TAKING ACTION: ✅Share your weekly win below! Did you get more steps in? Crush your nutrition? Whatever you did well, tell me about it below! 🎉 It’s Friday, and not only that, it’s the first Friday of our STEPtember Challenge! Celebrating our wins is always fun, but there’s something special about the celebrations that come in when everyone is excited about a new challenge. 🎉 By now, you all should know just how important it is to celebrate your small wins. If it weren’t for your small ones, the big wins wouldn’t happen. If you really think about it, the small wins are the real MVPs, which means we should be thankful for each one—and celebrate each of them, as well! I encourage you to take a few minutes and think about what you’ve done well this week. Nothing is too small, friends. Every win counts. You don’t have to believe me. Believe the science. ⬇️ “Every small win gives your brain a spritz of dopamine, the feel-good neurochemical in your brain. Better yet, when we string together a continual series of small wins, you can increase the regular amount of dopamine being released into your brain for more constant joy and pleasure in your work, family, and hobbies.” —Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

TAKING ACTION: ✅Tell me how you’re doing with our STEPtember Challenge! Have you been getting your steps in so far this week? How do you feel overall? I want to hear from you today. 🫶 In case you haven’t guessed, walking is good for you. Obviously, it burns calories and is a great form of exercise, but have you ever considered the health benefits? Yesterday’s article briefly touched on a handful of the benefits, but if you truly knew just how much walking could improve your overall health, you’d make it a point to get your steps in consistently. 💯 Research suggests that walking 8,000-10,000 steps per day improves everything, including heart and brain health, which means it’s also great for your mental health. Walking regularly can help ease symptoms related to chronic mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. The best news, as the article below suggests, is that there’s no “right” way to do it! You can find your own style and still reap the benefits. The article below is a bit lengthy, but I encourage you to take time today to check it out—and most importantly, find your style and get steppin’! 👟 The Science Behind Why Walking Is So Good for You

TAKING ACTION: ✅Comment DONE below after you get your steps in today! 👟See details below!! “Walking is the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.” —Carrie Latet There’s no denying that there are many wonderful ways in which we can move our bodies. The possibilities are endless; however, I want to point out one thing today. Before there were fitness gyms—before there were weight machines and ellipticals—before there were dumbbells, workouts on demand, sports, or anything else, there was one thing—walking. As the quote says, “Walking is the most ancient form of exercise.” And this is exactly why we’re focusing on our steps this month! 👟 We are all aware that walking is a great exercise, but I can almost bet you haven’t considered that it's actually the most ancient form of exercise or movement. That has to stand for something. We are meant to move in this way, and the best part is that for most, it’s a completely natural form of movement. While it's no secret that walking is a great (and simple) form of exercise, its benefits actually extend beyond weight control. If you have time for a little extra learning today, check out the website below for more benefits of walking and getting in your steps! ⬇️ 6 surprising health benefits of walking - BHF ________________________________________________________________________________________ 🚶‍♀️ BE WELL STEP CHALLENGE! 🚶‍♀️ Okay, y’all! We’re starting a step challenge, but I want you to understand something before we begin: This is NOT about everybody hitting 10,000 steps a day. We all have different starting points, different schedules, and different bodies. The goal of this challenge is to get you moving MORE than you are right now and start building a habit that you can actually maintain. Here’s how we’re doing it: For the first 2–3 days, pay attention to how many steps you normally get in a day. That’s your baseline.

TAKING ACTION: ✅After looking through the best produce to choose in September, tell me which is your Fall fruit and vegetable! Let me know in the comments below! “Live in each season as it passes: breathe the air, drink the drink, taste the fruit.” –Henry David Thoreau It’s officially September, and the countdown to the holiday season is on. ⏳ In following the quote above, I wanted to talk about a topic we don’t discuss much—the importance of consuming seasonal produce. 🍎 If you’re like most people, you don’t really consider the benefits of eating seasonal foods. These days, grocery stores are stocked with almost every fruit and vegetable year-round. With that said, the benefits of eating food that is in season are numerous! Not only is it beneficial for you nutritionally, but it also supports nature and the environment. We’re going to discuss this in more depth throughout the month, as well as learn more about the benefits of walking—so be sure to stay plugged in! In the meantime, check out some of the best produce to choose in September! ⬇️ September Produce: Guide to Seasonal Vegetables and Fruits

TAKING ACTION: ✅STEPtember challenge this month! More details to come. ✅September is a transitional season into fall and when our bodies innately want to slow down and reflect- who is interested in doing a one-week No Background Noise Challenge this month?! Let me know in the comments!! Happy Monday, friends! Can you believe September is right around the corner? Wild, huh? 🤯 The good news is that next month also brings something else—our STEPtember Walking Challenge! This is one of the most fun challenges we do all year long and is the perfect way to ramp up our daily activity, improve our overall health, and shed a little extra fat! (Hopefully September is also going to bring some cooler weather, but I digress. 😅 ) We’re going to have a lot of fun this month, and of course, we’re going to learn! I’ve done my research and am collecting the most valuable (and interesting!) information on the benefits of walking—and I can’t wait to share it all with you! I encourage you to take advantage of our programming this month. This month’s activity (or lack thereof) will set you up and help you build habits for the upcoming holiday season. Now is the time to dig in, friends. Let’s go. 🔥