How: Staying Healthy Living on My Own

A little while ago, I asked what people wanted to see on the blog. One reader suggested I do a post on how I stay healthy while living on my own. As most of you know, I just moved out on my own for the first time. It’s been wonderful! Now let’s explore how I stay healthy

1) Exercise

I try to get exercise everyday. Exercise is not a chore for me. It’s something I enjoy. I make exercise fun! Here’s how:

• Taking classes I enjoy – yoga (new), pilates, step, body works
• Having fun cleaning – listening to music, dancing around
• Having fun period! – the other day I was getting ready, drinking a green smoothie, listening to music, and dancing around my apartment laughing at myself… this kind of thing is what makes life wonderful
• Taking walks – take lots of walk with your friends. Spend time with each other catching up and moving around. You would be surprised how much talking you can get out during a walk with a close friend I love walking with my Mom.
• Getting out of the house – instead of sitting around all day, get outside and explore your town. Every Saturday morning, Marco and I go downtown, walk around, and shop at the Farmer’s Market. It’s a new thing we do since I’ve moved out, and we love it!
• I try to get to the Gym everyday I can, because I know there will be those days where I just can’t get there. I love working out because I know it helps me feel good. If you do it in the morning, it starts your day off to a great start. If you’re a night person, it’s the best way to end your day. It’s YOU time!

2) Eating lots of Salads

Since I’ve moved out, I have began making Salads nearly every night with dinner. I have a salad at least once a day. It’s rare that I miss it. I love packing salads to-go. It’s so easy to take a little container of dressing, throw it on, and shake it up. Salads can be so versatile! You can switch up the beans, the veggies, the type of lettuce, the dressing, the nuts, the meats if you eat meat, avocado, no avocado, fruit, no fruit… etc… So many creative things you can do with a salad!

3) Home Cookin’

I have been cooking a lot at home! Lately, I’ve been eating lot’s of meat because I have a lot! My parents gave me some, and Marco’s grandparents gave me some. I like meat, but I have always loved a good Vegetarian meal. I don’t know what it is, but Vegetarian meals feel so clean to me. I guess I just don’t need that much meat. Regardless, I am starting to love looking up recipes and recreating them.

4) Green Smoothies

Green smoothie, green smoothie, green smoothie! I have been green smoothie-ing it up everyday! I make a big batch, and drink it throughout the day for a “snack.” My skin truly loves me for this!

5) Bringing myself to Peace

Making time for peace + quiet in the morning. Marco and I read devotionals and study books together everymorning. These books teach us about marriage + love, and it’s one of our favorite things to do. It’s like being counseled in a loving way each morning. It’s the best!

6) Keeping my Environment Clean

I keep Clean with Mrs. Meyer’s because it’s the cutest thing to have sitting around the house . And it smells/works amazing! I find it whenever it’s on Sale at Target. It can be a little too pricey if not on Sale.

7) Color All Around

I love keeping flowers around the house. I love color!

8) Sleep

I make sure to get at least 8 hours per night. If you don’t get enough sleep, your body will produce ghrelin, which is a hormone that increases your appetite, and will likely lead you to making high-calorie fatty food choices that you wouldn’t normally choose. No thank you. I like my sleep, and my healthy food choices! Ever notice after a late night out with friends, extra snacking the next day sounds extra good? Or a super fatty breakfast? Get your sleepies

9) No Dieting, or placing unrealistic expectations on myself

This is the best part! I don’t let myself diet anymore. I did that when I was younger, and it’s a crazy yo-yo that isn’t fun, plus I would get sick all the time. I rarely get sick now. I gave up dieting a long time ago. Instead of thinking of deprivation diets and dreaming of being unrealistically thin (I used to), I change the focus to living the best life I can – the fullest, most vibrant, most joyus, most balanced life. Eating the most wonderful foods that I can. Having the most fun that I can. Moving in a positive direction. Thinking of what I can give myself, instead of what I cannot give myself. (These words of wisdom are from Denise Lemouthe, author of Taming the Chew. She greatly inspires me to love myself the best I can).

What I mean by placing unrealistic expectations on myself is this: I went into my 20′s being very thin. Even during the time that I started this blog, I was very thin. I can’t expect to stay 130 lbs (at 5’9″) as I become a woman and I shouldn’t want to. In order to be healthy and able to birth children, it’s known that my body will naturally widen, and naturally gain a little fat to protect a baby. Look around, and tell me one person whose body never changed at all. I still eat healthy just like I used to, I still workout just as much as I used to, and I still love myself just as much as I used to, but naturally, I feel that my body is changing. It’s not the easiest thing to accept, but with constant positive self talk, constant love from my fiance, and constant remembering that I’m actually feeling healthier than ever, I’m able to accept this change in my body. This is something I would have fought day by day before I learned to love my body and it’s natural changes.

Can anyone else relate to their body changing as they grew into their 20′s?

I hope you all find this information to be loving, supportive, and useful. Have a blessed day!