GUEST POST: SIMPLE CHANGES FOR A HEALTHIER YEAR BY VANNA BELT

Simple Changes for a Healthier Year by Vanna Belt

Hi! I’m Vanna Belt and it’s my mission to help women look and feel their very best through better nutrition and exercise.

Chloe has allowed me to talk with you guys today and share some simple changes anyone can make this year to become healthier. I promise these tips are easy to follow!

Mix Up Your Workouts

Keeping up with a regular exercise routine can get monotonous. I always tell women that keeping things fresh provides a healthy balance for your body and prevents boredom.

Make strength training a priority two to four days per week, and add in a combination of moderate-intensity and high-intensity cardio sessions three to five days a week.

Try different exercise styles such as tabata, kickboxing or kettlebell workouts to continually challenge your muscles and ensure that every part of your body is activated throughout the week. Movements that require you to balance, including one-legged deadlifts and bird-dog crunches, provide an even bigger challenge.

Learn to Relax

Some “problem spots” are the result of hormonal imbalances from being under too much stress.

Chronic stress causes the body to release high levels of cortisol, a hormone that breaks down stored energy, raises blood sugar and prompts fat storage, especially in the abdominal area.

While it’s not possible to eliminate all stressors from your life, you can encourage your body to mellow out with relaxing activities such as stretching, yoga and deep breathing.

Love Your Liver

You probably never think about it, but as you’re going about your day, your liver is busy cleaning excess toxins, proteins and hormones from your blood. Some evidence suggests that toxic overload may cause fat storage. The theory is that the body tries to protect itself from damage by sequestering potentially harmful substances inside fat cells.

Eating a healthy diet with plenty of organic foods minimizes toxin exposure, and you can give you liver an extra boost by adding foods such as onions, garlic, bitter greens and cruciferous vegetables to your meals.

Snack Smarter

If your three meals a day are packed with whole, fresh foods but all of your snacks come out of a box, it’s going to be harder to eliminate stubborn fat.

Cut out visits to the office vending machine and skip the treats people leave in the break room in favor of wholesome, filling snacks such as nuts and dried fruit, vegetables and whole wheat pitas with hummus or even small amounts of dark chocolate.

These snacks keep you satisfied and stabilize your blood sugar to prevent imbalances in insulin that can encourage fat storage.

Balancing physical and hormonal wellness prompts your body to use up stored adipose tissue and slim you down. More than that, the same lifestyle habits that combat stubborn fat also contribute to lifelong health by lowering your risk for many chronic diseases. Consistency is key to continue enjoying the benefits of these simple changes.

This post was written by Vanna Belt whose mission is to help women feel more confident, healthy and fit. Learn more at www.vannabelt.com and her range of products from workout clothes to Gel-V.