1.   You are what you eat, and it is never too late to start eating healthy.  Every day, try your very best to put healthy foods and plenty of water into your body.  When you have a choice between something healthy and something not healthy, go with the healthy choice.  But, don’t be too hard on yourself on the days you fall back into old habits.  There is no rule that says you have to be perfect to be healthy.  Even if you are eating healthy 50% of the time, that is still better than not at all.

If you are one to never go for the healthy choice, then start today with a commitment to eat one thing that is good for you (just one thing that you would normally not eat), and do that for a week.  After a week, start eating two things that are good for you.  Continue to gradually migrate toward healthier options.  Before you know it, you’ll be eating healthy half the time.  And, that’s a great start.

You can start today, loving yourself and your family enough to stop poisoning your body with unhealthy foods.  Heart disease is the number one killer in our country and 80% of heart disease is due to eating an unhealthy diet that leads to high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes.  Start today, and take a bite in the right direction.  Your heart will thank you.

2.  Give yourself some “me” time each and every day, even if you think you don’t need it.  This is so often overlooked because we are all so busy with our lives.  But, we each have to find time to be one with ourselves, even if it is just a short amount of time.  A bath, a silent meditation, or an hour to read a book or write in a journal.

If you are thinking that you don’t need to do that, you most likely just don’t know how to do that.  Even though taking time to yourself sounds simple, it’s quite difficult and almost scary if you have never been one to do it.  Take it slowly by sitting quietly by yourself (without the TV or radio) for just five minutes.  Think about what quiet activity you could do on your own for just a short period of time each day, and then start doing it.

Taking quiet time for yourself each day is how you help to promote a healthy mind and spirit.  These quiet activities also tend to reduce stress and even lower blood pressure.  Give it a try.

If you are a mom with kids who never has a free moment try involving your children in some way to help you get this precious time.  When my children were younger, I had a special book that I would ask them to get me in the morning before I got out of bed.  They knew that this was the time of the day that I took ten or fifteen minutes to myself, and they would sit quietly in another room until I was finished; then, we would begin our day.  It also teaches your children the value of quiet time and that being alone doesn’t have to be boring.

3.  Exercising your body and mind.  I’m not advocating rigorous exercise or increasing your exercise quickly or dramatically.  I just want to point out the obvious: being a couch potato is counter productive for the general health and wellness of your body.  Increasing your physical activity (even in a small way) is very beneficial.

If you normally don’t get any exercise, try taking a walk around the block or parking a bit further away from the grocery store.  Just take baby steps, see what your body can handle, and then gradually do a bit more.  Don’t put too much pressure on yourself, be kind to yourself, and know that every little bit helps.

When it comes to exercise, more isn’t always better and pain doesn’t always mean gain.  Whether you work out at a gym or walk around the block, keeping active is a very important part of keeping healthy.  Each of us has to find an activity level that works for us.  The important thing is to not stay sedentary.  As you begin to increase your activity you will most likely find you have more energy, and when that happens you will know you are doing something right.

And don’t forget about keeping your mind active as well.  There is scientific proof that as we get older we begin to lose some of our cognitive skills (such as memory), but there is also evidence that we can stop or at least slow that process by giving our brain a daily work out.  You can work out your brain reading, doing crossword puzzles, playing memory games, and basically anything that makes you think.

If you just make some small changes in your life, better health can be yours.  So start today, and be the change you want to see in yourself and your health.  It’s as easy as one, two, three.