Living well is to glow, right? It’s to feel strong, energetic, and refreshed. Wouldn’t you say? It’s to love your body enough to take good care of it. I try to live healthy — I truly enjoy healthy food, I drink over 80 ounces of water a day, and I like to exercise. That’s not to say I don’t sometimes enjoy that which would be deemed unhealthy (When it comes to homemade chocolate chip cookies, pizza, and chips & salsa, my self control usually flies out the window).
I’ve been running since middle school, but have recently decided to take a month or so off from it. The plan is replace my weekly running with HIIT (high intensive interval training) workouts, yoga, spin classes, free weights, etc. My mind and body were getting bored with the slow miles, and I’d like to try and avoid any major exercise burn-out. Time to change it up, make it more interesting and fun. I’ll keep you posted.
With spring arriving, I was thinking about how I live well, taking inventory if you will…
DAILY VITAMINS: One-A-Day Women’s Vitamin, B12
CAN’T LIVE WITHOUT MY: New Balances. [It’s how I get away with wearing tennis shoes to work.]
DAILY BREAKFAST: Bagel/Toast with scrambled eggs, or bowl of cereal with some fruit.
5 THINGS ALWAYS IN MY MEDICINE CABINET: Band-aids, Ibuprofen, Vitamin C.
FAVORITE WORKOUT: Spin class.
ONCE A WEEK I: Go for a walk through the neighborhood.
BEST FAST SNACK OPTION: Trail mix, bananas, Kind bars.
BEST HEALTHY RESTAURANT TIP: Watch out for the salad dressings and sauces.
ONCE A WEEK I COOK: Pasta!
MOST IMPORTANT HEALTH ADVICE: Stop comparing. Find what healthy means for you.
CRAZY HEALTH IDEA THAT ACTUALLY WORKS: Water, water, water.
MY FOOD PHILOSOPHY: Enjoy it, but remember it’s solely fuel, not a solution to boredom or stress. [Toughie for me]
SIMPLEST WAY TO IMPROVE HEALTH: Minimize the stress… [Also a tough one for me]
MY CURRENT MANTRA: Make choices out of care for your body, not dislike or distress.
MY GUILTY PLEASURE: Zaxby’s fries with Zax sauce…. or an Auntie Ann’s pretzel.
MY HEALTH PASSION: Running!
HEALTH TREND TO SKIP: Skipping meals. Never helpful.
MY GO-TO SMOOTHIE: Anything with lots of berries.
I’d love to hear how you would answer some of these! Always fun to learn what other people are up too.
Great tips! It sounds like you have a good head on your shoulders about staying healthy. A few years ago, I made the switch from running to HIIT workouts and weight training, and I haven’t looked back! I’ve never felt better and it really did shake me out of a workout rut. I hope you enjoy it!
Gotta love pasta and running! :)
Wow – you are inspiring!
My current manta: Think about what you want most, not what you want in the moment.
:) Lindsey Smallwood
http://www.songbirdandanerd.com/
Brilliant mantra, Lindsey! I like that a lot. Might be going on the mirror. :)
Love that point– “make choices out of care”. So often it’s out of something else in our hearts that we need to evaluate!
Love this, Chelsea! I have to admit that exercising is a real chore for me, so I envy the fact that you enjoy it. I really like your quote about health: stop comparing and figure out what it means for you. YES. Thank you for the reminder!
Sounds like a good idea to change it up in the exercise department–I know if I get too bored with a certain exercise, I’ll eventually just give up on that exercise altogether. Variety is a good thing for me!
Yes! Rachel, I forget the importance and value of mixing things up every now and then.
I’m so glad, Kristen! I’ve learned to look at exercise as a whole, a means of caring for myself and enjoying life.. not just losing pounds. It’s been freeing!
LOVE your mantra!
Thanks, Alyssa!
I love this idea of sharing how you live well :) Very inspiring!
Great tips! Thanks for sharing on Motivational Monday. Hope you will link up again tomorrow night!