10 Ways to Just Shut Up and Live Healthy!

Living healthy. Ah, everyone wants to do it. Everyone wants to know what it feels like. Everyone wants to look healthy, feel healthy, be healthy. Right? Then, why are we not? Why is a daily struggle it seems? Why can't it be easy to lose weight? Why can't it be easy to live healthy?

Just shut up and live healthy. What? Shut up? I love the line in "Sleepless in Seattle" when Tom Hank's son says that, "Shut up? Shut up? Mom never told me to shut up?" I use that line all the time. We want to talk about it, read about it, think about it, contemplate making a change, blah, blah, blah, just shut up and do it.

Can it be that easy? 

I'm emotionally tough on my clients. I give them workouts, give them nutritional guidance, I give them support, but when it comes down the emotions, I am like a mirror in your face, showing you what you cannot see at first glance. I don't change your face - I show you - and you change. So, here's the mirror for today...

1. Exercise your body. It does NOT have to be excessive. It does NOT have to be for an hour a day. But you need to work your body. You need to lift weights, you need to do cardio, you need to stretch. Our bodies are meant to be active, not sit around on a couch all night. Make your body happy by treating it right and moving. 
2. Feed your body. Starving does NOT work. Crazy diets do NOT work. Eating good, nutritious foods does. Eating in moderation. Making healthy choices. Eating food that will nourish your body. Eliminating things that are bad for you - you already know what they are - excessive sugar, poor fats and colas [all colas, don't even say the word "Diet" coke around me].
3. Deal with your cravings. Break it down. Were you raised to have it as a comfort food? Are you emotionally attached to it? Why? Figure out how you can deal with it. From cold-turkey elimination of it [not bad if you can do it] to gradual reduction, learn how to be in control and NOT let the food be in control. Find out if your body is low on a certain vitamin or mineral that causes you to crave certain foods.
4. Become emotionally strong. Who cares what people say? Who cares what people around you are doing, or eating? Does it really matter to you? FOCUS on you - what you are doing, what you are eating. Take the comments and either prepare your comebacks in advance or just shut up and smile. Buck up. Don't worry about what others say about your desire to live healthy. Don't criticize and don't let yourself be criticized. Just make healthy choices and live with it. 
5. Educate yourself. When you see an advertisement, ask yourself "Is this marketing and advertising?". Do the research. Read food labels. Read trusted websites with health information. Find out your bodyfat% and BMI. Know your weight and where it should be. 
6. Challenge yourself. Set goals. Find something that will motivate you - whether it is a photo, a race, a weight number, a bodyfat% number, a clothing size. Go with your heart's desire - what have you always wanted to do but don't think you can? Really, be honest with yourself.
7. Be an example. When the going gets tough, the tough get tougher. When you have to eat at a buffet, be an example and choose healthy items. When you are stuck at a reception with sweet overload, be an example and choose the fruit and veggies. When you are at work and are looking at a long afternoon, get a healthy snack. Don't just run for the candy bowl or vending machine and call it a day. Be an example without shouting it out to the world.
8. Handle stress. Crucial. Find something that works for you. Whether it is meditation, working out, massage [I highly recommend], weekly epsom salt bath, do it. Relax your body and your mind and get the tension out. 
9. Be positive. Your body listens to everything you say about it. Be nice. Don't say "I hate my butt", say "I am working to be healthy and I love my body". Think about what you say about yourself to yourself. Would you say that to your child - or to your spouse? Then why would you say it to yourself? 
10. Learn to trust your inside voice again. Your instinct. Remember that? That voice that tells you when you do something right or wrong? That voice that knows what is best for you that has been pushed aside. Start listening to it again. Start believing in yourself. Start trusting your instincts and what you need to do to live healthy. If you know that something is bad for you, listen to that voice and don't compromise.

You can live healthy. You just make that choice.

I am always here to help you. Now shut up and get to work on living healthy...