5 Numbers You Should Be Tracking

The scale is NOT your friend. It can be misleading and leave you feeling like you're not on track to reach your goals.

Having other numbers that you can check in with on a weekly or monthly basis help you to stay on track towards a healthy lifestyle. 

Here are 5 numbers to track: 

1) Waist measurement
Aiming for a waist measurement of 80cm or less as a woman is, I believe, the # 1 to track. 
A waistline over 80cm can put you on the road to a number of lifestyle diseases, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancers. 

2) 150 minutes
This is total number of minutes of exercise you can aim for during a 7 day period. 
It's roughly about 20 minutes per day or break it down into two 10 minute sessions. 

My top tip is to choose 3 songs that you love love love to dance to and play those while you're preparing breakfast in the morning or before the madness of bathtime and supper in the evening. 
These are my top 3 songs - 

• Gold by Jeremy Loops
• Allstar by Smashmouth
• Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5

3) 10,000 steps
The American Heart Association recommends that we aim to walk 10,000 steps per day for good health. Now for those of us sitting behind a desk or spending a lot of time in the car this can seem like a mammoth number to reach. 
But it ties in nicely with #2 above. 
And if you break it down then 10,000 steps over a 12 hour period say 6am to 6pm works out at about 830 steps an hour.
This is 14 steps a minute. 
Setting your timer to get up and walk for 5 minutes every hour can certainly see you racking up more than 80 steps in 5 minutes!
You could probably do close to 600 steps. Put your mind to it and walk like you mean it in the parking lot, the corridor or the stairs. 

4) 30g of fibre
The average person probably only eats about 1/2 this amount each day.
Fibre helps to slow down digestion and balance blood sugars. It helps to lower blood pressure and gives you a feeling of fullness. Eating fibre also helps in eliminating waste from your body. 
Aim to eat fibre at every meal and snack. Include vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds or legumes to whatever you are eating. 

Article about fibre...

5) Fasting Blood Sugar
Aim to have a fasting blood sugar of less than 5.6mmol/litre.
When blood sugar is high it is an indicator that your body is not making enough insulin or is not using insulin properly. 
Having too much blood sugar in your blood can damage your blood vessels, nerves and organs. 

Make it a priority to reduce your blood sugar to a safe level by including unprocessed foods into your daily meals. This means preparing meals from scratch and choosing foods that will nourish you not soothe a craving. 

Do you want to start tracking these 5 numbers but not sure what you need to eat? Let me help you - book your FREE Strategy Session and get a plan of action to move in the direction of good health and loads of energy. 

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