We have often thought to ourselves: “If only I had a constant health angel on my shoulder gently nudging me to choose the broccoli over the potatoes au gratin or the treadmill over happy hour, then I’d be (you fill in the blank).”
Making healthy behaviors knee-jerk reactions takes time, dedication and practice. And that is just what the people over at Habitwise are helping you do: Supporting you to make better decisions today for a healthier tomorrow.
Habitwise is a line of easy-to-wear products that make healthy a habit. What first began as a simple weight loss tool named A-Wrist-A-Trac, which was discovered by a team of clinicians at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, has now grown to a line of products for women, men and kids.
Today while reviewing the kaizen theory of making small changes with a client, in this case to reduce the amount of sugar she puts in her coffee, she stated that the first cup of the morning is always the most difficult. She reported that if she is able to drink the first cup with less sugar, the rest of the coffee that she has that day goes down much more easily. This makes sense because coffee is one of those things that is an “acquired taste;” however, she said the same thing was true for drinking water. If she worked out earlier in the day, she would drink water throughout the day, put down the coffee, and not pick up any more calorie-laden beverages.
Thanks to Cosmo Radio for inspiring this, as they offer the original 7 Things You Need to Know Before You Go every morning (but their version relates to fashion and celebrities. My version is diet, fitness, exercise and health related.)
These are the 7 things you need to know before you leave the house to have the most fit and healthy day possible.
1. How much sleep did you get the night before? Getting enough sleep is an important key to maintaining a healthy weight and having enough energy to get your exercise choices accomplished.
2. Nothing, eggs and bacon, or peanut butter toast? Studies have shown that a healthy breakfast helps jump start your metabolism, and the best choice is a complex carbohydrate and protein combination. Eggs and bacon might taste yummy, but it’s a higher fat choice.
3. Where’s your water bottle? Drinking enough water during the day keeps your body hydrated and helps you lose weight. Often, we reach for food when we are actually thirsty. To avoid a plethora of waste, buy a refillable bottle and then drain it every hour. If the idea of that much water makes you crazy, add in a flavored drink packet.
Friends can be your worst enemy when it comes to trying to keep control of your waistline. Even if they aren’t overtly using peer pressure to coax you into eating unhealthily, they can be doing so through their own actions.
Most of us know them: people who can eat and eat and not gain an ounce. That fraternity gets a little smaller after 30 when everyone’s metabolism begins to slow. But, while they still maintain this seemingly impossible dietary feat, they do so at the expense of the rest of us.
That’s because according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, thin friends who eat a lot may unwittingly make you eat more in the process. Call it subliminal peer pressure.
Time magazine recently published an article, reviewing research discussed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition on how the eating habits of teens and tweens are influenced by how much their friends weigh. Observing the participants in this study, the researchers found that the children ate more when they were with a friend than when they were with a peer they did not know; however, they also found that children who were overweight ate up to 300 calories more when with a friend who is also overweight.
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