6 SIMPLE STEPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR HEALTH NOW

Get yourself into peak condition with a few small changes to your life!

Being healthy might not be as difficult as you think.

You can most likely reach your health goals with just a few tweaks to your daily habits, routines, eating, and activities.

It’ll take time to form the new habits and make them a part of your life, but once you do, you’ll find that better health is definitely not just possible, but attainable.

Here are a few steps you can take to optimize your health starting today:

Step 1: Move More

Most people will see this, roll their eyes, and think, “Yeah, here we go again! Another recommendation to get more exercise—I’ve seen this so many times before!”

The truth is that exercise benefits your body on literally every level. It enhances the production of hormones, eliminates mental stress, strengthens your muscles, gives you more energy, helps you digest better, reduces the risk of injuries, and so much more.

The key, however, isn’t just to spend more time at a gym, jogging, or doing any one exercise. Instead, you should be trying to move more all day every day. The more time you spend moving around—even if you never step inside a gym—the healthier you’ll be.

Cycle to work and back. Park at the far end of the parking lot. Take the stairs. Walk up and down each aisle at the grocery store. Take a walk after dinner. Run and play with your kids. Garden. Clean your garage. Clean your house. Enjoy a workout with your family. Go dancing     with your spouse. Enjoy the outdoors on the weekend.

The more you move, the more energy you’ll have and the healthier you’ll be!

Step 2: Eat Productive Foods

To simplify things, divide all the food into two categories:

• Category #1: Foods That Benefit Your Body

• Category #2: Foods You Have to “Work Off”

It’s pretty easy to see where most foods fall. You’re smart, you know how to eat healthy, but what needs to change is your mindset about food. Stop thinking about what tastes good, is easy to cook, or gives you temporary satisfaction. Start thinking about what foods will actually benefit your body.

You could eat three different meals for an entire week and never once touch an unhealthy food. There are just so many foods that are good for you, that provide the nutrients your body needs in order to function at optimal levels. Many of them are tasty, sure, but what matters is their nutritional content.

Stick with foods that fall into Category #1, and train yourself to love them more than you love the Category #2 foods. Do that, and you’ll eat healthy for the rest of your life!

Step 3: Breathe

It sounds so simple, yet it’s so incredibly effective!

Breathing oxygenates your blood, provides you with energy, eliminates toxins, relaxes your mind, counteracts stress, and keeps your body functioning properly. The more you focus on your breathing—really controlling your inhalations and exhalations to ensure you absorb enough oxygen—the healthier and happier you’ll be.

Throughout the day, make it a point to engage in deep breathing sessions. Spend 1-3 minutes focusing on taking long, controlled breaths in through your nose and letting them out through your mouth. Try “power breaths”—inhaling for 3 seconds, holding for 12 seconds, then exhaling for 6 seconds. Practice Yoga breathing exercises or the breathing techniques used with meditation exercises.

The more you breathe, the more relaxed you’ll be, and the less hold stress will have over your life.

Step 4: Drink More Water

It’s pretty safe to assume that you, like the average person, don’t get enough water every day. 75% of North Americans fall into this category!

Water provides your body with the liquid needed to keep your blood flowing, organs pumping, and your internal functions firing. When you don’t get enough, you’re more prone to all kinds of problems, from headaches to low energy to dry mouth.

Your goal should be to drink no less than 9 glasses of water per day, or as much as 13 glasses. That may sound like a lot—and it is—but not if you break it down to drinking a glass or two of water every hour on the hour. Start the morning with a full glass of water, have one with every meal, and drink every time you remember. Carry a bottle around and drink throughout the day.

The more you drink, the healthier you’ll be!

Step 5: Stand Up

The amount of time the average person spends sitting down every day is increasing—currently around 6 hours, way up from what it was 10 years ago.

Sitting down puts a strain on your body, lowers your metabolism, and makes you more prone to back, hip, knee, and neck problems.

Make it a point to stand up regularly—at least once an hour, even just for 2-3 minutes—and move around. Pace around your office while talking on the phone, and try to have face-to-face meetings outside and walking around whenever possible.

Step 6: Take Care of Your Immune System

Your immune system does more than just stop you from getting sick—it ensures that your body is defended from all outside threats!

Drink teas that boost your immunity, including green tea, black tea, white tea, and ginger tea. Eat foods rich in Vitamin C and antioxidants. Take superfood and immune-boosting supplements, such as our Pure Immunity supplement, zinc, Vitamin D, and elderberry. Dress warm in the winter and cover up at night so you don’t catch a chill. Rest as much as possible and try to keep your stress under control so it doesn’t diminish your immune function. Eat immune-boosting foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.

Take care of your immune system, and it will take care of you!