The Healthy Habits Challenge
Week 4
This week we talk about optimizing our breakfast, increasing our water intake and practicing positive self-talk. If you would like to boost your overall wellness pick any of the following healthy habits and gradually start to integrate it into your daily routine.
Healthy Habit #10
Have you ever noticed how most foods we consider “breakfast foods” are sugary foods?
Think about that for a moment. Think about what you eat regularly in the morning, what your children eat.
Do any of the following foods come to mind: waffles, pancakes, crêpes, muffins, donuts, cereal, toast with jam/peanut butter/“hazelnut” or caramel spread, prepackaged oatmeal sachets, yogurt, fruit juice, chocolate milk and speciality coffees
Some of these foods come to my mind when I think back to my childhood breakfasts.
Somewhere in our recent history, breakfast foods were created. When that occurred, it became weird to eat foods that were not considered “breakfast foods” for breakfast.
As a result, our options became considerably limited and unhealthy.
It might take time to wrap your mind around eating soup for breakfast, but I assure you it’s well worth the effort. Personally I love having soup for breakfast.
That being said there are definitely some healthy options for breakfast that fall within the “breakfast food” category.
I’ve put together some recipes for you to consider. You can find them here.
When modifying your breakfast you want to make sure that it’s high in protein & fibre and low in sugar.
Healthy Habit #11
Today’s post is inspired by authors Iyanla Vanzant and Maya Angelou.
It’s about the power of words. Not just the words said to us but the words we say to ourselves each day.
Far too often we hold on or fixate on the negative comments said about us or to us.
We internalise these negative words in our subconscious mind. These words become our thoughts; thoughts that strangle our self-worth and self-esteem like weeds.
Telling ourselves self-affirming words each day can “counteract the unpleasant things we have heard about ourselves” and change our mindset about ourselves.
Patterns of self-deprecating thoughts can also be inherited from the most influential people in our lives. That being said, the opposite is also true. The practice of telling ourselves self-affirming words can be passed down to our loved ones and impact how they see themselves.
Remember that how you treat yourself determines how others will treat you. How you treat yourself can even impact how others will treat themselves.
Healthy Habit #12
Here is our second water challenge!
“Water has been described as the most essential nutrient: neglected, underappreciated, and under researched” (Perrier, E. T., 2017).
Unfortunately, our metabolism cannot produce enough water and we do not consume enough water through our diet alone. This is why we must pay attention to how much water we drink throughout the day to ensure that we are meeting our daily water needs (Jéquier, E., & Constant, F., 2010).
Dr Christine Salter MD suggests that in order to find your optimal daily intake of water you should divide your total body weight (lbs) in half and consume this amount of water in ounces.
For example, let’s say you weigh 140 lbs, ideally, you should try to consume 70 oz of water per day which is 2 L per day.
Of course, your water demands will depend on your level of physical activity, medication(s), medical condition(s) and temperature.
It’s best to slowly increase your water intake so that you don’t feel like you have to run to the washroom every 5 min.
Increasing your water intake by one glass per week is one strategy.
You can even add a pinch of sea salt or use electrolytes to increase absorption.
If you have medical conditions or are taking medications especially for kidney disease or high blood pressure, talk to your health care provider before dramatically increasing your water intake.
Cheers!