Health In The New Year

Health and nurtion play a huge role in mjaority of peoples new year resolutions. I thought it would be a great time to get a post up about how I maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Eating wise I keep it pretty healthy year round usually, but like anyone else I enjoy splurging around the holidays and then look forward to the new year to get back on track. Sometimes it is more than just my eating I need to get right...this is a great time of the year to really look at what a "healthy lifestyle" intells and what more we could be doing to maintain one. 

It is important to note that it is not just the hard work and eating right that makes up a healthy life. It is important to to be mentally on track as well. Everything in the universe is made up of energy. Your energy effects the energy of everything around you. Remember, what we put out, we attract. Be mindful of finding the positive in every situation so that you are sending out positive vibes. I found this article 'The Science Behind Good Vibes And 5 Ways to Draw More Of It In To Your Life' it is worth the read. 
Once you are in that positive mindset then the eating healthy and excerising will be soooo much easier! I always love to reread Cameron Diaz's 'Body Book' this time of year...if you have not read it you should! 
You Are What You Eat
Brain fog, fatigue, slow, dumb, memory loss (I could go on and on) are all due to what we are putting in to our bodies! There is endless research and studies showing us this, so why are we not listening?! Becasue we are addicted to the chemicals and sugar in our "food". I put food in quotations because most of what people are putting in to their bodies shouldn't even be considered food. This is why I always like to take the new year as a time to reset my taste buds and remind my body and mind how great it feels when it is fuled with fresh orgainc produce and meat. I usually like to do this with a 3-5 day juice cleanse. The last two years I was not able to do this due to pregnancy and breast feeding. Instead I gave myself a solid week of eating super clean and limiting my meat intake. Don't get me wrong, that week sucks. I literally have withdrawl symptoms and think about sugar and carbs constantly. But once that week is over I almost feel like a new person. I start craving healthy foods again and realized once again just how delicious a peice of fruit is for dessert instead a half of pumpkin pie! 
To make eating healthy easier I always like to food prep. I take one day a week to stock the fridge with easy healthy go to meals.  I usually bake a few pieces of fish and a few chicken breast, some sort of veggie...I am on a brussel sprout kick currently. Then a carb which is usually quinwa or sweet potato. I also will make some sort of protein muffin or hard boil a dozen eggs for a quick snack on the go.  This can be pretty time consuiming, combined with grocrey shopping it can take up most of my sunday but the time you save during the week not havin to prepare meals it pretty much evens out. Some weeks it is just not practical to set aside that kind of time...so when this happens I like to go ahead and order pre made meals to have on hand. The last few months I have been ordering from Fine Nutriton I have also tried and really liked Agnosante. 

Work It Out
As a new mom I know just how difficult it can be to get a quality work out in, espeically in the winter! If it is priority though, you will find the time. Early in the morning before the babe wakes up, during nap time, incorporating the baby in my workout or even a late night session after the babe goes to bed, I have done it all. Even when I use to work a 9 to 5 job when I knew I couldn't get a work out in after work I would hit the gym during my lunch hour for a quick 30 minute sweat sesh. Once you make it a part of your routine it does get a whole lot easier. 
I am personally just now starting a real work out routine. After I loss the baby weight I took a bit of break from working out to try to help increase my milk supply. I now feel like I am really ready to commit to a 5 day a week workout routine. I am doing weight lifting 3 days a week and cardio 2 days a week. Since I have been out of the game for awhile I am starting slow, which is nice to ease back in to it.  If hitting the gym is too expensive or time consuming there are great workouts you can do from home. I am a huge fan of Tone It Up who offers awesome free workouts you can do right in your living room. 

Protein Powder: I usually have a protein shake after a workout. I hear a lot of the time that people don't like the taste of protein powders.  If you are on of those people give Wake Shake a try. It is probably the best tasting protein powder I have ever had! I use Vanilla. 

Much Love,