4 Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life

She and her husband, Mark, who has 20 years of fitness training under his belt, are prime examplesof what it means to live well 360 (in every way). So we asked LeeAnne to share some of her tips with our Live Well 360 community about how she manages a busy schedule PLUS finds time to take good care of her body. She put together 4 tips on how she has incorporates healthy living into her daily life. Three years ago I was at my heaviest weight and feeling pretty bad about myself. The knowledge I share with my clients/readers today is mainly based on my personal experiences and what has helped me lose that 15-20 lbs and keep it off. As a Health and Fitness Coach, one thing I’ve found that 97% of us truly have in common and struggle with is time, AND that the only thing we make time for is work because we “have” to.We get up at a certain time, to get there on time, put in our time, and then leave on time (well, most of us). How many of us don’t have/make time to work out, plan or do any other thing to help us stay fit and healthy enough to enjoy a quality life - because really, isn’t living a quality life what makes life worth living? That’s where I come in… There are things that each of us can do to save time and to keep our fitness plans on track - flying by the seat of your pants just doesn’t work, we all need to PLAN.

1. Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time

Each week I create a plan that includes meals, workouts and time to do things for myself. My meal plan may looks like this: Monday

• Breakfast - egg whites and oatmeal
• AM snack – green smoothie
• Lunch – shrimp, salad and brown rice
• PM snack – almonds and raisins
• Dinner – Salmon, green beans and sweet potato

Shopping List

• Egg whites
• Oatmeal
• Spinach
• Frozen Blueberries
• Almonds
• Raisins
• Shrimp
• Lettuce
• Carrots
• Brown Rice
• Salmon
• Green Beans
• Sweet Potato

As you can see, I then use my meal plan to create my shopping list. This is how I ensure I have everything I need to create the meals I’ve planned. Have you ever heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”? It’s so true - by planning your meals and having all the items on hand to create those meals you have set yourself up to succeed.

2. Pre-portion Your Serving Sizes

Another important time and calorie saver for me is prep and portion control. Each week after I food shop, I weigh and separate my beef, fish and chicken, put them in individual baggies and freeze them. Why? For one, because portion control is a great way to cut out extra calories. And two, because now each morning during the week all I have to do is look to see what I’ve planned for dinner, take it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator to defrost while I’m at work. Then when I get home I already know what I’m going to make, it’s defrosted in the right portion and I have a healthy well balanced meal that only takes about 15 minutes to make because… I took out the thought process and pain of:

• What am I going to have for dinner?
• Do I have anything in the house?
• Do I have to defrost it?
• What should I to do with the extra? (Since it wasn’t separated, we know the leftovers will probably end up in the trash.)

No wonder so many people throw their hands up and just order a pizza. I’ve been there and done that, personally I’d rather end my day by being prepared – wouldn’t you?

3. Plan Your Fitness Like Any VIP Appointment

The next big thing for me is planning my exercise, which may look like this:

• Monday – 3 mile walk at 7 AM after the kids get on the bus
• Tuesday / Thursday – appointment with personal trainer at noon
• Wednesday – Cardio Tennis with the girls at 7 PM
• Saturday – Walk with the family after dinner

If you notice the above information is very specific. This is me committing to working out 5 times a week on certain day, at certain times. The more specific you are the more likely you are to follow your plan. Also reviewing / revising your plan vs. just recycling it is just as important because every week may not be the same. For instance - If I had Dr.’s appointment on Monday morning I wouldn’t make my 7:00 a.m. walk would I? My point is this: you need to set realistic appointments with yourself, ones that you can and will keep, and you need to make yourself enough of a priority to keep those appointments. You wouldn’t blow off an important client meeting or an appointment with a friend would you? All of my above plans are very doable and are actually things I enjoy, which brings me to scheduling time for you...

4. Make Time to Re-energize a Priority

Making time to recharge your batteries is crucial to your health and fitness goals. In fact I just read that stress may be the number one weight loss inhibitor. This I believe is 100% true and here is why – over the last few months I have had more than one of my friends tell me they have lost weight on vacation and not because they were depriving themselves of all that vacations entail. Here is why I believe this happens… Life is stressful, stress causes the production of the hormone cortisol, which stimulates fat and carbohydrate metabolism for fast energy, along with stimulating insulin release. Fact: You can’t break down fat when the body is under the influence of insulin. So wouldn’t it make sense that being on a relaxing vacation or that by taking time to recharge your batteries and reduce your daily stress you are - one – improving your quality of life and - two – allowing your body the relief it needs to work its magic. Making a plan and consistently following that plan is what is going to help you reach your health and fitness goals. I do understand that being consistent is probably one of the hardest things to do, because life happens – but if you make a plan, and are able to follow that plan 80 - 90% of the time, just think how much more ahead of the game you will be. As I mentioned earlier I’ve been doing this for 3 years now and for 3 years I’ve been able to keep that extra 15 -20 lbs off – coincidence? I think not. To learn more about LeeAnne visit her newly launched site: Body Transformation 101