10 Small Steps To Improve Your Health

Many of us make health-related resolutions, such as to lose weight, stop smoking or join the neighborhood health club. While it is common to set high goals, experts say that setting smaller goals could do more for our health. 

"Small steps are achievable and are easier to fit into your daily routine," says James O. Hill, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. "They are less overwhelming than a big, sudden change." 

Here are 10 to try:

1. Keep an eye on your weight and work on making sure you are not gaining extra lbs. Even if you gain just a pound or two every year, the extra weight adds up quickly. 

2. Take more small steps. Use a pedometer to count your daily steps; then add 2,000, the equivalent of one extra mile. Keep adding steps, 1,000 to 2,000 each month or so, until you take 10,000 steps on most days.

3. Eat breakfast. Breakfast eaters tend to weigh less and have better diets overall. For a filling and nutrition-packed breakfast, top Whole Grain Total® with fresh fruit slices and low-fat or fat-free milk. 

4. Switch three grain servings each day to whole grain. If you're like the average American, you eat less than one whole grain serving a day. 

5. Have at least one green salad every day. Eating a salad (with low-fat or fat-free dressing) is filling and may help you eat less during the meal. It also counts toward your five daily cups of vegetables and fruits.

6. Trim the fat. Fat has a lot of calories, and calories count. Purchase lean meats, eat poultry without the skin, switch to lower-fat cheeses, use a nonstick pan with only a dab of oil or butter.

7. Consider calcium by including two or three daily servings of low-fat or fat-free milk or yogurt. Dairy calcium is good for bones and may also help you lose weight.

8. Downsize. The smaller the bag, bottle or bowl, the less you will eat. 

9. Lose just 5 to 10 percent of your current weight. The health benefits are huge-lower blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and triglycerides.

10. Keep track of your eating. Write down what you eat over the next couple of days and look for problem spots. Often, just writing things down can help you eat less.

Eat Your Stress Goodbye - Stress Reducing Diet

When you’re stressed out, the foods that you’re turning to are most likely going to be traditional ‘comfort’ foods – think big meals, take-out, fatty foods, sweet foods, and alcohol. Let’s face it – we’ve all found some comfort in a tasty meal and a bottle of beer or glass of wine when we’ve been stressed out or upset about something. However, this isn’t a good permanent solution.

When you’re turning to unhealthy foods you can feel better temporarily, but in the long run, you will feel worse. When your body isn’t getting the right nutrition, you can begin to feel less energetic, more lethargic, and in some cases less able to concentrate and focus. All of this can lead to even more stress.

Foods that Fight Stress

If you’ve been feeling more stressed out than usual lately, it’s important to know which foods are best to choose and which to avoid when it comes to combating stress and helping you to deal with feelings of stress and anxiety. The best way to fight stress is to have a healthy, balanced diet which includes a moderate amount of each of the different food groups.

Filling up on foods such as whole grains, leafy vegetables, and lean proteins as the basic staples of the diet is the best way to ensure that your body gets the optimum amounts of nutrients to fight both physical and mental health problems. When it comes to choosing the foods to eat, some have a range of great properties which help the body to combat stress. Choosing these stress-busting foods will help to heal and calm your mind permanently, rather than providing a temporary fix.

Some of the best stress-fighting foods include:

Avocado - Avocados are a creamy and versatile fruit which can be eaten in a range of different ways whether you enjoy it raw, made into sauces, dressings and dips, or in a smoothie. These nutrient-dense fruits have the properties to stress-proof your body, thanks to their high glutathione content which specifically blocks the intestinal absorption of certain fats which cause oxidative damage. Avocados also contain higher levels of vitamin E, folate, and beta-carotene than any other fruit, which boosts their stress-busting properties. However, be careful with portion control when eating avocado, as it is high in fat.

Blueberries – If you’re feeling stressed out and reaching for the snacks, swapping chocolate or chips for one of the best superfoods is a great way to help you deal with your stress levels and achieve a higher level of calm. Blueberries have some of the highest levels of antioxidants, especially antho-cyanin, which means that this berry has been linked to a wide range of health benefits including sharper cognition, better focus, and a clearer mind – all of which can help you to better deal with stress.

