My 6 Healthy Habits To Stay In Shape

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I’ve read that it takes about 2 to 8 months to form a new habit.

And the easiest way to start a new habit is to ‘stack it’ on top of other habits.

Stacking your habits means that you start doing the new thing right after you normally do something else that you do habitually.

Like if you want to get in the habit of flossing daily,

you do it right after you brush your teeth every day.

And another easy way to start a new habit is to add it (stack it) to your morning routine.

So are you ready to start adding some healthy habits to your routine??

Here’s my list of the ones I’ve stacked into my morning routine to help me stay in shape:

HEALTHY HABIT #1:

WALKING

I love to walk!

All you need is a good pair of shoes and you just head out the door!

Walk as fast as you can because the faster you go — the more benefit you get.

I walk 5 miles, 5 mornings a week. I just walk laps around the block in my neighborhood. To me, it’s not about where I’m going — it’s more about getting the time and the mileage in. And there are some pretty good hills I have to climb for an added workout which helps too!

I just turn on my Walkmeter app, pop in my earbuds, turn on my favorite podcast and I barely realize that an hour has passed!

(click on image for more info)

HEALTHY HABIT #2:

STRENGTH TRAINING

Working out at home is so easy!

All you need are a few hand weights and a little floor space and you’re good to go

And did you know that as we age, we actually need to work out more than we did when we were younger in order to keep from losing muscle?

Well I want to keep all the muscle I’ve got so I try to work out at least twice a week

And strength training also helps prevent and even reverse bone loss!

There are so many good workout programs out there and I’ve done a lot of them but right now these are my favorites:

These are 3 35-minute sessions of circuit training. And in each session, you can choose Jessica’s higher intensity workout or follow along with her Mom, Debbie for modified, less strenuous exercises

There’s also a little balance training included in these workouts too which is a bonus!

Maybe you have an extra bedroom or a space in your basement that you could set up for your workouts. I have a space in my office that’s set up for my workouts but you really don’t need a dedicated space — for years I just did it in the living room in front of the TV!

Be sure to eat or drink protein right after you work out. It helps your body develop muscle tissue.

I just mix a scoop of protein powder into a small glass of milk, drink it down and I’m good to go!

HEALTHY HABIT #3:

STRETCHING

I’m still trying to get in the habit of doing this daily!

We need to stretch to keep our bodies flexible and moving.

I usually just do a 5-minute stretch every morning like this one on Youtube which is one of my favorites:

fabulous50s 5 Minute Full Body Stretching Routine

Of course, if you’d like a longer stretch workout there’s always yoga or these Classical Stretch workouts are great:

CLASSICAL STRETCH

These amazing workouts combine movements from ballet, Pilates and yoga to build strength, flexibility and balance. And believe me — they are a workout!

The thing about walking and working out to get in shape is you have to be consistent. I schedule the time every day and stick to my schedule. I exercise in the morning because that’s the way I like to start my day and I’m usually too tired to do it at the end of the day.

HEALTHY HABIT #4:

DRINK WATER

I love water! To me, there’s nothing like a nice cool glass of water.

And did you know that drinking water actually helps you burn more calories?? Who knew??

I always have water next to me wherever I am. I take a bottle of it with me when I walk. I drink it while I’m working out. And I have a glass of water at my desk that I’m constantly refilling all day long. And I drink water with breakfast lunch and dinner.

HEALTHY HABIT #5:

PORTION CONTROL

I try to eat a balanced diet. I drink 2 healthy smoothies a day and I have small-ish portions for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I rarely go back for seconds. I try never to eat refined sugar. I snack on raw almonds, low-fat string cheese and fat-free plain yogurt (with stevia added).

Here are a few tricks to help with portion control:

Drink a glass of water before your meal

Use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate for your meals

Don’t go back for seconds

Put leftovers away ASAP so you’re not tempted to eat more

Don’t eat out of the bag or package — always put the food on a plate and put the bag away before you eat

Read the package to see what a portion size is and take 1/2 or 2/3 of it (I do this with chips — they are my weakness! So if the bag says that 14 chips are a serving, I put 7 chips on my plate and put the bag away)

Here’s my favorite tip for portion control: When you go to a restaurant, as soon as the server brings you your food — ask for a to-go box. Before you even take a bite, put half of your meal in the box and close it up and take it home for another meal. Works every time!

HEALTHY HABIT #6:

EAT LOW GLYCEMIC TREATS

Remember how I said I don’t eat refined sugar??

Well, just because I’m trying to stay in shape doesn’t mean that I don’t have sweet treats.

I have a sweet tooth!

Here’s what I eat instead of refined white sugar and white flour:

I use raw coconut sugar and white whole wheat flour in all my sweet recipes because they’re low glycemic which means they don’t affect your blood sugar levels like regular flour and sugar so you don’t get those blood sugar spikes and drops. (White whole wheat flour is the most like white flour and not as grainy as regular whole wheat flour or even whole wheat pastry flour)

Here are 2 of my favorite easy recipes using coconut sugar:

PECAN SHORTBREAD

Cream together:

1/2 cup softened butter

1/2 cup coconut sugar

Add:

1 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Press into baking dish and bake at 300 for 30 minutes.

Cut into squares when cool and enjoy.

CHERRY CRISP

Mix together:

36 oz frozen unsweetened dark red cherries, thawed including juice

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish coated with cooking spray

In a separate bowl, mix together:

1 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup old fashioned oats

1/2 cup dark coconut sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 tsp salt

Work in:

3/4 cup butter with a pastry blender or fork until it resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle evenly over the fruit.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Top with fresh whipped cream made with — you guessed it — coconut sugar!

I hope you’ll give these recipes a try — they really are yummy! I have a lot of other great recipes that I make that are low glycemic that I hope to post someday.

But if you want to try some on your own, just remember that you can just replace the sugar in any recipe with equal amounts of coconut sugar. For recipes calling for brown sugar, use brown coconut sugar. And you can replace white flour with equal amounts of white whole wheat flour.

And when I want a quick bite of awesome chocolate — these are made with coconut sugar and they are amazing! And the Gems are great to use instead of traditional chocolate chips.