Nope, it’s not always genetic. You are in charge of you own health. Period.

I’m currently enrolled in the Nutritional Therapy Institute in Denver. The program relies heavily on the science behind the food we eat, what it’s doing to our cells, how it’s interacting within our blood stream, organs, intestines and how our environment and lifestyle choices greatly determines the state of our overall health.

My day job involves marketing to healthcare organizations, physicians and care managers, IPA’s (Independent Physician Associations). My company provides interoperability and practice management solutions, all in the name of better patient outcomes.

How in the hell do the two relate to one another? So much it’s scary!

50% of the healthcare costs are going to 5% of the patient population. In other words, the chronically ill are costing billions, while rising healthcare costs are felt across the board.

YIKES! But, what the heck can we DO about it?!

Start taking control of Your Own Health! It’s that simple. Just take control of it it, starting right now. Not sure how?

3 steps to Take Control of Your Own Health

1. Start making healthier food choices. Sounds SOOOO easy, but I know it’s not. Convenience, taste, time, availability all come into play here. Start small – incorporating one piece of fruit into your day, one vegetable. Cut out one soda per day. Work up to it, as opposed to just banning all of the bad cold turkey. Start small & start now (here’s a YouTube video from my Happy Kitchen talking a bit about this).

2. Start moving. Again, sounds SUPER easy to do, but all of the factors listed above (especially time) rear their ugly heads. Don’t overwhelm yourself with crazy, lofty goals you won’t accomplish. I’m going to run 10 miles 3 times a week! Well, if you barely run 2 now, that seems cray! (Above is me running my first 1/2 a marathon….that took me 16 weeks to train for! It was hard!) Start with a 10 minute walk everyday and build up to a mile. Give yourself realistic goals you can meet and feel good about. With our sedentary lives, it’s so important to start incorporating movement into every day. And lots of it!

3. Stop making excuses. It won’t happen over night, but the more you find excuses to not take charge of your health, not make healthier decisions, the worse your well-being will be. Don’t beat yourself up if you have a bad day or miss a workout. Just make sure you don’t make that the norm. Every day you start new, make the most out of it!

Healthy is a lifestyle….live it well! Have questions? Feel free to reach out or comment.

Happy Health!