Five Easy Fixes to Live Healthier

It’s not the one cheeseburger and soda, or piece of cake that leads to heart disease. It is the consistent choices you make over time that compound and lead to weight gain or health issues. It’s okay to indulge in a treat every once in a while as long as you typically make better decisions with your habits. If each day you work a little toward your end goal of being healthier it adds up to big progress with big benefits.

Here are Five Easy Fixes to Live Healthier:

1.  Walk for 15 minutes a day. You don’t need to take a huge chunk of time out of your day to do something useful for your body.
   Just 15 minutes a day will add up to 105 minutes in a week. In just a year that adds up to 5,475 minutes.
2. Choose water as your beverage of choice. We need at minimum half our body weight in ounces of water each day (plus more if you are physically active or sweating). Water is required for many of our body processes and our body is composed of about 60% water so it is the best choice when it come to hydration. Swap out just one of your sugary or caffeinated drinks per day to start.
3. Choose whole foods instead of processed. Add fresh fruits, veggies, lean meats, and whole grains to your diet. Processed foods contain a lot of sugar and other additives. Whole foods such as fruits and vegetables contain key nutrients and minerals. You don’t have to be perfect but if you follow these guidelines consistently and compose the majority of what you eat out of these foods it will make a difference.
4. Set a regular time to go to bed and get up each day that allows for 7-9 hours of sleep per night. Rest is very important to our health and allowing our body to grow and heal as we sleep.
5. If you have back pain or neck pain be consistent with your treatment when it happens. A few visits can go a long way in keeping you in alignment and out of pain. If you go too long between appointments your body has the opportunity to compensate and can end up taking longer to get back on track.

Your daily routine will tell you more about your health in the long run then a few slip ups here and there will. Be persistent and stick with small, easy steps that you can handle each day to make your future better. Be consistent and you will see results!