The topic of health and fitness is so hard for me to delve into because while I’m so passionate about it [it fascinates me; I spend so much of my time looking into the benefits/downfalls of certain foods or products, or the shoulds/shouldn’ts of health]… I feel like I’m the last person who should talk about it.
If you’re following me on my (recently not very active) Instagram, you’ll know from my bio that I’m an aspiring health nut. So, while I’m far from perfect (and I mean FAAAARRRRR) health and fitness-wise, I can still share some things I’ve learned or found to be helpful.
Right?
start somewhere.
There’s never going to be an ideal starting point. You simply have to START SOMEWHERE. I have done my share of “I’m going to start eating healthier tomorrow” or “as soon as we have finished eating all of the unhealthy food in our pantry, I’ll be back on track.” Every once in a while I’m lucky enough to remember: there is no perfect time! If you’re looking for a change in your health and fitness lifestyle, don’t wait. You’ll be glad you decided to start NOW just by making a small change, whether it be asking for no cheese on your salad or taking a spontaneous after-dinner walk.
stay hydrated
Water, water, water. You hear it all the time, but I’ve firsthand experienced the ugly outcome of not drinking enough water. With little hydration, I suffer headaches, fatigue, nausea, aches, and irritability. Don’t like water? If you’re looking for a healthy alternative, try La Croix for bubbles and fruitiness without any added sweetener. I’m obsessed with the Passionfruit flavor!
relax
Don’t forget to give yourself time to wind down. After a long and stressful day, I don’t beat myself up if the dishes aren’t all washed. Without sufficient rest, your body can’t properly operate. Take a hot tub or a long shower, go to bed early, put down your phone, and read a chapter of your favorite book. Sometimes, if I feel overwhelmed and I need to calm down just a bit before I continue on with my task, I’ll sit down, put my head back, let my arms rest at my side, and count backward from 100 to 0 in my head. Once I’ve finished, I’m just rejuvenated enough to keep working.
eat seasonally
Play on the seasons when it comes to healthy snacks! I love fresh fruit in the summer — watermelon, peaches, papaya, pineapple, and mangoes. In the winter, incorporate pumpkin into a bran muffin recipe or create a paleo banana apple muffin.
beautiful food
Who can resist eating healthy food if it looks beautiful? I love adding layers of random foods, creating gorgeous color combinations. We always hear it, but I strive to eat the rainbow. If your plate is colorful, you’re likely eating more fruits and veggies… And getting lots of micronutrients that you need.
byo food
Going to an event where they’re likely having not the healthiest food options? I love to put together a creative, healthy dish to bring if I’m not in the mood to engorge myself on a greasy burger that’ll sit in my stomach for the rest of the night. Bring marinated meatball and pepper skewers to a barbecue, or a veggie-filled Olive Garden-style salad to a pizza party.
veggies with every meal
This is a policy I implemented a while back for myself (NOT that I always follow it!): Veggies at every meal. It’s incredible how much better I feel when I make a conscious effort to have vegetables with every meal. Whether it’s spinach, mushrooms, and onions with my scrambled eggs, or just a few raw sweet peppers on the side with a vegetable pizza, it’s good to have some filling, fibrous foods that won’t weigh me down.
be creative
Find an alternative to your favorite “unhealthy” foods. Instead of spaghetti with garlic bread, have spaghetti squash [one of my FAVORITE foods ever] with garlic-sprinkled baked potato slices. It’s not exactly the same, but it’s still super tasty and curbs my garlic carb cravings without bloating my stomach afterward.
avoid a burnout
Find a workout that you love. Some people don’t mind running for 20 minutes on a treadmill; others would rather walk on broken glass. I have found that I need to be kept busy; therefore, Pilates and Kickboxing work great for me. You’re constantly changing up what you’re doing throughout the workout, so you don’t even realize how good of a workout you’re getting… and you feel stinking great at the end.
active lifestyle
Don’t just work out. Try living an active lifestyle. If I’m at home, I like to try keeping busy, whether I’m sweeping and mopping [that’s a sweaty disaster in my 85 degree house in the summer!] or working for hours in the garden. If you’re lucky enough to live near a good hiking spot, hit it up! Last summer, my husband and I hiked Beacon Rock and Multnomah Falls (by the Columbia River) in one day. Like I said on my Instagram that day, “I died going up, but I lived at the top.” A seemingly casual stroll through the trees actually kicked my butt with the incline, but the exhilarating feeling of accomplishment I got looking out over the waterfall at the end well paid off. Whether you’re rollerblading, swimming, playing kickball with your family, or even giving the kids airplane rides, strive to live an active lifestyle. At the end of the day, you’ll still feel like you’ve done something even if you didn’t get a workout in.
So, speaking of changing things up in a workout, I love to design a circuit-style workout where I can mix things up as I desire. I’ll share an example here of one that I’ve done in the past. I love creating circuits with different moves, because it’s so simple, yet the harder you try, the harder the workout!
To avoid being distracted by my phone, to keep track of time during my workout, I like to use my Fitbit Blaze. I can either set a simple timer, or put it in workout mode to see the time and get my average/max heart rate and more at the end.
DISCLAIMER Perform these exercises at your own risk! I am not a professional. My suggestions should not be taken as advice. Also, I don’t know if these are all well-known moves. Please excuse the names I’ve given them and just try your best to understand, as I have not put pictures of myself doing them 🙂
SESSION: 30 MIN; 1 minute each move
CIRCUIT 1 — arm based
1- march in place or high-knees
2- skate [large step side to side, bent low]
3- side steps with weights
4- jump rope
5- push ups
repeat 2-5
6- shoulder taps [in push up position, alternate tapping left hand to right shoulder and vice-versa]
CIRCUIT 2 — core based
1- toe touches [feet together, bend and touch toes, coming up only a few inches between touches]
2- standing core twist with weights [hold weights in front of chest; keep hips stationary]
3- lying side leg raises — one side
4- lying toe touch [on back, raise arms and legs; crunch up to touch toes]
5- lying side leg raises — other side
repeat 3-5
6- donkey kicks [on hands and knees, alternate kicking leg back]
7- scissor jumps [jump, left foot forward/right foot back and vice-versa]
CIRCUIT 3 — leg based
1- side kicks [30 sec each side]
2- back kicks [30 sec each side]
3- front kicks [30 sec each side]
4- knee raises [alternate left and right]
5- jump squats [feet shoulder width apart, squat to 90 degrees; jump from there, immediately lower into squat upon landing]
6- hip raises [on back, put feet on ground, bend legs to 90 degrees, raise butt off the ground until straight. Lower slightly, repeat; do not lower back onto ground until finished]
7- paddle kicks [on belly, with straight legs and pointed toes, flutter-kick without touching ground]
8- squat–touch toes–stand–reach for the sky–repeat
9- windmills [standing with arms spread above and legs spread below, alternate touching left hand to right foot and vice-versa, standing fully up between]
10-march/side step to cool down
WHEW! Do you feel as sweaty as I do trying to explain these moves?
I hope you can understand my newbie exercise explanations (I promise, they make sense in my head!) and I hope you’ll try this circuit out!
Until next time,
Just Me 
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