I made a personal mandate to kick off the year (and hopefully continue through) with a healthy start! I tend to get lazy and lethargic close to the end of the year with all the holiday parties and such, heading into 2015, I was ready to get back into gear. Now, a healthy lifestyle to me doesn’t amount to cutting out gluttony 100%, rather, its making small changes to my daily routine and creating a plan that is achievable and manageable. After all, who wants to set targets that are impossible to reach?!
To make it extremely easy for me to stay on track, I came up with 4 simple rules to instill a daily healthy lifestyle.
Rule One: Stay Active (doing something you like)
I’ve always had a gym membership and never made good use of it. I made excuses and justified why I wasn’t able to make it or promised I’d go ‘tomorrow’. Well, tomorrow rarely came! I realized the reason why I wasn’t motivated to go wasn’t due to the physical aspect of working out or being active. It was primarily due to the fact that I just don’t LIKE going to the gym. I don’t like running on the treadmill, I don’t like lifting weights, I don’t like climbing the stair master… it continues.
Late last year, I decided to revisit my love for yoga. I observed after several weeks I was naturally motivated to go to practice, even at 9 a.m. on a Saturday! I’ve come to appreciate the importance of choosing an activity you enjoy, that is what will make you get off your seat. If you’re looking for a yoga studio in Toronto, I highly recommend Yoga Tree. I officially joined as a monthly pass holder, and loving it.
Shown above: Gym Bag / BKR water bottle / Ear Phones / Sports Bra (also like the detailing on this one)
Rule Two: Eat Health(ier)
I admit it, I LOVE indulging in food. However, after a few food documentaries on Netflix, Kyle and I decided it was time to make some adjustments to our regular food intake. Afterall, we are what we eat. I purchased The Oh She Glows Cookbook recently and was completely inspired by all the healthier meal options. I highly recommend it (and the chia parfait recipes!) and not only for the Vegans out there.
A couple of things we have decided to explore are: organic foods and juicing. Again, I want to stress we are not taking extreme measures on ‘eating healthy’, rather aiming for achievable goals. Stay tuned as I cover a few upcoming experiences with shopping for organics and a 3 day juice cleanse.
Rule Three: Try Something New
A couple of weekends ago, a bunch of us girls got together and tried Aerial Yoga at Fly Queen West for the first time. It was challenging but we had an amazing time. We’ve been meaning to give this a try and finally got enough of us together for a private class. Trying something new with my favourite people AND staying active? It was a no brainer.
I posted this photo on Instagram and many asked whether experience was required to get into this hanging lotus pose. The answer is, absolutely not! The instructor started us all off with some simple yoga poses on the silk and then slowly moved us into several inversion poses. I’ve been scared to try inversion poses in my regular practice, but since I was able to get some help with the silk, I feel much more confident with giving inversions another try.
If you haven’t given Aerial Yoga a try, it’s something you should try with a group of your fav gal pals! I promise you’ll have a great time!
Rule Four: Consume more (lemon) water
Over the holidays, I was hit with the flu and it knocked me out a good several days. During this time, the only thing that got me through was consuming ample amounts of warm water, with lemon. There are so many articles out there that speaks on the benefits of consuming lemon water. A few of these include:
- rich source of vitamin C
- contains pectin fiber which is beneficial for colon health and acts as a powerful antibacterial
- maintains the balance of pH levels
- helps flush out toxins
- aids digestion and encourages the production of bile
- helps cure the common cold
The list goes on. I’ve tried to make it a habit to consume more lemon water especially when housed in my new BKR water bottle (I’m kind of feeling this black on black version)!
I’d love to hear some of your lifestyle goals you’re hoping to achieve in 2015! Please leave me a comment and tell me about them! In the meantime, stay active, hydrated, and healthy!
1 comment
I’m definitely on the smoothie bandwagon! I do a kale/spinach + fruit smoothie everyday for breakfast. No matter what I eat for the rest of the day, I know I have at least had a health start!