My typical healthy start to the day:
Wake up with the sunrise and meditate for twenty minutes.
Drink a freshly pressed green juice.
Do an hour of yoga.
With all of my natural, non-caffeinated energy, decide to go for a brisk run.
Ha! Yeah, right. Usually it goes something more like this:
Wake up to alarm. Snooze alarm. Repeat.
Stumble toward the coffee maker. Guzzle down a cup or two while hoping nobody talks to me. Try to wake up.
Decide if I feel like working out or not. Either work out, or watch episodes of my favorite show on Netflix.
Make a big breakfast of eggs, toast, avocado, etc. to fuel me for the day.
As you can see, I do not live some perfect, ideal healthy lifestyle. I live a much more normal, relatable life, which I still consider to be healthy. I eat whole foods as much as I can, but I still enjoy treats. I do workouts that I actually enjoy because my body craves it, but I don’t beat myself up if I need a day or even a week of rest. I do yoga as much as I can because I love it and need it to de-stress. I love green smoothies, but I also love vanilla lattes.
My idea of a healthy lifestyle is a life of balance.
This means eating healthy, exercising, and giving your body what it needs because you love being healthy, not because you feel guilty. It also means never beating yourself up for not living up to some optimal health standard.
Today I want to share some key ideas for living a healthy lifestyle with balance. I hope this inspires you to think about what aspects of your life you are already doing well, and also generate some ideas for healthy changes you can make.
Don’t give up foods you love.
There are certain foods that I love that I have no interest in giving up. Life is too short not to enjoy the things you love. Identify the foods and/or drinks that bring you joy and that you don’t want to give up. The stale crackers that have been sitting in your pantry for months that you munch on while watching TV? Probably not. But maybe it’s a latte from your favorite coffee shop, or homemade bread, or a glass of wine in the evening. These things are part of living a life you love, so don’t give them up. Instead, eat them with absolutely no regret. Indulge in chocolate cake and then have a green smoothie the next morning for breakfast. If you focus on indulging in the treats that you actually love and then eat healthy the rest of the time, you will be much better off than if you deprive yourself.
Learn to love the simplicity of whole foods.
Focus on filling your fridge with fruits and vegetables and appreciate how simple they are to prepare and enjoy. Fruits and vegetables can be perfect snacks and/or meals. A banana or apple is a great on-the-go snack. Brussels sprouts or green beans drizzled with olive oil and roasted in the oven go perfectly as a side with dinner. Sliced avocado adds a yummy flavor and filling healthy fats to anything from toast to salads to scrambled eggs. When you learn to love natural foods in their whole form, eating healthy becomes less of a chore and more enjoyable.
Be active in your everyday life.
You don’t need to kill yourself at the gym every day in order to be healthy and fit. I have found that I do better sticking to an exercise routine if I mix up my workouts with going to the gym, exercising at home, doing yoga, going for a walk, or giving myself a rest day depending on how my body feels. It’s also important to be creative and use whatever is available to you in order to get active. Workout at home to an online video if you don’t have access to a gym, or go for a gentle walk if you don’t feel up to an intense workout. Incorporate physical activity that you enjoy into your everyday life so that you don’t have to stress out every day about whether or not you made it to the gym.
Allow yourself rest.
I think giving your body rest when it needs it is one of the most important aspects of a healthy lifestyle. It’s easy to overdo it when you already live a busy lifestyle and then try to incorporate strenuous daily workouts as well. I’ve learned that it’s important to listen to your body and allow yourself to relax when you need it so that you don’t burn out. Some simple ways you can give your body rest are reading a book, drinking tea, going outside for a walk, doing some gentle yoga, or snuggling up on the couch and watching an old favorite movie. Some days you need to give yourself permission to just relax, which will help you be even more energized and motivated the next day.
These are just a few core aspects that I believe are important to living a healthy lifestyle with balance. I would love to hear how you live a healthy lifestyle while still enjoying the things you love!
Down to Earth Dreamer 