healthy reminders

Eat This Not That | Life Healthfully Lived

Have you seen those articles/posts about what you should eat instead of the junk food you normally go for? Or those articles that highlight restaurants worst menu items and then tell you what to eat instead? Or have you ever tried to look up an ingredient or some other food thing online to see if it’s healthy or not and 3 hours later you have a pile of research saying yes it is and no it will kill you?

It’s really frustrating, isn’t it?

Eat This Not That | Life Healthfully Lived

How most people look when they try to start eating better.

Just the other day, I googled quinoa to look up the different varieties and was immediately met with headlines like: Quinoa: Is It The Next Superfood or Will It Destroy Your Gut? And: Quinoa Is The Seed The Acts Like A Grain And Could Be The Way To A Smaller Waistline. Don’t get me started on the back and forth over whether quinoa is “paleo” because that would take an entire day.

They’re both fine, eat whichever makes you feel better!

While I’m sort of used to nutrition research and know that for every study published stating the benefits of some food there is another one that says it’s horrible for you, I realized that people just starting out on their healthy journey probably feel overwhelmed and confused when trying to figure out if something is good or bad. I think that’s why I’ve started to move away from that idea. Food isn’t inherently evil nor is it undeniably good. It’s food and it either makes you feel your best or it doesn’t. It helps you meet your goals or it deters you.

So what if quinoa isn’t paleo? Does it make you feel good when you eat it? Can you perform your daily tasks without hindrance? Are you gorging yourself with only quinoa? No, hopefully you have a diet full of real foods like fruits and vegetables. If you are subsisting on a diet of only quinoa, I’m going to bet you have other things to worry about….

Anyone else feel like this?

So here is my advice for you health newbies out there and this is something that I wish I had realized early on in my journey because it would have saved a lot of time and stress: Stop worrying so much. You can always find a reason something is bad or good. Start looking to yourself to see whether what you put in your mouth is helping you or hurting you. Start by cutting out processed food and move to whole foods and go from there. Try new things and if they work for you then that’s all that matters!

Your diet will never be perfect and that is quite alright. No one’s is. Not the Instagram stars, not the celebrities, not the fitness guru’s, and not mine. You aren’t striving for perfect, you’re striving for better than what you were. Eat This Not That | Life Healthfully Lived

Eat this OR eat that. As long as it works for you, don’t stress it!

I think that we can all agree and say that no one is perfect, especially when it comes to health. Even celebrities and fitness trainers and those in the health world have their imperfect moments no matter how healthy they seem. As we move from winter into spring, I thought it would be a good idea to give a few tips and reminders about your health. You can call it spring cleaning if you’d like, but take just a few moments and assess your lifestyle and make sure you’re getting the most out of your healthy journey.

1. Water, water, WATER!!! This was the biggest reminder for me lately. I had been really good about drinking a lot of water heading into the winter months, but as it got colder and colder, water seemed less appealing to me. I pretty much stopped drinking any extra water January through February and boy could my body tell! I was tired, sluggish, and just had an overall lack of energy. I attributed it to the long, cold winter months but in all honesty, part of it was my lack of water consumption. Now I have a 1 liter water bottle that I keep with me and try to drink one if not more of those per day. I’m not going to tell you some specific amount of water that you have to drink in order to be healthy, just make sure to drink enough where you don’t feel water-logged or too thirsty. It really helps to keep a refillable bottle with you at all times and just sip throughout the day. Don’t like the taste of just plain water? Try adding lemon or lime for a little flavor!

2. Eat Seasonally. Many of us can get any fruit or vegetable that we want at any time of the year, whether it is in season or not. This isn’t a bad thing, believe me, I have my fair share of out of season food all the time (hello sweet potatoes!). I’m not saying you have to eat only foods that are in season, but it does make a difference. For example, I had been roasting up a whole butternut squash over the fall/winter months and using that in meals throughout the week. I started to notice though that around the end of January and into February, the butternut squash didn’t taste as good as it had before, the selection was getting smaller, and the price was getting higher. Take a look at the food you regularly prepare and see if there are any seasonal changes that you can make. Check out your local grocery store and see what produce they have on sale or look at a list of seasonal foods and pick something new to work with. Eating seasonally is a great way to keep your diet varied, eat the most nutrient dense food possible, and spend your money smartly.

3. Get Some Sun. Most of us stay squirreled away in our homes during the winter months, trying to stay as warm and cozy as possible. This past winter was a doozy, and if I could avoid it I stayed away from the great outdoors as much as possible. When I did have to venture out into the tundra, I was so bundled up that only a slit for my eyes was all that was exposed to the air. With the warmer weather, it’s time to get some outside time in! You don’t have to spend a ton of time outside, but even 10 minutes in the fresh air will do you wonders. Take a bike ride, go for a walk, read a book on a park bench, do your workout outside if you can, or play with your dog. It’s time to soak up some vitamin D, breath in the fresh air, and rejoice in the fact that you no longer have to wear 50 layers to walk the ten feet to your car!

4. Clear the Clutter. I’m a weirdo who actually loves cleaning. I am very type A when it comes to my apartment and how clean it is. I hate clutter and junk lying around and I hate when something doesn’t have a place. With our impending move, I have gone into hyperdrive with clearing out the clutter. I already dislike packing, so there is no way that I am packing AND moving junk that I don’t even need or use. It has been shocking to me just how much “stuff” Adam and I have lying around that we don’t even actually use. It has been great to go through and get rid of all the superfluous stuff and pare down to the essentials. I’m going to bet that some of you might have a few things lying around that you could get rid of too. Take a few minutes and just go through one room and see if there is anything that you don’t need that you could donate/sell/toss. Trust me, you will feel a lot better when you’ve “cleared the air” and gotten rid of the extra stuff.

These are just a few of the things that I have reminded myself about lately. Hopefully one or two of them helped you out. Take a few moments and look at your life and see what little tweaks or changes you can make to get the most out of your healthy lifestyle. It’s always a good idea to reassess how things are going and make sure that everything is still making a positive impact on you. Have a great Monday and a fabulous week!