One Small Change Can Make One Big Difference in Your Health

I’ve never been incredibly overweight. Sure I’ve had a gut for years but overall I’ve been in fairly decent shape for most of my life. About four or five years ago, I started weight training and while my gut didn’t change, the rest of me got way bigger.

Never in a million years would I have thought I’d be the type of person to hit the gym two times a week with a personal trainer to pump some iron. I actually loved it, except for the waking up early part. But there I was, almost 40 and in probably the best shape of my life.

But then, well, life happens. I had to cut back on the weight training due to expenses (personal budget cuts!)  and then over the next year or so, I slowly stopped hitting the treadmill and elliptical at home. This past year has been an extremely stressful one on us thanks to a perfect storm of crappiness, which thankfully is all mostly behind us now.

And when you get majorly stressed, well, you eat. And the more you eat, the less impetus you have to eat healthier and exercise. So yeah, at this point in my life, I am the heaviest I have ever been. I’d love to lose about 25 pounds total and start pumping up again. But it’s so tough to dive in and get things going, you know?

So, as Allie has done and is suggesting to me, I’m going to start small. That first step is always the hardest, but it’s a step. And even one step in the right direction is a step closer to your goal.

My timing couldn’t be more perfect, because Puritan’s Pride has launched its One Small Change campaign, where they’re asking everyone to make one small change in their lives to improve their health. It could be as simple as cutting down on salt or drinking more water every day.

I”m choosing to make exercise a regular part of my life. I don’t want to over promise and then get too exhausted and give up. So even if it’s just a 10 minute walk, my small change is to exercise at least five times every week. Hopefully after a few weeks, I’ll be back in the full health frame of mind and really kick things up a notch.

Over the next 60 days, I’ll be keeping you up to date on my progress through two more blog posts and loads of social media updates.

I’d love for you guys to follow along with me, offering whatever small support you can! Even better, I challenge you to make One Small Change of your own! You can make your own One Small Change pledge on the Puritan’s Pride Facebook page. They’re even running a sweepstakes where you can win up to $2,000!

Need some more encouragement? Check out these facts from Puritan’s Pride that show how big a difference one small change can make:

• Quitting smoking can add an average of a decade of life expectancy
• Adding 20 minutes of walking to your daily routine lowers the risk of high blood pressure by 7.2%, high cholesterol by 7% & diabetes by 12.3%, over 6 years
• Drinking 2 cups of water 30 minutes before each meal can lead to a 44% greater rate of weight loss over a 12-week period
• Snacking on fruits or vegetables twice a day can lead to a 10% weight loss over 6 months
• People eating at least 2 cups of fruit a day are 30% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke
• Getting at least 7 hours of sleep every night can decrease the risk of weight gain due to sleep loss by 15%
• Meditation and deep breathing exercises for 15 minutes a day for 3 months can decrease Cortisol, the hormone associated with physical & mental stress

If any of you are smokers, I can’t think of a bigger change to take on then quitting. Or at the very least, smoke one less cigarette each day for a week, then cut down another daily cigarette the next week and so on. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you, a healthier lifestyle is just one small change away!

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Make one small change and you can improve your health.  Start today. Puritan’s Pride wants to help. Pledge your change and enter to win $2,000, plus products to support your healthy lifestyle.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Puritan’s Pride. The opinions and text are all mine.