My family recently PCSed to Fort Irwin, Calif., in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Now that the dust is settling, I recognize I need to improve several habits to ensure I’m at optimal health. This new duty station has handed me a great opportunity to hit the reset button on integrating exercise and healthy eating habits into my schedule.
A few weeks ago, I learned our desert outpost has an untapped treasure called the Army Wellness Center, which offers free services to active duty servicemembers, family members, and retirees. The free services include metabolic testing, body composition analysis, fitness testing, health coaching, and wellness classes. I signed up for all of it.
To find out if your duty station has similar resources, start by reviewing the following resources:
Here’s what my initial assessment taught me:
1.Take multivitamins. I stopped taking these after Baby No. 2, but I was reminded it’s important to supplement your nutritional intake. I signed up for a convenient monthly subscription of multivitamins that ship directly to my house. As always, consult your doctor if you have any questions about which ones you should take.
2.Exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. This seems like a huge task to take on, especially if your schedule has little to no free time, but think about it this way: 30 minutes is just 2 percent of your day! I need accountability, so I outsourced a morale, welfare, and recreation personal trainer at the local gym, and I blocked out time in my work schedule to go. Integrating exercise into daily routines will increase your energy level and give you an endorphin boost.
3.Drink more water. Ditch the sugary and high-calorie drinks, and aim to drink eight cups of water a day.
4.Eat four to five smaller meals throughout the day. Often times, I either skip meals (because I am pulled in a million directions) or indulge in the wrong foods, as I’m on the go until I hit exhaustion. Developing a food preparation strategy at the start of the week will help you plan many small meals.
5.Reduce processed carbs. Aim to include fruit and vegetables on your plate every time you eat, and remove easy-to-consume processed carbohydrates like rice, pasta, and bread. Not only will this help you maintain an ideal body weight, or even shed pounds, it will also help you meet your daily fiber goal (38 grams for men; 25 grams for women).
This journey won’t be easy, but I’m ready to increase my endurance and energy levels, shed the baby weight, and improve my overall health. It’s been difficult to start executing these small habits in my daily routine; I can always find an excuse not to exercise or eat healthy. But by taking small steps, change can happen, and I know it will benefit me and my entire family.
Are you on a similar journey? I would love to hear how you are actively engaging in exercise and incorporating healthier eating habits into your routine! Please share your tips so I can grow as well.
C.C. Gallagher is an IT project manager with BAM Technologies and the founder of Military Quality of Life Consulting LLC. She is the spouse of an active duty soldier and mother to two children.