The boring truth about health & fitness

You know those nights when you crawl into bed feeling exhausted — and you realize your sheets are clean and fresh out of the laundry?

Your bed feels SO cozy and comfy. But it doesn’t just feel good… it also makes it easier to get a good night of sleep! 

It’s one of life’s little pleasures…

… all made possible thanks to a boring habit.

Seriously, how many people wake up saying: “Woohoo! I get to change my sheets today!”?

(Answer: Very few. ;-)) 

But we do it anyway because of the payoff.

The irony is that almost every small pleasure in life — and every success! — is built on a foundation of everyday habits. And a lot of those habits are (yes I’ll say it) boring. 

Those habits affect

• Your health

• Your fitness level

• Your skills

• Even your relationships & retirement account!

There’s nothing sexy about the process — it’s just a matter of continually making good choices, and showing up and doing the work. 

• Choosing to eat healthy foods (even when you don’t want to)

• Choosing to exercise regularly (especially when you don’t want to)

• Choosing to keep trying a new skill until we master it (even when you don’t feel like it)

 

The payoffs are definitely WORTH IT.

But there’s something else you need to know.

There’s another habit a lot of people develop in life: the need for instant gratification (wanting what we want, when we want it — right now).

Overcoming that habit means learning a new skill: delayed gratification. 

You can learn it like you learn every other skill in life (driving, playing an instrument, cooking, writing):

You practice it… one day at a time.

So,

What’s ONE habit can you practice — starting today — that will help you move the needle toward a healthier & fitter body?

Leave a comment and let me know. 

Meal prep time savers

You know that feeling when you have a project hanging over your head and you just can’t get it started…

But once you get it going, you wonder why you dreaded it so much?

Meal prepping can feel that exact same way! 

The thing is, once you get started, it can save you SO much time, money, and stress.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a quick list of meal prep time & money savers for you. Ready for them?

6 Meal Prep Time & Money Saving Tips:

1. Keep it simple. Don’t expect to become a meal prep pro overnight.
   Pick ONE meal that gives you the most stress – like lunch – and start making those meals ahead of time. Once you get into a routine with lunch, you can branch out into other meals.

2. Double up on your meals. I’ve mentioned this one before but that’s because it’s so easy. Just make extra when you cook dinner! It can easily turn into tomorrow’s lunch or dinner.

3. Have a game plan. If you are planning to cook a few different dishes at the same time, read all of the recipes through, create a plan, and do as much chopping/rinsing/pre-prep ahead of time as possible.
   
   This will help keep you organized, allow you to clean up as you go (a huge time-saver), AND chances are… you’ll actually enjoy making your meal!
   
   

4. Cook up bigger batches of protein-rich foods. This saves time and money. Think about it: it takes just as long to cook up 2 lbs worth of turkey burgers as it does 1 lb, and buying in bulk usually results in a lower per-pound/gram cost!
   
   

5. Use your rice cooker and/or slow cooker. Both are inexpensive “set it and forget it” cookers that will save time and effort – and they both make delicious food!
   
   

6. Make it fun. Listen to your favorite music or podcast, or download an audiobook to keep you company while you get busy in the kitchen.

Those tips should help make your next meal prep session a breeze. 

Have questions about your health/fitness goals? Grab a time on my calendar to chat for just 15 minutes so I can walk you through our step-by-step approach and answer any questions in real time. Set up a time here: Initial consultation.

Do you REALLY need 10k daily steps?

Have you taken a walk today? If not, you may want to pay close attention to this.

You might have heard that 10,000 steps is a MUST for optimal health…

But new research shows that only 8,200 steps is enough to protect you from some of the most common chronic diseases! 

In a recent 4-year review of over 6,000 FitBit users in the “All of Us” medical project, researchers found that just 8,200 steps can protect you against:

• Obesity

• Sleep Apnea

• Heartburn & Reflux

• Major Depression Disorder

That’s just 4 miles or 6.4 km per day.

Not only that, but researchers said the risk for most health problems continued to go down as the number of daily steps went up past the 8,200 mark.

What’s more, they also found that overweight people can cut their risk of obesity by 64% if they boost their daily step count from 6,000 to 11,000! 🤯

That’s a pretty good incentive to get out and walk, right?

Almost everyone struggles with this…

Can I let you in on a not-so-secret secret? 

Almost everyone struggles with sticking to a healthy diet from time to time.

Yes, even me.

In fact, it seems like every week, a client (or potential client) confesses that it’s their #1 issue getting in the way of their health goals.

That’s why this month I’ll be sharing a lot of time-tested tips to make eating a healthy diet easier. Sound good? Good!

The thing is, what you eat matters a lot…

And, your eating habits can:

• Help you live longer

• Boost your immunity

• Help you reach & maintain a healthy weight

• Support your muscles and bones

• Keep your skin, teeth, and eyes healthy

• Lower your risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers

• Help your digestive system do its job

• Support healthy pregnancies & breastfeeding

Not to mention give you more energy, cut down on aches & pains, help you sleep better, and improve your workout performance and recovery. Pretty amazing.

Here’s an easy tip to get you started:

Every time you make dinner, make extra! This way you have leftovers ready and waiting for you for lunch or tomorrow night’s dinner.

So instead of cooking up a pound of ground turkey for tonight’s tacos, double it.

Yes, it really can be that simple — and that is why it works so well.

Let me know how it works in the comments below!