Little Healthy Habits

Since we are on the topic of healthy diets, I thought I'd share a couple healthy habits I've developed over the years. Some of them are little changes, but I can tell have made a big impact on my health.

• H2O all day long
• I have always been a fan of water, but there would be days I would realize I didn't drink anything other than with my meals and those days I would just feel tired. I decided to invest in a couple water bottles (Camelbaks are the best! The straw makes me just want to drink it more lol) to keep at my desk at all times and when I'm at home I just keep refilling it and keep it by my side. Without much effort, I find myself drinking water more throughout the day and I just feel more energized! I also like to add some lemon from time to time to mix things up. 
  

• No more pop - swap for ice tea
•  I've made this swap a couple years ago and do not miss it much at all. There are times, I must admit, where I may succumb to a Dr. Pepper at Qdoba (they have no ice tea! Just really sweet lemonade, blah) for a little pick me up, but overall it's been a good habit to keep. I LOVE Honest Tea. It's not super sugary which I hate in some ice teas. 

 

• Add a little tea
• About two years ago I discovered hot tea and have grown to love it! I am a big fan of green tea and earl gray (especially in the AM). Black tea actually has more caffeine than coffee too - crazy! It's another way to add liquid to your diet without feeling overwhelmed with just water - and its a good way to warm up on a cold day like today! (note: we got about 12inches of snow today in good ol' Fargo..yay! lol)

• No unhealthy fast-food 
• I generally avoid all fast-food places and limit my restaurant choices to healthier options to avoid any bad temptations. Now, when I say fast-food, I mostly mean places like McDonalds (excluding their coffee...coffee will always be my weakness ha), Burger King, Taco Bell, KFC...places like that. The healthier fast-food places like Subway, Quiznos, and Pancheros I visit frequently. I notice now if I do happen to cave in for a Mickey Dees burger, I do feel like crap afterwards so it makes it less tempting to want one when I know the effect it has on my body. 

• Eat more often (healthy snacks of course)
• You're suppose to eat 5-6 small meals a day, right? Well, I've started to do this more recently and it makes a difference in my energy levels throughout the day. I've been good with starting with breakfast - even if it's just a shake or banana - then having small snacks available at my desk. I love the little FiberOne snack bars, greek yogurt (Fage with honey is amazing!! Love it more than Chobani!), and hummus with bread/crackers. When I would make a contious effort to eat more healthy snacks I wouldn't be starving by the time I would get home which was nice because then that also gave me more energy and motivation to hit the gym - which is another habit I try to keep, but when it's cold out it's a struggle to make the trip. ha 

There you have it. My little healthy habits. I encourage you to give it a try and see what it does for you.

chow, ;)
-hiD

Smart Stuff

Since you brought up healthy choices/food, I had to tell you about these awesome finds! January means kick starting good habits and trashing bad ones. Marc and I found ourselves eating out a lot and feeling gross so we decided to turn it around together and make smart choices. Here are some of our discoveries:

Let's start with almond milk to be honest I was skeptical it was going to taste nasty but it's delicious! The unsweetened with vanilla is the best for you since it doesn't have a bunch of added sugar. Really I'm going to have no problem replacing cow's milk with this.

Next up is Synergy's Kombucha/Chia combo is so good, I have been drinking this for awhile and it really improves how you feel. Chia is a super food loaded with omega 3s and fiber. Kombucha ia a fermented tea that's a probiotic. Some have a problem with the texture of chia but I thinks it tastes like Jello.

Finally coconut oil is AMAZING. You can cook with it and use it as a moisturizer, pretty cool huh?
It's also hearty healthy, lowers the amount of abdominal fat and boosts your immune system. Plus when you cook with it, the house smells all tropical!

Here is a link to show how it can be turned into a moisturizer. All of these things can be found in the health food section at the grocery store or Whole Food stores.

I can't wait for you to try them!

til next time,
-Krissy

Heidi's Daily Find and Thoughts

Lurge!  

Yay! I get the first post. he he he :)
 
So, as usual, I was wasting time away on Pinterest and found this useful page with ways to spend $20 at a grocery store. It featured some neat swaps of what you could spend on healthy food vs. junk food. I found it interesting and will have to keep this in mind next time I make my trip to the grocery store.

 
Also, I got a Fit Bit One last month. Have you heard of it? Attached is a picture of mine. It's pretty neat. Here is a link to its website. It tracks your sleep patterns, steps, flights of stairs, calories burned all in a day. You can sync it with your computer and track it from your phone with an app. I thought it was pretty neat to see how many steps I take in a day and keeps me motivated to keep moving since I work all day at a desk job. You can even compete with friends online! 

It even says "woot" at times. Pretty neat. :)

 

So that is all that I want to type today. it's about 10:30pm so I better get to bed...yawn...gah I feel old!! when did that happend?!? ha 

-hiD