Chamomile Tea – Of course, it’s not all about what you’re eating when it comes to managing stress; what you’re drinking can also alleviate or worsen the stress you're feeling. Drinking liquids which are high in sugars and caffeine, such as coffee, energy drinks or soda, can actually increase your stress levels if consumed regularly. Chamomile tea has long been used as a natural bedtime soother, and it has also been used in clinical trials, which determined that chamomile tea is effective in reducing the symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder.

Chocolate – Although it’s usually seen as an unhealthy treat, there is an undeniable link between chocolate and our mood. Studies have shown that eating chocolate can actually make you happier. However, that doesn’t mean that you can start munching on chocolate bars every time you're stressed out – chocolate works best as a de-stressor when eaten in moderation and as part of a healthy and balanced diet. Dark chocolate in particular is best for you, as it contains more flavonols and polyphenols, two hugely important antioxidants which can help combat stress, more than many fruit juices.

Beef – Grass-fed beef is not only kinder to the planet and to animals, it’s also good for people too. Grass-fed beef has a huge range of antioxidants, including beta-carotene and Vitamins C and E, which can help your body to fight stress and anxiety. If you’re looking for more reasons to spend a little more money on organic, grass-fed beef, it’s also lower in fat than grain-fed beef while being higher in omega-3.

Oatmeal – Oatmeal is great in that it can be a filling comfort food, but also has a large number of healthy properties to actually make you feel better from the inside out. A complex carbohydrate, eating oatmeal causes your brain to produce higher levels of the feel-good chemical serotonin, helping you to feel calmer and less stressed. Studies have shown that kids who choose oatmeal for breakfast tend to be much sharper throughout the morning in school compared to kids who had alternative morning meals.

Walnuts – If you’re looking for a healthy snacking option which will help you to stay better in control of your stress levels, walnuts are a great choice. There is no denying the sweet, pleasant flavor of walnuts and they can be a tasty snack for in-between meals or as part of a desert. A versatile nut, walnuts are great for salads, or add them to a sweet treat such as coffee and walnut cake.

Pistachios – another food which is great for snacking on and can also help to combat stress and anxiety in the long term is pistachios. Studies have found that simply eating two small, snack-size portions of pistachios per day can lower vascular constriction when you are stressed, putting less pressure on your heart by further dilating your arteries. Along with this, the rhythmic, repetitive act of shelling pistachios can actually be quite therapeutic!

Green Leafy Vegetables – leafy, green vegetables should be a pivotal part of anyone’s diet. Along with helping to combat stress, leafy greens are full of nutrients and antioxidants which help to fight off disease and leave your body feeling healthier and more energized. Dark leafy greens, for example spinach, are especially good for you since they are rich in folate, which helps your body to produce more mood-regulating neurotransmitters such as serotonin, which is a ‘feel-good’ chemical. Making leafy greens a part of your diet will help you to feel happier and less stressed out overall.

Fermented foods – last but not least, eating fermented foods such as yogurt can help to keep your gut healthy, which actually in turn will help to improve your mental health and reduce stress levels. The beneficial bacteria which are found in fermented foods such as yogurt actually have a direct effect on your brain chemistry and transmit positive mood and behavior regulating signals to your brain via the vagus nerve.

Putting Together Your Diet Plan

Planning your meals wisely is key to not only staying physically fit and healthy, but also to staying mentally strong and being able to best manage your levels of stress. Knowing which foods to avoid and which are the best to reach for to snack on when you’re feeling worried and anxious is important to helping you get control over your emotions and fears.

When you’re feeling stressed, you may be tempted to reach for classic ‘comfort foods’ – usually foods which are laden with sugar, very starchy, or greasy. However, although these foods can make you feel momentarily better, they will actually make you feel worse in the long run.

