It has been CRAZY COLD here in Minnesota. As I’m writing this, the temperature is in the single digits and in the coming days that will fall to below zero. With weather like this I just want to curl up in a ball and mope. It’s really hard to stay active! For me, when I’m not active I tend to start to slip in other areas of taking care of my health. How about you? Do your healthy habits tend to slide in the busy holiday season or the dead of winter?
Since I know winter can be a slippery time health wise, and I don’t mean the chance of slipping on snow-covered sidewalks! It’s easy to let my health slip and I don’t want to do that, so it’s time to get a game plan in place. A plan to focus on a healthy winter season focusing on everything from exercise to nutrition, including gut health and Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotics, who have sponsored this post. (I’ll tell you more about gut health later!)
Find a Place to Get Active:
While it can be harder to find places to exercise when it’s too cold to be outside for prolonged periods of time, it’s still possible! The most obvious is to join a gym or the local YMCA. There are costs involved with both of these, but check with your insurance plan as they often offer discounts for memberships. Other options are an indoor track at local schools or shopping malls that open early for walkers. You can also check if your local school district offers Community Education classes with fitness instruction or team sports. The fees for these are usually at low prices. If getting out of the house at all is a problem, set up a place to work out at home. Check online ads for second-hand fitness equipment to use for your workouts or watch exercise videos on YouTube.
Make it a Team Effort:
They say teamwork makes any project easier and that’s true with exercise too. If you have a hard time getting motivated, finding a friend or enlisting your spouse to commit to an exercise plan helps you follow through on your good intentions. When a second person is counting on you to meet up for a scheduled walk or take help reinforce THEIR commitment you’re much more likely to stick to the plan. In fair weather my #1 exercise buddy is my dog Toby. He loves our walks together and if I don’t get out there and get moving I feel like I’m letting us both down.
Suit Up:
You know how they say if you want a particular job you should “dress the part”? I find it a lot easier for me to get motivated to work out when I’m dressed in gear I find both comfortable and cute! It’s more fun to head to a workout when I actually like what I’m wearing. The most important item is good shoes. Your best bet is to buy shoes designed for your activity, whether its running, walking, group fitness, etc. If you exercise outdoors in cold weather, opt for layers so that you can add or take off a jacket as the weather changes or as you heat up from your efforts.
Eat a Colorful Diet:
Now that you’re accomplishing your exercise goals, you also want to think about your diet. What you put into your body can be just as important as moving your body! My rule of thumb is to make sure I’m eating a wide variety of colors. One helpful step is to take a quick inventory of the foods you eat regularly and see where you can make healthier substitutions. A focus on whole grains, fruits and vegetables as the basis for meals and snacks is a BIG step in the right direction.
Don’t Forget Your Gut:
Our plan seems great so far, but we still have to think about gut health. The “gut” is considered to be the core of our body’s overall health and well-being. It can affect every part of the body, including immunity, digestion and more. According to a recent survey**, nearly three-quarters of women (72 percent) have experienced a digestive/gut issue in the past 12 months and nearly two-thirds (64%) of women aren’t willing to talk about it with their friends. Not only is that uncomfortable and unhealthy, it can keep you away from exercising.
I was pretty surprised to hear that 70% of the immune system is located in the intestinal tract. That means maintaining gut health is a key part of maintaining your overall health. A good way to help keep this complex digestive system thriving and restore good bacteria is by using Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotics. They offer unique, potent formulas containing tens of billions of cultures and multiple probiotic strains to help achieve better digestive and immune health.*
You can learn more about Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotics, digestive health and how vital its ecosystem is to our body’s overall health and well-being, and the benefits everyone can reap from taking a probiotic by visiting www.RenewLife.com for more information.
Enter to win a 4-month supply of Renew Life Ultimate Flora Probiotics 30 Billion (ARV $80)! We’re giving away FOUR prize packs to help jump start your 2017 New Year’s resolutions. Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below!
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*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
**This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of Renew Life Probiotics from November 9-11, 2016 among 1,127 U.S. women ages 18 and older. This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no estimate of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For complete survey methodology, including weighting variables, please contact Katie Young at Katie@pdcpr.net.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Renew Life Probiotics.