6 Tips to a Healthy and Well-Rounded Lifestyle

Something specific to Humans that I find particularly beautiful is the desire to be and do better. This desire drives more people to volunteer over the Holidays, hit the gym January 1st, and write down lists of goals all designed to improve one’s life and happiness. As humans we all have the desire to live our happiest life and we all have a picture of what that might look like in our heads. We see the new year as an ideal time to adopt some of the changes we think can yield the happiness we seek. Imagine a world in which everyone achieved every goal they had that year; the world would be FULL of healthy, happy, and selfless people doing so much good! So if this is what most all of us want, why does it taper off after a few months? Why do so many of us find ourselves in the exact same routine, making the same unhealthy choices, a year later? The key to reaching goals is to build a maintainable LIFESTYLE that can help you achieve them.
Your “lifestyle” – or general daily way of life – determines what you will accomplish in the year by allocating time and attention to the areas of your life that you deem “most important”. Of course you could pick one area and throw all your time and energy into this to be successful, but to do so would neglect several other important aspects of life and would ultimately lead to dissatisfaction. If you want to find happiness and contentment in the new year, the top of your list should be to focus on living a balanced and well-rounded lifestyle – one that is achievable, maintainable, and provides sufficient time and energy to the areas of your life that you consider to be of top priority. The problem? There are only 24 hours in a day and living a well-rounded life every day can take some discipline – it can be simply impossible to “do it all”. To help you adopt the lifestyle you seek in 2018 I will share my 6 tips to a healthy and well-rounded lifestyle that have proven to yield happiness and balance in my life over the years. They are, of course, a work in progress, but I will continue to pursue them this year and beyond and challenge you to do the same!

No matter how busy your schedule might be or what “balance breaker” you’re faced with at home, living a well rounded lifestyle IS ACHIEVABLE if you plan and commit to it. It is much easier to break a single goal than a lifestyle, so incorporating your goals INTO your lifestyle is the best way to get them done!

A well rounded lifestyle considers the following “Wellness factors” (not in this order):

1. Physical fitness & exercise
2. Healthy & balanced diet
3. Rest
4. Quality time with Loved Ones 
5. Spiritual & Mental Health 
6. Indulgence

Notice how I do not include “work” in this list. This is because “work” is something that you do to support your lifestyle priorities. Your work might be a priority to you, but it is already included in your daily routine by default. Allot the necessary time you need for work into your day, and build your lifestyle around this time frame. For example, my work days are very full and time-consuming, so when planning my lifestyle around it, I remove the “work time” and supplement the remaining time with the above factors. If I work from 6 AM – 7 PM ( a regular day for me), I plan my sleep first and work backwards from there. The key to planning your lifestyle is to make it maintainable – if I know that I will not maintain getting up at 4 AM to workout, I will not vow to do this because when I break it I am less likely to re-orient my entire lifestyle, I will instead continue to try and fail at waking up at 4 AM, missing my workouts more and more each week. I am not saying that you shouldn’t try to start getting up early to work out, maybe you are capable of maintaining this schedule! I know from experience that I am not, so deciding that “this is the year” I will start maintaining this is foolish. I should instead take a look at my tendencies and work my priorities achievably into them. 

 

✨Let’s take a closer look at each of the above “Wellness factors” and how to best incorporate them into your daily lifestyle✨??????

 

