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Simple Ways to Live a Healthier Life

Weight loss. It has been made out to be some kind of strange math equation mixed with will power no one has, and a little genetic luck. So let's demystify it. It's all about maintaining a diet, exercising, sleeping and drinking water. This is what you need to do if you want to live that healthy life.
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Weight loss. It has been made out to be some kind of strange math equation mixed with will power no one has, and a little genetic luck.

So let's demystify it.

Diet: It's not a tough thing. Somehow we changed the word from simply meaning what you eat regularly, to restriciting calories and ruining lives. It's to the point that people "get their back up" about it. We don't talk about food properly any more. It has become something offensive and scary.

Diet needs to get back to being simply "your fuel." I'm a bit of a country redneck, I put fuel in my jacked up Ford so I can have a ton of fun. I can't imagine my F150 being very much fun in the mud with sugar in the gas tank. If you put in the right fuel, you can have a lot of fun. Let's simplify. Fuel for a reason. Your diet is not what you can't have, it's what you can have. Find ways to eat that makes you happy and fuels you with fresh vegetables and a mixture of carbohydrates, good fats, and protein.

Exercise: Athletes are the best example of what exercise should look like. I train pro athletes for a living, and I bring that to regular folks as part of making training more fun. We make bodies that move with speed, agility, and purpose. Bodies that have energy for an entire day, and then some. If you don't like exercise, change what you are doing.

Find something fun, everyone likes FUN! There is something you like that involves moving your body. The sooner you find it, and get moving, the sooner your body will respond by moving with full ranges of motion, and more energy. It is scientific fact. Exercise will energize you and make you feel happy. It releases hormones. Whether you want it or not, exercise will make you happy. Exercise needs to go back to being defined as movement instead of watching TV. Go do something that makes you smile and gets you moving around.

Sleep: For the life of me I can't understand why people don't make more time for sleep. Honestly, I do not know a single person that doesn't love going to bed and falling asleep. Pulling up the covers, resting your head on the perfect pillow, curling up and drifting into a dream. It's the best thing ever! So why do we spend the whole day putting it off? Plus, sleep will make your life better. There is a ton of positives to go with getting enough sleep. Weight loss and control of cravings is one of them. Just try it for a week. Plan to get an hour more sleep. Turn off the TV earlier, unwind sooner, and schedule more rest. You can do it, and it has never made anyone's life worse.

Water: If you want to feel fortunate, go somewhere that doesn't have running water or safe water to drink readily available. Imagine if you had to spend anytime in your day, 5 min even, to go get water when you wanted it. We don't have to do that. Water is available, safe, and it's amazing how much of a positive it can be in your body. It stores vitamins and minerals that are key to your immune system, metabolism, and mental acuity. Water allows your body to function at it's highest levels. So no excuses, start drinking more water.

So this is what you need to do if you want to live that healthy life.

Stop worrying about diet and start learning 1) proper portion size 2) meal preparation and avoiding last second bad decisions -- everyone caves when they don't have healthy options 3) Sit down with an expert . Once you learn from a real person, support that knowledge with apps and websites. It will solve confusion for you.

Exercise has to become daily without question. It doesn't need to be high performance gym sweat sessions, but you need to move. Try every thing. Find what you love, and do it. You never know, it may be your local gym or you may be the next Bruce Lee and love Kung Fu!

Sleep more. I know no one needs convincing, so just plan it into the day.

Enjoy the benefits of the amazing nation we live in. Drink lots of water and give your body every chance it has to function optimally.

Share this article with a friend, and start getting a team together. Encourage each other to do the small things and get some big results. Take a big step, put this out into social media as the basics of your healthy lifestyle and invite followers and friends to do the same. Make a few appointments with personal trainers and nutrition coaches. It's time you start seeing how easy healthy living is. You can achieve your New Year's resolution, all you have to do is fully commit!

Remember, I'm a small town prairie kid and I figured it out. How smart am I? I live in Winnipeg where it's colder than Mars. This isn't difficult unless you make it that way.

Stacey BEFORE

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