Say Goodbye to Cabin Fever!

I hope everyone had a good weekend and a fantastic Easter! I sure did! The weather here was beyond perfect! It was so nice to finally be able to go outside without a jacket on and not be freezing. I have spent this whole weekend outside enjoying the sun and family.

Now since Easter has come and gone, I feel like spring has officially started. And with the weather that we have been having I couldn't be more excited for summer to come. But now that spring is here, I have realized how unhealthy my diet and my body has gotten because of this winter.

If you don't know, I live in Illinois near Chicago, and we have had one of the WORST winters in forever. We had what they called a "Polar Vortex" which brought in insanely cold temperatures. Cold as in Antarctica had warmer days then we did. So honestly I have thrown out any work outs or healthy eating habits that I was so used to. I can speak for many people in saying that this winter made us extremely lazy. It was torture going grocery shopping, so you would buy the bare minimal (which mostly consisted of chips and junk in my case), just so that you didn't have to stay out too long loading and unloading your car. Plus, our cars didn't work some days to go out and get descent food, so yes Ramen Noodles was a usual this winter.

Also, I have had a very rough time this winter with family issues. I was in and out of the hospital, visiting, practically everyday every second I could. There were times that I stayed at the hospital from the time visiting hours started to well after they were over. This made my diet horrible. I had a lot of fast food. And when I say a lot I mean McDonalds everyday sometimes even twice a day (can you say yuck!?). Plus, if you don't know, hospital food is EXPENSIVE! So cheap and gross were my only option.

I have also realized that getting back into my good habits is actually really hard! Now, I have never liked going to the gym. But I forced myself to. However, I just can't go for the life of me anymore. I am far too busy to drive 20 minutes to my gym. Also, cutting back my soda intake is the worst. I think I formed an addiction. I tried to quit a few weeks back, but I was getting the most insane migraines from caffeine withdrawals! So I gave myself quite a challenge now by trying to get back into my old ways.

But I do think I came up with a good plan that will eventually lead me on the right track. I just got to stick to it!

Now, I'm not a person who needs to go on a diet. I have an extremely fast metabolism. But I do like to be healthy. Which everyone should. You have only one body and this body is stuck with you for the rest of your life. Also, what you eat will effect what your kids eat too (even if you don't have kids now). It is extremely important to have a good healthy diet, and some sort of physical activity.

Now, I have already decided the gym isn't for me anymore. Also, I was diagnosed with a horribly pinched nerve in my neck a few weeks ago, which means no heavy lifting. So the gym is not an option. What I am doing though is yoga! I also jog outside. There's tons of apps that will monitor how fair you run and will record it for you. Plus I love being able to see the scenary instead of just running on a treadmill in one spot. (Make it an adventure!)

I was doing yoga a couple months back and alternating between that and going to the gym. And I loved it. So I decided to get back on that. There are many different types of yoga you can do. And guess what? You don't have to go anywhere. Which makes it very good for me. I have a yoga mat and I use the Yoga Studio app on my IPhone to download classes that they go through with you step by step. Also, YouTube is a great place to find videos if you are just starting out to help you nail down the basics. The best thing about yoga is you can suck! You do not have to be a health nut to do yoga. If you feel your muscles stretching you're doing it right. You don't have to bend and flex as much as they do, you go at the pace and stances you are comfortable with.

I also am coaching a U-12 soccer team. So that means I am coaching a bunch of 11 and 12 year olds, and I want to give them the tools to live a healthy lifestyle too. So yes, I run and stretch and play with them. I think it is very important to do what you are telling your kids to do.

Now on to my diet. This is the hardest. Cutting out junk food and sweets will be hard. But it is possible. I plan on going to Trader Joes and buying some healthier alternatives to satisfy my cravings. And I will make sure to pack a water bottle with me everyday for work/school so I am not as tempted to reach for the soda. 

Trying to be healthy is hard, but don't make it stressful. Remember, if you slip it's okay. Life does get in the way and being healthy sometimes isn't possible everyday. But don't make that an excuse. Try your hardest and don't give up. You have one life to live, why not make it a good one? Focus on the good and not the bad and you will reach you're goal.

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed.
Stay tuned. Hugs and kisses!
<3