What shifts have you made to keep yourself healthy and feeling good these days?
Life during this pandemic has been extraordinarily stressful for many of us making self-care more challenging than usual. Yet, we need it now more than ever. From exercising to making healthy food choices, we need to create healthy habits and focus on the things that make us feel good every day as best we can.
Check out this Healthy Habits Checklist for ideas on how you can stay on track with self-care.
Manage your weight and health by creating daily habits that support your goals.
Skipping meals can slow down your metabolism and cause you to be starving later, which can ultimately lead to overeating or making poorer choices than you would have otherwise.
Overconsumption of added sweeteners is linked to a laundry list of negative health effects including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Surges in blood glucose and insulin levels can wreak havoc on the body—resulting in fatigue, brain fog, and irritability.
Wholesome, home-cooked dinners take only about ten minutes longer to prepare, on average, than serving heavily processed food, ready-made meals, take-out, or restaurant meals. And if you make enough for leftovers, you’ll save time in the long run.
Vegetables and fruits provide you with important vitamins, minerals, and fiber. They have very few calories and will help fill you up at meals.
As a general guideline, aim for 6 – 8 (8-oz) glasses of water per day. However, let your thirst be your guide. Quenching your thirst by sipping throughout the day is the best way to stay well hydrated. Skip the soda and other sweetened beverages.
Getting quality sleep on a regular basis can help improve all sorts of issues, from your blood sugar to your waistline. Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night for maximum health benefits.
Exercising regularly, every day if possible, is the single most important thing you can do for your health. In the short term, exercise helps to control appetite, boost mood, and improve sleep. In the long term, it reduces the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, and many cancers.
Click here to download your own copy of this Healthy Habits Checklist.
I hope you found this article helpful during these challenging times. Don’t forget, we are all in this together. If you’re having a tough time, reach out to someone close and let them know. Ask for help when you need it. Don’t isolate yourself. We need to be physically distant, but not emotionally distant.
I’m here for you, too. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you need help and support! Call me @ 732-494-1149.
Lorraine Matthews-Antosiewicz, MS, RD
