I’m trying to develop a healthy lifestyle and it is absolutely killing me. I mean, it’s obviously doing the opposite but it feels like it’s killing me. It is truly hard work and takes a lot of focus because honestly, society’s not really with us. For example, my husband picked up a jar of peaches for me instead of the usual candy or cookies. That seems like a decent substitute in comparison to junk but it’s not just a basic healthy fruit. The company packs it with sugar and all kinds of unhealthy ingredients that aren’t great for you. I was reading that in America, we eat much more sugar than any other country and several times the daily recommended sugar intake. I’m pretty sure that as a lover of sweets, I’m eating more than everybody else!

It’s reasonable to assume that what’s convenient isn’t also going to be healthy, like stopping at fast food for chicken nuggets on your way to an activity. Still, I didn’t realize how many unhealthy habits I had and how much diligence it would take to fix them. My water consumption was NIL. I am dead serious when I say that there are often days where I don’t drink a single glass of water all day. My routine consisted of one V8 Energy drink in the morning and then nothing else, not even at dinner. That might be a glaring problem to some, but it didn’t even occur to me how bad that was. Now, I have an app on my phone to remind me so that I can get the recommended daily water intake. Besides being good for your health, it can stave off hunger and snacking, plus it apparently helps to release bloating.

As far as the food I consume, I’ve made some serious changes. Three and a half years ago, I had my gallbladder removed. I said it then and maintain it now, that this often comes from poor eating habits and cannot simply be resolved by removing a part of the body. I feel that it just modifies the problem, displacing it. So now, I’ve been able to recognize intolerances and am finally making the changes to suit them. I have cut dairy completely, even divorced my best friend – cheese. The reason I hesitated to make this change sooner was because I thought I’d be cutting out all flavor from my life. As it turns out, there are some pretty delicious dairy-free products out there but we’ll get to those later in the year. I’m doing extreme research on scrumptious alternatives to dairy and other healthy treats. It’s my most fun research project since I bought a ton of lipsticks in the name of “longwear research”.

Another way I’ve kept on what I eat is with a calorie tracker like My Fitness Pal. I ate what I wanted when I wanted before but then wasn’t thrilled when my belly started to get doughy. It was time to monitor what I was eating, to include how much sugar is in all of my foods. The app has also helped me in that it incorporates your exercise and you can track the water intake there too.

Changes can’t take place without proper exercise. Everyone likes to adorably say how I must get plenty of exercise “chasing” my kids but that’s really not how it goes. Sure, I join them in plenty of outdoor activities but on a work day, it’s not nearly enough. I’ve got a FitBit now which quietly reminds me that I don’t have nearly enough physical exertion going on. The goal is to get up from my desk every hour to keep the energy flowing even in my less active times of day. It tracks the times when I’m extremely active, like jumping on the trampoline with the kids or walking all day long doing family activities on the weekends. Since I do have two kids at home with me all day, I try to incorporate them into exercise routines. I have one of those bike car seats so I can bring the baby around with me when I go for a bike ride. She usually falls asleep so it’s a double win!

All of these changes are a lifestyle overhaul for me and I have to keep reminding myself that visible progress will take time. It’s important that I stick to it and keep trying to focus on the big picture: my overall health!

What kind of things do you do to stay healthy?

*Amazon links are referral links meaning that at no cost to you, I may earn a commission if you place an order. I thank you for your support!