’t be grateful and in a negative head space at the same time.
Start drinking your water! Our bodies are made up of 75% water (remember learning that in school as a child?) and yet people tend to not prioritize getting enough of it. Our bodies depend on water for over 10billion biochemical reactions per second; that’s a lot. So in between meals we should be drinking good quality water. You will always see me carrying my water bottle around because I found once you start increasing your water intake you feel better and keep wanting more. To find out how much water you should be drinking per day, they say to take your body weight in kg and multiply it by .033 (Kg x 0.033=Litres of water intake per day) If you are active you should drink more to make sure you stay hydrated. Research has shown if you are even 1% dehydrated that can cause anxiety, sluggish digestion, change in mood and many other health issues. If you are currently trying to lose weight, or detox, or if you want glowing skin, you should make drinking enough water your top priority. If when you increase your intake of water you find yourself visiting the washroom too often, try adding a pinch of himalayan pink salt to each litre of water. This salt has many different minerals and helps your body absorb the water easier leading to less washroom visits and better hydration!
Increase intake of dark leafy green vegetables! I buy a large tub of spinach and find creative ways to make sure I use it up during the week. Whether it’s throwing a handful into a green smoothie, or blanch it to go with my eggs, or in my favourite beet salad. I try and find ways to use it up because I love the health benefits, and honestly I do not like wasting food. I also make sure I have a head of fresh broccoli, and I always have frozen organic greens in the freezer. Here is a highlight of a few benefits of increasing your intake of dark leafy greens.
Dark leafy greens are:
- A good source of fibre
- High in minerals calcium, iron, potassium, and magnesium
- Help protect against heart disease
- Can help improve memory
- Are high in antioxidants
- A good source of vitamins A, C, K, and folate
- Have been shown to help with the precursor to diabetes “insulin resistance”
As you can see healthy living starts with simple habit changes that you make over time. It’s not “All or none” and we should have fun with it. Making healthful choices just keeps improving with time, once you start feeling better you add in another healthy habit. Eventually I promise you wont even want that cookie in the break room at work, or that mid day coffee or sugar rush, and the day that you do want it, that’s ok. It’s simple!
Fonseca Holistic Health 