1. Physical Fitness & Exercise –  Here are my 4 ways to an achievable and maintainable workout schedule:

• Find something you ENJOY that meets your needs – The most important thing to consider as you plan your workouts into your lifestyle is what you want to gain out of them. If your goal is to get stronger or leaner, this will look different in your day than if your goal is to simply get your 30 minutes of exercise in. The other thing to consider is the type of workout you ENJOY doing. If you don’t enjoy going to a big gym and hunting for an elipitcal, do not incorporate this into your schedule because it will take only the smallest excuse to deny your workout for the day. Spend a little bit of time as this new year begins researching the types of workouts offered in your area and get creative while considering your time, budget, and goals! Another key to avoid a “workout rut” is to mix things up! I like to incorporate a lot of different workout styles into my routines – boxing, weightlifting, crossfit/body weight home workouts, and Purebarre are a few of my favorites!
• Pack your workout clothes the night before – and go ahead and splurge on some new leggings – this will make you even more excited to pack the workout bag and hit the gym!
• Pre-plan the time you will work out into your day – allot your workout time into your schedule beforehand as if it were a meeting. Find the time you have available, and WRITE IT DOWN in your planner. If you treat it like an appointment you are more likely to get it done!
• Find an “accountability person” – This could be a workout partner, a trainer at your gym who see’s when you’re there (and notices when you’re not), or a spouse/family member who knows your schedule and can help you stay on track. It can be easy to make excuses to yourself, but throw someone else into the mix and it is much harder to do so. Use this to your advantage! If you live around Houston, the Kanthaka App is a great option because it is like “uber for trainers” – they make it super convenient and easy to get your sweat session in!

2. Healthy and Balanced Diet – Here are 4 ways to maintain a healthy diet throughout the week:

• Pre-plan your meals – You do not need to commit to “meal prepping” in order to maintain a healthy diet throughout the week! Before grocery shopping, jot down the recipes that you’d like to make during the week that are conducive to your weeknight schedule. For example, if you have 3 late nights in the week, don’t plan a full week’s worth of fancy meals. Prepare two meals and plan to make extra for leftovers, or incorporate some quick & healthy meals into your busier days. Plan with your week in mind BEFORE you head to the store!
• Shop for smart ingredients – when you plan your meals, some recipes might call for chicken broth, or maybe cheddar cheese. So, when you’re at the store, pick up the HEALTHY version of these ingredients – the low sodium chicken broth and the low fat cheddar cheese. Making sandwiches for lunches? Buy some good bread (Dave’s killer organic bread’s are awesome)! Educate yourself on healthy ingredients and shop with these in mind as you waltz the aisles! A good rule of thumb, stay away from the inside aisles and shop primarily the perimeter of the store ??.
• Practice makes Perfect – the more you cook at home on the evenings and broaden your “recipe horizon”, the more you will improve and enjoy the process! I have not always loved to cook, but the better I became at it the more excited I was to make new creations in the kitchen. I document my weeknight meals & recipes on my instagram story and profile – head over there to see how I incoroporate healthy meals into my daily routine! All of my recipes are easy, quick, healthy, and delicious! ?
• Plan easy and healthy “work grabs” – I make smoothies for breakfast to pour from throughout the week, and bring dinner leftovers for lunch. Having things in the fridge that you can quickly “grab” as you head out the door is the best way to maintain a healthy diet during busy work days! Check out some of my favorite smoothie recipes and some of my workday healthy habits for more ideas on mainting a healthy diet during those busy workdays!

3. Rest – This “welllness factor” is one that I am particular focusing on this year ??. I have so much energy during the day that it is often hard to get myself to “wind down” at night. If you’re wondering how I have “so much energy”… I myself wonder the same. I TRULY believe it is due to my active and healthy lifestyle, but other than that, I am just weird! Here are the “night-time tips” I plan to abide by this year:

• Put the phone away 1 hour before bed - For me, this isn’t always possible since I often get home from work super late (#Coachproblems). But, I am going to try and at least stick to the 30 minute rule on my busy nights and 1 hour rule when I have a bit more flexibility in my evening schedule!
• Enjoy a “nighttime beverage” – and no, I’m not talking about wine!! (Unless it’s the weekend… or Wednesday of course ??). JK – I don’t (usually) drink on weeknights! I’m actually referring to tea or tonic. I am going to do my best to wind down with a hot beverage each night – whether that’s my favorite “sleepy-time tea” or one of my favorite “turmeric tonic” recipes. Turmeric has SO many powerful health benefits, and I often find that the night time is the easiest way to get my daily intake! Further food makes this part easy with their delicious turmeric tonic powder ??. Use my code “MESSYDESK10” to save money on your further food order – they make some awesome products from Tumeric tonic to collagen peptides and more!
• Prepare for your morning routine before bed – This is so crucial because it allows you to have more time to snooze in the morning when you sleep is heaviest! And, nothing’s better than waking up to realize that your morning smoothie has already been made and your outfit is already layed out! Also, this makes going to bed much less stressful when you know that your morning prep will be a breeze ??.
• Make your bed a COZY OASIS – Wayfair makes this easy ?. I have purchased several of my bedding items from Wayfair and the affordable pricing makes it so much more cozy! Curling up with a book in a cozy bed or on the couch makes falling asleep so much easier ?. Pimp out your bedroom getup and look forward to snuggling up for a good night’s rest!

