Hello everyone! Today I’m bringing you another guest post to go along with this week’s series focusing on body confidence and acceptance. This post was written by Katie over at Something Winnderful. She is such a sweet and hilarious blogger, and I know you guys will just love her! Please do me a favor and hop on over to her blog and check out some of my favorite posts of hers like How to Have a Better Morning, How to Make A Creative Business Plan For Your Blog, Another Person’s Success Is Not Your Failure and so many more. She’s just full of great advice, pretty pictures and spunk, so definitely go check her blog out!
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How many of you out there have ever made a resolution to get healthy? Come on, I know I’m not the only. Maybe “get healthy” isn’t your exact resolution, but I’m sure at least one point in your life losing weight, eating healthy, and exercising more was a personal goal of yours. I’m guest posting today to tell you that having that goal is wrong.
Bold statement, but hear me out. I believe this because I have made that resolution multiple times year round. And guess what? I never really “got healthy”. What I’ve gotten instead is the realization that not only are there multiple definitions to healthy but it is also not a goal, but a life long journey with challenges along the way.
Over my years of trying to “get healthy,” I’ve experienced lots of ups and downs. I went from drinking seven Cokes a day to none and back to one or two. I’ve gone from dancing five hours a day to sitting in front of a desk all day. I’ve gone from never eating McDonald’s to binge eating it for the sake of Monopoly pieces. I’ve gone from never packing my lunch to eating every lunch at home.
Needless to say it’s been a roller coaster.
Through all of those terrible terrible habits I’ve learned that you don’t achieve the perfect healthy lifestyle then spend the rest of your life doing yoga and basking in the glory of your healthiness. It’s a commitment to the ups and downs of being a human being. It’s knowing when it’s ok to have that dessert and not feel guilty about it. It’s making yourself get up a little bit earlier to go on a short run. It’s addressing your bad habit head on and working to replace it with a healthier habit.
I make no secret of it on my blog that I am not winning in the being healthy department. I love Coke, fast food is always better than having to cook a meal, and getting up even earlier for anything is a pain in the butt. But I forge ahead and pick my battles. My current one is to stop eating out. Now that we’ve moved I’m able to come home for lunch and have an actual kitchen to cook in. It’s not life changing (thought it’s definitely helping my bank account) but it’s making one aspect of my life healthier. Who knows, maybe once I’m in the habit of eating at home I can finally tackle giving up soda.
5 Goals Better Than “Get Healthy”
— Drink two bottles of water a day. Just saying, “drink more water,” is not specific enough and doesn’t really encourage you to actually drink more water. Find a water bottle you really like and keep it with you at all times. Or, if you are like me and lose water bottles, designate two or three for specific areas. I have one water bottle I keep at my desk at work and it’s done wonders for getting me to drink more water.
— Go to bed 30 minutes earlier every night. I’m positive if everyone in the world got enough sleep most nights, world peace would be achieved. Bad moods, human error, and the over-all feeling of crappiness can be fixed by getting more sleep at night, but deciding to go to bed earlier doesn’t make getting more sleep any easier. Go to bed just 30 minutes before the time you usually end up in bed and slowly work your way to the ideal bedtime.
— Trade one unhealthy food for a healthier version. It doesn’t have to be a huge swap, but using greek yogurt instead of sour cream makes a little difference. Use Pinterest to your advantage and find the healthier version to your favorite dish. Lord knows the healthy alternative to everything in the world can be found on Pinterest.
— Limit checking your email and social media. Social media and email is so draining and doesn’t really bring much positivity to your day. I’m really bad about constantly checking email so I decided to only check on the hour. When I did that I felt much less distracted and much more focused on the task at hand.
— Commit to moving every hour. I don’t mean do something crazy like run a lap or do 50 burpees every hour, I mean stand up and do a loop around the office. Walk to the copier and back or take a walk around the building. We all know sitting all day is terrible for you. Choose a time interval and commit to doing some sort of movement with each passing.
Don’t try and complete all the goals, instead pick one healthy habit to start and commit until you’re confident. Being healthy isn’t about the number on the scale or the reflection in the mirror. It’s a commitment to loving your body and providing it the food and maintenance it needs. Don’t try and throw yourself into a new healthy lifestyle, but instead focus on the little changes you need to make to create a better functioning you.
