5 Ways to Get Healthy and Stay Healthy

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Pistachio Health Institute.

Month one of this new year is coming to a close. How are you doing on keeping your resolution? Many times by the end of next month people tend to lose track of those goals and fall off the wagon. This year I’m hoping to do it differently, to swim upstream, and prove to be one of the few who holds onto their goals for the year. And like many of you, achieving a healthier lifestyle is one of them. Though if you’re like me it’s easy to get bogged down in how hard the work is, struggle in implementing self control, and trying not giving up. All of this seems too much to handle, so the resolution soon flies out the window. Well my friends, I made a simple list of ways for you (and I) to stay on track this year! It’s 5 ways to get healthy and stay healthy! Now that sounds doable right?!

1. Set Realistic Goals – I tend to have huge dreams and goals that I think are so easy to obtain. Then when I get down to the nitty gritty, they were crazy! So don’t start off thinking you have to lose 100lbs for your ten year high school reunion which is only 3 months away. That would call for such drastic measures; which means the likelihood of you not sticking with the goal or if you do reach your goal, keeping the weight off is slim to none. Plus that’s an easy way to feel defeated fast. Make your goals challenging but achievable. Here’s a secret too: Make a quick, small goal at the beginning that you know you can reach. Once you hit that goal and surpass it, you’ll be pumped and ready to take on another!

2. Make a schedule/Have a plan – Nobody ever reached a goal by stumbling upon it. The same is true to a healthier lifestyle. You aren’t going to all of the sudden wind up with a 6 pack if you keep scarfing down those cheese burgers. Amen?! (Why yes, I am totally preaching to myself here, ha! Mama loves her In-N-Out!) You need to sit down and plan your meals out, keep the right kind of food easily available, and carve out scheduled time in your day to workout. If you don’t, it won’t happen. I find that if I don’t set a workout schedule I’ll get caught up in my crazy life (you know, because I have 5 kids) and get too tired or frazzled to even go. So plan, schedule, and follow through!

3. Find a workout that you love – For me this is HUGE! I’m not going to stick with something that I think is sheer torture. Though I want (and expect) it to challenge me, I need to enjoy it and see the results. Preferably sooner rather than later! Can I get an amen?! For me that workout is Pure Barre. Heading to the studio and devoting that 55 minutes for myself and where I’d like to be, is what I need. The first class almost killed me, but I found myself needing to conquer it…and then I fell in love! It was like a Cinderella workout story; the shoe (or sticky sock in this case) fit perfectly. But you may not have the flexibility to devote an hour to your daily workout or even be able to leave the house. That’s okay, do what you can, even if it’s only 30 minutes a day. Just putting your mind to it and working out (especially first thing in the morning) will put you in such a good mood. You’ll be ready to conquer the day, even if it holds 5 kids ahead! If you can’t head out to the gym you should try a workout DVD from Valerie Waters. She means serious business and after trying out a DVD I was given, I can tell you it’s legit! Fun little tidbit: Did you know that Valerie has worked with celebrity moms; Jennifer Garner, Elizabeth Berkeley, and Sasha Alexander?! I know, right?! So hop to it and get your body moving!

4. Snack healthy – When you start working out and becoming more active, you’ll get hungry. And while it may be easy to grab a handful of chocolaty M&Ms, that’s not the best choice. Instead think, “A mindful snack is a smart snack”. You want to choose a snack that not only tastes good, but helps you feel good too! One snack that I love and only recently found out was actually healthy for me was pistachios. Did you know that?!? I love pistachios because they’re delicious and nutritiously healthy snack for only 100 calories with a reduced serving of 30 pistachios! Plus they are a great source of fiber which we need to help fuel us for our days!
Bottom Line: Go for a daily handful of pistachios as part of a healthy diet. To check out more information on the benefits of pistachios check out the Pistachio Health Institute website.

5. Reward yourself – The best thing to do in order to keep yourself on track is to reward yourself as you meet your goals. A couple of years ago when I decided to turn my life around and claim my body back, I set smaller goals to hit and encourage me on my ultimate goal of losing 60lbs. When I lost 10 pounds I got myself a treat (and by that I mean non food treat, ha!), then when I hit 25lbs gone it was something else, and so on. This not only got me excited about losing the weight but it kept me focused on smaller goals and rewards which lead me to my ultimate goal weight and a reward of a healthier me! So find little (or big…a big gift is never a bad thing, amen?!) rewards for yourself to help keep you focused this year.

There you have it! See, those aren’t so hard! And if you put priority on yourself, work through these ways to get and stay healthy, you could be hot in a hurry my friend! And to kick start your healthy lifestyle why not take part in this fantastic giveaway?!

 

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SHINE LIKE THE STARS SWEEPSTAKES

Right now you can not only get healthy, but win too! And win BIG I might add! The Shine Like Stars Sweepstakes will have 3 winners who will receive prize packs, which include:

*(1) Valslides autographed by celebrity fitness trainer, Valerie Waters
*(1) Valerie Waters workout DVD
*(1) Valerie Waters workout instructions
*(1) Pistachio Health tote bag
*(1) Pistachio Health nut container
*(3) 8 oz. bags of pistachios
*(1) $100 VISA Gift Card

To enter, participants must Like the Pistachio Health Institute Facebook page and enter their name, address and contact information here.

Participants may enter once a day for the duration of the Sweepstakes. The Sweepstakes will end at 3:00 p.m. PDT on Friday, February 14, 2014.

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So tell me, do you have any health and fitness goals for this year?

If so, tell me what they are!

 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the Pistachio Health Institute.