You don’t have to quit sugar right here, right now, and forever to start losing weight. You don’t have to exercise for 45 minutes each and every day to lose a few more pounds. Should you? Maybe, if that’s right for you and makes you feel good. But really all it takes is one small, pivotal shift to change your life.
Eating well and living a healthy lifestyle is just that…a lifestyle. It’s about many small, consistent changes over a longer period of time. Start with something as small as replacing the dairy in your coffee with almond or coconut milk. Or something a bit larger as a food journal which keeps you accountable.
For me it’s water. When I make a conscious effort to drink more water during the day, I tend to eat better, feel better, think better, and my digestion works better. A small shift with HUGE benefits. I will say that although these are small shifts, they have to be consistent shifts. You will not be successful at reaching any goal if you are not consistent in your efforts. Choosing to meditate for 5 minutes is great. But unless you are doing it on a regular schedule and building that habit (whether it is daily or on the same 3 days per week), you may not see the long lasting benefits of meditation. Successful people are always consistent.
Here are examples of some small conscious efforts that you can start making to improve your health:
- Replace morning bagel with Ezekiel live grain toast
- Instead of your 3pm candy bar, reach for a rice cake with brown rice syrup instead (just as sweet)
- Ready to give up coffee? Try teechino (brewed like coffee but caffeine-free and non-acidic!)
- Replace sugary store bought juices with your own homemade fruit and vegetable juices (see my recipes HERE)
- Participate in meatless Mondays. Recipes to get you started HERE.
- Replace salty chips with salted almonds
- Instead of watching the morning news, do a 5 minute meditation like the one at the bottom of this POST.
- Don’t check e-mail before bed. Read a book instead.
I’ve replaced traditional sandwhich spreads with Avo-Hummus to make a delish veggie wrap.
There are tons of small changes that can be made daily to reach your ultimate goals. What small change are you going to consciously make today?