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Two things that many people want to do. Save money and be more fit. Here are five steps you can take immediately to help make this happen. Remember, wellness is like saving, it is small changes over time that can create great wins.
5 Wellness Tips That Help Make You Fit and Financially Well
1. Fit & Financially Well #1 - Drink More Water & Fewer Other Beverages. Hydration is one of the best, least expensive and most immediate ways to be healthier and spend less money. Soda, coffee, tea and other drinks all add up over time and add excess calories without adding significantly to hydrate your body. Seven to eight glasses of water a day are a good guide depending on the temperature in your area. Drink more water, drink fewer other beverages, and save.
2. Fit & Financially Well #2 – Exercise Outside or On Post. Fitness centers and outside gyms often require annual contracts, joining fee’s, and potentially steep monthly dues. Don’t let being a member of one of these gyms hold you back. There is a lot that you can do outside, for example: walking, hiking, or even doing pull ups on playground equipment when you are at the park. Exercise between 9-11 AM and 1-3 PM if you can at the base fitness centers because they are used less. A good rule-of-thumb is to try for around 150 minutes of moderate exercise each week.
3. Fit & Financially Well #3 – Reduce the “Bad Stuff.” Too much of anything from sweets, alcohol, and tobacco can be expensive and hurt your health over an extended time. It can be daunting to stop these “cold turkey” so start by reducing each just 1-2 times a week and then the next week by 1-2 times a week. If you favorite bakery is on the way to work, change your route (it worked for me!). Any reduction makes you healthier and saves money.
4. Fit & Financially Well #4 – Use the Commissary & Farmer’s Market for Quality Produce. How to get great produce at inexpensive prices can be difficult. The base commissary and local farmer’s markets are the best two places that maximize quality and reduced price. Again, immediate steps of more fruits and vegetables will make you healthier and help you save.
5. Fit & Financially Well #5 – Cut the App’s To Get More Rack. “Rack Time” is the military’s favorite deployment activity – you get paid to sleep! The use of too much screen time on phones, computers, and TV’s cuts into our sleep. Reduce the use of these after dinner to as close as zero as possible so you get to bed earlier. Seven to eight hours of sleep per night is a great goal. Better sleep and fewer apps make you fitter and saves.
Wellness is a day-by-day activity to keep yourself healthy with a great attitude and a body that allows you to do the things that you want to do. Focusing on hydration, exercise, reducing the “bad stuff,” eating more produce, and sleeping more will all contribute immediately to more fitness and more savings. Remember, wellness, like saving money, is ultimately an investment in you and your future. It takes time with both wellness and saving to see the “amazing” results but everyday small steps lead to great results.
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About the blogger:
Chad Storlie is the author of two books: Combat Leader to Corporate Leader and Battlefield to Business Success. Both books teach how to translate and apply military skills to business. An adjunct Lecturer of Marketing at Creighton University and Bellevue University in Omaha, NE. Chad is a retired US Army Special Forces officer with 20+ years of Active and Reserve service in infantry, Special Forces, and joint headquarters units. He served in Iraq, Bosnia, Korea, and throughout the United States. He was awarded the Bronze Star, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Special Forces Tab, and the Ranger Tab. In addition to teaching, he is a mid-level marketing executive and has worked in marketing and sales roles for various companies, including General Electric, Comcast, and Manugistics. He has been published in The Harvard Business Review blog, Business Week Online, Forbes, Christian Science Monitor, USA Today, and over 40 other publications. He has a BA from Northwestern University and an MBA from Georgetown University.
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