Thursday, July 6, 2017

Healthy Choices

Healthy choices really can make all the difference. Around the end of October I got off of my normal sleeping, working out, eating, and all around being healthy schedule. Let me just say it is so much easier to break a habit than it is to create one – it seems like for me it takes about two weeks for a new habit to become natural to me and probably 5 days to break it. In October I had a lot of family obligations, then the holidays rolled around, then I used the worst excuse of all – “it’s cold I start being healthy when it warms back up” and so the snowball started rolling down the hill. Let me just say I so regretted using all of those excuses when March rolled around – healthy habits really do make all the difference in the world.

In April I made a point to workout at least three times a week, I cut coke out of my diet with the exceptions of the weekend {love the sugar rush of Coca-Cola…}, stopped drinking as much wine, and started making healthier eating decisions. This week I have made a point to go to bed earlier than I normally would, and the combination together makes an unbelievable amount of difference, and as an added bonus my clothes fit better and my eyes aren’t puffy.
Water// Kind of a no-brainer here, but once you stop drinking the recommend amount of water a day you start to crave soda and other such drinks and you lose your acquired taste for water. Drinking a good amount of water is probably one of the easiest healthy habits to develop mainly because your body starts to crave it and you can immediately tell a difference within a day or two.
Sleep// This is most definitely one of the hardest ‘healthy habits’ for me to adhere by. I’ll take a shower around 9:30 or 10:00 and then my mind will start going through a mental list and before you know it I have done 20 little things and looked up random thought that pop into my mind on the internet and all of a sudden it 12:30 or 1:00 and I am wide awake. This week I have put my computer in my closet so it is out of reach {yes, I am that weak when it comes to using my computer that I have to remove the temptation from sight}, and after I take a shower I get straight into bed red a book for 30 minutes or an hour and then turn the lights off and drift off to sleep. Just let me say, getting a good nights reason and going to bed at a reasonable time sets such a better tone for the entire day.
Eating// Sometimes eating can be the hardest one to address because it is a vehicle to be social with friends and restaurants serve such large portions; I mean seriously, an entrée at some restaurants could feed a family of 4, which is ridiculous. The two tactics I have found that work best for me when eating out is to either order an appetizer, because at most restaurants an appetizer can easily be substituted for an entrée and it is a reasonable size for one person, or I order a fish dish because I feel like it’s healthy and it does not sit heavy. But of course if it is a special occasion go ahead and splurge – in my book calories don’t exist on holidays, birthdays, vacations, and special occasions.
Working Out// The trick to working out is finding 1) the correct workout time for you {some prefer morning, some prefer night}, 2) finding a workout the you look forward to whether it be a class or a workout machine 3) concentrating on all of the positive benefits you reap: i.e. mentally more alert, happier, more in tune to what’s going on, etc. I usually do the elliptical, go for a walk outside, or do a yoga class. I prefer to workout in the morning because it’s easier for me to get it out of the way during that time of day and I can concentrate on different things through out the day much better than if I didn’t workout.

Yoga or Mediation// I usually go to yoga once or twice a week and I am ashamed to say, but I haven’t had the chance to go in a couple weeks… definitely need to start going again this coming week. When you have a chance to go to yoga or do a mediation and just be in a relaxed/calming state it makes your mind feel such much more centers, organized, and like things are such a big deal; in short it gives you to opportunity to center yourself for the day and put things in perspective.

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