Having stress-busting snacks such as fresh berries, dark chocolate, yogurt, walnuts or pistachios, or even a fruit smoothie with avocado and leafy greens in it can help you to feel better in both the short and long term when it comes to stress. When it comes to combating and dealing with stress in the long run, it’s important to make sure that for the most part, you are eating a diet which is healthy and balanced.

In order to stay on track, it’s a good idea to make a meal plan for your week and plan ahead to make sure that you have a good selection of these stress-busting foods in your kitchen to make meals and snacks from when you’re feeling like stress-eating. Making sure that the majority of your meals include foods such as lean proteins and leafy green vegetables will not only make you feel healthier overall, but can improve your mental health and stress levels, too.

A good example of a healthy, stress-busting menu would be:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with berries or a fruit smoothie with avocado and berries

Mid-morning snack: Natural yogurt with fruit or a handful of pistachio nuts

Lunch: A whole-grain pasta salad filled with plenty of leafy greens

Afternoon snack: Dark chocolate

Dinner: Grass-fed beef with vegetables

Before bed: Chamomile tea

Of course, you don’t need to stick to this menu – but it gives you a good idea! Remember to exercise good portion control when eating foods such as nuts, chocolate, yogurt or avocado! As the saying goes, you are what you eat – so make sure that first and foremost, you’re filling yourself up with foods which are good for your mental health.

6 Tips to make meal prep simple

If meal prepping is holding you back from living your best life, here's some tips to make eating healthy simple.

 

1. Decide what type of meal prep best fits your lifestyle and preference.

2. Set aside and budget the time required to plan, gather, and prep your meals.

3. Invest in the right equipment, tools, and supplies required to make and store your meals.

4. Stock up on the cooking staples to ensure you minimize frequent grocery shopping.

5. Plan-ahead by preparing a weekly menu.

6. Minimize distractions while meal prepping.

 

 

What if I told you that you could quickly prepare a simple, healthy meal that fills nutritional gaps and saves you up to 25% of your time in meal preparation?

 

Replace one meal a day with Shakeology and get a delicious treat while getting all the daily recommended vitamins and minerals AND save time in the kitchen!

Take the time to say thanks!

When you have a mentor and a good friend or family member that is truly a 'ride or die', you gotta thank them from time to time. You really can't be great in this world without some loyal people behind you. So I'll go first… Shout out to my mentor who showed me that I could level up whenever I was ready. She never made me feel alone even when she reminded me that this is mine to build whenever I was ready. When I was ready to test the boundaries of what I was capable of, she’d be right there to support me. Since I began this journey, she has given me resources, got on calls, when I was confused she gave me clarity and most of all she was just THERE❣️ She never let me feel alone. 🤗 She always plugged me into the community of other women trying to do the same thing that I’m doing. I am now on pace to achieve my goals this year to help as many people as possible GET THEIR LIFE and prosper while doing it. So thankful to God 🙏🏽that he placed you in my path when I was looking for more. I’m so glad I said yes. 🙋🏽‍♀️ Are you a diamond in the rough? We should chat!

Oven Baked Salmon

Remember the benefits of omega 3s to brain health I talked about last week?  Here's a delicious way to get those nutrients in your diet in less than 30 minutes. I'm excited to try this for dinner this week.

We all struggle with something

For many of us, gaining back full range of motion and strength after a health scare (stroke, multiple sclerosis or other illness that compromises mobility) is a goal that requires daily movement and practice. You can’t give in to despair. You can’t give up on yourself. You have to give yourself some grace when you have a bad day. You must remain relentless in your quest to be whole.

I do this through functional movement and retraining my brain to move in the way that most people take for granted. Like walking, talking, running, getting down to the floor from a standing position and getting up from the floor.

A huge part of my training is flexibility training. A muscle that is flexible has more capacity to become stronger and move as it was designed to move. I have found a program that I have done before and will be starting again and I am excited to see how far I’ve come since doing my first round.

