Living a healthy lifestyle is about more than just working out. In addition to your regularly planned workouts or structured classes, there are many other simple adjustments you can make to incorporate healthy living into your daily routine.
Make Healthier Food Choices
Every day, you see or hear about the latest diet fad. Healthy eating should be about making nutritious choices that fuel your body – not restricting entire categories of foods. The Mayo Clinic has some great guidelines on their website for choosing a nutrition plan that works for you. As a general rule, add more fruits and veggies, whole grains and lean protein, and limit sweets and simple carbohydrates. If you’re dying for some junk food, watch your quantities. Only one cheese coney might fill you up more than you realize.
Everything Counts
We’re sure you’ve heard many tips about how to add more activity into your daily lifestyle – taking the stairs instead of the elevator, getting up from your desk every hour or so for a walk, or parking at the far end of the lot. The prevalence of fitness trackers like Fitbit, Jawbone, and others track not only steps, but also stairs climbed, heart rate, calories burned, mileage, and more. It can be fun to see how your everyday activities like cleaning, walking the dog, and yard work contribute to your overall fitness. If you’re the competitive type, you can even challenge your friends!
I Don’t Like It; I Love It!
Study after study shows that the activity people are most likely to stick with is the one they love. Find something that you enjoy and you’ll look forward to the opportunity to get moving! If you love dancing, dance. If you’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to throw a punch or break a board, sign up to learn martial arts or boxing. Sign up for a 5K walk or run for a cause you’re passionate about. Form a team for a fun activity like a Color Run or Mudathlon. Making fitness fun is a great way to make it a lasting part of your lifestyle.
Make It a Family Affair
Sometimes, people are afraid that time dedicated to fitness will be time taken away from their families. That doesn’t have to be the case if you make activity a family endeavor. After dinner, go for a walk around the neighborhood or strike up a game of catch or kickball. On weekends, go bowling or hit the bike trail, amusement park, or water park together. Shoot around on our basketball court, grab some racquets and book a tennis court, or try our new Family Boot Camp. In addition to meeting your activity goals, you’ll be setting a healthy example for your kids.
We look forward to seeing you at Beechmont Racquet and Fitness. If you have questions about ways we can help you and your family incorporate wellness into your healthy lifestyle, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Class Highlight:
Family Boot Camp!!!
8:30-9:30 am on Saturdays beginning September 12
$10/individual or $15/family