5 Quick Fixes to Get Healthier in 1 Day

Get healthier in one day.

Sound impossible? While you can't totally make over your health in 24 hours, taking one step today will make a huge difference in attaining so many goals: energy, focus, less pain, feeling youthful, and reaching a healthy weight, to name a few.

What's the catch? There's none. The key is to take a single, positive step today.

Easy steps are good, too, because they are sustainable. Your one small choice opens the door to many results you might not have even expected, so be prepared to witness ripple effects.

Here are 5 quick fixes I've seen work again and again for my patients and coaching clients. I hope that you'll want to adopt more than one of the ideas below, but to keep it manageable, the rule is to pace yourself. Take on no more than one new idea per day. Then feel the magic happen in your wellbeing.

Fix 1: Your Eating

Before you go to sleep, plan what you'll eat tomorrow. Think through your day ahead of time to ensure that you'll have enough healthy food available. Planning your eating in advance practically ensures that you'll make smarter choices. (No winging it--sorry, it doesn't work.) Extra credit: Take a minute now to set aside some healthful food to throw in your bag in the morning.

Fix 2: P.M. Wind-Down

Ever notice how the time gets away from you at night? It's so easy to get derailed by "just one more email" before bed.

To stay on track, try this: Set an evening alarm for at least one hour before bedtime. When you hear it, end tasks and power down electronics. You'll sleep more and better, plus you'll gain valuable "me time," too.

Fix 3: Sitting

How many hours do you spend in front of the computer or TV? If you're like most of us, it's way too many, especially at one stretch.

And that's your solution--stretch. Every hour (or sooner), stand up and stretch side to side, lift your legs, or reach for the sky. All you have to do is get up from your chair. How easy is that? End sedentary days, and you'll notice the stiffness in your back, neck, and joints begin to ease--and so will your too-tight pants. Another bonus: Energy and productivity will soar.

Fix 4: Your Stuff

You know what I mean...those piles of papers, magazines, articles, or mail you've saved for "later, when I have a minute." Well, if that time hasn't arrived yet, chances are, it never will. Those stacks are what productivity experts call an "energy drain." Worse, it triggers guilt-trips, confusion, or even shame. Today, tackle one small area or one small pile of clutter. Just one. You'll feel a sigh of relief that you've started. Promise!

Fix 5: Your Thinking

Do you go through the daily routine mechanically, feeling no zest for life, or just marking the days off the calendar? Consider yourself busted for lack of excitement.

Don't just keep rolling thoughtlessly along. Shake up that ho-hum routine! I challenge you to plunge into one new experience this week. Your new activity doesn't have to be expensive or take up lots of precious time, and you don't have to be convinced you'll love it forever before you start. The point is just to do something different. Me? I'm trying a new, cool gadget, the UP bracelet by Jawbone, to measure lots of functions including my activity levels, sleep, and eating.

Choose any one of those 5 easy changes--remember, just one--right now. Congratulations! You may have just taken the first step in what could become a whole new routine that leaves you feeling sharper and more energetic than ever...and it all starts with one small action.