I’m getting stronger every day so I know I will do well this time around🤩

Recovery comes in many forms. We all struggle with something. The goal should always be to give your best every day you are blessed to wake up❣️ Through prayer and supplication I found the courage to embark on this journey. May whatever you struggle with today not overwhelm you. Make it your runway for you to take off towards your new beginning🤗

Would you like to get started on a new program to strengthen not just your body but also your mind too? Check out some options here.

🤗 The Accountability Mirror🤗

I remember reading this for the first time and being like “Dang David! You didn’t have to come at me like dat!”

Buuuut...

He is 1000% right!

If you tryna do something big, i. e. accomplish great things and/or create an impact, and you’re not getting results or making the milestones toward your goal, then it’s time to take a looooooong look in the mirror and deal with some stuff. 

Connect with some people that will hold you accountable and give you courage to do big things. 

Simply put…

Clear the cobwebs out yo mind and spirit that keeping you from gettin the bag 💰 

If you're really trying to reach some crazy, scary, I can't believe I'm even thinking about this, kinda goals, I encourage you to get Can't Hurt Me by David Goggins

🥺Push. Past. Pain.🥺

 It really is all in your head. 

One thing I’m know I’m really good at is suffering😂but any success I’ve had in life has been because I pushed past pain (try saying that 5x fast😆) and I was relentless in achieving my desired outcome.  

After all, I raised a whole human for God’s sake! I don’t mind telling you that she is an amazing and fantastic human with the biggest heart I’ve ever known. I can’t take all the credit tho… I had a little help from the Almighty🙏🏽

It takes courage to put your trust in God! For me, that’s the pushing past the 40% that David is talking about in his book, Can’t Hurt Me. Anyone can push up until it hurts. But it takes a whisper in your soul to make you take action and push past pain to get to where you wanna go. It’s the mind, soul and spirit vs. the brain for me. 

Your brain is there to protect you. But your mind, soul and spirit will take you where you want to go❣️🧠🧐🙏🏽🤗

🎶if at first you don’t succeed…🎶

Shout out to Aaliyah when she told us to dust ourselves off and try again❣️ RIP 

You know I’ve been having a lot of conversations about health and wellness and taking care of your mind, body and soul. Some of us seem to think that it’s got to be all or nothing. 

NEWSFLASH 📰 

‘ALL IN’ doesn’t mean all or nothing. 

It means betting on you for positive change! 

All or nothing is the biggest misconception about the journey to getting healthier that I have ever heard. Like anything in life that you’re learning for the first time, there’s a process involved. 

Maybe you have to write it down several times so you remember new information. 

Maybe you have to hear it multiple times for you to understand the value of it. 

Nevertheless, it is a process that is meant to be embraced, a process for good change to happen in any area of your life. Whether it’s a new job, new motherhood, a new relationship…whatever it is…you have to learn it and practice it to be good at it. 

Would you throw your kid away the first time you made a mistake? 

Would you quit your job after the first day because you didn’t learn everything in one day? 

Would you stop seeing someone after the first date because they ate their salad with the wrong fork? 

No you wouldn’t! 

So why would you give up on YOU because the first day, the first week or the first month of learning what it is to take care of yourself for the first time doesn’t go as planned? 

It’s a process. 

Embrace it! 

Give yourself some time. 

Give yourself some grace! 

You won’t learn everything in one day just like you won’t lose 100 pounds in one day… it’s a process… one day at a time, one lesson at a time, one pound at a time, one meal at a time. 

REAL TALK 

Whenever you’re trying to do something good, the enemy will rear its ugly head and try to throw a monkey wrench in your plans. 

If you know what I’m talking about, holla at ya girl! 

You gotta be better than the enemy and stronger than the enemy and have a little bit more faith in your Creator to get up when you’re knocked down and try again. 

This week is an opportunity to try again. Since the Lord blessed you to wake up this morning, what are you going to do with the new opportunities to TRY AGAIN this week?

Feeling under represented in the wellness space? Here's how to overcome it!

