Kimberly's 5 tips to Stay Healthy

2 years ago

1 year ago

Thanksgiving- Brandons super thin face!!

^Me

1.) Eat a Healthy Breakfast- This will help you feel full during your day and it will help you to avoid that mid morning snack. A good breakfast is not a bowl of cereal, muffin, bagel, Fruit and yogurt parfait. You need protein in your breakfast- get back to basics and try Bacon and Eggs, omelets, Sausage or with Christmas coming up- a ham, peppers and egg omelet. I realize it is hard to wake up and make a big breakfast every morning but Bacon can be cooked the night before and preheated in the morning (it will still be crispy and delicious). Avoid sugary and bread filled breakfasts, these will drag you down and make you tired or crash.

2.) Connect with Friends-  I didn't start my healthy kick until I started working with one of my close friends who is a runner. She was always keeping me up to date on her food choices, giving me tips, encouragement and even convincing me that I wouldn't die if I tried to run a 5k. One of our other friends and I signed up for a 5k- ran/ walked it (more walking than running) and then we just kept going. In November we all did the Richmond marathon series together. Our friend did the full, I did the half and our other friend did the 8k. We worked as a team and still support each other constantly through blogs, texts etc.. If it weren't for my group of friends and my amazing husband,  I would not have been able to make a drastic health change in my life. It is important to surround yourself with people who encourage you and try to build you up and occasionally walk or run with you. It is easy to slip up when you know no one will ask you about it. I call my sister at least 3 times a week and check up on her exercise and diet- she knows I am going to check so she keeps trying! Find a Friend, join a running club, join a gym and go to a class!

Kelli and I doing our first Triathalon

3.) Turn off the TV- I Saw shirt during a race that said "It doesn't matter how slow you go, you will still beat the couch potatoes." There is nothing on TV that can't wait and now with the DVR most people have, you can always save your shows. My husband and I quit watching TV- we cut our cable back and are even considering canceling it. Once we started eating healthy, we have so much energy. Now we come home and go for a walk, fix up the house, run, gym, swim etc... It has made a huge impact in our lives- we have great conversations and realized that TV cuts into so much quality time. Maybe you can't cut it out all together- at least cut back- try to make a rule that you can only turn on the TV after you have done some physical activity for 45-60 min. A walk, Vacuum, SEX! Whatever you want- Get up and MOVE before you sit and veg out. You aren't going to achieve your goals from sitting.

4.) Sleep-  This is so hard with our busy American lives- work, meals, cleaning, relationships... Your body needs to rest- This is the hardest rule for me to follow because I am naturally a terrible sleeper. It runs in my family. If I can't manage 8 hours of sleep every night, I try to sleep in late on Saturday or Sunday. This means clearing your schedule to get important sleep that your body needs.

5.) Don't Diet- Being healthy isn't about being on a diet. I haven't been on a diet in a long time and I am losing weight, gaining energy and feeling full and satisfied. In order to succeed and keep weight off, you need to have  a lifestyle change. Don't go on slim fast- you can't afford to live on it. Don't do anything that you can't see yourself doing forever! You need to start making healthy choices in your foods and eliminate some bad choices. Start small and continue to weed out or add in. I started doing Medifast when I first wanted to lose weight. I lost weight on it but realized that I couldn't live like this forever so I went off of it and started to find better ways to eat. Medifast taught me how to control my eating and gave me an idea of what full and hungry felt like. It taught me to eat 5 small meals and 1 big dinner but I just can't afford to stay on it forever. I realized that what works for me to feel healthy is Paleo- I am not saying that I won't ever have cheats here or there but I love the organic, natural eating. My body feels clean, I have energy, I run faster and I am never hungry. I had a friend ask me last night if I counted calories. I said "NOOOOoooo, I eat whenever I want". When you eat Meat, nuts, Veggies, Fruits etc., you don't need to count calories because it flows through your body and you don't ever get stopped up or bloated or a gross feeling. Maybe Paleo isn't for you, try what Amanda is doing and see if the 5 small meals and 1 lean and Green dinner is better. Maybe non of these work for you and you have a better option. Share with us so we can learn from you!

Courtesy of FitBomb.com

I hope you enjoyed my 5 ways to stay healthy- perfect timing for Christmas and New Years.
If you need an accountability person, I am always here to help! Right now I have a few friends that I partner with since I started blogging and I think that it is an awesome way to stay connected. If you ever need a running buddy- I love to run too!!!!