Today’s the Day

One of my favorite verses in the Bible says, “This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalm 118:24)  For years, my e-mail signature read “It’s a New Day!”  Another of my favorite Scriptures is Lamentations 3:22-23 “They [His mercies] are new every morning.”  I just love the concept of beginning each day a new. No matter what happened yesterday, you get to start over or begin something different today.  Yay!

So today, as promised in my last post, I want to give you guys some practical tips and tools that I’ve been incorporating into my wellness journey that you can start doing today if you so choose.  If you’re a planner like me you probably don’t like to get started on something new until you you have all your ducks in a row; but let’s face it: all our ducks are never in a row.  If we keep waiting until there are no more birthday parties in sight to entice us into shoving our faces with cake, then we will never start eating healthier. If we keep waiting until we get the garage cleaned out so we have a workout space, then we will never exercise.  So, just forget about all those excuses and pick something you can start doing TODAY.  You don’t have to start 10 things today, just pick one for now. Decide to do something today.  Then decide again tomorrow. and decide again the next day.  But for now, just START.

So without further ado, here are some of the things I started incorporating:

1.  Finding a workout I love. I started with just one little 10 minute YouTube video by Rebecca Louise that my sister shared with me.  I loved it, so I kept doing it every day.  Then I discovered her library of 10-15 minute workout videos on YouTube.  I started adding variety.  Then I started two videos a day.  After being consistent with that for about two weeks I decided to take the plunge and join her 30 Day Get Fit Plan!  (For only 3.99 you get a daily workout, warm up and cool down videos, healthy recipes, little congratulations badges, and prizes when you complete all 30 days).  I was a little apprehensive to do it, because when I decide to challenge myself in this way I want to make sure I’m able to do it! Ha! So far, so good.  I’m half way through and haven’t missed a day yet (knock on wood).  The exercises don’t require any equipment, and you can do them anywhere.  They aren’t super long, but I can totally feel the burn the next day. 
2. Eating more protein.  I normally tend to eat carb heavy because it’s easy, and because I’m a mom my “meals” usually consist of my kids leftovers or a granola bar.   However, I’ve never been a fan of dieting.  All the diets I’ve ever encountered are too restrictive.  They all seem to want to completely eliminate an entire food group, which to me is not really practical.  I’m more of an “everything in moderation kind of girl.”  It has been so much easier to think about the new things I CAN eat and incorporate into my diet (adding protein) instead of thinking restrictively about all the things I CANNOT eat.  This has helped tremendously.
3. Adding more fruits and veggies. Getting enough fruits and veggies into your daily diet is SO hard – especially into your kids’ diets.  My kids will eat veggies, but only certain ones; and I can only eat carrots so many times a week!  Do you feel me?!?!  So how do we get in enough fruits and veggies?!?!  I found an amazing supplement that does just that. My whole family started using Juice Plus several months ago with great results.  Juice+ is different than a vitamin in that it delivers the nutrients to your body in food form – meaning you get the vitamins and minerals in their natural form with all the supporting nutrients to help them assimilate into your body.  It’s fruits and veggies in a capsule/gummy. Not only do my kids love their Juice+ gummies, but they are now eating WAY more vegetables than ever.  I’m talking brussel sprouts ya’ll!  And when my kids eat more veggies I make more veggies, so everyone is getting more veggies! Yay!
4. Snacking more frequently.  I have been trying to eat more often.  I know it may seem counterproductive to loosing weight, but it can actually help (if you’re not snacking on chips and candy bars of course).   I tend to skip eating meals during the day because I’m always busy, and then finally when I’m starved, I reach for whatever I can get my hands on.  This is usually not something healthy, which leads me to my next tip…
5. Prepping meals.  I tried meal prepping for dinners a few years ago.  I stuck with it for a while when I was teaching, but have kind of stopped doing that.  What I recently started doing is prepping more for breakfast and lunch.  For example: I will boil eggs to have on hand in the early mornings when I get up to teach my VIPKID classes at 5:30am instead of reaching for the bagel or granola bar. For lunches I will take a few minutes one day to make a huge farro salad that will last me almost a week.  This keeps me eating more whole, real foods instead of the quick, packaged, and processed stuff.
6. Using this: Ok, so this might be overkill, but that darn mommy tummy area needs a little extra help.  I love this band because not only does it bring on the extra sweat, but I feel like it gives me a little extra support for my back/stomach.
7. Drinking lots of water.  Did you know you are supposed to drink your weight in ounces of water every day?!?!  Get your gallon jugs out, and start chugging!
8. and last but not least….I mentioned before that I try to workout while my infant is napping.  However, when she wakes up before I’m finished I have found that these take about 10 minutes for her to eat – which is usually just enough time for me to finish my workout!

Well that’s all I have for now.  I hope that you have found some or one of these ideas helpful.  Everybody has a different goal, a different schedule, and different preferences; so whatever you decide to do, the most important thing is that you decide to it – today.  Don’t put it off any longer.  Pick something and do it.  In the words of Larry the Cucumber (because Veggie Tales is awesome!) “This is the day. You know what?  This IS the day.  No matter where you are or what time it is.”  Today’s the day to start doing something for your health and wellness.  What are you waiting for?