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An All-Encompassing Beginners Guide To Healthy Living

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Leading a healthy life is all-encompassing.

healthy living

Healthy living is so much more than being skinny, or not suffering from an illness, or sleeping enough.  Those things are all wonderful but truly leading a healthy life means being aware of what you put into and on your body.

It means striving to find true happiness and inner peace.

It means remembering to care for yourself amidst all the millions of other things you have going on.  Let’s get into an all-encompassing beginners guide to healthy living.

 

Health and Fitness

healthy lifestyle With choosing a lifestyle of healthy living it is so important to be active as much as you can.  Our technological society is driving us to spending more and more time each month sitting down and staring at screens.  That may not be your preference, but it is happening nonetheless.

In every field, jobs are becoming more automated and many are stuck at a desk or even worse, in a cubical for hours on end.  Breaks at work are spent staring at phones; trolling social media for who knows what.

In the evening many of us are so exhausted from the day we resort to nothing more than plopping ourselves down on the sofa to catch up on our favorite shows.  We’ve all fallen culprit to some if not all of these.

No matter how busy or how tired you are I encourage you to strive for including activity in your daily life.

At my last retail job as a store manager I was the freak who literally ran out the door every break and lunch to go for a run, spend time sitting in the grass, or get a workout in.  I refused to get sucked in to the dreary feeling of being stuck indoors all day under fluorescent lights. I denied getting sucked in to how working in a corporation fueling the wastefulness of our society made me feel… if only fully for fifteen minutes

Adding more activity aimed at healthy living can be as simple as going for a nice walk or as strenuous as a quick High Intensity Interval Training session in your living room.  I encourage you to get an exercise ball.  You can do fitness routines on it, soothe an upset baby, (really it’s completely life-changing for mother and baby) and stimulate your lymphatic system… just by bouncing!

Maybe you live where you can walk to the store… do it!

Maybe you can park at the back of the parking lot on your way into the grocery store just to add some walking into your day where there wasn’t going to be much of any.  Take the stairs.

Make activity a priority and your body and mind will thank you.

 

Health and Outdoors

Humans used to spend so much of their time outside.  Farming, gardening, working, harvesting.  Those days for many of us are gone unless you make a conscious effort to revive them.  healthy livingBeing indoors all the time can spread illness, make you feel depressed, and cause your vitamin D levels to suffer.

Do you spend even fifteen minutes outside every single day?

That’s all you need to get a full daily dose of vitamin D!  Even if there’s no realistic way to fit outdoor time into your work day, you can definitely make some time after as you strive for more healthy living.

Maybe you’re not a nature-lover like me, but getting outside more often is sure to lift your mood.  Give it a try.  Go for a walk around your neighborhood.  Visit a local farmers market.  Spend some time walking a cool area of your town.  Go camping to really get into nature! I know the days I don’t get outside much I feel stuffy, anxious, and my creativity wanes.

More time outdoors is one key to leading a healthy life.

 

Health and Self-Care

healthy livingDays, months, and even years go by when your plate may always seem full.  The house needs cleaned, work needs to be done, the kids need help with their homework, the plants need watered, the pets need fed… every single day.  Some months pass where every single minute seems allotted for caring for all the other things in your life, except you.

Remembering to care for yourself is key to leading a happy life.  I have two great posts HERE and HERE that you absolutely must read!  They are all bursting with realistic ideas about how to squeeze in self-care even as a full-time mom.

Our Free Time May Seen Non-Existent, But You Can Make It Happen Anyways.

I was watching Family Feud a couple weeks ago and the question was posed, “How many hours of free time do you have in a day?”  With the 100 people they polled do you know what the number one answer was?  ZERO.  Zero hours of free time in most people’s days.  I found the answer surprising, but sadly I also found it to be true.

Luckily, you don’t even need a free hour to get in quality self-care every day!

How about making a free five minutes a few times a day?  To make a drink you love and truly enjoy sipping it for a few minutes?  Read something you’re genuinely interested in, not Facebook.  A magazine article maybe?  The new blog post from your favorite blogger maybe? (I’d be happy to aid in your self-care! **nudge-nudge**)  To stare at the clouds pass or star gaze maybe?

Taking a little time to care for yourself makes you happier, feel better, and know that you are completely special and worthy.  This in turn will put you in a better mood to deal with all the people in your life and all the chaotic things it’s sure to throw your way.

In Denmark they live by a principle they call hygge(say hoo gah).  In America last year the lifestyle of hygge has swept through like a craze. It nourishes a hugely important simple enjoyment of life that most of us in America lack. If it’s a new concept to you check out how to hygge with your family and great ways to hygge in the colder months.

