It
seems many of us live minute by minute. Planning for the week would be
considered long range planning. So much information is constantly coming at us solving
one problem after the other. It’s hard to discern what’s urgent from what’s
important moving from one crisis to another causing chaos in our life making
everything seem like a crisis.
You
might want to stop for a second, take a breath then ask yourself “Is my health
important to me and is it important enough to me to plan for?” I will never
forget the day I was sitting across from a health coaching client when they
said “No, my health is not a priority to me.”
Really? You have got to be
kidding! You plan for your health now or plan for your medical bills later. You
either make your health a priority or your health will become a priority for
you when you develop sickness that keeps you from enjoying your family, working
on your job and takes your money.
So
what’s the plan? What are your health goals? Do you know? If you have not
thought it over in a while now is a great time. The rules are the same when it
comes to planning your vacation, your business and your health. The more time
you spend planning the more fun and prosperity you’ll experience.
Once
you have a plan in place then to insure success you will need to keep track
what’s important like your care GPS keeps you on track helping you reach your
destination.
Most experts
agree these are the top five most important influencers on your health and
well-being:
1. The
quality, quantity and frequency of your food choices.
2. How much
and what type of activity you experience.
3. Sleep
quality and duration.
4. How you
manage family, financial and job stress.
5. Water
quality and frequency of consumption.
Track your
food and mood
A big influencer
around food choices is how you are feeling. Food choices are made for many
reasons besides hunger and these hide in your daily actions. When making food
choices such a types of foods and when you are choosing to eat write it
down. Writing down what you eat in
detail within 15 minutes of your meal increases your ability to stick with your
daily food and calorie goals. Keep a mini pad with you so you won’t have any
excuses after you eat. It’s important to bring eating into your awareness.
Noticing patterns in foods choices and behaviors will help you make better
decisions in the future. Not sure what
to eat? The USDA can help www.choosemyplate.gov.
Track your
successes
Don’t limit
yourself in how you measure success. The scale is only one way and maybe not
the best because the weather and food additives will cause the scale to fluctuate.
Monitor your clothing size, measure your waist, legs, and arms, and monitor how
tight or loose your clothes feel.
Track
of your food choices
How may fruits, vegetables and whole grains are you
eating? Not enough check this out www.YourJuicePlus.com. Most importantly monitor how you
feel and how your body is working. With better food choices comes energy,
better sleep, improved digestion, lower blood pressure, weight loss and many
other health benefits.
Track your
goals
While your long-term goal may be to
lose 10, 25, 50 or more pounds, you need small goals to keep your motivation
up. Focus on improved healthy and vitality. Being skinny in your casket really
isn’t what you are shooting for. You can’t control your weight but you can
control your habits. Make goals you have control of such as eat 1 more fruit
and veggie per day, exercise 30 minutes and go to bed early enough to get 8
hours of sleep.
Track your
motivation
To stay
motivated you must have a clear reason to make healthy lifestyle changes. Is it
to spend more time with your family, lower your medical bills and / or most
importantly you deserve health and vitality? Whatever the reason, write it down
and keep it in front of you. Your why will keep you motivated when you hit the
bumps in the road of your healthy life journey.
So what’s your
health GPS set for? When you look down the road what do you see in your future?
If It’s not health then you still have time it’s never too late to get started
down the road to better health.
Your partner
in health,
Cindy Cohen RN, BS BA
Certified Health Coach
Wellness Consultant
WELCOA Faculty
