As fall turns to winter animals begin filling up on fatty, starchy foods to prepare themselves for hibernation. You know, months of sleeping and avoiding veggies. Does this story ring familiar with any of you?

Poor nutrition for months, paired with little exercise (hey, it’s cold out there!), equaling summer clothes that no longer fit and a sad, mopey you.

Well, no more moping! It’s time to get back on the wagon and into shape again.  If your gut reaction is similar to mine, a whiny little voice protesting, “But I don’t wannnnnnna”, you’re not alone. And honestly, when your gut looks like mine does then it’s time to intervene and stop letting it make decisions, y’know?

Don’t worry, at Homegrown & Healthy we are all about the baby steps. So if you’re like me and need to start very, very small to ease yourself back into these healthy habits, then don’t fear. Commit to these simple steps for now and pledge to start to make the change to a fitter trimmer lifestyle.

Then stick with us for the next few months because we’re going to be featuring tons of fitness advice from true blue coaches all around the world. We’ll be bringing you lots of articles focused on fitness and nutrition, different workouts that you can do, and simple changes that you can make to see the results that you want.

In the meantime, here’s my advice. Three simple things that ANYONE can and should be doing every day. Can you pledge to add these things into your every day routine?

1. Stretch

You may no be a yoga expert, but taking a few minutes every day to do some simple stretches will help you start loosening up those muscles and getting you ready for subsequent exercise. Think back to your days in gym class: the stretches that you did back then will suffice for now. Still unsure? Youtube is your friend!

2. Move

No matter how busy you are, no matter how out of shape you are, you need to get out there and move. Do you like to garden? That’s moving. How about playing with your kids? Walking the dog? Don’t just leave the dancing to the professionals! Research shows that regular, brisk walking can reduce the risk of heart attack by the same amount as more vigorous exercise, such as jogging. Don’t worry about time consuming, strenuous exercising right at this moment, you can always work up to that. For now just get your booty out there and do anything.

3. Drink more water

Yeah, duh. We know that. But how many of you are actually getting your 8 glasses in a day? Make a commitment to drink more water.  Even if it’s uncomfortable, even if you have to pee every thirty minutes, just do it. Soon it’ll become habit and you won’t even realize that you’re drinking your daily requirements, and then some.

A good rule of thumb? Take your body weight (in pounds) and divide it in half.  That number is a good guideline for how many ounces of H2O you should be getting a day.  Want to know my trick that makes it even easier? Invest in a big water bottle that you can carry around with you. If you’re 150 pounds then your ounces comes out to 75 (150/2). I had a big water bottle that holds 25 ounces, so I knew that I had to fill that and drink it between each main meal.