 

Health and Eating

Our society is not set up to encourage healthy eating in the least.  Processed foods are loading our stores rather than fresh.  There are convenience stores and fast food joints on every corner.  Restaurants are bursting with high calorie fat-filled meals.  We all feel short on time, and unless you make it a point to eat healthy and really understand what that means, you probably won’t!

Healthy eating is one of the cornerstones to healthy living!

In the long run, what you put in is what you’ll get out. For some people eating healthy is a lifestyle.  Others are striving to learn the process. Some could care less.  I challenge you to join me in trying to constantly improve what I eat and better understand the health of the foods I provide my family with.

Eat out less… you’ll save a ton of money too.  Prepare more food.  Learn to read labels of things you consume regularly.  If ingredients are made in a laboratory don’t eat them! I know that when I eat crap, I feel like crap.  I’m all for having a cheat day, a cheat meal, of loving the food you eat, snacking a lot, and not (overly) depriving myself.

healthy livingHere’s a few little tips to get you on the right path:

If it grows out of the ground, it’s probably good for you!  Fats and calories aren’t bad, but many are.  If unrefined, coconut oil is wonderful for you.  In it’s raw form, Virgin olive oil is great for you. (Not used in cooking, the temperature breaks down all the healthy fats and you might as well save your money and use vegetable oil). Super foods like chia seeds also rock!

Substitute all the time; in recipes and in cravings.

You can always cut out the oil in baked goods and use applesauce, pumpkin puree, and sometimes banana and avocado.  Cut out sugar and use stevia, xylitol, or honey.  Make banana ice cream and healthy chocolate or energy balls.  Eat dried fruit instead of candy.  Use spices and healthy salts to make anything you think of as bland an adventure for your taste buds.  Sea salt is ok and I encourage you to use Himalayan salt. When you eat better you feel better, point blank.

If You’re interested in learning A TON more about healthy eating, cleansing, and delicious indulgent healthy recipes I REALLY recommend this book bundle : Complete Body Cleansing and Strong Immunity Bundle: Lose Weight Naturally, Heal, and Build Your Immune System with Juicing Cleanse, Liver Detox, Anti-Cancer Recipes, and Homeopathic Remedies  I’m working my way through them right now and am just astounded at the wealth of information and recipes included for only $6.99!

I also have lots of amazing posts linking to hundreds of delicious and healthy recipes for you:

 

healthy living

This blog is loaded with tips and tricks to inspire you to lead you toward healthy living!

Fitness tips and routines, healthy recipes, great DIY beauty hacks, tips on using essential oils, DIY ‘green’ cleaning, all of it!

If there’s anything I haven’t touched on that is vital to leading a healthy lifestyle let me know! I’d love to read your comments below.  If there’s anything I haven’t posted about yet that you would love to know more about e-mail me at vigoritout@gmail.com!

This blog is for you! I’d be so happy to write a post or two for you and would love the inspiration!

 

 

 

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17 Comments

  1. Every time I read something so encouraging like this I get super motivated. It is the getting from motivated to done that I don’t follow through. Sometimes it seems so overwhelming, so many things to think about. But I promised myself that baby steps will get me just as far. So I started with just getting a breath of fresh air everyday. To take 10 minutes and go outside and breathe, enjoy the sounds and the fresh air…so far, so good. This post is such a great reminder that we need to take care of ourselves and how we can do it. Thank you for sharing this post in the All for Mamas Link party Week 12 #allformamas. I will share this post on the Facebook group page #All For Mamas, on my facebook page Blended Life Happy Wife, twitter, pinterest and google +. Thank you again for sharing

    1. Getting outside just to breath is an amazing start! Sometimes I find those few minutes doing that same thing either before they wake up and listening to the birds or after they go to bed listening to the rain, wind, or frogs is life changing.

  2. I love this post, so encouraging. I need to find my motivation and get back on track! I agree that the outdoors helps so much for both me and my kids!

    1. Sometimes it’s hard with all the other things to do in life to get outside. I always feel 1000x better when I do! The new year is the perfect time to find the motivation to get back on track! We have some great promos coming up to help you all do just that.

    1. Taking that little bit of time for yourself makes you that much happier and stronger for everyone else in your life. Always pleased to motivate for the good. Thanks!

  3. All of these tips are great! You’ve really broken it down into manageable chunks, which I love. Unfortunately I’ve been pushing self-care aside for a bit, so it’s a great reminder to get back to it – even if it is just my favorite drink or 5 minutes of reading. Thanks!

    1. Happy to be a healthy reminder Tana. You deserve some self care time, even if you can only squeeze in a few minutes a day. I’ve definitely been there. 😊

  4. There are definitely many elements to truly being healthy and I’m currently learning to practice self-care, exercising, and eating better. Such great a great post.

    1. I’m so glad you liked the post Maria! I’m glad you found motivation and inspiration, that’s everything I was hoping to convey.

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