I got home from the store today and my mom asked if I had bought her any jalapeno cheddar kettle chips.  My response was no because I don’t want to be the reason to encourage bad eating habits.  I didn’t say that to be mean, but because good family and friends help support those people they care about in their life.  By the way, I realize my blog as many post on exercise and health, but remember that in order to be healthy you must have a combination of emotional, nutritional, physical, social, spiritual, environmental, and intellectual well being.

So, why am I telling you about my mom’s chip addiction?  Because it is important to determine your eating and fitness weaknesses and find solutions for them.  For example, if it’s eating junk food, don’t buy tons of junk food like chips, oreos, french fries, and fried chicken tenders when you go to the store.  These junk food items tend to stare at you and reel you in if you keep them in your cabinets and pantry, encouraging you to eat more because of a food weakness you have.  If you aren’t capable of doing this because you don’t have the willpower to resist the urge of buying junk food, take someone with you that will make you be accountable for what you put in your cart.

If you struggle with having enough energy during your workouts then change your routine to include a power snack several hours before working out.  Apples, bananas, almonds, and carrots are great energy boosters to eat pre-workout.  If you don’t have enough energy at the end of your workout then you are probably doing something wrong.  Remember that the end of your workout should be the cool down.  This means you slowly ease your body and heart rate back down to its resting state.  So do NOT run 5 miles, swim, do a heavy cardio workout, etc and then suddenly stop once you have finished or met your goal.  One of the WORST things you can do for your body is to not do a proper warm-up and cool down (increases risk of spraining, straining, and other exercise injuries).  If you aren’t doing both now, I suggest you start to prevent injuries and slowly bring yourself back down to your normal heart rate.  It can be as simple as a 5 minute stretch.  This will help you ease into and out of your workout without dreading it or feeling energy deprived.

If your weakness is eating out, then consider making meals ahead and pre-planning meals each week.  For example, sit down on Sunday and write down your meals for the week and then insert what meals you will allow yourself to eat out.  I suggest you only eat out a few times each week.  You may think that you are able to find healthy eating options at restaurants, but often times you don’t know the calories, fats, and additives that are in restaurant prepared meals.

It’s summer and that means sunscreen season!  If you don’t wear it, you should!  If you think skin cancer won’t happen to you, think again.  It isn’t worth taking the chance!  Putting on sunscreen takes an additional 1-2 minutes or less (literally) and if that’s too long for you then consider a spray.  While I don’t think sprays are quite as effective, if that’s all the time you can or are willing to spare, then I am happy you at least do that.  One of the BEST ways to stay looking young is to apply sunscreen.  Why?  Because the sun burns and damages the skin around your eyes and nose where the skin is the most tender and thin.  This gives your face a more wrinkled and aged look.  So, next time you decide you don’t want to take the time to put on sunscreen, THINK AGAIN!

These may seem like nearly impossible changes to make to your current lifestyle, but remember that the above (along with most health choices) are learned habits, which means they can also with time, dedication, and discipline become unlearned habits!  I realize it can be hard to maintain healthy habits for your mind, body, and soul, but you will thank yourself if you work on changing your weaknesses into positives.  I challenge you to make a change to make a difference in your life, the life of those you care about, and the lives of others (through healthy choices, of course)!

~jj