Fit Life

In the craziness of life sometimes finding time to exercise is tough. Not only is a tough at times it feels impossible. There is no way between the meal preparation, laundry, dishes, dog walking and working if there time to lace up your tennis shoes and fit in a work out. 

Well I wanted to provide some encouragement for you. Living a healthy life = making healthy choices each and every day. This could be an overwhelming statement or you can look at as an opportunity to have a "do over." If you had a really rough week at work and lacked the motivation to exercise then focus on trying to make time the next day. For example, I had a crazy week at work last week. There were 100 NICU babies in our unit and I have several meetings. I was very stressed and totally lacked any motivation to work out. I decided that the next day was a new day and I needed to make some time for my own health. I took the next evening to fit in a short run and combined that with running to the grocery store and picking up some essentials. I knew that if I wanted to decrease the amount of stress I was feeling I needed a short run and I had to go to the grocery anyways so combining those two activities was perfect. It was not a super long, intense exercise session, but it was just what I needed. 

That is the perfect example of living a healthy lifestyle. It comes down to the decisions you make each day. It it your perspective/outlook of making that priority. I knew that for my own outlook on life I needed to take that time for myself and obtain some endorphins. Endorphins are amazing when it comes to changing your outlook on life and making you feeling instantly better. 

I wanted to share this article with you that I came across in the New York Times. It talks about the health of parents and how that influences their children. I learned this in school, but it was great to have some more research in the media talking about parents' health and how it relates to their child's health. So we know that overweight mothers lead to larger babies and than can translate to larger children later in life. Father's weight can have an impact on the environment the child grows up in and can lead to having an overweight child. If you want a link to this article - CLICK HERE. 

I just wanted to share that with you to encourage you to stick with making those healthy choices. It is so important for your own health, but also for your children. You owe it to yourself and your child to offer plenty of fruit/vegetables with meals, exercise regularly and demonstrate those healthy habits in your home. I know it is tough and with the craziness of the work week, but each day you have that chance to make healthy choices. You can do it! 

Healthy Habits

This is the time of year when healthy habits seem to fly out the window. The weather is cold, it is dark early in the evening and we are all busy running around getting ready for Christmas. Amongst all of this craziness it is important to try to keep up with some of those healthy habits that will keep you feel better about yourself. 

Prioritize Your Fitness:

This is what I wanted to focus on and encourage you ... stick with a fitness routine. Don't let this lapse. There will be days due to travel or family obligations that you may not be able to do your normal workout routine, but make a point the day before or after to be active. There are lots of fun runs that happen around this time of year. Sign up for one near you and get out and move! If you enjoy the gym and haven't been in awhile, pack up your gym bag and head over after work today. If you have exercise equipment in our house, then change your clothes and go use it. The perk to being active during the holidays is that it allows you to consume additional calories and then will help to prevent extra weight gain during this time of year. You will feel better about yourself as well and this is worth it. All of us need to feel good about how we look and feel and simply taking some time to be active can help in your confidence level. 

Navigate the "Holiday Treats" in Moderation: 

I think the most challenging part of making healthy food choices over the holidays is the food. There is so much of it and a lot of it is "special" and not what we normally consume. I am not saying that you can't have some of your holiday favorites, but watch the portion and space those cookies out. If you find having these treats in your house is too tempting, make sure to keep them in a storage space, which is off the counter. Try to get these tempting goodies out of your house as soon as possible. Give them away and then you will not have to deal with the on going temptation from now until Christmas. If you feel adventurous you can work to make some "healthier" swaps in those recipes. This may take some practice, but could make your favorite treats a little more friendly for your waist line. 

Make the Holiday about the People: 

This time of year, is about giving back and the people we interact with. This is the main focus. I know it can be easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget about time with family and friends. Enjoy this time with your loved ones and make this the main focus. Try not to stress about the decorations, the cleaning, the cooking or the gifts. Decreasing your own stress level is good in terms of helping to keep you healthy. 

Enjoy this festive time of year and hopefully the end of year will come to a close on a positive note! 

Getting Back Into A Healthy Routine

It is the middle of August and school is back in swing. The summer is officially wrapping up. That means that fall is just around the corner. Now is a great time to get back in healthy lifestyle habits. Over the summer we are all on crazy schedules, between vacation time, traveling, eating delicious fried foods at your local fair and going to cook outs, we all need to get our health plan re-prioritized. I love the summer festivities as much as the next person, but some times it is nice to get back in a healthy routine. 

So where do you start? What do you start thinking about first? Let's begin with food ... what you choose to put in your mouth. 

1. Make the choice to bring a healthy lunch to work. Believe or not this is huge. Eating out can be such a stumbling block to your health. Take the extra time to plan some easy, healthy lunches to take with you to work. If you are stuck and can't think of anything new then CLICK HERE for some great ideas. You can prepare these foods ahead of time and then pack them up so they are easy to grab when you head out the door.
2. Pack healthy snacks for the day. Most of us all get hungry between meals and that is perfectly normally. We should be eating 3 meals a day with 1-2 snacks. So picking healthy snack options is so important. Something that provides fiber, nutritional value and some protein will help keep you filling full until your next meal. For some good healthy snack ideas, CLICK HERE.
3. Meal plan during the week and schedule your grocery shopping. In order to be able to put together healthy lunches and snacks for the week you need to take some time to head to the grocery store. Always make out a list of things that you need and stick to that list. This will help ensure that you are choosing healthy options and that you are not spending too much money. For some good tips to navigating the grocery store, check out this post from earlier in the year - Navigating the grocery store in a healthy way.
4. Only have healthy foods on your counters. This might not seem like a big deal, but what you have visible in your kitchen will have a huge influence on what you end up eating. For example, I had some delicious, candied popcorn out on my counter from a party last week and every time I walked past that popcorn I would eat some. It got to the point that I had to put the left-overs into the cabinet so that they were out of sight out of mind. Needless to say, after moving that popcorn my strong desire to eat it ALL quickly faded. Set yourself up for success and have healthy food items within easy reach if you are hungry.

What you eat is of course important, but your physical activity has a huge role to play in your overall health as well. 

1. Schedule your work out time. If you want to start a new habit, then you need to set a time to practice that new habit. This applies to working out. Pick a time each day that you are going to do some intentional exercise. It doesn't have to be the exact some time everyday (if you schedule is varied), but you need to plan at the beginning of the day to exercise at a certain time. If it is helpful, set an alarm or a reminder in your phone to encourage you to get up and exercise. 
2. Find some time of special class/activity that you really enjoy. I think this is important. Find a class or some type of activity that you enjoy and pay to participate. I have taken up prenatal yoga classes and every Tuesday night I spend 1.5 hours at the yoga studio doing yoga and it is awesome. I look forward to those classes each week and it is such a treat to get to take that time for myself. If could be a class at a gym, spinning at a studio or even joining a running group in your local community. 
3. Get some new work out clothes/shoes and get invested. When you spend a little money on something you are just a little more invested. Go ahead and get that new pair of running shoes and then schedule regular times to run. Find a running buddy and enjoy this social time in your new running shoes/outfit. Also signing up for a race can provide great motivation in helping to ensure that you are actually training and getting ready for the event. So whatever it is you decide to do, get invested! 

So I have something fun for you ... a GIVEWAY! Take a couple minutes and fill out the form below. I have a gift card to Marsh Supermarket for you (this give away is not sponsored by or associated with Marsh). Write out 2 goals that you have for yourself to help make your health a priority. I want to encourage you to set goals and then work on accomplishing them! Good luck and I am excited to get lots of entries!

Enter to Win a $25 Gift Card from Marsh