Healthy Lifestyle

Living a healthy lifestyle seems hard to nearly impossible if you're not financially stable and lacking willpower. You have to really want something to make it a reality. Finally after months of eating horribly, drinking sodas, not working out and in return feeling crappy, I decided I really wanted to make a change. Unlike most people, the change was not for the outside of my body, but more for the inside. I wasn't on a quest to lose tons of weight, but to make a complete 360 from the lifestyle I had been living to a healthier and more satisfying way of life. Over a period of about three months, I have slowly (but surely) changed.

Here's what I did/ do differently now.

FIRST and foremost, society tells you the best way to lose weight is to go on a diet, but I am highly against giving up chocolate, ice cream, cake and other snacks that make me happy. So automatically, I knew a diet was out of the question. And honestly, why give up on something that brings you happiness? The key to eating snacks or anything in general, is moderation. Have the freaking cake as long as you don't have a huge portion. And did you know the speed that you eat actually effects digestion and metabolism? Next time you're ready to scarf the entire plate down before the other people at the table even finish the appetizer, remember to pace yourself and you will instantly see a difference in how full you feel. You might even find that you feel the need to eat less.

Secondly, I cannot emphasize how important it is to drink water. The easiest way to quit drinking soft drinks and sweet tea, which was huge for me, is not cold-turkey, but weening yourself off little by little. Start by replacing one drink per day (or week, depending on habits) with water, then two, three.. etc. and you will instantly notice a difference. Another thing that kick-started my water drinking is a Mavea pitcher. It filters all the nasty contaminents (including chlorine taste & odor, heavy metals, organic impurities, and pesticides) and leaves nothing but pure, clean, sparkling water that tastes delicious!

I plan on writing a detailed post (if this one goes over well) about how unhealthy most city water is and why you need to filter it later. For now, purchase a MAVEA here. Also, go ahead and grab some filters while you're at it because one lasts about 2-2 1/2 months, depending on use.

This next one is obviously a given, but freaking exercise a little every day, and you will feel at least 50% better by the end of the week (I promise). The internet allows us so many other ways to exercise than just going to the gym. In fact, there are TONS of free ways to work out using tutorials and videos from the internet. Pinterest and Youtube are two of the best resources for working out that money can buy, and both are free. On pinterest, browse the Health & Fitness section and see if you're not super inspired and ready to go to the living room (or any large, open space suitable for working out) and kick some butt. Here are a few workouts (found on Pinterest) to get you started.

3 Minute Arm Workout

Five Minute Ab Workout

Workouts mentioned above only require 5-10 minutes at the most, so no excuses!

Now for the second resource: YouTube. Below you will find two of my favorite videos for a low impact workout (easy on the knees)- one for core and the other for legs. 

Low Impact Lower Body and Core Tabata Workout:

Quick 10 Minute Core Workout- Pain in My Abs!

Do you like posts on Fitness & Working Out, including but not limited to healthy eating, exercises, detox drinks, post workout snacks? Which was your favorite workout?

 Comment below to let me know :)

&& as always, thank you for reading!