When you have strong support and insight from a wellness coach who wants you to succeed, you’ll begin to feel more confident in your meal preparations and relationship with food.  And more than likely, you’ll start to feel more energy the longer you eat heart-healthy meals.

 

But just like when it comes to food choices, doctors often send you home with a basic list of exercises or the vague advice of “walk more often.”

 

Building exercise habits without a plan sets you up for failure and can undo the other good habits you’ve been building in the kitchen.

 

Don’t doom yourself to failure before even picking up a weight. Fitness should be fun and feel good!  However, it can feel scary to start a new routine or to change what you’ve been doing.

 

Let me help you move beyond the humdrum of boring exercises with fun fitness and healthy habit challenges and programs designed to target your areas of concern.

 

Plus, you can get fitness advice that meets you where you are and works hand-in-hand with your weekly meal plans to lower high blood pressure.

 

Remember: when fitness is fun and feels good, it’s a lot easier to stick with those habits and build a healthier lifestyle full of movement.

 

And just like your healthy eating habits, you don’t have to do this alone—there’s a support system waiting for you here.

 

Once you build regular movement and integrate healthy fitness, you’ll start noticing that it’s becoming easier to manage your stress.

All human beings feel some stress from day to day. Stress can actually be a good thing; it helps you connect with what matters.

 

However, we were not made to be stressed 24/7.

 

And maintaining elevated levels of stress for long periods has a direct impact on our cardiovascular health. Too much stress, for too long, literally can hurt your heart.

 

But eliminating all the things that stress us simply isn’t possible. So our next question is, how can we manage stress to lower high blood pressure?

 

The first step to effective stress management is recognizing what is causing us stress in the first place. That can vary wildly from one person to the next, so it’s crucial to identify your stress points. Some things that stress us out are things we can change, while others are things that we can’t.

 

Constant worrying can harm our heart health and drive our blood pressure sky high even if we’re eating the right foods.

 

Do you need help creating more mindful moments? Imagine how much less stressful healthy eating and movement will be when you have our personalized plans and support to lift you up.

 

Did you know that regular exercise is clinically proven to help reduce feelings of stress? And intentional movement can help the body process unhealthy stress hormones while also increasing mood-boosting endorphins.

 

So, as you build your healthy movement habits, you’ll likely begin to feel less stressed. And you can lower your stress even more by adding other heart-healthy habits like a good night of rest, which works wonders for stress.

 

How many of us are sleep deprived, burning the candle at both ends for too long?

 

Once we get a better handle on stress management, it gets easier to get the good, quality sleep our bodies need to regulate internal processes.

Did you know that your sleep could be a significant factor in keeping your blood pressure elevated?

 

While every person’s sleep needs are slightly different, most of us need around seven to eight hours of sleep a night.

 

When was the last time you got a full night of sleep?  When was the last time you slept without tossing and turning or waking up?

 

Many experts think there’s a link between sleep deprivation and higher blood pressure levels.

 

During the night, our bodies need to process and clean house. While we sleep, our bodies handle the hormonal messes that stress makes in our internal systems.

 

From tidying up our brains to removing excess hormones from our blood and tissues, sleep is vital.

 

Getting less than six hours of sleep a night, waking up off and on, or just not falling asleep at all can increase stress levels instead of lowering them, driving your blood pressure up.

 

Don’t despair. Good, nourishing, replenishing sleep is within reach.

 

As you stay with your healthy eating habits, you might already notice a difference in your sleep quality. Add in those healthy movement habits, and you will see a difference.

 

But good, quality sleep also depends on you making mindful and intentional routines that make your sleep a priority to your overall health.

 

These days, juggling our work, family, and other obligations can keep us busy well into the night. Then, we turn around and drag ourselves out of bed in the morning, unrested and unwell.

 

Many of us stagger to the coffee pot to get the brain to wake up even though we didn’t give it enough time to recharge. And the next day, we repeat it all.

 

We become trapped in a cycle of low energy and depleted resources and never truly feel well.

 

How is your body going to properly regulate its blood pressure if it’s always running on empty?

 

Ensuring you get enough sleep every night can give you the energy you need to stick with your good habits and be more present in your life.  Plus, regularly getting the rest we need helps us maintain our mood throughout the day.

 

Here’s more insight on sleep, “Sleep…And Lower Your Blood Pressure!”

It’s incredible how so many habits and systems in the body link together, isn’t it?

 

For instance, as you eat better and move more, you’ll find you’re handling daily stress better.

 

When you’re processing stressful things in a healthier way, you may find that it’s now easier to fall and stay asleep.

 

And as you get better and more consistent sleep, you’re more likely to wake up ready to tackle the day with a sense of joy and purpose.

 

By refocusing all your unique talents and attention on practicing joy and purpose, you’ll continue the positive feedback loop created when you began your healthy eating journey.

 

And you’ll see positive heart health changes as you lower your high blood pressure.

 

Can being more joyful actually lower my blood pressure? Scientists think the answer is yes.

 

For example, studies show that happier people are more likely to choose healthy fruits and vegetables. Those who report feeling less happy say they’re more likely to reach for less healthy food choices.

 

Not only are joyful people more likely to eat heart-healthy foods, but they’re also much more likely to move their bodies.

 

Happier people even tend to get physically active for longer than unhappy people.

 

But the benefits of living in joy and purpose don’t end there. Joyful people also sleep better. As a result, they wake up feeling more ready to tackle the day. They feel focused and more productive.

 

And scientists have linked our ability to maintain a healthy weight with whether we get enough sleep or not.

 

Clearly, joy and purpose are key to our overall health and can impact our blood pressure.

 

Here’s how Harvard Health Publishing connects purpose to health, “Will a purpose-driven life help you live longer?”

 

But what is my purpose? You might ask. Where do I find joy? How?

 

The answers to these questions are different for everyone. But, many become trapped into thinking they must have some grand purpose. Not so. Living a purposeful life can be as simple as setting a goal to be the best version of yourself.

 

Others can’t seem to see joy and purpose in the world. Many feel weighed down by dire news and world events. We all have times when we struggle with finding joy.

 

But the truth is…joy is here, now. Joy is in each moment if we know how to look for it. Joy is present in our lives if we’re open to receiving it.

 

Building healthy habits can seem like a huge mountain to scale. But we’re here to help you put one foot in front of the other and find the strength inside of you to keep going.

 

We’d love to help you to scale to new heights. Are you ready for it?

 

Take a look at our heart-healthy meal plans, healthy movement challenges, and so much more.