Experts share the best tips from their bags of healthy tricks.
We all could use some help to get and stay healthy, so we asked some Buckhead- area experts—three personal trainers, a dietitian and a life coach—for their best tips to boost physical and mental health every day.
Some tips are dos: hydrate, exercise each morning, make healthy food choices and find time to breathe. Others are don’ts: no wasting time, no making excuses and no counting calories.
Hydrate First
Thomas Hamm
CEO, SMASH
Place a 16-ounce glass of water next to your bed before you go to sleep every night, then, as soon as you wake in the morning, drink the room-temperature water. Hamm says it will hydrate your body, speed your metabolism, improve your immune system, boost your energy, reduce bloating and even help clear your skin. “It all starts with one win,” he says. “By doing this, you start your day with a win as soon as you wake up. This will set the tone for the day ahead.”
904.365.3622
smashwellness.com
@_thomashamm_
Stop the Excuses
Ashley Francis
Owner, TURN Studio
Francis advises joining a welcoming exercise facility that offers accountability and community to motivate yourself every day and avoid making excuses not to work out. “It’s easier to quit than to keep going; however, nothing great comes from quitting,” she says. “Not everyone gets the choice to wake up and move their body. Make it a priority in your day, and the best is yet to come.”
678.515.3122
turnstudio.com
@turn_atl
Ditch the Diet
Jamel Drake
Freelance registered dietitian
Forget about counting calories, Drake says. Combining highfiber, protein-rich and healthy-fat foods with good sleep, stress management and movement will do the trick of enabling long-term weight management. “Diet culture has trained us to believe that if we restrict calories, we will lose weight,” she says. “Wrong! Our bodies were never designed for dieting, and if you have not realized that yet, I promise you soon will.”
470.788.9672
@always_homemade_
Just Breathe
Julie Zeff
Life and yoga coach and clinician, Jewish Family & Career Services
Practice simple breathing exercises such as the slow breath (closing your eyes and taking three slow breaths) and the four count breath (inhale while counting to four, then exhale while counting to four), Zeff says. Once you are familiar with an exercise, you can do it in line at a store, on hold, on a walk, at a red light or any time you need to calm down or recharge. “Infusing more conscious breathing into your life can help you feel calmer, more relaxed, more focused,” and can help you slow down, she says. “Conscious breathing can even help you to feel more energized.”
770.677.9300
jfcsatl.org
@jfcsatl
Start Early
Elmore McConnell
Owner, We Train Atlanta
Focus on eating four to six servings of fruits and vegetables and knocking out your workout before noon, even if it means working out at 5 a.m. “Getting ahead of your day and setting it up for success decreases the chances of self-sabotage later in the day,” he says. “Creating a new behavior in turn becomes the catalyst for lifestyle change.”
404.798.1324
atlanta-personaltraining.com
@we_train_atlanta_
