Kick-Starting Healthy Living in 2019

It happens to a lot of us.  One day you’re getting ready for the day and your favorite pair of jeans no longer fits.  Or, you start to notice that you’re easily winded doing activities that used to be effortless.  So what do you do?  Do you try the latest fad diet, start to exercise regularly, or just give up?  Well hopefully you don’t do the last one, but even if you have, we’re here to give you some tips and encouragement to meet your health goals in the New Year!

So you’ve decided that this is the year you want to start practicing a healthier lifestyle, now what?  The first hurdle is simply figuring out what your goals are.  Do you just want to lose weight?  Do you want to gain muscle mass?  Do you just want to fit into that favorite pair of jeans?  When thinking about your goals, try to make them SMART.  SMART goals are a very specific type of goal that are useful for a lot of different tasks including weight loss.  Check out the video below to learn more about these specific goals!

      
If you need some help setting your SMART goals, check out this helpful worksheet to get you started!

Once you've figured out your goals, writing them down and putting them somewhere that you will often see them.  Maybe set a reminder on your cell phone or place them on your fridge or pantry door.  Seeing your goals every time you reach for a snack might help you be more mindful about your choices and help you achieve those goals!

After you've set your goals, it's a good idea to get a clear idea of where you're starting from.  Here are some things that you can think about doing to help you track your fitness journey and measure your progress.

          1.  Take some "before" photos when you start your new healthy lifestyle plan.  Use these photos as motivation to get yourself in better shape.  You can also use these to compare once you've reached your goals.

         2.  Weigh yourself.  It's good to know where you're starting from so you can track your progress.  There are also lots of apps that will help you track your weight.  Check some outhere!

          3.  Create a schedule.  Put it in your phone's calendar and set reminders for yourself.

         4.  Find an exercise that you enjoy.  You're much more likely to stick to your exercise regimen if you are having fun! Here's a great list of some activities that you might not expect!

          5.  Download the "MyFitnessPal" app.  Along with the apps suggested earlier, this app can help you track your exercise and diet!  The best part?  It's FREE!  Check it out here.

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So now you've set your goals and done a couple of things to help you track your progress.  Good job!  If you're deciding to embark on a new fitness plan, there are a lot of free resources to take advantage of!  One of these that you might find helpful are free trial periods at your local gyms.  A lot of gyms offer these without any sort of long-term commitment.  This can be useful as your begin exercising more regularly because it will help you learn the types of amenities (indoor running track, pool, classes, etc.) that you may want to utilize at your gym.  However, some of you might not have access to a gym or aren't as comfortable exercising in front of others.  Well Youtube has you covered with a never-ending supply of free workouts available for streaming!  Some of our favorite channels include Fitness Blender, Bodylastics, and Yoga with Adrienne but if these aren't your style check out this list that has so many more!

We hope this helps you get your plan to live healthier in 2019 off to a good start!  Be on the look out for next month's newsletter where we'll talk more specifically about some simple tips to help you remain more active and shed a few pounds in the process!

ICYMI:

AIHREA was featured in KCPT's digital magazine Flatland this month!  Check it out here.