Tag: exercise

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love: self-care

How To Stay Healthy This Winter Season

photo of crying woman in red long sleeve shirt blowing her nose
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

It’s that time of year. The season of stuffy noses, sore throats, head colds, and the flu has arrived and it’s ready to hit us all full force.

It’s also that time of year when we are typically the busiest. Let’s be real – We have busy lives and have no time to be sick.

There are many little tricks to help keep us healthy and tackle gross colds and flus head on – but, let’s not overwhelm ourselves and go in total health-freak mode…

Here is a handful of the easiest and most effective tricks for you to put into practice starting right now.

Good Hygiene

This one should be a no-brainer, but it really is one of the most important. Washing your hands often throughout the day is critical. When you’re at work, when you get back from the grocery store, after pumping gas, handling cash, and basically after being anywhere out in public.

Keep a hand sanitizer in your vehicle to kill the germs and potential viruses when you’re out and about.

Drink More Water

Maybe you already think you drink enough water – challenge yourself and drink more. Not only does water help to flush out toxins and cleanse our body system, but it also carries essential nutrients to our body cells.

Check out my post Hydration IS Happiness for more info on why staying hydrated can literally change your life and make you happier and healthier than you’ve ever been. Plus, cheats on how to follow through and make drinking more water the simplest habit.

Vitamin D

If you’re luckier than I am, you live in a place where the sun still often shines in the winter. I however am from Wisconsin, where during the winter months, gray and white snowy skies are all I get on a daily basis.

If you can, get out and enjoy sunshine whenever you can. Vitamin D is essential for our immune system. Aside from being a physical savior for our bodies, Vitamin D can help keep our mental in check during what is usually the most stressful and depressing time of the year. Vitamin D is actually required to regulate our mood.

Not able to see the sunshine as often as you’d like? There are Vitamin D nutritional supplements that can be taken daily to make sure you are getting enough Vitamin D that your body and mind need to help keep you healthy and happy.

Sleep

This is my favorite because I love any excuse for me to take a little power nap during the day or hit the hay early. Sleep is a non-negotiable for staying healthy; studies prove that those who do not get enough rest catch more illnesses and viruses. Bonus: Not only does sleep keep your immune system healthy, sleeping also burns calories and eliminates stress hormones.

Exercise

I’ve shared with you my most favorite trick, I might as well share my least favorite.

I’ll be honest, I definitely don’t love exercise. I wish I was a gym rat lol. But there are simpler ways to stay active that I actually do enjoy… exercises such as yoga on my living room floor, jumping jacks and squats while I binge my favorite TV show, and a walk around the block are all things that help to boost my immune system from winter sicknesses.

There you have it – a handful of simple tricks to help keep seasonal colds and flus away during these next few months.

If you haven’t already, I really recommend checking out Hydration IS Happiness to quite literally change your life with the easiest and healthiest habit you can form for yourself.

That’s all for now. Stay warm and healthy my friends!

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love: personal growth love: self-care

How To Be Your Happiest Self

close up photography of person wearing pink house slippers
Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

Hey lovely!

Maybe you’re reading this because you’ve been feeling kinda low lately… maybe you feel pretty happy already but have that gut feeling that something in your life is missing.

Either way, keep on reading and you’ll learn how to be your happiest self and feel completely fulfilled within your life.

First things first… you need you think of everything in your life that is not bringing you joy or purpose and let it go.

I want you to grab a pen and paper and list everything in your life that is making you feel: down, angry, scared, jealous, tired, or any other negative emotion.

Got your list?

Now cross off everything on your list that you can erase out of existence.

Not everything on your list will be something you can cross off… for example, struggling with money to pay the bills isn’t something you can just toss away and ignore.

For these things, I want you to list an action that you can take to change that thing from a negative emotion to a positive emotion.

Basically, set a goal that will eventually make it so that you are able to cross that thing off of your list.

An example of this could be: If you’re struggling with money to pay the bills, an action to take would be saving money by not getting that $9 coffee on the way to work every morning… another action could be starting a money jar and putting aside any extra change you have to begin saving.

