Now that the Holidays are past, and the cold dull January blues have set in, it is a great time to focus on you and your family’s health. Start new habits that will last all year and give you something to focus on during the cold winter months. It is easy to want to stay inside and hibernate during the winter, filling our tummies on warm comfort food, but you will feel much better if you focus on healthy living and you will feel great by spring!
A good place to start is to make sure you have scheduled all your yearly doctor appointments and screenings. Schedule a physical with your regular doctor, an eye exam, a dentist appointment every six months, and any special appointments that you might need, such as an asthma doctor or dermatologist. Your primary care doctor can recommend any other screenings you may need so that you can also get those scheduled.
It is also a good time to start eating healthy. Fruits and vegetables are a little harder to find fresh in the winter, but there are many canned and frozen fruits and vegetables that you can buy that are just as good for you as the fresh. They are also easy to prepare during the weeknight rush of school and work and after school activities. Make sure you pick low sodium canned vegetables and the frozen veggies are free of sauce. Make it a priority to get adequate fruits and vegetables this winter!
It is easy to forgo exercise in the winter, but don’t let the cold keep you inactive! Try to think of alternative ways to exercise if it is too cold to go outside for your daily run. Look into group exercise classes at the gym to keep you motivated, or dance classes at a local dance studio. Turn your bonus room into a gym with the simple addition of a treadmill or an elliptical. Even if you don’t feel like going to the gym, get up and get dressed for it. Chances are, by the time you are dressed, you will feel a little more motivated.
Follow these healthy new habits and you will be in tip top shape when spring arrives. If you can form these healthy habits in the winter, it will be a breeze to stick to them when the sun comes out.