Highway to Health – Week 1: Re-start Your Engine

This is a guest blog post from Michelle Cartmel, health and wellness coach for Highway to Health. Michelle is a certified health and wellness coach, fitness enthusiast, self-taught cook and motivational partner. Throughout the Highway to Health series, Michelle will provide nutrition know-how, daily tips and incentives that inspire drivers to jumpstart their health journey.

Hey Everyone!

Welcome to Convoy’s Highway to Health program. For the next four weeks, I want you to think of me as your roadside companion, your cheerleader and all-up health and wellness motivator. I’m so excited to partner with Convoy on this program, because our shared value is helping others create and live a healthy lifestyle.

We all understand that if you don’t feel great, you often don’t have the motivation to do your best in your daily life at work, home, with your family, etc. With that in mind, we developed Highway to Health to empower you to embrace a healthy lifestyle and adopt some new habits that will amplify your daily output. And I don’t know about you, but the timing couldn’t be better – who doesn’t want to feel their best going into summer?  I’ve got some great tips to share throughout this journey, and the bottom line: I’m going to make it EASY for you. I know your lifestyle is hectic, so I’ve designed this program with that in mind. 

So, let’s dig right in to WEEK ONE, which we’ve themed, RE-START YOUR ENGINES. Oftentimes, we get so rooted in our routines that we don’t pause to take a look at the things that aren’t serving us well. That is why my first request to you this week is to evaluate what is going on under your hood. Here is why: our foods, especially the packaged processed ones which are widely available on the road, are filled with added sugars and sodium. For example, did you know that one 12 oz. can of Coca-Cola has 39 GRAMS OF SUGAR?!  According to the American Heart Association, women should only have no more than 6 teaspoons (25 grams) of sugar per day and men should not exceed 9 teaspoons (36 grams) of sugar per day. Added sugars are linked to a million and one health problems, not to mention weight gain. 

CHALLENGE

This brings me to my first challenge of the Highway to Health program: I want you to identify ONE unhealthy food or beverage item that you think might be detrimental to your lifestyle.

Here is what you do:

1. Identify the food or beverage; read the label of that food and be on the lookout for pitfalls like high sugar or high sodium content and/or a long laundry list of ingredients you cannot read.* Is this food doing more bad than good for you? If the answer is YES, proceed to question 2. 

2. Ask yourself how many days/week you’re having this food, then reduce the number of times/week you indulge OR quit it completely. Now, and most importantly: find a healthy substitute that satisfies your cravings.  

3. Show us what you’re cutting out on our Facebook page and one lucky person will get a gas station gift card. Perfect for someone always on the move. We’ll accept photos or comments as your entry. So don’t be shy, we want to hear from you!

Got questions about a particular food or drink? Message me on Text-In Tuesday (starting next week) and I’ll share my thoughts and steer you into healthier options if need be. 

It’s a privilege to be on this road with you. I can’t wait to see where we go with this!

Cheers to your health, Michelle Cartmel