Planning for a Healthy 2013

By Tammy Provence, Founder of Good2Go Healthy Take Out –

If you were to give your health a grade for 2012, what would it be?  Did you fail, just slide by or pass with flying colors?  Even if you had an uneventful health year, meaning you weren’t necessarily sick, here are some questions to ask yourself:

How is your energy level? Do you wake in the morning ready for the day? Or are you tired and fatigued before your day even gets started? There are many reasons for this:

• Poor quality of or lack of sleep
• Stress
• Dehydration
• Malnutrition
• Underlying Illness
• Weight Issue
• Smoking

What is your relationship with food? Do you think about what you are eating and why? And when? It’s an interesting fact that that most people eat food when they are really just thirsty. And do you know that other than clean water, most beverages are diuretics, which dehydrate rather than hydrate the body?

So if you eat when your body really wants water, then chances are, you are eating too much (and drinking too little). And you know what happens when you do that! And if you drink liquids other than water when you are thirsty (which dehydrate you), your body dehydration becomes worse. And you again, probably are consuming far too many calories as a result. Now add the Florida weather; sunny and warm. We live in an environment where our water intake should be even higher. Guess what one of the first signs of dehydration is? Fatigue!

Let’s bring this full circle. If you want to increase your energy level, drink water. When you think you are hungry, drink a large glass of water FIRST and see if you are still hungry. If you are, I recommend drinking a second glass of water before electing to eat something. Could it be that the reason people eat but are still not satisfied, is due to being thirsty, not hungry? And that a noncaloric glass or 2 of water could be a simple answer to permanent weight loss and increased energy?

2013 is your year for a personal health check. Here are a few tips to get you started:

• Eat small amounts of food every 2-3 hours rather than 3-squares-a-day
• Drink at least 8 glasses of clean water daily rather than sugary and caffeinated beverages
• Eliminate simple carbohydrates from your diet as much as possible (sugar, grains, potatoes)
• Become a label reader. If you don’t know what it is, DON’T EAT IT! That includes restaurant menus too!
• Skip the elevator and take the steps! Or just skip… it’ feels happy!
• Take nutritional supplements. And don’t take the cheap ones as they don’t work. (Go to www.healthcheckmd.com to learn about premium supplementation that is science based with proven results).
• Take a deep breath and think positive!

As we transition to a new year, make it your resolution to kiss goodbye at least one habit you would be better served in 2013 to leave behind. Remember small shifts, even in one habit, result in significant changes! Is this your year to achieve better or (in the case of those that gave themselves a health grade of A), optimal health? Let’s start early and make your new year’s resolution now, skipping the crazy over indulgences over the Holidays. You CAN do this. Repeat after me: “Healthy IS easy and I can do it”!

To learn more, please call the G2G Team, at Good2Go Healthy Take Out at 239-561-8646.