Work towards these goals.

It can be easy to fall off and lose motivation – look back at this list and remember the reason you started it in the first place.

Next, I want you to define your true happiness.

Write down what you want in your dream life. Write down what makes you happy, what makes you feel fulfilled.

  • Is it a sense of belonging that makes you feel happy?
  • Is it the feeling of having a purpose or making an impact that makes you feel happy?
  • Is it having absolute freedom in your daily life that makes you happy?

Whatever it is, write it down. How are you supposed to be your happiest self if you can’t define what it is that will make you truly happy?

Now just like we did before, we are going to list actions that you can take to help you get to the bottom of those things that would make you happy.

Don’t think too big here, think realistic. Think of the small steps that you can take that will eventually lead to larger steps. Don’t stress yourself out by setting extreme goals – you need to take it one step at a time.

Now that you have your actions or goals that you need to take to get those things that will make you happy, you need to turn these actions into habits. Make these actions a routine in your day to day life. Make them something that you look forward to GET to do each day rather than something you’re dreading that you HAVE to do.

Here are some key tips to help you turn these actions into habits:

1. Make an appointment with yourself.

Think about it like a doctor appointment – you might not want to go but you’re still going to. You’re not just going to skip your appointment.

Set a reminder on your phone or write your action on your calendar (if you’re still old school like me and have a wall calendar on your fridge) and don’t let yourself skip this appointment for yourself.

2. Make it fun, make it relaxing.

Create a happy place, or a safe place to take your actions. Maybe you have an office that you like to do work in, maybe you like to sit on the couch with a candle and a blanket, maybe you like to go to a nearby cafe and put your headphones in. Whatever works for you and makes you excited to work on your actions.

Along with a happy place, consider the best time to take your actions. Are you most motivated in the morning when everything is still and quiet? Are you most motivated after dinner time? Be consistent and make it a routine.

3. Reward yourself!

Remember when I said to take small steps instead of setting one huge action goal?

Each time you complete one small step, cross it off. It will feel so good to see that you’re getting closer to your end goal. Each time you cross off an action, treat yourself a little.

Now we need to talk a little bit about your well-being: health and self-care

Exercising sucks (I think so at least) but let’s be honest, exercising can really help improve your mood and overall thought on life, not just your body.

Yes – exercising obviously has its physical advantages. But it also increases your mood and your energy. If you’re someone who is never active, you’re going to feel lazy and tired more often. And I have to say it… Lazy and tired people are generally not the happiest of people.

Eating right – I am a sucker for chips and salsa, popcorn, noodles, and all things unhealthy. But you need to find balance.

Eating superfoods will help your body to feel better, to look better, and be more energized. Also, the benefits that eating healthy foods has on your skin is huge. Clear skin. That right there is enough to make me happy (almost, lol).

My favorite part of this entire post… take care of yourself. Practice self-care.

Practicing self-care is no joke. It makes all the difference in your mind, body, and soul. Do things for you, things that you like, things that make you happy, things that expand your mind.

Check out this list of self-care activities you can do alone.

Okay girl. Do you have the recipe for your happiest self?

Let’s review real quick…

  • Let go of all things not bringing you joy
  • Define your true happiness
  • Set small actions to get to your big end goal
  • Turn actions into habits
  • Stay healthy
  • Practice self-care
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love: personal growth love: self-care

Why You Should Join The 6:00 AM Club

Just looking at that gif makes me tired!

I know how wonderful it feels to stay in your warm bed as long as possible… especially if it’s still dark outside.

But waking up at 6:00 AM or earlier has so many benefits.

I wasn’t always a morning person. I used to enjoy staying up past midnight and sleeping until 11:00 AM. But let me tell you, I’m so glad I changed that habit!

WHY should you start waking up at 6:00 AM you ask? Let me give you some of the best benefits that waking up earlier has for your mind, body and soul.

Go to sleep earlier

Okay, to some this might not seem like a benefit. However, going to bed at a decent time (yes, definitely before midnight) will allow you to wake up earlier while still getting the amount of sleep your body and mind needs to function properly.

