5 Simple Ways to Make March Healthy

March 1 always seems like a pivotal point in the year. We begin to believe that spring is around the corner. We’ve survived most of winter and days of sunshine remind us that days of sunshine are around the corner. It’s a good time to shake off the habits of winter and refocus on being healthier and ultimately, happier. It doesn’t take much, but small changes add up to larger transformations.

This March, focus on these 5 simple ways to being healthier physically, mentally and emotionally.

Spend at least 15 minutes a day outside.

It’s easy to brush aside the winter blues as a myth, until the rogue day of sunshine and warmer temperatures when you’re mood seems to soar. You smile more easily, you move more, you feel physically and mentally clearer and lighter. In March, the days get longer minute by minute. Take advantage of those minutes of sunlight by spending more time outdoors than the winter months allowed. Science is beginning to prove that spending time outside is essential to human health and happiness.

If you work longer hours, choose to spend 15 minutes of your lunch break outside of your office building. Get up just 15 minutes earlier to take a quick walk around the block. Whatever it takes, this March take your body and mind outside more often.

Eat fruit and/or vegetables at each meal.

It’s not exactly peak produce season, but March brings us one step closer and let’s be honest, you can find apples and kale at the grocery store all year round. We tend to eat heartier meals filled with more starches and protein in the winter months – fending off the cold with rich stews and comforting dishes. And while there’s nothing wrong with a little chicken pot pie, the benefits of filling your plate with produce in lieu of starchy carbs and sugars are plentiful.

Give your body the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants it’s been craving all winter. Add a piece of fruit to breakfast and snacks. Start lunch and dinner with a bowl of greens topped with vegetables in every color of the rainbow. Smoothies work, yogurt parfaits are delicious, and any time you can trade a carrot stick for a Dorito is a good time.

Schedule your workouts, often.

Movement matters. Unless you are a winter sports fanatic and live close enough to a mountain to head to the slopes daily, the cold winter months don’t exactly scream “exercise”. As the weather lightens it’s barrage in March, make the healthy decision to move more. To help yourself stay motivated and on track, create a schedule and stick to it.

Make it work for you. Do you like to run? Sign up for an early April 5k and get to training. Are you thinking of bikini season and are starting to itch to get back into toned shape again? Put together a strength training program (get the basics here), and get your butt to the gym. Would you prefer the camaraderie of group classes? Pencil spin, Zumba and pilates into your weekly planner.

Drink enough water, every day.

Staying hydrated is up there on my list of must-dos-to-stay-healthy along side exercising and avoiding food that makes me feel crappy. I like my water ice cold and in the middle of winter on a negative-degree day, ice cold water isn’t super enticing. March kicks that excuse to the dirt. Staying super hydrated will keep you energized and focused, you’ll feel satiated longer and keep your metabolism kicking in high gear.

Shoot for half of your body weight in ounces per day. Seem like a lot? Try it for the whole month, then let the habit go in April. I GUARANTEE you will feel the difference between being hydrated and being thirsty on day 1.

Decompress for at least 10 minutes every night.

Every day we’re faced with endless stimuli. Problems to be solved, people to interact with, intelligent sentences to form. It all takes a toll and can add up into stress that we feel physically, mentally and emotionally at the end of the day. Take just 10 minutes from your nightly routine to decompress.

Put down your phone. Turn off the TV. Take a bath or find a quiet space to just let everything fall off of your shoulders. We all decompress differently. What’s important is that these 10 minutes are about you and you alone. They are a moment to quiet the thoughts running through your mind, to be grateful for the blessings of the day, to shake off anxieties that you’ve held onto since the morning. This is a moment to let it all go.

Every day won’t be perfect. There are too many unknowns, too many things out of our control. But there are simple actions that you can take, every day, to be just a bit healthier and a bit happier. Ultimately, that happiness is the goal.