This delightful young lady wrote in an article in Cosmopolitan magazine about not being represented in the “wellness” niche. I know how she feels on so many fronts and I am sure I am not alone. Nevertheless, she, like me, was not afraid to try new things (many new things) to discover what works for her and what makes her feel good in pursuit of her own wellness goals. She discovered that listening to her body was the most effective way to achieve her weight loss and wellness goals. At the end of the day, that's what being healthy is all about, isn't it?

Here is what she had to say about her discoveries along her journey into her new wellness lifestyle:

“After a week of experimenting with surprisingly attainable recipes, the superfood-phobe in me realised it is possible to give your body and mind proper attention without necessarily resorting to fancy foods I can’t pronounce. It might sound obvious, but actual[ly] living, [it] has done confidence-boosting wonders for someone who felt a little excluded from the wellness zeitgeist”.

I agree that some of the wellness or “fitness” images that we see on our timeline has been, in the best of terms, somewhat deceiving. I believe it's because a lot of so-called diets and workouts are designed to be a “one-size-fits-all” type of solution to achieving wellness. However, we know that’s not true.

I’ve always believed that you should run experiments on yourself (be your own guinea pig) in your quest to achieve wellness. Try new things and give them time to work (30 days is a good benchmark) to see if the system you've chosen is sustainable to your lifestyle. That means listening to your own body and truly studying what works for you. This is the secret sauce to wellness, fitness and weight loss.

Source:‘How I reworked #WhatIEatInADay to improve my wellbeing’

3 things folks often overlook during their weight loss journey

What you eat

Hey let’s face it what you eat matters. If you’re not getting enough protein, fiber and carbs (yes, I said it, carbs) you are going to experience plateaus and weight gain. 

Examples of the types of protein you should consider are:

Lean beef such as flank steak, sirloin 90% lean ground beef

Fresh tuna, albacore or chunk light tuna fish in the can ( in water)

Chicken thighs (trimmed) chicken breast

Salmon

Cod

If you can get you chicken and beef organic or grass fed and your fish wild caught, all the better. 

Examples of the types of fiber you should consider are:

Green leafy greens like spinach, kale, spring greens (for salads)

broccoli, bell peppers, zucchini

Examples of the types of carbs you should consider are:

Sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grain pasta, green beans, green peas, carrots, turnips

Although some of these are typically in the veggie category, they are also a great source of carbohydrates that don’t do a ton of damage to the waistline. 

When you eat

I can’t stress this enough.  When you eat is just as important as what you eat in my humble opinion.  Frankly, practicing intermittent fasting is a very effective way to manage your weight. Intermittent fasting is when you choose an eating window in your day.  For example, my eating window is typically 12p - 8p eating the largest meal of the day first. Throughout the eating window, I decrease the portions proportionately at each meal.  The last meal of the day is the lightest, usually a superfood shake which I have found boosts my metabolism and makes for a more restful night’s sleep.

A good night’s sleep

Speaking of sleep, it should never be underestimated how much a good night’s sleep contributes to weight management. The more sound sleep you get, the deeper the rejuvenation of your bodily functions and the healthier your metabolism will be.  We all know that your metabolism contributes significantly to achieving a healthy weight. A good night’s sleep will almost guarantee your weight loss goals once you make how much you sleep and your quality of sleep a priority.

Bonus Tip!

Movement

How much you move is definitely related to healthy weight management.  While diet and sleep account for about 90% of your weight loss goals, movement and exercise give you an edge.  Even walking can get the heart rate up, help you break a sweat and get the blood flowing.  All of that contribute to the commonly accepted and basic concept of calories in calories out that is essential to effective weight loss. Thirty minutes a day is all you need.  So take that walk at lunch time. Taking a walk does wonders for your digestion and it’ll do you good to enjoy the sunshine (on a nice day) and get some vitamin D as well as clear your mind from the stresses of the day.

So there you have it. My tips for healthy weight loss. If you want to begin your weight loss journey but don’t know where start, start here. 

When you have checked all the boxes...

