Healthy Living Made Easy

Like I say in the video below, we tend to over complicate things. In the search for making healthy living an easy to follow patter or science, we turn it into a crazy math equation that we just can’t ever seem to get right (and if you’re like me, any math equation is to be avoided at all costs :D). I promise it doesn’t have to be that way! I repeat:

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS HARD!

Yayy! That’s good news right?! We can all be healthy and happy and fit! We just need to realize it’s not going to happen over night and we need to consistently be doing things that move us towards our goals. We don’t need to do drastic things, just consistently making small changes and putting in the effort to reach are goals.

I keep this video super simple because it really can be this simple. We don’t have to create overwhelm and confusion, track every tiny crumb we eat or follow the plan that everyone else is. So here we go three basics that lead you to a healthy lifestyle.

  1. Choose water!
  2. More real food, less processed packaged food.
  3. Sweat daily (or at least a few days a week)

Ok, just seems too simple right? Or maybe we should try to start it all at once and make a drastic life change to all chicken,  broccoli and power lifting by tomorrow!? Stresss!

Don’t stress, it’s a process that takes time. Creating a sustainable change in your life takes time. You don’t need to flip the switch and change completely. We’re just going to take small steps that build on each other. Get the ball rolling with something you can do daily and when you have that down, move to the next thing.

 Let me take you back to a younger me. Yes, I’ve always been active. I ran competitive track and cross county from age 13 through 22 at the end of college. That does not mean however that I had my healthy life together. I was the queen of sugar, and pretty much all foods without any nutritional value. My daily meals usually included dessert at lunch and dinner and some type of other sugary treat during the day like ohh massive amounts of Nutella or cookies. Did I mention that the meal this dessert was following usually included pizza, fries or chicken fingers? Don’t even really want to mention that while I drank water cause I had to, sweet tea was my FAVORITE form of ‘hydration’.

There is a ridiculous difference in how I eat now. Yes, I’ll still have desert sometimes or the occasional pizza night cause balance is important, but I can say I’ve worked my way to a much better relationship with food. The balance of treats and on track-ness will be different for all of us but it’s there, we just need to feel it out for ourselves.

How did I make these changes? Slowly and deliberately. We’re not just going to fall into our goals. You’ve got to decide you want to make these changes. I didn’t decide this until I was after college, heck I didn’t even stop to look and realize what I was doing until after college. Ohh how my training and times could have been positively influenced by a more nutritious diet!

First I started drinking more water and skipping the sweet tea. Making me more hydrated and cutting out a lot of extra sugar.

After this I tried to start steering clear of fried and fast food as often as possible.

Next was attempting to add some veggies. I HATED them. Always, I used to have to sit at the dinner table as a child until I ate one, yes one, green bean. Let’s just say I sat there a while. For me this started as leafy greens. I could take them and make big salads that didn’t taste like veggies.

Then I started branching out. Trying other veggies and things like salmon that I knew would be good for me.

This last phase is pretty much where I am still. I’ve always been a picky eater, so trying things is tough! But it has made all the difference in how I feel. Now when I go back to my old ways for a day when out of town, I can just feel the difference in my energy levels and my body.

Soo if you made it down here, I hope my story gives you some encouragement. If you feel like you’re too far from a goal, you’re not. You’re never too far away. You can make it, crush it and create the life you want! Trust me, it just takes time and commitment. This goes for exercise as well as eating! Start gradual, build up, find things you love and give it time! Nothing worth having comes easy!

Sweat, Smile, Repeat!

xxNiki