Having a regular and healthy sleep cycle really is crucial to how each day will be.

Healthy breakfast

It’s not a myth, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Eating a healthy breakfast kickstarts your metabolism, which helps you burn your calories during the day. Eating a healthy breakfast also gives you the energy that you need to do and feel your best all day long.

Before I started waking up earlier, I would skip breakfast because I wouldn’t allow myself the time to eat before going to work. On the weekends, I would skip breakfast all together because I would sleep end up sleeping through it and waking for lunch.

Increased energy + productivity

Many of the most successful people report that they wake up before 6:00 AM. Have you ever heard the line “the early bird gets the worm?” It’s true!

Not only is your brain most alert in the morning – but there are way less distractions in the morning when the rest of the world is sound asleep.

This might sound odd, but my favorite time to get work done or household chores finished is on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I actually enjoy waking up bright and early on the weekends to watch the sunset and get things done before everyone else wakes up.

It just feels like a great start to my day.

You’ll be more organized

Seriously! Picture yourself when your last alarm goes off… you can’t hit snooze anymore or else you’ll literally be late for work.

You rush in and out of the shower, rush getting dressed and ready (I hate this, nothing worse than having no time to get ready and feeling like you look sluggish all day) and rush out of the house to get to work on time. Without eating breakfast, I might add – remember that’s the most important meal of the day you’re missing out on!

Waking up earlier gives you the time to be organized in the morning and rid yourself of that yucky rushed feeling.

You’re less likely to forget anything and more likely to feel ready and dressed for success because you actually had the time to prepare for your day.

Quiet time is sooo good for the soul

Like I mentioned before, I love waking up early when the rest of the world is sound asleep.

There’s a real appreciation that you can gain for the peacefulness of a quiet morning to yourself.

For example, when I was younger and lived with my parents, I remember thinking my mom was crazy for waking up at 5:00 AM only to sit in her recliner, sip her coffee, and read the newspaper.

But now I understand why she did that… that quiet time is like no other. It’s a great time to be alone with your thoughts and maybe sneak in some meditation for a great day.

Maybe the least exciting but one of the most important… Exercise

Most of us are not fond of exercising. I’m sure not, but I’m working on it.

Waking up early gives you the opportunity to get in a quick 20-minute workout before showering and starting your day.

If you try to go for a run or hit the gym after a long day… chances are the little devil on your shoulder will win the fight and you’ll go home to your couch instead – because let’s face it, that sounds great.

Exercising in the morning is a great habit to have because it really kickstarts your day and gets you up, motivated, and energized.

Have I convinced you yet?? Waking up early can actually be amazing and might be just the change you need in your life.

This can be a difficult change to make, but it’s possible and so worth it! Here are a few quick tips to help you join that 6:00 AM Club:

  1. Start slowly – If you normally wake up at 9:00 AM, don’t switch to 6:00 AM right away. Start getting up a half hour early each day and ease into it.


  2. Go to sleep earlier! Sounds obvious but I just had to throw it out there. If you’re waking up earlier, you neeeeed to go to sleep earlier to keep a healthy sleep cycle.


  3. Put your phone down and try reading a book in bed. Studies show that being on your phone before bed can actually make it harder to fall asleep once you put it down. Find a book that sounds interesting to you. Once you get through a few pages, you’ll likely feel sleepy.


  4. Make sure you want it… If you don’t believe waking up earlier will actually improve your day to day life, you won’t have the willpower to make the change. Remind yourself of all the benefits of getting up earlier and remember the things you’ll have time to do and enjoy before starting your day.


  5. Step out of bed! If you alarm is right next to your bed, it can be so easy to just hit snooze and fall back asleep. Don’t do that! Set your alarm or phone (if you use your phone alarm) on the other side of the room so that you are forced to get out of bed to shut it off. Why not stay up and start your day since you’re already out of bed anyways?

Feeling motivated yet??
Join that 6:00 AM Club, girl!