I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Millennial Central for Evolution Fresh. I received coupons for Evolution Fresh juices to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

I’m sure you can think of at least one person you’d classify as a healthy lifestyle extremist. They might be sharing six check-ins a week at the gym or constantly be on a soapbox about one thing or another. I tend to tune those folks out. I commend them for having the willpower to do anything six days a week, but that’s not something I aspire to.

Not everyone has the time, money or motivation to go all gung-ho gym rat. I’m proud of myself when I make it two days a week. I wear a FitBit to have a little extra push to walk a those few extra steps than I did the week before. So, I’m of the belief that anyone can make at least one step toward a healthier lifestyle. You can also make 10, but you should set those steps with your personal goals in mind. I think of each change as a series of “this or that” choices. If sugary sodas is an issue for you, perhaps your small change will be to opt for a healthier beverage. If your job is very sedentary, perhaps you decide to climb the stairs on your lunch break instead of using the elevator.

Here are a few small changes you can make toward a healthier you:

1. Build in prep time.

I feel like the fundamentals you learn in Kindergarten are good to remember when setting health goals for yourself. If you take time to meal plan for the week your grocery shopping will go better. And if you make better choices at the grocery store your meals for the week will be working towards your goals. It’s all one big loop! Is this the part where I mention I work for a meal planning service?

2. Be smart with your breakfast choices.

I’m not sure how many studies have been done on how a healthier breakfast improves your overall wellbeing but I did know I couldn’t make 10 healthy recommendations list without mentioning it. Whether you’re the grab-and-go type, or the have breakfast with some morning reading, it’s important to use the early part of your day to fuel yourself.

For some, cutting back on sugary breakfasts will be their small change in the mornings. For me, I am more likely to skip breakfast all together. Which is also no bueno! I like to have something that doesn’t require brain power in the morning. Sometimes that’s yogurt, or overnight oatmeal, a smoothie or a ready-made drink like one of these from Evolution Fresh.

3. Set a weekly activity goal.

This is one of my favorite recommendations for small changes. So many people I know have the start on Monday mindset. And then if life happens and they can’t make their Monday gym visit, there’s a spiral effect that results in negative self-talk and missing all sorts of goals. Instead of setting daily goals, why not try setting a few small changes goals for yourself every week. Sunday night is a good time to grab some paper and make your list. Each week can be different. Most importantly, no carrying over judgement from the previous day or week. If you miss your mark, redirect for the next week. I use MapMyFitness (synced with my FitBit) to get weekly emails with my activity for the week.

4. Take the stairs.

According to my car it’s 104 degrees outside today. If you happen to live in a less melty part of the world this recommendation also might be to walk or ride your bike instead of driving. Again, the small changes you pick should relate to your goals. If you’re a regular gym go-er, perhaps you don’t need to go for the stairs over the elevator. I had a roommate in college who purposely picked the third floor for us to live on, so we’d be forced to take the stairs every day. If you’re wanting to make a larger change you can do something like that to force those changes. Or perhaps you just take the long way around the office in between meetings. Whatever works for you.

5. Stay hydrated.

Oh hey, I bet no one has told you lately to make sure you’re staying hydrated. Drink water. Make healthy beverage choices. Neither of these are new concepts, but they are certainly a decision you can make in a small or a large way. If you’re finding there is a particular time of day that you need to be more aware of your beverage choices, that might be the best place to start. For me, post-gym hydration is something I’ve been focusing on. I do okay to drink water throughout the day, but I find I want something different to cool down after the gym. If I’m not paying attention to the labels I could easily go over my daily sugar goals in just one drink.

Today’s post-gym beverage

(How do ya like my red face?)

6. Read the labels.

Read the ingredients and look at the nutrition facts. It seems so obvious because it is, but it’s the first step you should take any time you pick up a pre-packaged food or drink. While we’re on this topic, I must say I love the illustrations on Evolution Fresh’s bottles.

7. Be mindful with your snacking.

I am really not a snacker, so this isn’t a focus area for me. But since we’re talking about labels – consider swapping out high-sodium snacks for a healthier option. There are so many nuts, fruits, cheese, or bars that have quality ingredients.

8. Be conscious of what goes into your adult beverages.

This could probably be an entire post of its own. There are so many fun and creative ways to make healthy choices while also enjoying an adult beverage. Since we had a few Evolution Fresh juices in the house we figured why not try them out as cocktail mixers.

Rory’s pairing was Defense Up and gin. There may have been a little singing of Gin & Juice song during the setup of the gin one. Since the Evolution Fresh juices have such rich flavors it’s important to pay attention to your ratio of juice to alcohol! I had Apple Berry with Titos. It was by far the easiest and most flavorful combo I’ve had for an at-home drink. I think that would be a fun drink to serve at my next girls’ night.

9. Set milestones.

It’s important to set milestones for evaluation on how your goals are going. What would you like to accomplish in 30 days? How about 90? So many people are all about January resolutions, so who says you can’t decide of a goal in August to finish by the end of the year. Speaking of, can we just talk about the fact that’s it’s almost fall?

Thanks to Evolution Fresh for sponsoring this post. As always, we only endorse products we use and love. Evolution Fresh peels, presses, and squeezes raw fruits and vegetables. After chilling, blending and bottling their juices, they use High Pressure Processing (HPP) to help protect flavors and nutrients. I’m a fan of cold-pressed juices. Super Green is my favorite from the Evolution Fresh set because it’s what I think of when I’m watching a good “green juice”.

I just wish my fridge would magically restock itself every week! Do you think we can talk Whole Foods into delivering any time soon?

If you want to check out Evolution Fresh they have over 20 flavors on their website! We tried:

• Pinapple Coconut Water
• Apple Berry
• Carrot Orange Mango
• Essential Greens with Lime
• Organic Carrot Apple
• Defense Up
• Super Green

Also, check out their new bars. I’ve tried Cocoa with Nut Butter & a Fruit & Nut Bar with Pepita, Almond, Raisin and Cranberry. I look forward to checking out their Toasted Coconut, Pineapple and Almond bar. My local Whole Foods was sold out so that’s probably an indication of how good it is.

Have I mentioned before that I’m considering starting blog-bloopers? Well, yeah I think I need a series called “My cat is trying to ruin my blog photos.” This happened during the process of photography for this particular post. Please tell me I’m not the only one with a cat who is plotting to be Internet famous.

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