5 Things I Would Do to Improve My Health as a Beginner

Sometimes the hardest part of improving your health is starting Day 1. It is easy to think about all the things we can do to improve our health, but to actually put those plans into action can be the biggest challenge. It can be overwhelming or intimidating to put plans into action, because what if we fail? The thought of failing is a true fear, but it is one that we should not let deter us. The fear of failure is common in our clients starting their health journey, which is why we like to simplify the process for them. Our clients come to us with ambitious goals, which is great, we love go-getters. However, trying to go from 0 to 100 in all categories is not only unrealistic, but it almost guarantees failure! 

Our clients focus on all the things we can do to improve health such as; trying to eat healthier, workout more, improve sleep, lower stress, fix your gut health, prioritize work while finding time for family and friends, etc. While these are all great goals, we need to accomplish them slowly so that the habits seamlessly become part of our lifestyle. Starting slow and learning how to prioritize your goals will make your goals more attainable and sustainable, leading to both short and long term success. So, if you are feeling overwhelmed on where to begin to improve your health, and want long term success, here are the five things we would do as dietitians to improve our health if we were just starting: 

1. Use Performance Plates to Guide Food Choices

Counting calories and macros can be confusing, and often unnecessary for our clients. At SkimWellness, we help our clients perform and feel better using “Performance Plates", rather than strict guidelines on what to eat every day. Performance plates are visual guides with serving size suggestions that change based on your level of physical activity. There are three visuals that we use with our clients: lightly active, moderately active, and heavily active. Lightly active can be defined as rest days, going for a leisurely walk, or a low intensity workout that is 30-45 minutes long. Moderately active is for our active clients who workout closer to 1-1.5 hours each day at a light to moderate intensity. And lastly, the heavily active performance plate is for our highly competitive athletes training at a high intensity each day, or working out closer to 2+ hours a day. 

You can see from the visuals below that the carbohydrate portion of the plate increases as the intensity and duration of exercise increases. This is because increased demand for energy output requires an increase in energy input, to fuel the workout, fuel every day activities, and help you recover. Using this performance plate method is great for beginners to get a general sense of what you should be eating at each meal. Using these guides at your 3-5 meals during the day will ensure you are fueling enough for your personal level of activity. 

2. Try one new fruit or vegetable per week

Fiber, which can be found in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, is an important nutrient to keep our gut healthy! Fiber feeds the good bacteria in our large intestine, or colon, which keeps our gut happy and healthy. A healthy gut microbiome means lower inflammation, regular bowel movements, better immune function, and reduced risk of colon cancer. Fiber is also great for preventing heart disease, blood sugar control, and weight management. It is important that we have a diversity of good gut bacteria in our gut microbiome to reap all of the benefits that fiber has to offer. 

Research shows that minimal diversity in gut microbiota is associated with inflammatory diseases such as obesity, diabetes, and irritable bowel disease (IBD). Low fiber diets can reduce gut microbiota in as little as one day, which makes us more susceptible to pathogen infections and breakdown of the mucus barrier in the GI lining. The more diversity we have in our diet from foods rich in fiber, the happier and healthier our gut will be! We challenge you to try a new fruit or vegetable each week to diversify your diet, feed your good gut bacteria, and prevent disease! Bonus if you trial fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, or pickled vegetables as fermented foods contain probiotics known to improve gut health. 

Here are some fruits and vegetables to add to your grocery list!

3. Prioritize hydration.

Our bodies are made up of 50-70% water, which is over half of your body weight! Water is essential for your health, even more than food! Adequate hydration is important for

cognitive function, regulating  body temperature, delivering nutrients to your cells, detoxing waste from the body, and so much more. Despite water's critical value, many of us are not drinking an adequate amount on a daily basis. How much water do you need? Great question, so glad you asked! Aim for half your body weight in ounces each day, and add 16-32 oz of water per hour of exercise. For example, if you weigh 180 lbs and are working out for about an hour each day, your goal is 110-120 fl oz of water per day. 

