South Dakota Ag Connection - Invest in Yourself amd Make Each Day Count

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Invest in Yourself amd Make Each Day Count
South Dakota Ag Connection - 01/18/2017

Don't wait to invest in your health.

"Too often, individuals don't take time to invest in the importance of good nutrition and exercise for their bodies," said Nikki Prosch, SDSU Extension Health & Physical Activity Field Specialist. "Living a healthy lifestyle comes down to everyday decisions."

Decisions like: Will I ride my bike to work today or drive the eight blocks? Should I make some homemade lasagna or stop and grab something at the drive-thru for lunch? Should I walk for 15 minutes during my morning break or enjoy my regular cup of coffee? Should I purchase some strawberries or my favorite potato chips at the grocery store?

"The list of decisions made each day goes on and on," Prosch said. "Awhile back, I heard a saying that has stuck with me over the years, 'It's easy to lose weight, which is why most fad diets out there often work. The hard part is keeping the weight off and truly changing your normal behaviors for lifelong health.'"

Below she lists some helpful tips to start making healthful choices.

Overcoming Barriers: "One of the first steps in making healthy choices each day is realizing the importance of living a healthy lifestyle and truly making a behavior change," Prosch said.

If you have a major barrier preventing you from living a healthy lifestyle, try one of the tips below.

Time: "To overcome this barrier, it takes true honesty and assessment of your normal routine," Prosch said.

She suggested tracking your everyday life and decisions, identify time slots where physical activity or other health enhancing activities could be incorporated.

For example, can you walk during work breaks, while you play with your children, 15 minutes before and 15 minutes after work?

As far as food preparation, assess whether time is the true barrier to preparing a healthy meal.

Some simple, healthy meals take very little time to prepare. "Try planning meals ahead of time to save families time and expense," Prosch said.

Access: Access to fitness centers, grocery stores, health facilities and other healthy living resources may be scarce or unavailable in your community.

"Although it might seem like this is a barrier you can't overcome, try thinking creatively and advocating for change," Prosch said.

To help with the brainstorming, Prosch outlines some questions to ask yourself:

- Can you work out in your house, at a local school or church or can you create a walking club?

- Can you plant your own garden or start a community garden?

- Can you try purchasing more frozen and canned fruit and vegetables?

- Can you advocate for development, policies or access to exercise amenities?

- Can you start a community coalition to help improve access and education about these issues?

Too tired: Does this sound familiar? "I'm too tired to prepare a full meal or do any type of activity." If tiredness is a common barrier for your health decisions, think about assessing your sleep routine to improve your health. "Sleep may be the component to solve your healthy living barriers," Prosch said.

Social Influences: We eat for pleasure, entertainment, when we are bored, socially and for many other reasons.

"Additionally, individuals you surround yourself with may be influencing your activity levels, both good and bad," Prosch said.

She encouraged individuals to assess how their social environment is influencing their health behaviors. "Target areas where easy changes could be made," she said. "For example, could you replace a regular dinner date with a walking date once or twice a month?"

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