With the oncoming resolution hounds, make sure you're ahead of the game!  We all know how healthy living and eating has grown in popularity over the years with the rise in obesity and overall sicknesses associated with poor diet.  Different people have adopted different methods of combating the struggles of maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  For some, the struggle is a matter of an overindulgent love of food, usually unhealthy foods.  For others it’s a matter of stress and the insatiable need to eat to compensate for what is lacking.

 

Then there is the group of movers who are too preoccupied and busy to even focus on going (what seems) out of their way to change their bad habits.  A small percentage of individuals suffer from medical issues that affect weight and in this regard healthy eating habits can offset some of those negative side effects.  Regardless of your infinite struggle, creating healthy habits will help you tear down the wall to eating and feeling well.

1.  Create A Daily Routine

The first step in converting an unhealthy lifestyle into the ways of wellness is to create a plan.  Creating a daily routine ensures two things; one, that you are aware of what you need and what you should do to reach your goals, and two, that your goal will be meet for the day.  For instance, if you are a woman (men and women have different healthy calorie intake levels) and you set a goal of 1,500 calories per day, an effective plan will help you reach that goal.  Documented plans streamline the overall process giving its creator the opportunity to prepare for the goal by purchasing and preparing the meals in a timely fashion. The more you know, the better equipped you are to accomplish your goal.

2.  Never Skip Breakfast

Breakfast is truly the most important meal of the day.  Those who eat breakfast regularly take advantage of the body’s heightened ability to absorb vitamin and mineral first thing in the morning after its resting period.  Eating a healthy breakfast also reduces hunger throughout the rest of the day, therefore decreasing the likelihood of overeating and making poor food choices outside your stipulated plan.

3.  Drink Plenty of Water

This is the simplest step you can take during this journey.  Drinking plenty water is a vital part of any conditioning program because it keeps your body functioning in homeostasis and aids every aspect of bodily function.

4.  Eat Small and Eat Often

From a scientific standpoint, when humans go longer than 3 hours without eating levels of the stress hormone cortisol increase.  High cortisol levels cause the body to believe it needs to store fat (generally in the abdominal region).  Eating smaller meals more often reduces cortisol levels. According to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, people who ate six small meals a day for 2 weeks, (opposed to three large meals containing the same number of calories), reduced their cortisol levels by more than 17 percent!  Sticking with this regimen pushes the body to become capable of keeping cortisol levels low.

 

Being centrally located will help integrate each of these small tasks into your daily life.  Ovation has several apartment complexes that are within reach of shops and restaurants that offer healthy eating choices, convenience and grocery stores to supply you with wellness products and services and parks for exercising all within neighborhoods that promote a better way of life.  Overall, once these small habits are added to your daily routine you will have created healthy habits that lead to a healthy lifestyle and a healthier you.