As the Marketing Director at Galen, you can imagine I’d be excited about our new blog. So much so, that I agreed to write something for it. Sure! I said, months ago, thinking I would have plenty of time to come up with something relevant to nursing students, education and how cool I think it is that so many of you have crazy busy lives, yet are figuring out how to fit in nursing school education to pursue this great career.

But I keep finding myself wanting to write about something else, besides Galen and nursing, that is near and dear to my heart. Because I see and hear first-hand how hard nursing students work and I put two and two together–that you are not always putting yourself, and your health, first. And don’t roll your eyes, yes, your health. In my spare time, I am a bit of a fitness and health fanatic. I teach spinning classes and am a long-distance runner (ran in the Boston Marathon this past April, but that is for another blog post).

I would like to make a few suggestions that are not a diet, they are not a New Year’s resolution, and they are simple, easy things we can do to improve our own health. We are the first line of defense to illness and disease. Not the health industry, not your doctor and not you when you become a nurse and start self-diagnosing your own symptoms! There are easy things we can do that will make a difference over time. Here goes:

1. Take the stairs! If you have to go only one flight, you can manage the stairs. I promise.
2. Limit the soda (pop if you’re from up north). I’m not saying cut it out, but talk about empty calories that serve absolutely no purpose and have been linked to all sorts of baaaad stuff.
3. Drink water.
4. Drink more water.
5. Refer to 2 and 3.
6. Instead of mayonnaise on the sandwich, try just mustard. It won’t kill you. I promise.
7. Park in the last spot, furthest away from the front door (assuming it’s not raining, and you are not late for class).
8. Processed food is a part of life. I get that. But when you can, go au naturel.
9. Bring munchies from home. An apple, an orange, a banana with a little plastic container of peanut butter, almonds, throw a box of Triscuits in your backpack.
10. Speaking of oranges, don’t drink fruit juice. Fruit is sugar enough naturally. Fruit juice, killer. And to, forget your vitamins is not an excuse. Sugar, like in #2, is linked to all sorts of baaaaad stuff. Eat the real thing and save your thirst quencher for water!!

See, that wasn’t so bad! You don’t have to turn your life upside down and make all sorts of hard to keep promises to do something better for yourself now. Little things add up. If you want to make bigger changes, sometimes you have to start small.

Yours in health, and to a great future!

— Anna Kitson is Marketing Director for Galen College of Nursing.