Start These Six Healthy Habits Today

Living a healthy lifestyle is not just a single battle you must overcome. It is a constant battle. Each morning you decide whether you will workout that day. Every day you decided whether you're going to eat healthy or not. Each night while you watch TV, you decided whether you're going to eat half a bag of chips or not. There may be days that you slack, but there is one thing you should keep in mind: one cheat meal won't kill you, but...one healthy meal won't save you. To help you win your battles more times than not, I have come up with a few tips that you can slip into your every day routine to make your day a little bit healthier. The little things will really add up. 

Be a Little Productive this Summer

Even though I'm so happy to have several months to just relax before school starts back up again, I'm not quite willing to just sit around and do nothing. I've pretty much done that for the first half of the summer, so I want to really buckle down and focus on accomplishing some things during my free time. Here are some of the things I would like to do, that you might find interesting to add to your agenda this summer. 

Summer Vacation Essentials

With a few family trips planned for the second half of my summer, I decided to channel my excitement into a post all about vacation essentials. I'm not going to go through everything in my suitcase because that would take forever. Instead, I'm just going to focus on a few unique pieces that people tend to forget and other essentials I think are important.

Lovely Things

I haven't sat down and just talked about the things I love in quite some time now. I am so grateful for summer to be in full swing now. Being back home and having all of this extra time on my hands, I've been able focus on this things I really love. I thought I would talk about a few items that have become staples in my life and activities I've gotten back into.

Lovely Things from February

 

At the end of each month I like to reflect on some of the things that made the month memorable and just the things that made my happy. It's hard to believe that February 1st I was just coming back from winter break and now I am in full swing of the new semester, with one month under my belt. It has been a stressful, exciting, busy, but worth-while time. I made a few memories, cracked a few smiles, and now I'm ready for March to come, hopefully with some warm weather too. Here are just a few favorites from the month of February.

DIY Interval Workout Just Using Stairs

 

Yes, I am talking about those dreaded things you walk up and down a dozen times every day in your house. Now you can use them to create your own interval workout! Doing stairs is a great cardio, so incorporate it into any workout you have. I always saw these workouts around Pinterest, but I had never really tried one before. I finally did, and I died! It was awesome.

Tips for Running in the Cold

 

It's already difficult to motivate yourself to run when it's comfortably warm outside, but it's so much harder when it's cold outside. However, I have a system for running outside in the cold. It really makes me feel like a bad a** when I do it, and I often don't have access to a gym since I'm away from school. Feel free to do other body weight exercises indoors, but for some good cardio, you can stick to your beloved runs. Here are my tips for surviving winter runs.

Gym Time Routine

I have definitely been taking advantage of the gym at the university. You know when you go to the gym for the first time in a long time and you're just so excited that you spend two hours just doing everything? No? Just me? Okay, well that was me for a good month. I have finally started to create a good routine for the gym. I have been focusing mostly on cardio and abs, so if you need some help coming up with a good one, here is what I do!

Monthly Loves: July

As people always say, August is like the Mondays of the year. It sucks. It's always a sad time when July finally ends because you come to realize that your summer is ending. One thing to look forward to is fall fashion, which everyone knows is the greatest season for the true fashionista (I feel like that is such a cliché word, but I couldn't think of anything else.) Here are a just a few things I've loved this month, that I kinda think everyone needs in their life.

The Other Side of Healthy That Everyone Seems to Forget

Not many times in my life will I admit that something is more challenging than gaining the motivation to work out. This, however, is one of those times. This is even difficult for the avid workout-aholic. What is this death trap we all seem to forget when talking about fitness? Food! We all seem to be so focused on working out our bodies, that we forget to do the whole healthy feeding part of it as well. The problem is that being fit and healthy is not a 99% working out and a 1% food division. It's more like a 30% working out and 70% food division. We all seem to forget how important that other 70% of dedication to food when we aren't seeing great results from working out.

Motivational Fitness Apps to the Rescue

As we have all become aware, our phones can be very helpful in our daily lives. Here is just another reason why you can't live without your phone; FITNESS APPS! Let's talk about two of my favorite fitness apps that have become an important element of my daily fitness routine.

Get Fit Because of a Book?

I love books. They are great at passing time, and extending your imagination beyond what you thought was capable. A book can help you get fit too! I'm not joking. There are so many books out there that swear to help you "drop the weight" in just a week. I'm not even going to go into how incorrect that sentence is, so we will just keep going. As I was browsing through the library the other day, I found a book by Maria Menounos. It's called  The Everygirl's Guide to Diet and Fitness. I was skeptical, but as I briefly flipped through the pages, I came across a photo of her dancing with the one and only Derek Hough on Dancing With the Stars. Right then and there I had to read it, so I snatched it up and took it home with me. It was kind of "read a book by it's cover" impulse, but I'm really glad I picked it up.

Become Addicted to Working Out

It's summer (just a reminder for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past month), and that means running outside without having to wear two pairs of thick socks, several long sleeve shirts, two pairs of thick running tights, a pair of thick gloves, and a silly hat to keep you warm and no need to pray that you don't slip and fall on the ice. Summer always gives me this new found motivation to work out. I just started a new workout routine that I thought I would share with you all. (P.S. Stay tuned for fitness posts ALL WEEK. As Monica Geller would say, "I KNOW!")

The Mental Process of Going for a Run

Oh god, I hate mornings. Okay I guess it's technically afternoon. Time for my run. Exhale. Maybe I will just go for a long walk today. Yeah. Walks are still good for you right? Besides, I went for a run yesterday. It's good to switch things up. Better for your health. Yeah, I'm treating my body better! Basically saving a life right here.

The Little Things for a Healthier Life

Living a healthy lifestyle seems to be an unreachable thing for many people. The massive leaps that seem to be needed to reach this point make it all the more daunting. However, by making several gradual and small changes to your life each day, you can reach that goal you hope for. Here are a few small changes you can make for a big difference in your health.

Why You Need to Add Jump Roping to Your Workout Routine

I remember loving jump roping in grade school. I could always go much longer than the other kids in my class and my gym teacher praised me for that. (I thought I was all that.) It was just a fun activity that I liked in gym class, but little did I realized the health benefits it had. I recently was looking up the benefits of jump roping, and let me say there are a lot! Jump roping is a great workout for your entire body. Don't believe me? Well here are a few benefits of jump roping.

Fitness Restoration

It has been a long winter my furry friends. A long winter of yummy foods and sleeping. Aka: barely any working out. My motivation for working out just leaves the building over the winter, and now that spring is finally approaching, I'm back!

The Interval Training or HIIT Hype

Interval training seems to be the new big thing, right? Just search in on Pinterest and the millions of different posts you will find will help any type of workout junkie or newbie. I was quite skeptical about this type of workout, but after a little bit of research, I am intrigued. Interval training works your body out so much better than your basic type of training. Keep reading to find out why and for some workout ideas.

Workout Routine to "Uptown Funk"

I have really started to love dancing a lot more, and I saw something on Pinterest the other day that gave me a great idea. I saw a video of a cardio-dance workout to the song "Uptown Funk." This is my new favorite song and I thought that it sounded like a lot of fun. I know it seems a little '70s but it is so much fun to do! It is so much more fun than your regular workout routine. If you are in a rut when it comes to workout routines, try this video out!

Weekly Workout: Lose Your Love Handles

Now ladies, we all know that love handles are the part of the body that seems also impossible to get rid of. They are all the excess fat on the sides of your abs. I have become very determined about shrinking mine, so I thought I would share a quick ab routine for you all to do to help with your love handles. Even though it's February (aka. the month of love), I'm just ready to get rid of mine. Here is the routine.