Inspiration

As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, I was new to the whole healthy lifestyle thing. But as time has gone on, I have done research and learned a lot. One of the blogs that I was keeping up with throughout this journey was http://getfitwithsonia.com/my-blog/.

She is a personal trainer in Toronto and she went to university for her B.Com and MBA degrees. She never had planned to go down this road but it’s amazing where her passion and interest has taken her. It has been great reading her blog to see some great healthy meal ideas and easy exercises to do at home. It has inspired me that even though I do not know a lot about healthy eating that I can definitely learn.

I can teach myself, learn from peers and others who are more knowledgeable. Her blog has just taught me that no matter what you studied in school, being healthy is something you can integrate into your life.

 

Has anyone inspired you?

Mmm…berries!

Something I have always known about healthy eating is that berries are good for you since they are anti-oxidants. I’ve learnt that blueberries are good for your overall skin complexion as well. But this post is about the different ways I like to incorporate berries into my food.

I add blueberries to my all bran cereal

I don’t like flavoured yogurt that much so I buy plain yogurt and add in strawberries.

I add cherries and strawberries to my ice cream.

A berry smoothie of course is the best!

I know these aren’t the most creative ways to add them into your diet but it’s minimal effort and it works.

What are creative ways you enjoy your berries?

Walking..

As the weather is warming up, it’s great motivation to get outside and get some exercise.

Since I haven’t been running or jogging in quite a while, I decided to go for a walk/jog with one of my friend’s the other day. I’ll be honest and admit that we did walk more than we jogged but we still got some exercise. I find walking to be mentally relaxing as it allows you to enjoy the weather and have some great conversation.

I don’t think exercise always has to be strenuous or a workout, even though those are great. I’m looking forward to the weather getting even warmer so that I can play some soccer or badminton.

What are some of the outdoor activities you like to do in the summer?

Where to Eat?

I absolutely love restaurants! I like the relaxed environment but more importantly I love the food! One of the problems that I have is ordering something healthy. It’s more satisfying to order a plate of nachos as appetizers as opposed to a salad.  I justify it by thinking I can make a salad anytime or get one to go at ease.

I think I’m better with the main course though. I will try to order chicken breast as opposed to red meat. But sometimes when that’s not on the menu, I end up getting something unhealthy. I feel like healthy options are limited at restaurants; chicken breast or some sort of fish. I don’t want to just eat a plate of vegetables so I usually opt for something greasy.

For those of you who have this ‘healthy eating’ lifestyle on point, I’d love to hear what you order! I would also love some suggestions of healthy restaurants in general. The only places I can think of when I say ‘healthy’ are Subway, Mr.Sub and basically any sandwich or sub place. But these are fast-food restaurants and I’m looking for more of that sit-down relaxed environment with a healthy menu. So please leave me some suggestions of healthy restaurants and even healthy (filling) options at a restaurant.

Stressed!?

Since this blog is about a healthy lifestyle, I think this includes how you feel mentally and emotionally.  Something that effects a lot of people is stress. Stress can be very detrimental to your health if it’s not managed well.

There are times when I personally feel stressed, even after a ‘stressful’ project or event passes. I find myself worrying and stressing about what the future holds, in terms of a job. Being a student, I’m at that stage where school is coming to an end and I feel that pressure of “what’s next”? I feel the pressure of getting that ‘dream job’ that was worth all the time and money spent in school. Even though my parents don’t pressure me about finding that  job right away, I feel that pressure from society.  It’s that aunt or uncle at family gatherings that asks all those questions about your academic life. Then they follow-up with questions about what ‘my plan is’ for the future. I’m also finding that my social media platforms are full of people my age posting about their careers. Or when I’m out somewhere and I run into someone I haven’t seen for so long, the question is always “so what are you doing now?” All these people are just curious and interested but it actually stresses me out.

I found myself being stressed out a lot about this lately. It would bother me to the point that I would become counterproductive in my search for jobs and figuring out what to. I soon realized this wasn’t good for my mental health as I was always so worked up. So I decided I needed to start doing things to calm down and feel more relaxed.

There are a few things that I like to do, to take my mind off all the worries in life and to relax. I love watching movies because for those 2 hours my mind forgets about everything else in life and is so fascinated by the movie. I also love to read about different people’s experiences in life so I have a few blogs that I read on my leisurely time. Another thing I love to do is have game night because it’s a lot of fun and usually entails great stories and lots of laughter!

Just remember that having a healthy lifestyle means taking care of yourself beyond eating nutritiously and exercising. What are some things you like to do to relax and kick back?

Vegetables-Raw or Cooked?

