Before I get into the specifics...I GRADUATED!
I may write a whole other blog post about that entire day and what life is like now that it's been nearly a week since I've graduated, but for now I just wanted to put it out there! I'm extremely happy about it and it's really inspired me to keep going...to prove to myself that I can do so much more! Hence, the healthy-wellness thing.
Now on to the actual blog : D
Diet
I am by no means perfect and I really, I mean REALLY love food. Before I graduated, I was eating pretty badly even though I knew it makes me feel sluggish and tired. It was a combo of stress and celebration. I reverted back to eating deep-fried, overly processed, "yummy" foods. However, the night of graduation I decided to eat slightly better, and I've pretty much kept up with that notion. I'm
going to be completely honest, though: I'm not perfect and I'm by no means a health-nut. I don't believe in completely eliminating foods I love from my diet forever just because they're unhealthy. What I do is limit myself a little bit, though.
If I want something 'bad for me' I'll try to have a smaller portion of it...though sometimes I just want a bowl of ice cream with all the toppings. I'll eat it and I won't feel guilty. Life shouldn't be obsessing over what to eat and not eat. A lot of joy comes from food, why would you want to not have that joy?! I just know that when I eat healthier, I have more energy and I'm more motivated as a whole.
What I try to do, TRY, is eat as whole of foods as I can get. I'll choose healthier options of food when I can. Some examples: using a lettuce leaf as a wrap instead of white bread (it's actually really good!), cutting out excess sugar or salt when ever possible, limiting soda/soft drinks, and so on. I actually really love healthy foods, but again, I don't believe in depriving yourself of foods you like and want to eat. I find when I do that, I'll binge on that food whenever I get the opportunity--which is worse than just having a little bit of it when you want.
Water
I've been drinking LOADS of water, lately. It helps that the weather has been getting warmer and my body just needs the hydration. In the past, I had always tried to drink water. The standard 8 glasses a day just never really happened for me. However, over the past month I've really committed myself to drinking more water.
The one product that has helped me accomplish this is a water bottle by the brand, 'Pogo.' It measures how much you drink and makes it soooo easy to get water into your body. Before I got this bottle, I had a different one that only held 30 oz and had no measuring to it. This is way better. I got mine at Target for around 8 bucks.
I aim to drink at least 2 full bottles per day, but have gone as far as drinking 4 and a half per day. I keep this by my bed so first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach, I can drink at least the equivalent of a full glass of water. It helps get my body moving and I can't believe something so simple has made me feel so great! It clears your skin and energizes you and so much more. Try it!
Exercise
I'm one of those people who dreads the idea of getting up and moving. I'd rather stay in bed or on the couch, veg out, watch some YouTube, or read. However, once I'm done exercising, I feel so much better. I'll either feel like I've done something great for my body and I can sleep well that night, or I'll feel relaxed and more calm--more ready to conquer the day.
Besides doing P90X, I've re-found my love of yoga. I try to do it in the morning because it really helps me wake up in the morning. If I don't have time in the morning, I'll do yoga, a more intense one, after dinner.
Yoga is hard. Especially when you haven't done it in a while. It's a practice and if you only do it once in a while, it's even harder. I really want to continue to do it every day and hopefully my body will become strong enough to one day do an actual inversion. That's the goal I'm setting for myself. It's on the internet now so I HAVE to commit. Some really non-intimidating yoga for all levels can be found on Youtube. My favorite 'yogi' right now is Adriene Louise. Her videos aren't too long and she makes yoga fun and do-able. Here's her channel: Yoga with Adriene!
Mind/Anxiety
I've written previous posts about my anxiety and plan to write another soon about techniques that help me with my anxiety. However, for now I'll share some recent things I've been doing/thinking in order to be the healthiest I can in my own head-space. One thing that's really helped me has been to be productive and proactive. For example, if I know I have to get something done by a certain date, I won't wait until the last minute. When I do this, I feel like I worry less and obsess less over the things I need to get done and possible things that could go wrong. For example, I recently bought new eyeglasses. I just decided I did not want to be blind anymore so I just made the appointment. Now that I can see once again, I feel less anxious about possible eye problems, getting into a car accident
because I couldn't see well at night while driving, and the other obsessive/anxiety-ridden thoughts I would have had--They aren't there,
Another thing I've been doing is trying to stay in the moment. It could be something as simple as thinking to myself, "You're in a chair right now, watching T.V., dinner is cooking and you're going to eat soon..." I know it sounds crazy, but when my anxiety starts to give me those stupid-annoying-obsessive-spiraling thoughts, it really helps me to refocus. After I do it for a few moments, I feel a lot calmer and my anxiety about what ever it was, is pretty much gone.
I've spoken about this before, but I'll speak about it again: Taking a break and just breathing is the best thing for anxiety. I understand that it doesn't always work for everyone because everyone experiences anxiety differently, but it helps me nearly every time I feel myself into anxiety or having thoughts brought on by anxiety. It goes into being mindful about yourself, knowing yourself well enough to know when your limit is about to be hit. Whenever I feel myself reaching my limit, I step away from what ever it is that is making me anxious. If I can't step away, physically, I'll take a break to breathe. Just having a few deep breaths and counting them, slowly, really helps.
Other Things
Now that I have the time, I like to read a lot more! It's exciting because I'm about to finish a book. WHAT. I never finish books. Start them? Yes. But never finish. Right now I'm reading a book called, "It's Kind of a Funny Story," by Ned Vizzini. It's really good. It's about a 15 year old kid who struggles with mental health issues. I recommend! If you want to see what other books I've read or want to read, check out my Goodreads page here!
I've also been drinking a lot of tea! I always go back and forth between drinking coffee, not liking how it makes me feel, and then switching back to tea. Right now, I'm on a tea-kick. My sister got me this really awesome loose-leaf tea. It's black tea with these blue-flower-looking-things and it tastes amazing! I also have a new, yellow submarine tea diffuser. (picture from my Instagram @dana.coll)
Finally, I've been trying to not take life so seriously. Life is full of all of these twists and turns and no one of us really have a clue as to what we're doing, do we? Staying present, enjoying the moments that make me happy (no matter how big or small), and loving the people I choose to spend my tie with---all things that have helped to de-stress and make my daily life much more enjoyable.
Anyway, I hope this blog helped someone and don't forget to breathe!
--Dana
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