Here are the things that you can do on a daily basis that can improve your health and fitness without getting completely overwhelmed:

1. Have vegetables at every single meal. Have vegetables with every single meal. It doesn’t matter what vegetable at this point, it’s just about creating good habits and getting used to eating vegetables. That includes your breakfast. Some of the amazing benefits of eating vegetables at every meal include:
   • You avoid snacking as you will be fuller from your meals. Vegetables contain fiber which is very filling and it’s going to keep you fuller for longer so you’re not looking for snacks. 
   • They also contain vital vitamins and minerals
   • They trigger the leptin I am full hormone which is a natural appetite suppressant, your portion controller.
2. Have protein with every meal. Protein is one of the macronutrients that is absolutely vital for your body to function. The other two are fats and carbs. Together these make up our three macronutrients. Protein is vital for cell synthesis and repair. People often assume protein is only responsible for building muscle, but protein it also required to create skin, hair, teeth, heart, blood and every other cell, organ, tissue etc. around the body. If you’re not obtaining enough protein in your diet you’re going to be reducing cell repair and recovery throughout your body. This contributes to the aging process. If you have a reduction in the quality of your cells it’s going to speed up the aging process in your body; so even though biologically, for example, you might be 30 or 40, metabolically you might be 60 or 70. That means your risk factors for all the diseases and illnesses of an older person then becomes your risk factor, even though biologically you might be younger.
3. Replace your snacks with meals.  Create really good habits, habits nature create for us. We are designed by nature to eat then fast for 4-5 hours, then eat. We were not designed to graze constantly. We need to allow six hours from the time that we ingest food into our mouths until the time that our stool is formed, for a us to complete the digestive process. Interrupting this process may lead to digestive issues such as bloating, indigestion, reflux and heart burn.
4. Getting regular blood tests. Making sure that your vitals in your blood are inadequate reserves so we don’t want to have deficiencies in any of your vitamins and minerals. This is to make sure that everything is ticking along nicely. If things are falling down in your blood and your blood tests, it’s going to have repercussions on lots of other things around your body, especially if you have nutrient deficiencies. Iron and vitamin D are probably two of the biggest deficiencies that are known here in Australia because we’re not exposed to the sunlight enough. It is a good idea to get your bloods checked to make sure that all your nutrients are at the right levels that they need to be and there aren’t any dysfunctions in your organs. Ideal time frame is every 3-6 months.
5. Being active on a daily basis. You don’t have to go for runs or participate in group fitness or anything like that. It could just be a case of going for a walk for 20 minutes or more a day. A minimum of 20 minutes of active walking is enough to be able to give you all those benefits of an active lifestyle. Ensure your active walk is huffy puffy to elevate the heart rate and increase blood flow.
6. Drinking enough water.  75% of your body is made of water. So being properly hydrated is super important. You need at least a minimum of eight glasses a day. The more active you are the more water you’re going to need, due to persperation. If you are a coffee drinker, you need more water. You need four glasses of water for every one cup of coffee that you drink to counterbalance the dehydration effect that happens from caffeine. Not having enough hydration in your body increases your blood pressure because inadequate water levels thicken up the blood. Your blood pressure elevates because your heart must work harder in order to push the thickened blood throughout all the arteries and veins. This then increases the risk factors of heart attack, heart disease, stroke, and blood clots.
7. End your day with a gratitude list. The gratitude list helps maintain a positive mindset. It helps maintain happy mood because it elevates your serotonin hormone, your happy hormone. It doesn’t have to be anything major especially I’ve had a really bad day. It’s often hard to kind of think of what you like about the day if it’s been a rough one.  Sometimes you might need to keep it basic like, ‘I’m grateful that the day is just about over, and I’m about to go to bed.’ Or ‘I’m grateful that I got through the day as hard as it was’. ‘I’m grateful that I’m still alive.’ We’ve all had those days, weeks, months, especially if you suffer depression. Some days it’s very difficult to find something to be grateful for. But coming up with a few things, even basic ones improves your serotonin production, therefore improves your mood and therefore also improves your sleep. It reduces those anxious dreams that you might be having, calms an over-thinking brain that keeps ticking, thinking about all the things that are going on in life that could be keeping you up at night.

• Coach Terri