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January’s Healthy Lifestyle Habit

January’s Healthy Lifestyle Habit

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Welcome to a NEW YEAR, and the possibility of a NEW YOU. The thing that is fun about the beginning of something is the hope that it can be better—that WE can be better.   The other side of that thinking is that MOST people are resistant to change. We get comfortable doing things the way we have always done them and the thought of mixing it up, even if it gives us a better result, can be SCARY.

Here is my proposition for the “Healthier You” that you may be searching for. I am going to offer you an idea of ONE new habit each month from now until December 2016. (That sounds like a long time from now, but don’t blink…)

So, let’s say you start with January’s habit today. Are you going to see some amazingly crazy change in your health and weight in the next week? NO! Over the course of the next 12 months, if you develop even a few of the habits I introduce, will you see a change in your health and your weight. YES!

What I am offering is “the slight edge” principle.  (The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson is a MUST READ!)  It’s not the monumental things we do that radically change our lives, but the little things we choose to do—or NOT do—day in and day out. In every aspect of life, we are either going in a positive or negative direction based on our choices that day. We never stay stagnant.

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This month’s habit is to drink your water. Sounds easy, right? Maybe not so much. The easiest formula I have learned is to take your weight and divide it in half. You need that many ounces of water in a day to stay hydrated. This does not take into account what happens when you exercise for an hour, are in the sun, or if you drink lots of caffeine (each cup of a caffeinated beverage means you need two additional glasses of water to stay hydrated).

Room temperature water is easiest on the body, but do whatever works. Yes, herbal teas count, and any liquid that does not have caffeine or sugar or fake sugar. (Caffeine is a diuretic, is addictive and is not a healthy additive for some. Sugar has no redeeming benefits, except that it tastes good. It is as addictive as heroin. Fake sugars are chemicals that wreak havoc with us on lots of levels. All of these are topics for future Blogs!) Add a slice of lemon, lime, orange or float a strawberry. Put up post-it notes to remind you. Drink it in your favorite glass or mug or container that measures how much you have. Always take water in the car. This is the month you make water a priority in your life and figure out what you need to do to stay hydrated. You will feel better. Sometimes when you think you are hungry, you are really thirsty. Try water first. A great tip is to drink 8 to 16 ounces when you first wake up. It’s like extra credit before you even get your day going.

Oh, and be sure to LIKE my Inkwell Healthy Lifestyles Facebook page for reminders and other healthy tips to stay on the positive side of living well.

“With true friends . . . even water drunk together is sweet enough.” Chinese Proverb

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