You got good grades in school. You were a good girl and didn’t make any trouble.You did your best to be the perfect girlfriend. You had a moment of rebellion just to try to fit in. You met the man of your dreams and vowed to be everything he ever needed. You became a mother and swore to be the best mother God gave you the strength and power to be. You went college and earned an advanced degree. You went out to work in a world that demanded more than your best time and time again and you always and consistently delivered. You didn’t need anybody’s help. You got this!

For all your hard work 😓 you:

Still got rejected by your parents.

Still wasn’t what he wanted.

Still was the last to be invited to the party.

Still got bamboozled by the husband.

Still fell short as a parent.

Still got taken advantage of in exchange for your good will at work.

Still wasn’t smart enough.

Still wasn’t good enough.

For all your effort, you realize you ain’t got this!

Don’t you deserve better? 

Don’t you deserve to live a life full of wellbeing and purpose?

Don’t you deserve to know love and peace in a way that surpasses all understanding?

Don’t you deserve to have more, do more, be more?

Don’t you deserve to enjoy good health, be financially fit and renew your mind to the highest esteem?

You can! Starting today! In order to have more you have to be more so you can do more. You have that power. It all starts with a desire and a decision to create change that creates focus and determination to go where you want to go and be who you want to be.

I know it’s a big decision. Bigger than the decision to get married, have kids, go back to school or even accept an offer for a job. Keep in mind, all those decisions were made in fear.  Fear of your biological clock. Fear of being rejected. Fear of failure. Fear he wouldn’t love me. Fear she wouldn’t respect me. Fear of being alone. Fear of (fill in the blank) How about we change the narrative? How about we start stepping out on FAITH!?!

Why not change the thoughts in our mind to know and accept that anything is possible with God?  How about we write some crazy, awesome dreams down on paper and take them to God in prayer? How about having some hope for something more than just checking the boxes of what the world expects of you?

What if you did that and changed your life in such an amazing way that you won’t even recognize the life you left behind? If fear was no object and faith took its place, what could your life look like in 5 years?

SOUL CRY

 Have you ever needed to have a gut wrenching, crying out to God SOB? 

Today was one of those days for me.  I had just fallen AGAIN and I got up quick enough to get the rest of the groceries back in the house and then....I let it all hang out. I didn’t even know I needed to get that soul breaking cry out but before I knew it, it was happening! It was one of those cries where you can't even make the sounds you just...your soul is crying out to your Creator. Crying out for your body to function like it should.  Crying out so you can do and execute like you know you should but you can't make your mind and skill work for you.  You’re stuck! Crying out for the faith to overcome the fear that builds inside you daily and rears its ugly head when your heart wants to execute like your life depends on it. Crying, sobbing, begging for God to take over because YOU CAN’T anymore...not without HIM.

 

Sometimes in our lives the shift that you desperately want to happen doesn’t because your pride or toxic positivity (yeah, I said that!) doesn’t allow you the cleansing cry you need to achieve clarity. Be real when you get on your knees. He knows your heart anyway. That will make you bawl, for real!

Let’s be very clear. Your pride will have you thinking that crying is punking out and a distraction from what you need to be doing. But if you’re stuck and not making any progress toward your goals, it is likely that your fear is taking over and you don’t truly believe that what you have to offer the world really makes a difference. Toxic positivity is telling you that the little you are doing is baby steps in the right direction and you might be listening to other people telling you the same thing.  But you and I both know its not nearly enough to make significant progress on your goals. When this happens, you might need a cleansing cry...one that I like to call a soul cry.

My soul cry today gave me clarity and frankly, the willingness to surrender my goals and dreams to God. I know He is going to let me know exactly where I am coming up short and where I need to lean in.  I know that I have to choose faith, put my trust in Him and trust the process.  

I have a renewed passion now. I know that I have to do the work to do the work. What does that mean? I have to create a plan and reverse engineer how to get there. This is something that needs to be done every day. With the help of my Creator, I know that I have the strength, courage and discipline to get the job done.

What area of your life do you need to have a soul cry about?