Since starting Inspiralized, I have become much more aware of everything I eat (or consider eating, for that matter.) As a “healthy food blogger,” I wholeheartedly want to inspire others to choose a healthier lifestyle, like I have. With that, I’m that much more inspired to “practice what I preach.”
I mean, how can I tell my readers to avoid processed sugars and then go off and throw down a pint of Talenti gelato with Lu? It wouldn’t feel right.
What you don’t see on my Instagram, blog, Twitter or Facebook are my “slip ups,” but I wanted to take today to talk about my healthy journey and let you know that, yes, I will polish of a box of chocolate Teddy Grahams… and no, they’re not vegan, gluten-free, Paleo, “clean” or remotely “healthy.”
But, I am healthy.
Why don’t I share that on my Instagram? Well, it’s not my personal Instagram to brag about what bar I went to on Friday night or post pictures up of how cute Lu looks like when he puts on a suit – which is really cute, you’re missing out!
Inspiralized is as much for me as it is for you. Every time I think of OD-ing on cheese and bread, I think about my mission: to encourage and inspire others to make the right, healthy decisions.
Then, I put down the cheese. I have an orange instead or maybe a portion-controlled bowl of Veggie Booty or even a banana with almond butter. I like to showcase these moments on my Instagram, because they keep me focused on my health journey. When I scroll through my Instagram, I think:
Heck, I’m so healthy!
And that, my friends, keeps me motivated. As I imagine it would for you – if you’re sitting at your desk reaching for a Snickers, you might see a picture pop up of me drinking a green juice or coming back from a run. I’d hope that little moment would make the decision to stay on track that much easier.
Small victories like these are what mean the most when you’re on a weight loss journey or simply trying to be a healthier person. It’s not about that end goal, it’s about each and every single day and every moment you reach temptation.
I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not perfect – I’m Italian, I have an irrepressible sweet tooth, and I live with a guy who loves to eat. When we go out to dinner, I definitely have one too many pieces of bread or glasses of wine, and I’ll always need to order dessert.
So, how do I stay fit and feel good? Well, today, I’m going to give you my top healthy living tips and talk about ALOHA, a wholesome brand that has helped me in my own health journey.
Before I give these tips, I’ll let you know that these simple changes in my lifestyle helped me drop 20 pounds, and I never ONCE felt deprived, frustrated or felt like I was on a diet. Oh, AND I’ve maintained that weight loss and only continue to slim down. The one tip that I didn’t include? Eating Inspiralized! Eating Inspiralized meals has been crucial in my health journey – it’s so easy to eat healthy when everything tastes so delicious. I’ll save my meal planning tips for another post, if you’re interested.
My Top 3 Healthy Living Tips
1. Drink water. No, really drink a lot of water. The best investment you can make is in a refillable water bottle. I like this one, because my parents’ nickname for me is Bobble, so it seemed appropriate. Even if you’re not thirsty, drink water. I make a point to fill it up at least three times. I’ll also obviously drink more water during and after a workout, to keep hydrated and replenished.
If you’re bored by water, lemon is your new best friend. Every week, I quarter about 5 lemons and use them in my water. Lemon water is great for digestion, taste and a myriad of other natural health benefits. It keeps water interesting, most importantly. It also fills you up, keeps your head clear and honestly, half the time you’re reaching for a bag of chips, you’re really just dehydrated.
2. Don’t get discouraged if you fall off track. I can’t stress this enough – this used to destroy all of those diets I use to go on (before Inspiralized.) I’d have a moment of weakness and stuff my face with two back to back almond butter and banana sandwiches. Then, I’d freak out and just binge eat the rest of the day, because “I ruined my diet.”
This might be my #1 tip: IT DOESN’T MATTER IF YOU FALL OFF TRACK. WHAT MATTERS IS HOW YOU GET BACK ON TRACK.
Seriously, consuming, say, 600 extra calories on a giant muffin or a few cookies at 3pm isn’t going to cause you to gain 10 pounds. Sure, it’s “off track,” but just do a spin class and work your patooty off and afterwards, you’ll say “what cookies?” because you’ll have burned them right off. It’s so important to keep a balance here.
