You’re never too old, to make a change, try something new, fix what's broken and possibly even age backward.
If you’re 50, 60, or 70, I promise you it is not too late to get started. That is unless you’re stubborn as a mule and have no interest in making any changes in your life.
If that's the case, you should just not bother reading any further. This is not the blog post for you. Just saying!
I have a very dear person in my life - I won’t name names because she might be reading this - that falls into the “I’m too old to make changes in my life” category. No matter what advice I give her, I can’t convince her to stop drinking wine on a daily basis, eating gummy bears as a snack and a Haggen Daz Ice Cream after dinner nightly.
So, I figured, if I can’t fix the-person-whose-name-we-shall-not-say, I can at least try to help anyone else that’s willing to listen.
So you, my friend, thanks for listening (reading).
If you want to get started but you’re not sure where to begin, let’s start with some basic tips, information, and possibly motivation.
#1 - If nothing changes, nothing changes.
Change is hard. I get it. I’ve made so many changes in my life over the last few years when it comes to a healthy lifestyle and not a single one of them has been easy.
We all have something we do that we know is not helping us. What is it for you? Do you drink too many nights during the week? Are you a snacker? Do you fail to make exercise a priority? Do you go to bed too late?
Take a second right now and right yours down - what is ONE thing you can change today or this week that you know will have a positive impact on your mind, your body, and your life. Just ONE!
The reason why you want to start with ONE thing is that taking on too many things at once can be stressful and that’s the last thing we want for you.
So pick ONE.
Make sure it’s one that you KNOW will make a difference. One that you will be able to feel or see an immediate change.
Why?
Because when our brains know we are being successful, it motivates us to keep doing the thing that we are successful at doing. That’s how we are wired as humans.
So again, ONE thing that you KNOW will make a positive difference quickly.
#2 - Sugar is the devil. I’ll say that again - SUGAR IS THE DEVIL!
If you can kick this horrendous habit, you can literally add YEARS to your life. In addition to the super awesome gift of a longer life, here are 10 other benefits (and there are even more I have not included):
Better overall health
Weight loss
Stabilize your mood
Reduce inflammation
Reduce cravings
Healthier liver
Lower fat buildup
Stronger heart health
Improved memory
Reduce cancer risk
Completely cutting sugar out of your diet is NOT EASY. More than half of Americans are consuming, on average, more than 25 teaspoons(125 grams) of sugar a day. That’s 20% more than is recommended. The question is, who is even recommending this? That’s a whole other story. I could write an entire article on sugar (maybe that will be my next one) but for the sake of time, I’m going to topline this.
Note: everyone reading this is biologically different. How sugar impacts one person can be very different than how it impacts another. When my husband and I were wearing our Glucose monitors, we were able to see how eating the same things impacted us differently. Our bodies also burn sugar very differently. We both try to stay in Ketosis - which means our bodies run efficiently by burning fat rather than glucose for energy.
I’m going to be realistic here. Kicking sugar is hard, very hard, and I would be a hypocrite to say that you should not eat ANY sugar. I used to be that person that needed something sweet after every meal. And therein lies the problem.
When we eat sweets after our meals, we become accustomed to it and it forms a habit. I used to put that really yummy Coffeemate Creamer into my coffee - starting my day off with a sugar high which then makes you crash, spikes your cravings for more sugar, and the cycle goes on and on.
A few years ago, I kicked my sugar habit by going on a 6-week challenge. Sugar was not allowed and if you ate it, it was a mark against you. What this helped me to do was to be highly aware of how much and when I was consuming sugar.
The best way to kick your sugar habit is to JUST DO IT! It’s hard. If you need support, try signing up for a challenge like I did - The Whole Life Challenge - this one is great and runs a few times per year.
If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.
As I mentioned above, sugar causes you to have cravings and cravings lead you to eat. Sometimes what you decide to eat, is even more sugar which sends you into a terrible cycle of more and more food and more and more sugar. Picture a hampster wheel spinning round and round and round. Are you dizzy yet?
Back to our big powerful brains. In order to kick the habit, let’s try to change your mind about sugar. Once you can retrigger your brain to how bad it is, your brain will start to tell you that you don’t want it.
For example, would you pick up a bottle of rubbing alcohol and start drinking it? NO! Why? Because your brain is programmed to know that doing so could cause pain, illness, or sudden death. All you need to do is reprogram your brain to think of sugar in the same way.
Let’s try this Hack: Take some white stickers and put a big RED X on them. Go into your cabinets and put a sticker on all the things that have more than This will instantly tell your brain that what you’re looking at is NOT GOOD FOR YOU!
Let me know if this helps. It’s a bit harsh but so is cancer and sugar feeds cancer and cancer feeds on sugar. BIG NOTE: I would not recommend you substitute with fake sugar - that’s just as bad. Read the labels for words like sugar, cane sugar, Dextrose, Fructose, Galactose, Glucose, Lactose, Maltose, and Sucrose - notice that most of these rhyme with GROSS. If it rhymes with gross, try not to eat it. Those are just a few of the over 65 different names for sugar. Want more names, do a google search.
#3 - Take a walk! Literally - go for a walk.
5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 45 minutes. Doesn’t matter how long you have, just get out there and start doing it.
Try getting outside for a walk after a meal - lunch and dinner or just one of those but DO IT! Here are 5 reasons why…
Lowers blood sugar levels
Helps you digest
Reduces blood pressure
Promotes cardiovascular health
Helps you sleep better
While using my Nutrisense Continuous Glucose Monitor for 30 days, I saw dips in my blood sugar every night I went for a walk after dinner, which motivated me to keep up the walking. You don’t have to wear one to know the benefits, take it from me. Even though you and I are different, my husband saw the same positive results, and countless studies have also shown this to be true.
#4 - Knowledge is Power. If we’re not growing, we are dying.
Think about it. There is so much FREE information out there these days on everything, including how to live a healthier life. You can absorb tons of free value on social media, read a book, listen to a podcast, or watch a YouTube video. Read this blog post. It’s endless. All you need to do is figure out what you want to learn or how you want to better your life and find someone that has a little more knowledge than you and is sharing it. Like me.
I’ve learned so much over the years through my own journey of life - from building businesses, relationships, divorce, co-parenting, 2nd marriage, managing Crohn’s, and getting myself into tip-top shape so I can age backward. I didn’t do any of this alone. I found others and consumed as much as I could. One article, one podcast, and one blog could change the trajectory of your life if you let it.
I mentioned in a previous blog the different pillars you can measure yourself against if you’re looking to ‘Foster Your Life’ - live your best, healthiest life so you can live longer feeling better.
Those 10 pillars are:
Practicing Gratitude
Moving and Sweating
Meditating
Journaling
Having Fun/Laughing/Playing
Hydrate Your Body
Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night
Learn and Grow
Practice Healthy Eating Habits
Visualize the person you want to be and the life you want to live
If you can see it, you can believe it and if you can see it and believe it, you CAN become it.
Hope you found this helpful. For more tips and information on how to not die, live better, live longer and heal your body so you can age backward, follow my Longevity Journey on Instagram at www.instagram.com/fosteryour_life or my new (not so sure what I’m even doing there) TikTok - @hayleybfostering
Looking to purchase some of the books I've been reading or the products I've been using? Check out my Amazon store by clicking HERE.
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