Tag: #healthyhabits challenge

Week 3 #HealthyHabitsChallenge: Create a plan for the week

Posted on Updated on by Hatton Gravely

This week, we challenge you to create a plan for the week.

Many doctors recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. If you exercise at least 30 minutes per day for 5 days, you can help prevent diseases as well as increase your cardiovascular health. Not only does exercise help with physical health, but  it can reduce your stress levels and improve your mood as well!   

Here are some tips to make sure you fit in 150 minutes of activity this week:

  • Make workout appointments with yourself to schedule your workouts. 
  • Add them to your calendar!
  • Pack your bags the night before so you’re ready. 

“The benefits of regular exercise are proven. It can do wonders for your overall health,” said Dr. James Turek, a family medicine physician at Tidelands Health. 

Creating a schedule for the week will help you identify the times that you can work in working out.

Week 2 #HealthyHabits Challenge: Keep a Food Journal

Posted on Updated on by Hatton Gravely

Keep a Food Journal 

Our Week 2 #HealthyHabits Challenge is to keep a food journal. Write down what you eat throughout the day.

Before altering your habits, it is important to understand why you have the routine you do. The CDC says that reflecting is one important way to keep your eating habits consistent. In order to get to the bottom of your nutrition, journaling is known to help!  

The CDC recommends writing down  

  • The food you eat  
  • When you eat  
  • What you were feeling when you ate it 

Some addition features you could keep in a food log might be 

  • Who you ate with  
  • Where you were eating 
  • How much you are eating 

When you see constant unhealthy trends in writing, it can be a good wake-up call. Understanding why you have a bad habit can ultimately make it easier to prevent it in the future. 

“Tracking your daily food intake is essential with keeping your diet in check,” explains Tricia Harrison, the Health and Wellness Director at the Claire Chapin Eps Family YMCA. She states that to avoid random snacking, “it is important to keep track of everything that goes in your mouth throughout the day.” Not only will this help you accurately track calories, but it can bring awareness to the unnecessary foods you are consuming. Remember those little things that add up! 

Unfortunately, nutrition and exercise can be the hardest things to track. When it comes to a nutrition log, tracking your calorie intake and macronutrients are most important. Macronutrients are the nutrients your body needs in large portions to keep you healthy. These are your proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. The CDC recommends your diet to be made up of 

  • 45-48% carbohydrates 
  • 15-16% proteins 
  • 35-36% fats 

Since tracking these factors on your own is difficult, there are many apps that make it easy! Mrs. Harrison recommends the apps Weight Watchers and My Fitness Pal. However, if you have a Fitbit or Apple Watch, their fitness and nutritional tracking might be more accurate towards your body. 

Keeping a log of your daily food is a great way to see what healthy or unhealthy trends you might be following.

Habits do not change overnight! Instilling healthy habits into your lifestyle takes hard work and daily changes. Recognizing your habits, setting goals, and enacting them are the steps to a healthier lifestyle! 

#HealthyHabits Challenge Week 1: Track Your Progress Every Day.

Posted on Updated on by Hatton Gravely

Each week, we are sending all of our #HealthyHabits Challenge participants an email with a new weekly challenge. (None are impossible, we promise!) You’ll get an extra 10 points for completing our weekly challenges! If you have not joined the challenge, go ahead and sign up!

Our week 1 challenge to you is simple: just get into the habit of tracking your progress everyday using our #HealthyHabits tracker! You can download it from our website, or you can pick up a printed copy at the front desk.

#HealthyHabitsTrackerDownload

Have you ever had a habit that you just can’t shake? Or had a habit that you want to instill in your life, but it never catches on? One great way to be mindful of the habits you keep is journaling. The health and wellness realm is made up of exercise, nutrition, sleep, water intake, and relaxation/mediation time. Tracking each of these categories will aid in creating healthy habits, as well as getting rid of unhealthy ones. That’s why we created our #HealthyHabits challenge and tracker! 

Get into the habit of writing down your daily habits using our tracker. Even if you didn’t hit your goals, it’s motivating to get into the practice of journaling.  

A habit journal is a way to visualize your goals, whether they be daily or weekly. Having a list of tasks each day to complete serves as both a visual aid and motivation. Habits take roughly 90 days to form, so it is important to remember that you won’t be perfect! When life feels chaotic, logging any habit can give you a sense of control. 

Before altering your habits, it is important to understand why you have the routine you do. The CDC says that reflecting is one important way to keep your eating and exercise habits consistent.

“The benefits of regular exercise are proven. It can do wonders for your overall health,” said Dr. James Turek, a family medicine physician at Tidelands Health. 

In order to create healthy habits, journaling is known to help!  

REMINDER: All 3 YMCA of Coastal Carolina center locations will be closed for a staff training on Sunday, April 21, 2024.

Updated Hours Today

We hope you and your family stayed safe during the storm. We will resume normal operations at all three YMCA of Coastal Carolina center locations at 11 a.m. today. 

  • Thursday, August 31: All three center locations will reopen at 11 a.m.
  • Friday, September 1: All three center locations will be open during normal hours.
 24-hour access will be unavailable to Tidelands Health Georgetown Family YMCA during the times the center is closed but will resume as normal tonight.