Challenge Yourself

Practical ways to be healthier in 2024

10,000 Steps

Walking 10,000 steps is the equivalent of approximately five miles. That sounds like a huge undertaking, but the Mayo Clinic reports that most adults take 3,000–4,000 steps just doing things around the house and at work. While everyone’s pace is different, a 30-minute walk is roughly 2,000–3,000 steps. If you’re not already making time for walks, start with a 20-minute walk with the dog or a friend and expand on it until you get to 10,000 steps.

Apps with unique features that also track progress:

• Charity Miles

• Map My Walk

Drink (and eat) More Water

We all know water is good for us, but how much is enough? According to the Mayo Clinic, eight cups of water a day is a reasonable goal. But the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine suggests that more daily fluid intake is needed for healthy adults. In addition to the daily eight glasses, eat vegetables (celery, cucumber, spinach, zucchini) and fruits (strawberries, watermelon, oranges) with high water content. Fruit and vegetable juices, milk and herbal teas are also sources of hydration.

Apps that keep you on track:

• Waterllama

• Daily Water

Eat 30 Plants a Week

Thirty different plants a week probably sounds impossible. Yes, it is a challenge, but it’s doable. It equates to fewer than five a day. Eating a variety of plants creates a more diverse gut biome, which helps fight disease and infection and properly digest food. The good news is that plants also include beans, grains and nuts. But to create diversity in your diet and reap the benefits of this challenge, you can only count each plant once (if you eat carrots three times a week, that counts as one).

Apps that offer recipes and tracking:

• Food Monster

• Eat Five

Get Outside

There is a challenge called 1000 Hours Outside, suggesting people spend 1,000 hours outdoors in a year’s time. It was created to counteract screen time because some children spend 1,200 hours a year in front of screens! One thousand hours a year equates to under three hours a day or 19 hours a week. If that seems like too much, why not challenge your family to an equal amount of screen hours to outdoor hours?

Apps to help track time spent outdoors:

• 1000 Hours Outside

• NatureDose

Digital Detox Challenge

Americans average more than four hours per day on mobile devices (and a whopping seven hours a day on screens in general). Do you know how much time you spend on your phone every day? To check your screen time report on an iPhone: Open Settings > Screen Time > See All Activity. On an Android: Open Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls. OK, it’s time for a detox. It’s probably unrealistic to go cold turkey, but could you challenge yourself to cut usage in half for a period of time? Consider removing social media apps from your phone to support the cause.

Apps that help set limits:

• Offscreen

• Opal

• Roots

Dry January

Did you drink more than usual this holiday season? Moderate alcohol drinking is defined as two or fewer daily drinks for men and one or fewer daily drinks for women per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dry January is a public health initiative launched by Alcohol Change UK, challenging people to give up alcohol for 31 days. People who have successfully completed the challenge report better sleep and weight loss, among other things.

Apps that support and track progress:

• Try Dry

• Drinker’s Helper

Pam Molnar is a freelance writer and mother of three who strives to make her health a priority.