I always wondered whether eating vegetables raw or cooked mattered. I always knew that boiling vegetables wasn’t the best option since many nutrients can be lost during this process and kind of always assumed that raw vegetables were better anyways. Well I happened to stumble across an article by the Globe and Mail that gave me a lot of insight into this topic.

5 Things I learned from the article:

1. Cooking certain vegetables releases more antioxidants.

2. Certain cooked vegetables provide more calcium, magnesium and iron than if uncooked.

3. To get more vitamin c, thiamin and folate —> steam, quick saute, grill and roast your veggies.

4. Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, radishes, etc) are better for you when eaten raw.

5. Cruciferous vegetables become anti-cancerous when chewed or chopped.

I am happy that I came across this article because now I can actually be more mindful of cooking certain veggies while eating others raw. I think the best way to incorporate cooked veggies into your diet is by making homemade soup as the article suggests! My mom has been making homemade soup for as long as I can remember, so I’m glad that I’ve been getting some nutrients from that. It’s interesting though, because I always assumed salad was healthier because of the raw leafy greens. Little did I know, that certain cooked leafy greens actually offer more antioxidants than uncooked ones. My mom actually made homemade soup last week to eat before dinner and I complained that a salad would have been healthier. After reading this, I can definitely appreciate my mom’s soup a lot more! I now know that a salad isn’t necessarily healthier which makes this journey a bit easier.

It’s really interesting how reading a small article like this has taught me so much. Even when I reflect back on one of my earlier posts about a salad not being as “filling”, I realize how little I knew then. The reason I was complaining was because when I thought about ‘healthy eating’, my mind automatically jumped to a salad. This article really puts it into perspective for me that raw, and ‘salad-serving’ vegetables aren’t necessarily the greatest option. This article has definitely expanded my knowledge and opened up more avenues of what I consider healthy. I genuinely cannot wait to learn more about healthy eating as I go down this journey!

   

 

Add Some Dip!

So we had a small get together at my friend’s house the other night.  It was just a casual girls night in, with some snacks, a movie and some great stories! We didn’t actually end up getting through the whole movie since we all had some great storiws to share.

So before the get – together we were all planning which snacks each of us would bring to avoid 2 people bringing the same thing. So normally I would be the friend to bring cupcakes or brownies but not this time. I kind of surprised everyone when I said I was going to bring a veggie platter!

The veggie platter was a huge success considering there wasn’t much left in the end. Everyone appreciated the veggies since they helped balance out the junk food. The only complaint was that one of my friend’s would have preferred a spinach dip to the ranch one that the platter came with.

Since I’m new to the whole “healthy-eating” thing, I think small choices like this are a step in the right direction. I mean of course junk food is great when you’re just hanging out but add some cut up veggies to the mix and it’s just as great!  I hope I can continue making decisions like this!

Stretch it Out!

One of the most important things to remember before and after a workout is to stretch! I found this great video that has some basic stretches for beginners or even advanced individuals. These stretches are good for the morning or evening after a workout. The mistake that I made the last time I worked out was not stretching properly. I did stretch but my muscles and body were still very sore the next few days.This video is very easy to follow and the stretches can be done by most people.

I think that stretching is important in general, even if you’re not working out. Stretching helps your muscles to relax and releases any tension. Stretching also reduces the chance of your muscles getting strained from a simple exercise or movement.

Eating Healthy is Hard!

I have to admit that I have not been eating healthy lately…

The healthiest thing that I had today was a grilled sandwich on whole wheat bread. I also had Wendy’s and pizza today which were poor decisions. But I was craving Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich! It’s so easy to convince myself that I will eat better ‘tomorrow’ but when tomorrow comes around it doesn’t exactly happen! I need better will-power and I think it would be easier if everyone around me ate better. But I know it’s not up to other people to motivate me, it’s something I have to do for myself. But I do wish that my family would get on board with eating better. It’s interesting enough that my sister is in a health science program yet doesn’t exactly follow what she learns. But she does go to the gym and exercise more than I do which is good.

I guess the hardest part is having all this great food around you and not giving into the temptation of eating it. I mean I am not trying to avoid ‘good food’ altogether but I do think it should be considered more of a treat rather than a part of my everyday diet. Living a healthy lifestyle will be worth it in the long-run and that’s something I need to remember when I am tempted to fall back into old habits.

References: spreadlove.org

 

Healthy Snack Ideas

So I think one of the biggest reasons why I have had trouble eating healthy is because I never have enough time to prepare food. I feel like eating healthy takes a lot of time and preparation so it becomes difficult to stick to it. So I started searching online for some ideas and I found this video.

The ideas that these girls have given seem so easy, yet appealing! I actually want to try the Cocoa Almond Bananas! Let me know if you have any fun and fast ideas to prepare healthy snacks.