Top 10 Thursday: The 10 Commandments Of Living A Healthy Fit Life
By admin
I’m not perfect when it comes to eating and working out. I don’t think anyone is, and if they claim to be then that’s sad. We all deserve some leeway in our lives.
Believe it or not, I don’t eat clean 100% of the time. I love wine, I love chocolate and I love sweets! I am also not the perfect vegan (GASP?)… I love frozen yogurt and from time to time damn it, I am going to have it.
My stomach might hate me for it later, but my taste buds love me immediately.
Part of breaking the rules from time to time is expected and even makes it into my ten commandments. Check them out and let me know if you agree, disagree or think I am just plain ridiculous!
But before I get started… check out what popped out of my oven yesterday! Oh yea baby, nothing beats the smell of cinnamon and apples! Can’t wait to share this with you…. but just not today, sorry.
10 Commandments Of Healthy Living
10. Thou shall enjoy “being a health freak”.
I hate when people who confess to eating bad and then stick their noses up at healthy eating. They declare that eating “healthy” food must be retched and terrible. If it was terrible and gross, would we do it?
No! Because eating healthy is delicious and feels good! I enjoy it.
I also enjoy exercise, I never look at it as something I just have to do. I am not being dragged into the gym. I do it because it makes me feel good, gives me confidence, keeps my body healthy and strong. It’s fun! Why else would I walk around with a box of apples on my head?
To me, it’s not fun to sit on a couch, gain weight, and do nothing. Fun is moving, being active and enjoying a healthy body!
Mindset… mindset… mindset! To the health haters out there: you only get one life and one body, treat it the best you can now!
9. Thou shall make it a priority.
Eating healthy and working out aren’t just something that I do when I feel like it or when I find the time. It’s something that I make a priority, I find the time to schedule workouts and make homemade clean meals for my family. Eating right and exercising are just as important to me as getting work done (or writing this blog).
I might choose to spend more money on exercising and groceries then a lot of people, but that means I spend less money going out each month or buying clothes. That’s because my diet and fitness are major priorities for me and going out simply isn’t.
No excuses allowed, make it a central part of your life.
8. Thou shall not allow junk food (in the house).
What’s the best way to avoid eating foods you know are bad for you? By not having them around in the first place. Can’t eat something that isn’t there! Forgo the pints of ice cream and cartons of cookies.
This isn’t to say you can’t have a sweet treat from time to time. When I crave something I whip together a small batch of cookies or some other treat that is just enough for Dan and I to enjoy a few of. Never surplus because then I find myself eating them all within a day or two day.
I promise it’s not a lot of work, sometimes it takes less than 10 minutes to get a great dessert made. And let’s face it, homemade cookies are better than prepackaged any day of the week.
See some great recipes here.
7. Thou shall not be afraid of new things.
When it comes to food and fitness, I try to keep an open mind. I am always willing to try new things, experiment with new forms of exercise and new ingredients.
Over the past year I have tried:
- Bar Method
- Body Pump
- Hot Yoga
- Crossfit
I’ve loved some, and disliked some, but at least I tried them. I learned great new training tactics at all of them! Being a good trainer means getting outside of what you’re used to to learn new methods. So much fun!
I am also all about trying new foods… I think that fact that I have become vegan this year says enough on that one.
6. Thou shall not cut corners (with workouts)
The one thing that I will agree with the fast food restaurant, Wendy’s on!
I am not one of those fitness fanatics that enjoys spending hours in a gym working out. Yes, I am a fitness freak but I am also a busy woman and like to be efficient.
So that means each time I get ready to workout, I commit to it. My goal is to give it my all for the entire workout, no cutting corners and no walking away feeling as if I cheated myself and my body.
My workouts are often just 45 minutes or less, and I always remind myself of that. It means that for that 45 minutes, I can push myself hard!
I feel confident, proud and accomplished with I leave.
5. Thou shall always strive to do better.
The biggest mistake I see women making is repeating the same workout time after time. This leads to stagnant results and no improvement.
Always strive to do better than the workout before. That can mean lifting 5 pounds heavier, doing 2 extra reps, moving faster, or making an exercise a little harder.
No exercise should be an exact reflection from the previous. This is the ONLY way to improve, burn fat, get stronger and continue to feel awesome.
4. Thou shall not whine (still working on this).
This one I might fail from time to time, especially when I workout with Dan. I’m working at it, but I do think it’s important to keep a positive mindset while exercising and avoid whining and being “girly”.
Sometimes Dan will add weight to an exercise for me and I’ll find myself saying out loud “What! I can’t do that!”. He gets frustrated of course and makes me prove myself wrong.
Whining sucks, and I hate it! Let’s cut the crap and prove it to ourselves that we’re better than we think.
3. Thaw shall not drink during the week.
I know what you’re thinking… “What, but after a long day of work, I NEEEEED a glass of wine.”
No you don’t.
Sure drinking 1-2 glasses of wine is good for you because of the antioxidants, but you can get that from eating fruits and veggies.
1-2 glasses of wine per night adds up to 250 calories, by the end of the week that is over 1000 calories from drinking!
Plus alcohol has a crazy effect on the body’s ability to break down fat.
It’s a personal decision I made, but I only pour myself a glass of wine on Fridays and Saturdays… and even then I still keep the glasses to a minimum.
2. Thou shall listen to my body
This one didn’t come naturally to me, but with age comes wisdom. Right?
Back in the day (in my early 20s) I didn’t care if I was sick, hurt, or tired… I would workout anyways. Which ended up being a terrible mistake since I ended up over training and more injured than I should have been.
From working out too much at the age of 20 for example, this is what my year looked like:
- Back to back kidney infections
- Stress fractures
- Broken wrist
- Depression
- Poor body image
All of that from working out too hard, and not listening to my body. Now I have finally learned that sometimes less is more. When my body is super sore, I scale back. When I am sick, I doing workout. When I’m injured I avoid injuring myself more.
I guess I have finally seen the light! No more guilt!
1. Thou shall be human.
The number one commandment… realize it’s okay to not be perfect. No one is.
Moderation is key to enjoying life. When I had an unhealthy relationship with food, I used to chew a piece of candy and then spit it out before swallowing it just so I could get the taste of it.
How sick is that?
It’s no way to live, and no way to love yourself.
Life is about enjoying the goods around us, and sometimes that means enjoying a slice of cake, eating a cookie, or enjoying a pizza with friends.
Everything is about moderation, I know I eat well 80-90% of the time, so that leaves me room to relax a bit and not feel guilty about cheating!
In fact, I am a firm believer in having a cheat day once a week. Normally for me, it’s Fridays (the night before my long runs). I eat dessert, go back for seconds, and enjoy some vino on the couch with my husband.
The same goes with working out, sometimes life truly does get in the way and a scheduled workout gets pushed aside. No biggie, I go with the flow and fit it in later or the next day.
If that doesn’t happen, I don’t freak out… just get back on track on the next scheduled workout day.
So those are my personal 10 Commandments!
- What would you add if you were to design them for yourself?
National Bow Tie Day… Should Dan Go With A Bow?
On a completely different topic, I just found out that it was National Bow Tie Day this past Tuesday.
Dan doesn’t wear bow ties, and I don’t foresee him ever giving them a go, however it got me to wondering what he would look like in one. I mean we do live in the South and guys rock them all the time down here (In full seersucker of course).
Without the bow tie:
With the bow tie:
What are your thoughts… yay or nay for the bow tie?