How to Start on Your Path to Health Part Four

Happy Weekend!!!  Anyone have any fantastic plans for this one?  I’m on my way to Seattle for work.  You know, the usual.

Current consuming a lovely green smoothie in a jar.

My favorite Pink water bottle died a couple weeks ago, so jars have taken it’s place.  Jars are BPA-free anyway.

R.I.P.

My smoothies have been a little different lately, because on our last trip to Costco, we bought a bag of frozen mixed tropical fruit, instead of our usual frozen strawberries.  The mix contains mango, pineapple, and papaya, as well as, strawberries.  The change of fruit is a great flavor change, in addition to creating a different nutrient profile for my smoothie.  Gotta change it up!

How to Start on Your Path to Health Part Four

I can’t believe it’s already the fourth week of this installment!!  How did you all do with your goals from last week?  Did you get a chance to go to the grocery store and get some label-reading in?  I’m sure you were awesome, as always. 🙂

Here are the links for weeks one through three, if you haven’t had a chance to check them out yet:

• Part One.
• Part Two.
• Part Three.

This week is going to be pretty much the same as last week, continue to work on your goal, or if you have completed that goal, then set yourself a new one using the guidelines from Part Two.  Isn’t it amazing how much you can accomplish when you begin setting goals for yourself?  Even small achievements can add up to something completely awesome.

This week, my personal goal for you is to begin being mindful.  This is something that I am trying to work on, myself, and I believe that it can bring happiness and joy to your life in ways that you didn’t realize you could.

Bring mindful means living in the current moment.  Instead of dwelling upon what’s ahead, worrying about things that are out of your control, or living in the past, attempt to focus on what is happening right now.  You have the ability to alter your way of thinking and change your moods.  Just by changing how you look at something, you can make it less of a bad thing.

Are you annoyed with the screaming baby that’s imparing your ability to focus?  Think about the unfortunate mother who is probably frustrated that she can’t get her baby to stop crying.  Maybe the baby has a cold, or a tummy ache, maybe it’s teething.  You never know what the real situation is.  When you begin to get upset, just take a moment to think about the situation from a different point of view.

Are you irritated because you’re headed to work on a gorgeous Saturday?  (Wonder who I could be talking about here?? *cough cough*)  Take the time before you get there to enjoy the sunshine, notice how beautiful all of your surroundings are.  Use your senses and enjoy the time that you do get to spend, instead of continuing to think about how disappointed you are that you don’t get to enjoy freedom in the sun for the rest of the day.

Meditation is one of the main methods that can be used to practice mindfulness.  It isn’t something I have dabbled in too much yet, but it’s definitely something I’m interested in exploring further.  I have tried it a few times, usually for about five minutes at a time, and I do believe that it could have a positive impact on my life.  By sitting still and focusing on your breath, you are practicing being in the moment.  When ever something happens that is out of your control, just take a moment to focus on your breath, and be in the here and now.

Yoga is another practice of mindfulness.  In the same way as meditation, yoga forces you to focus on your breath and to be in the moment, concentrating on holding your poses, rather than thinking about outside forces.  Yoga is not only a wonderful practice for you strength and flexibility, but also for your mind.

I hope you give mindfulness a shot.  I’ve just begun being mindful of being mindful, and I already feel happier and more relaxed.

What are your weekend plans?

What goal(s) are you working on? What goals have you achieved?

What do you think about mindfulness?

❤ Lindsay

How to Start on Your Path to Health Part Two

Good morning, my beauties! 🙂

I hope you’re all doing wonderfully.  I’m currently chugging back a soy chai from Starbucks, trying to wake myself up.  Although I went to bed at midnight last night, as usual, my body decided that it didn’t want to sleep past 5am.  I laid in bed for the next three hours tossing and turning.  It sucked, and I am tiiiired.  I guess I really can’t complain that much, because the bf was up sick all night.  Luckily, he gets to go home and take a nap now that I’m off to work.

Last night on my way home from work, I was browsing through blogs and found that Elise had been munching on some Alexia Spicy Sweet Potato Julienne Fries with Chipotle Seasoning.  Since I had the exact same fries sitting in my freezer, I immediately decided that those just HAD to be my snack when I got home.  Easy clean-up trick: lay down a sheet of aluminum foil on your baking sheet.  No scrubbing necessary, just wad it in a ball and toss in the recycling.

I enjoy my sweet potato fries with BBQ sauce.  I have Stubb’s Smokey Mesquite.  AKA the only BBQ sauce at the grocery store without High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Oh yeah, be jealous.

Btw, I made enough for Keenan and I to share, but then he started feeling sick, so I did us both a favor and ate the whole batch.  No regrets.  The flavor is to die for.  Just the perfect amount of spice. 🙂

How to Start on Your Path to Health Part Two

Last week, I discussed how to begin down the road to a healthier lifestyle by beginning to add and substitute healthier items into your current diet.

Now that you’ve had a chance to start playing around with new foods, this week I would like you to set a simple goal for yourself.  Something along the lines of “no soda this week”, “eat meat with only one meal a day”, “eliminate beef for the week”, or “exercise three times this week”.  Whatever goal you feel is most important to you right now.

You goal should be specific.  “Eat more healthily” is not specific.  It’s a great idea, but with a goal so broad, how do you know what it is that you’re actually trying to accomplish?

Your goal should also be measurable.  Again with the same example, how would you know that you have completed your goal?  Something like “eat sweets only on Saturday” is easily measurable, because either you abstained for sweets for six days of the week or you didn’t.  There is no middle ground.

Your personal goal should be attainable and realistic.  Don’t set a goal for yourself that you know won’t be possible for you to accomplish.  If your idea of exercise is losing the remote and having to walk over to the television to change the channel, then don’t make a goal to run everyday for the next week.  Start small.  You can always set bigger goals once you meet your first one.

Your goal should also be timely.  There should be a time frame within which your goal is set.  An ending date will give your goal a sense of urgency.  Otherwise, your goal can just happen “whenever”.  The time constraint for your goal will be this week.

Now that you have planned out your goal, get into action!  Share your goal with others who will be supportive, including me!  Once you tell people that you’re planning to do something, it can help you stick with it more easily since people are watching.

Starting small with one goal may be frustrating in a world where quick-fixes are what is popular, but have you ever noticed how those quick-fixes never seem to work?  There are hundreds of diet books out there, because none of them truly get permanent behavior change involved.  Building up to something bigger, using the steps of small goals, will be the easiest, most permanent way to make a healthy lifestyle yours for the rest of your awesome life.  I mean, come on, you don’t want all your hard work to go to waste when you gain back the 20 lbs that you lost by starving yourself, plus an extra 10 lbs on top of it.  No fun!

Making healthy changes can help you to lose weight, feel better, and be a healthier, happier you for the rest of your life!  🙂

What goal are you setting for the week?  How do you plan to implement it in your life??

❤ Lindsay