Let me ask you a question. How often do you put yourself first? Putting yourself first means doing things that are good for you, even if it takes work. How many times a week do you exercise? I mean, really, really exercise, heart rate up, sweating, getting all of that blood flowing through your body. How many days? Truth. Not just last week or the week before, but in general, how many days do you exercise a week? 

Put Yourself First with exercise

Exercise is by far the best medication.  The more you do it, the better it is. And as I am sitting on this stationary bike right now,  biking outside is not exactly my thing. Especially in New York, where I am more concerned of near death being hit on my bike than I am about the exercise. So that's not something I'm going to do. And then, you know, you hear some people getting up every morning and going for these 6:00 AM runs. That's also not me. I am very lucky to get up, get dressed, get my son fed, into school and me to work. So morning exercise is not my thing either. I started dancing when I was a little girl.  At three years old, I took my first ballet class and I have been dancing my whole life. I have found an awesome dance routine exercise—Anna Kaiser technique—that I get to do when I go home at night, right on Zoom. And I love it. I think about it. I can't wait to do it. So that's what I want you to do—find something that you love something, that you cannot wait to do—that you put in your schedule, that you get to move that way. You get to do that thing that makes you healthy and makes you feel good.

Find your thing

Is it dancing? Is it riding a bike? Is it getting up at 6:00 AM and going for that run? What is it? It doesn't matter what it is, you just got to find something. Here's another thing about it: all day long, as much as we're sitting all day long in front of the computer, in our chairs, commuting, whatever it is, our butts are sitting. We're sitting. We've gotta just make movement part of our lives. That when you're actually having a meeting, maybe you do it on a bike. Maybe you get up and stand. Maybe just go for a walk. You have to just keep moving. Somebody recently said, “sitting the new smoking.” Think about it. Remember the days when smoking was the thing that was going to cause you to die. I think it's time we think of sitting the same way. The more you sit, the worse it is, believe it or not it changes, your cholesterol, your inability to process sugars. You get fat, you get unhealthy, it increases your risk of heart disease. You've got to get up and you got to move and you've got to make it a part of your day. You’ve got to put yourself first.

Check your heart rate

To check your heart rate, take your index finger, follow it up to your wrist. Put your fingers right there. That's your pulse. You can check your pulse for 10 seconds. Multiply times six. And that's your heartbeat per minute. As you exercise, your heart rate goes up and that tells us how much work you're doing. You know, exercise is not just about making you look good or feel good. It's about getting your heart healthy. So let's make sure we're doing enough. You can also measure your heart rate with your smart watch. I love that with my Apple Watch I can actually see if I am exercising to the maximum that I want to do.

Don’t own a smart watch?

No worries! It’s easy to calculate your heart rate:

• 200 minus your age

• Take that number and multiply it by 85%

(200-age) x .85 = exercise heart rate

That's where you want to get your heart rate to by exercising for cardiovascular benefit. Now, if you're just starting, don't multiply by 85%, multiply by 65%. Start there and gradually work your way up until you get your heart rate to goals. The best way to do this is for 30 minutes, five days a week—starting really slow, really slow. But if you start exercising for 30 minutes, five days a week, you will find it improved. That heart rate becomes higher and higher, the fitter and fitter you get. Good luck!

Every day is a new opportunity to make a better choice

So what are you going to do to make a better choice tomorrow to be healthy and put yourself first? I want you to think about this and I want you to commit to it. Pick one thing tomorrow, starting now that you are going to do for yourself, that is going to make you feel healthier. I know what I'm going to do—I'm going to make sure that I start drinking more water. Sometimes I forget to take my mask off in my office and take a quick sip of water before I go out. But I know I need to for my health. Sometimes it's really hard to put yourself first and sometimes it's really hard to remember to put yourself first. 

So, tell me what are you going to do to put yourself first for your health tomorrow? Go to my Instagram and tell me what you're going to do.