Orgain founder Dr. Andrew Abraham shares his top 3 healthy solutions for a vibrant, healthy year! The turn of the year is always an exciting time to reflect on the accomplishments of the last 12 months, and to look forward with fresh energy and ambition at the year ahead. Being a full-time entrepreneur, father, and husband keeps my days incredibly full, but like we do at Orgain, I’m always looking for ways to improve myself and to tackle my next goal. This year, to stay focused on creating real, lasting solutions for the most important areas of my life, I decided to keep things simple. Here are the three healthy solutions that I’m making a part of my daily routine, and tips for putting them into action:
1. Conquer Stress – In today’s world, we are more rushed than ever, trying to keep up with obligations at home, school, work and socially. Taking a proactive approach to minimizing stress is one of the absolute best things one can do to increase energy, improve sleep, prevent disease, and promote overall wellbeing.
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Take 20 minutes a day, every day to meditate or simply be in a room with soft music and focus on slow, deep breathing. I personally love this type of calming exercise because it breaks up the stress cycle and allows my mind to essentially "reset."
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Laugh out loud. Laughing helps lower cortisol, which is our body’s stress hormone, and boosts feel good brain chemicals (endorphins) that improve our mood. I try to watch a funny video every day, even if it's just a short clip online, or I try to grab lunch with a friend that makes me laugh.
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Listen to music. Listening to soothing music lowers blood pressure and anxiety, so I’m constantly playing soft music in my office or even nature sounds to help counteract the stress of my busy days.
2. Eat the rainbow – In order to get all the key antioxidants and phytonutrients, I’ve made it an absolute must to incorporate a “rainbow diet” in my every day eating plan for 2016. What does this mean? In addition to plenty of organic protein, I have made it a priority to incorporate a variety of vibrant, rich colors into my diet.
- Get creative and have fun! Pick up fruits or veggies that you have never tried before. One of our favorite things to do at my house is to prep a bunch of vegetables for the week on Sundays and then combine them in creative ways or add them to other dishes for a quick and healthy spin on old favorites.
- Combine ingredients from each of the color groups, along with your favorite non-dairy milk for a delicious and nutrient-packed smoothie. Top with even more fresh fruit and chia seeds for extra fiber and omega-3 fatty acids.
3. Exercise most days of the week – We all know that exercise has countless benefits – from helping to maintain healthy weight, to boosting your mood and energy – but finding the time to do it consistently can be tough. Here are some tips I use for staying on track:
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Schedule time to exercise (or squeeze it in on the fly!). It’s easy to let exercising take a backseat to work and family, so I’ve found that it helps to treat my workouts as appointments. Each week, I plan out my schedule with workouts included on my calendar and do my best to stick to it. If I find myself with a few extra minutes here and there, I might squeeze in a short walk with my wife or play outside with my kids.
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Get family and friends involved. One of our favorite things to do as a family is to take a bike ride or head to the soccer field for a quick game. Even when our list of to-do’s seems endless, taking this time to run around with the boys keeps our energy up and stress down!