Remembering to drink water throughout the day can be difficult, but it is important to sip rather than chug. Chugging water does not allow our bodies to properly absorb and utilize the water for hydration, and you will likely be urinating more frequently. Here are some of our hydration tips to ensure your are sipping throughout the day:

• Do not rely on thirst cues to drink water, especially in colder months. Instead, set a fl oz goal per hour and a timer on your phone for reminders. If your goal is 12 fl oz per hour to reach 120 fl oz in a day, set a timer on your phone every 2 hours as a reminder to fill your 24 fl oz water bottle. 

• Use herbal teas, sugar free flavored water, fruit infused water, and fun water based mocktails to help you reach your hydration goals for the day

• Carry a reusable water bottle with you when you are on the go 

• Increase your intake of water based foods like cucumber, watermelon, lettuce, and strawberries

• Habit stack sipping water with something you already do. For example, if you already check your phone frequently, pair checking your phone with taking a sip of water 

• Use an app on your phone to track your water intake each hour to help you stay on track 

4. Create a Nighttime Routine that You Enjoy 

Unwinding at the end of a long day is so important for decreasing stress and improving sleep quality, two non-negotiables for better health! We often wait to address stress until it is noticeable, which is too late. Creating an unwind nighttime routine that is easy to do daily helps manage stress levels before they get too high. Stress management is important for regulating hormones like cortisol, which has a profound effect on our long term health. Unchecked stress levels often lead to dysregulated sleep, which further impedes our ability to improve our health. Restorative sleep is essential for mental and physical health! 

Check out some of our favorite nighttime habits for lower stress and better sleep:

• Stop eating and drinking 2 hours before bed

• Stop drinking caffeine 6-8 hours before bedtime

• Turn off blue lights one hour before bed, and turn on red lights!

• Drink 3 oz of tart cherry juice 1 hour before bedtime

• Eat a high protein dinner with sources of magnesium like chia seeds, black beans, and almonds

• Stress relief techniques 1 hour before bed: adult coloring book, reading a book, box breathing, meditation, knitting 

• Sleep in a dark and cool room 

In addition to the tips above, there are things you can do throughout the day to work on regulating your circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock that helps regulate physical and mental changes during your sleep and wake cycle. This is how your body knows to release cortisol in the morning for waking, and melatonin at night for sleeping, along with other hormones. When your circadian rhythm is dysregulated, it can be harder to fall asleep, stay asleep, wake up in the morning, and have adequate energy throughout the day. Here are our favorite tips to regulating your circadian rhythm:

• Aim for 7-8 hours of sleep each night

• Sleep and wake at the same time each day. Yes, even on weekends!

• Eat 3-5 meals a day evenly spaced apart that includes a source of protein and fiber 

• Sunlight exposure within the first hour of waking (you can use a red light or happy light in the mornings if you wake up before the sun!)

• Limit light exposure 1 hour before bed 

• Sleep in a dark and cool environment

5. Work with a Dietitian

Working with a professional can help keep you accountable! We are here to create sustainable goals with you to prevent burn out, and push you to challenge yourself when needed. Working with one of our dietitians who specialize in sports nutrition, eating disorders, and/or integrative health will help you level up your care to see results faster. We will take the guess work out of it, and create a personalized plan with you to keep you achieving your short and long term goals. We want you to live a healthier and happier life, and are trained with the skills and knowledge to help you do so. If you want to know what you have to gain by working with a dietitian, check out our blog here!

Resources:

Leeuwendaal NK, Stanton C, O'Toole PW, Beresford TP. Fermented Foods, Health and the Gut Microbiome. Nutrients. 2022 Apr 6;14(7):1527. doi: 10.3390/nu14071527. PMID: 35406140; PMCID: PMC9003261.

Zhang P. Influence of Foods and Nutrition on the Gut Microbiome and Implications for Intestinal Health. Int J Mol Sci. 2022 Aug 24;23(17):9588. doi: 10.3390/ijms23179588. PMID: 36076980; PMCID: PMC9455721.