While I’m out enjoying spending time with my family (both new and old) during our wedding extravaganza, my wonderful blog friends have offered up their love and are helping me keep the blog alive! Today, Julie from Wearing Mascara gives us her action plan for getting healthy. Best of luck, Julie, I know you will be successful in getting back to a healthy, happy you!!
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Back To Healthy Basics
Hello!
Big thanks to Becca for allowing me to guest post today. My name is Julie and I blog at Wearing Mascara.
My blog is always changing and currently, I am blogging about my life as a new professional in Cleveland, Ohio. In real life, I am constantly giggling and changing my nail color.
Back in 2008, I started getting healthy from the inside and out. What I mean by this is that I started educating myself about nutrition and exercise. I started running and even completed my first 5K.
Ever since then, I have been following that healthy streak. But there are times when I fall backwards and it’s really hard to bounce back. This past year has been a huge year of transition for me and unfortunately, I have fallen backwards on the healthy wagon. Sometimes, I even feel like I am back to who I was in 2008.
With all the advice and noise about being healthy out there, it is very difficult to sift through it all. I decided that if I want to get back to being the healthy me, I have to think back to my healthiest and happiest times and copy what I did back then.
So far, it is working. Slowly but surely, I am feeling better but there are some things I still need to work on.
Here is my personal plan of action:
1. Have a fulfilling breakfast. I have a tendency to lose weight and feel really good when I eat a lot in the morning. A big bowl of oatmeal + fruit + a little bit of peanut butter works wonders.
2. Strength train, strength train, strength train! My body is naturally strong and curvy. In order to keep myself feeling strong, I need to always incorporate strength training whether it’s through yoga or good ole’ fashion weight training. When I am able to easily pick up groceries, I feel my best.
3. Eat less meat. Typically, when I eat less processed meat (especially organic), I feel good. My body functions so much better.
4. Eat more protein. Bring on the Chobani yogurt, beans, organic eggs and milk, and Chia seeds! These foods make me feel fulfilled but not full (and I believe there is a difference).
5. Eat one salad a day. When I was feeling my best, I was also eating one huge salad for lunch. Having this goal really made my lunches taste great and gave me the energy I needed for the rest of the afternoon.
6. Focus on water. I’m actually pretty good about water, but I wanted to mention it in my plan because I need to improve my intake during non-work days like summers and weekends. It works wonders when my goal is to drink at least two full Nalgene bottles a day (80 ounces).
This plan is just what works for me. I hope it serves as a good example if you are feeling the same way I am. The trick is to look back on your life, pick out the time when you felt amazing, and mimic that. I am confident I will start feeling better by following my personal plan of action.
Hugs and mascara,
Julie
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
#5 and #6 work well for me too!
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I love chia seeds! And I totally need to drink more water. I’m on the road most of the day and I never seem to pack enough…especially in this heat!
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That’s a really wonderful list that isn’t too daunting or terrifying for most people! Just nice, healthy reminders that we all need. I need to focus much more on #2, but it’s easy for me to ignore that and find distractions.
I’m curious about #3. Do you mean that you feel overall better when you focus on less total meat consumption? Or, is it just that you feel better when you eat less processed meat? And, do you mean that you also notice a difference in the way you feel when consuming organic meat vs conventionally raised meat? (I’m a little confused by your parenthesis there!)
I practice the once-a-week Vegetarian lifestyle, but do it more for environmental reasons than health ones. I don’t eat processed meat and buy mostly organic meats. But, I haven’t noticed a change in the way I feel, just that I know it’s healthier. Maybe I need to pay closer attention, or bump that once per week change up to twice per week!
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Hi Renee!
Thanks for your comment. I looked at #3 again and can see why you would be confused! I wrote it wrong. What I mean is that I feel better when I eat more organic meats or less meat at all. If I could afford it, I’d eat organic meat most of the time, but since I can’t afford it, I tend to just stay away from meat and eat less of it. For example, when I am at home, I never cook with meat. I just never really have and it doesn’t interest me. If I am out, I’ll order it, but I need to be more conscious of what kind of meat I am consuming and if it’s not organic, I need to eat it sparingly. I just feel better when I do. By eating this way, I feel a lot better overall. Thanks so much!
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Thank you! I’m definitely going to pay closer attention to the way that I feel after eating and see if I notice a correlation between meatless and organic meat eating days. I definitely wouldn’t give up meat all together, but I could work on ensuring that all of the meat that I cook is organic. (Like you, I’d just use less of it.)
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