4. Quality Time with Loved Ones

• As you plan your day, do not leave this priority out. In fact, plan it FIRST! Allow your family some chill time together before calling it a night. Have flexible mornings? Get up earlier and make breakfast for your family to enjoy together. Make every wednesday night “movie night” and put it on the calendar. Schedule your date night ahead of time and commit to it. Whatever you do, do not sacrafice this time with your loved ones to maintain your to do list. Happiness is rooted in love and your healthy balanced lifestyle will feel empty and dull without a full heart!

5. Spiritual & Mental Health – Whether your goal is to deepen your faith, sharpen your mind, or both, it is so crucial to devote time to improve your mental and spiritual wellbeing! Here are my tips to doing so (hint – they are STILL IN PROGRESS and always will be ?).

• Allocate time in your day to be “quiet” and still- Whether you meditated, pray, read, or all of the above, this time is crucial to maintaining your sanity of mind! I myself struggle with consistently allotting this time into my day, but vow to be more consistent this year. I find that it is easiest to get this “quiet time” in the morning before your house is “awake”. I get to the point where I really look forward to these quiet moments! Set your alarm for 30 minutes earlier than you would. WHen it goes off, do NOT allow yourself to snooze. Instead, get up, brew some coffee, and curl up on the couch with your mug and bible. Reading and praying in the quiet is when He speaks to you, and if you are not allotting quiet time into your day, you are missing those precious opportunities to listen. Life get’s crazy and this time can often get the boot, but I encourage you this year to make your few moments of “quiet time” a priority this year – even if it’s just 15 minutes before bed! I will be doing the same ?.

 

6. Indulgence – There is no balance without a hint of imbalance. As my mom always told me, “everything in moderation, even moderation”. Without indulging in the things you love, healthy or not, life is not truly lived! Of course I do not mean sacraficing morals or responsibilities. What I am talking about is allowing yourself to cut out any of the above “wellness factors” to do something you love. For example, it is OKAY to skip your workout on Friday to meet your friends for happy hour. IT is OKAY to push your healthy planned meal back a day so that you can go chow down on some Mexican food and margaritas with your husband who got off work early for once. Allow yourself to indulge in life and it will be easier to maintain the overall “healthy lifestyle” you seek. People get into trouble when they follow strict rules and guidelines to a T. If you start your year by saying “I will not eat anymore sugar this year”, you might stick to it for a couple of weeks but as soon as an “excuse-worthy” situation arises, you will allow yourself to “cheat” and your mindset immediately changes. You aren’t as proud of your accomplishment after you break it and breaking it even further becomes easier. If you pre-allow your indulgences into your lifestyle you are MUCH less likely to get off track, because guess what – it was ALL APART OF THE PLAN! Pictured below is one of my favorite seasonal cocktail recipes as seen on my instagram story. Some of my of my other favorite indulgent recipes are healthy protein buckeye balls and anything chocolate! ?

These 6 factors will be my primary focus this year as I continue to maintain what I consider to be a balanced, happy, and well rounded lifestyle. All of these factors are ones that I feel passionately about and you can expect to see them on my blog in deeper elaborating throughout the year, but I wanted to give you a nice inclusive starting point!  I hope that you will incorporate some of these tools into your lifestyle this year to make 2018 your happiest, healthiest, and most balanced year yet! Cheers to 2018 (and I don’t know about you, but I’m cheering with Prosecco ??)! Let’s work out tomorrow ??.

Kelsie ?