May 07, 2021
1. Drink 32oz of water when you wake up
2. Plan your meals
3. Minimize your sugar intake
4. Create a morning routine
5. Focus on QUALITY sleep
As the year is now in full swing, NOW might be a good time to re-attack those goals that you had at the beginning of the year. THAT Summer feel is in the air, swimsuit weather is finally upon us, and it sure would be nice to have some actual steps to take to get you STARTED with your health journey and weight loss goals.
This is a quick little list that I put together as I thought of some of our biggest success stories at TruBalance Health. The patients who have come in and really knocked the program a=out f the park and seen some of the most amazing transformations have been the ones who have followed these five simple steps.
Yup, just these 5 little things can make a huge shift in your current health. I've already done three today...
Step 1: Drink 32 oz of water when you wake up. This may sound obvious, but the only way I've actually found to make this happen is have the glass pre-loaded and in a place that you'll notice as soon as you sit up out of bed in the morning. For me it's a dresser in my bedroom, but my husband has his on the sink in the bathroom.
Water can reset our body after a night of dehydration. There is no better way to break your fast, but be sure that the water you are drinking is high quality. At Our office in Little Rock and Jackson, Mississippi, we have water filtration systems for our patients to fill up with. The acidity can also make a difference in your water, but I won't talk on that today. But, seriously, folks...DRINK YOUR WATER!
Step 2: Plan Your Meals. Can I let you in on a little secret from a large percentage of the weight loss companies out there? They plan your meals for you. This is nice at first, and definitely can get you moving in the right direction, but at some point you need to learn to do this on your own. I know, I know, you wanted it to be so easy and now you have to plan ahead! Well once you start doing this I think you'll find how easy the process can be. TruBalance has tons of recipes that members have access to and we think that you should have a plan for your week. This not only helps answer the age-old question "what's for dinner?" it keeps you from going off path and finding an "easy" lunch or dinner that might not be completely in line with those health goals you were telling yourself about at the beginning of the year.
Step 3: Minimize your sugar intake. I'm always astonished at how many things have sugar in them. Things that I wouldn't expect to have sugar. Like marinara sauce. Why does my spaghetti sauce have sugar?!! Not only is sugar not helping your weight loss goals, it also has a direct affect on your brain chemistry. Yes, Your brain!! Sugar has been shown to increase activity in your dopamine receptors. Not only does the sugar make you crave more food, it also creates an environment that cancerous cells love to thrive in. We don't want that!
Step 4: Create a morning routine. Think of all the folks in your life who have made a routine of waking up early, having a routine, and sticking to it. That group of people you just thought of are probably killing it! A routine that gets you out of bed early and moving is a must in your health journey. I've also found the times in my life when my health or my businesses were struggling were the times that I wasn't being consistent with my morning routine.
Step 5: Focus on QUALITY sleep. Do you notice that the word QUALITY is in all CAPS? Yeah, that's intentional. There is a distinct different between hours of sleep and hours of quality sleep. Again, one of the modules we go over in the TruBalance program in-depth, and a topic I've spent hours speaking and writing on. So much of the quality of your sleep depends on the bedroom environment, and also how you're fueling your body. Quality sleep has that dishwasher affect on our brains, so I can't stress enough having an environment that is conducive for good sleep. I like it to be about 68 degrees, and dark, dark, dark.
These are just five little starter steps to help you out with your health journey. I hope it helps! We love to discuss these topics with our patients, and we would love to hear your thoughts on the matter too! Of course we have so many more resources at our website TruBalanceHealth.com.
Yours in Health
Dr. Kiernan