Healthy Tips Challenge

Week 1

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Thank you for your feedback. Making changes in any form can be hard. Stick with it! And remember, one small change can go a long way.

Thank you for your feedback. Sorry this week's tips didn't work for you. Let us know how we can improve our tips next time: healthandwellness@uvmhealth.org

You're On Your Way to Completing the Healthy Tips Challenge!

Week 1: Make Healthy, Realistic Resolutions

This year, we want to inspire you to make healthy resolutions you can keep. By participating in this challenge, you're joining a community of individuals making a commitment to their health while changing small things by how you MOVE, EAT, and RECHARGE. Not only are these small changes easier to adopt and more sustainable, they allow you to gradually build a healthier lifestyle in a way that is flexible and evolves over time. An article by CNN suggests making weekly resolutions, which are easier to achieve and less daunting than attempting a year's worth of health goals at once.

Our first installment of our Healthy Tips Challenge highlights the importance of making realistic goals and knowing that failure is part of the process. Don't be discouraged! Every small thing helps along the journey to wellness. The more you participate, the more likely your chances are to win weekly prizes leading up to our grand prize drawing! Earn points by sharing, giving feedback, and making small changes to your daily routine that add up to make a huge difference!

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Explore the tips and tools below

Another helpful tip is to work out during times that are comfortable and easy for you. Don't try to wake up at 5 AM for a fitness class if you're not an early bird, or plan a late-night jog if you like to go to bed early.

Finally, pair physical activity with other things you love, like watching your favorite show while on the elliptical, listening to a new audiobook or podcast during a walk or run, or jogging instead of driving to a local coffee shop to get your favorite mid-day drink.

Mindbody App
Mindbody App

Browse fitness and wellbeing classes near you, filtering by class type, time, and distance. Real ratings and reviews tell you what to expect, all designed to help you find the right fit before you walk in the door. To boost accountability, you can sign-up and pay for classes through the app too!

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Muscle Wiki
Muscle Wiki

Pick a muscle from the interactive body map and this website will show you to a list of moves and exercises. We're big fans of these easy-to-follow strength-training exercises and the site's interactive calorie, nutrient, and rep calculators.

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Identifying your reasons for being stressed is a great place to start. If you find you're often triggered by feeling disorganized, commit to keeping a planner or checklist app and set reminders to help plan your day in advanced. Incorporating mindfulness practices into your day can also help combat stress triggers. Using a meditation app can be a great way to add restorative activities to your day, but you can begin by simply taking three deep breaths whenever you feel yourself becoming stressed.

If your biggest problem is feeling tired throughout the day, build a dedicated sleep schedule and plan out the environment you need to prepare yourself for sleep each night. This could be as simple as taking a bath or enjoying a quiet music meditation before bedtime. Another effective tip to help prepare for sleep is to avoid screens and unnatural lighting at least one to two hours before bed, and plan for a minimum of 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Stop, Breathe, Think
Stop, Breathe, Think

Reminds you to check in with how you're feeling and gives you short activities to reduce stress and anxiety. This app stands out from others with its customization tools: it analyzes your current mood through a short survey, then leads you through guided exercises based on the results.

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Happify
Happify

A self-guided app and website that strive to increase positive emotions through activities, exercises, and games. Helps train your brain to develop skills for lasting happiness, peace of mind, motivation, and engagement based on your own personal goals.

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Start each meal thinking about eating moderate portions over the course of the meal (to estimate how much food to eat, think two fists for adult men and one fist of food for adult women). Eat slowly, savoring each bite. Remember, you can always get more if you're still hungry. Listen to your body as you're eating and stop when you feel comfortably full.

Eat Slowly
Eat Slowly

Eat Slowly is a great way to truly savor your food and know when you are actually full. Set the timer and let it time you while you eat. Choose from several different sounds to alert you to take your next bite, or turn the sounds off and just use the vibrate feature (helpful for keeping your device concealed while eating with family and friends).

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Portion Distortion
Portion Distortion

Anyone eating on the run or at restaurants has probably noticed that food portions have gotten larger. In this class, you will learn about the amount of physical activity required to burn off the extra calories provided by today’s portions.

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Great job! You're on your way to completing this week's Healthy Tips Challenge. Keep an eye out next week for the next email with new tips, tools, and prizes.

Want more tips, inspiration and the chance to win prizes?

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