So what happens if you eat that extra 600 calories and you can’t make it to the gym? Have a bowl of my chicken detox zucchini pasta for dinner or just a similarly light dinner. Don’t starve yourself – it’ll only cause you to binge later.
What if you’re having that extra 600 calories after dinner? Simple: just stop right there, chug a few glasses of water and wake up extra early and fit in a killer workout and decide that that day is going to be very very healthy.
3. Workout, but don’t stress about working out. It’s hard to get around this, but … workout. Your diet is more important, but working out is better in the long run for your body. Just make time for it. After a few weeks of consistent working out, you’ll ask yourself why you dreaded it for so long.
But, don’t stress about it. If you can’t make it to the gym for whatever reason (ie you don’t want to), don’t stress. Stressing is bad for everything, including your waistline. I used to say, “Well, I can’t make it to the gym, so I might as well just eat this bag of chips.” No, no, no. Now, if I can’t make it to the gym, I’ll eat lighter (because my body doesn’t need the extra fuel anyway) or I’ll squeeze in 10 minutes of TV exercises, which include sit ups, pushups, squats, lunges and those sorts of things while Lu and I watch TV. It doesn’t feel like working out, but it’s better than nothing.
Also, do workouts that you like. I used to kill myself over not running at least 3 miles on the treadmill everyday. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t work out because I thought “well, nothing’s as effective as running, so there’s no point.” Wrong, again. Take it from me, 20 minutes of HIIT training is better than most 45 minute workouts! And, they’re more fun.
I workout 4-5 days a week, generally for 45 mnts- 1 hour. I do a combination of cardio and strength training. If I don’t want to go to the gym, I’ll turn on Apple TV and do some YouTube workouts from the Tone It Up girls. But I have to tell you, sometimes, I work out 6-7 days a week, if I’m feeling it.
Find out what works for you. Don’t compare yourself to others or what you “used to do” when you were “at your best.” We all change, we all have bad days. Namaste, alright?
ALOHA
Last, but certainly not least, I love having a green smoothie in the morning and a green juice in the afternoon.
Half of the time, I make it with 2 packed cups of spinach (or kale), a handful of frozen blueberries, half a banana, 1/3 cup of vanilla almond milk, 1/2 cup of ice, a little less than a 1/2 cup of water and 1 packet of my favorite protein powder (Tone It Up‘s vanilla Perfect Fit Protein.)
The other half of the time, I use a packet of ALOHA‘s The Daily Good green juice powder to replace the spinach/kale. The Daily Good is only 40 calories and its packed with 14 real fruits and vegetables dried through a process that keeps them whole to preserve their fiber. Who the heck knows, but it tastes herbal and fresh.
That graphic above is from their website, which goes more in depth about the health benefits of The Daily Good. Actually, if you want to try it out yourself, they’ll send you a FREE trial pack, which is awesome.
I have to say, when I use ALOHA’s green juice powder mixes in my smoothies and juices, I feel energized, hydrated and so… healthy! I wouldn’t be giving them this much face-time on Inspiralized if I didn’t really believe in them. Plus, all of their packaging is completely compostable or 100% recycled. That’s pretty awesome.
When I don’t have time to use my juicer (who does?!) for my mid-afternoon green juice, I’ll more often than not use a packet of The Daily Good combined with 1/2 cup of grapefruit juice with 1.5 cups of water and some ice. So delicious!
ALOHA also sent me “The Foundation” which is a 5-pill daily nutrient pack. While I’m not a big daily supplement taker, I’ve been using them three times a week and honestly, the few blemishes I usually get from working out (around my temple) disappeared a week after I started The Foundation.
ALOHA boasts that these supplements:
If you’re looking to get some added nutrients during your week, I recommend The Foundation. And, of course, The Daily Good has been a big time saver for me with my juices and smoothies.
What did you think of this post? Would you like to see more from me about how I keep healthy? Let me know what you think with the poll below:
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DISCLAIMER: ALOHA sponsored this post, but all opinions and tips are my own.
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