Good morning mommas! I am so excited to introduce you to our new Fitness and Health Contributor here at Mine for the Making. Shannon of Fitness Food Diva has a passion for healthy foods and healthy life choices and it shines through on her blog. I am so happy she is apart of our Creative Team this year!

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Five steps to a healthier YOU starts by getting the idea out of your head that you need to DIET to get healthy and/or loose weight.  “Diets”, as it has been said over and over are so restrictive.  As soon as I here the word “diet” I cringe.  No one wants to omit everything in life that is good and puts a smile on your face while you eat it.  Those moments must exist.  Food is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, so do not deprive yourself.  Being healthy consists of setting goals, making good choices (not perfect), getting rest, staying active, and incorporating more water into your day.  These simple yet attainable steps can be accomplished in making a healthier you.

1. Setting goals:  This is such an important part of everyday life, from setting simple daily goals like; reading every night to your kids, paying your bills, calling a friend, etc.  Goals are meant to be reached and acquire a feeling of accomplishment.  Each goal needs to be obtainable and realistic wether it is personal or family oriented.  If you are looking to set goal for a healthier you, make them real to your character.  Write them down, look at them and hold yourself accountable for them.  If you are setting goals for working out, then start with something simple like, join a gym, get familiar with the equipment by asking one of the employees to show you around (if you don’t have a personal trainer).  Try to go to the gym a few times a week and then set another goal for more.  Goals are meant to be set, worked towards and accomplished, which in turn provide us a sense of happiness and accomplishment and a healthier you.

2. Making Good Choices:  This is a hard step and I understand that.  Making good (healthier) choices when it come to food and snacks is not always easy.  We think it is, but when you are in a hurry fast food is always so much easier than going to the store and making dinner but, this is where setting goals can help.  Plan out what you need for the week to provide yourself the healthier choices in meals and snacks so you are less tempted for the fast food or sugary snacks.  Instead of eating out every night, choose to eat in and make a healthy breakfast, lunch, dinner a several times a week.  Try to avoid the high calorie snacks that spike your sugar levels and then leave you crashing, they are not your friend.  Snacking needs to turn into “GRAZING”, eating something “good”every three hours.  For example choose a Quest Protein bar instead of a candy bar or granola bar.  Eat pretzels in place of chips, choose whole wheat crackers rather than white flour cracker.  Replace white rice with quinoa or brown rice.  Drink lemon water or crystal light rather than reaching for high sugar sodas or sports drinks.   Try more fruits and vegetables in lieu of candy or cookies.  Staying away from high fructose corn syrup, which is in a lot of foods is a really simple choice that will help towards a healthier you.

3. Getting Rest:  We always here “we need eight hours of sleep” to be fully rested.  I admit, it is hard to go bed at night especially when there are only so many hours in the day to get things done.  I know I am always trying to fit a million things in after I get off work before going to bed and my night continue to get longer and the morning begins to come quicker.  Sleep is so important to our recovery from the day and how we are able to attack the next day.  When we feel tired and sluggish that is when we start to slip on our goals and go for the bad food choices rather than the good, which really often make us feel worse.  Eight hours is hard and sometimes just unrealistic, but it is essential to rebooting our bodies to a healthier you.

4. Staying Active:  Getting out everyday and just moving can make us feel better and keep our heart and mind strong.  Wearing a pedometer can help you set goals to move a certain amount of steps each day, which can be at home or work.  If you sit at a computer all day it is good to step away and relax your eyes and stretch your body out.  Staying active doesn’t mean you have to run 5 miles everyday or do hours of yoga, it simply means “move!”  Play with your kids, wash your car, vacuum, walk the dog.  Being sedentary is not an option, we must find a way to get our bodies moving to provide a healthier you. 

5. Drinking more water:   Water is truly a big must for me.  I try to drink a gallon of water a day ( a bit obsessive), but trying to drink one 8 ounce glass of water every hour is not unreasonable.  Again, it comes back to setting goals, making smart choices, avoiding fatigue, and staying active.  Drinking water is essential to our health.  It helps us to control calories, if we drink more water we feel fuller and will eat a little less.  Water helps us push through those final sets at the gym by providing energy to our muscles and helps replenish the water we loose when we sweat.  I like to put a little amino acids in my water at the gym to help retain muscle mass . Water helps us have clearer skin by flushing out toxins in our body, it helps avoid muscle cramps from dehydration.  Water keeps all things flowing through our bodies and is a large step in becoming a healthier YOU. 

I hope these tips make it a bit easier for you to becoming a healthier YOU this year! I’d love for you to head over to my blog for great workouts and yummy, healthy recipes.

Shannon {Fitness Food Diva}

Thanks for joining us for Mommy Tell All Monday! Grab your mug of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate and kick your feet up. Sara, our health and fitness contributor, is back today to share 6 health tips for mom during the busy holiday season. I know this is something I definitely need to read!

You can sense the change in the air. People are busier; the days are going by quicker as are the hours and minutes. We find ourselves rushing to check items off of our to-do list and, if you’re like me, you sit down at the end of the day unable to remember the last time you ate anything. We feel like we are being pulled in a million directions and one of the first things to get tossed aside is the focus on our own health.

Guess what?

That doesn’t benefit anyone, especially not us.

When life gets busy, don’t toss your health aside. How do you expect to be supermom when you’re not functioning at your optimal level?

Here are some helpful tips for when life gets busy:

1. Whatever you do, eat breakfast. 

I know, I know. You’ve got kids to get ready, lunches to pack, babies to tend to, work to rush to, and coffee to make. (Okay, maybe not coffee, but in my world I can’t function until after coffee o’clock.) Quite often, people skip breakfast because it’s inconvenient and/or they ‘aren’t breakfast people.’ Did you know that people who do not eat breakfast are more likely to be overweight/obese versus those who do eat breakfast? Eating breakfast helps to reduce hunger throughout the day and you’re more likely to make better choices throughout the day. There are many easy and on-the-go options to make breakfast more manageable: homemade smoothies, veggie omelet and whole wheat toast, whole grain cereal with fresh fruit, low-fat yogurt and a piece of fresh fruit, and even a homemade breakfast sandwich (1/2 english muffin, scrambled egg, low-fat cheese, and a tomato). Breakfast really is one of the most important meals of the day.

2. Remember your water.

Not only does water provide hydration to your body, it also helps with hunger. A good tip before eating a meal or when you feel like you’re ‘starving’: drink 1 full glass of water. Not only will you feel refreshed, you will help ease hunger and fill your stomach. I’ve heard people say, “I don’t like the taste of water.” Okay, so, if we are talking actual flavor, water doesn’t have a flavor. (You may prefer one brand to another and I totally get ya on that.) Transform your boring ‘flavorless’ water into fancy water by adding some lemon slices, pieces of fruit, cucumber, or berries. Sweetened beverages deliver an estimated 75 to 150 calories a day; switching the water can save you up to 15 pounds a year!

{Great recipes for fruit infused water at I Heart Nap Time}

3. Don’t forget your fiber.

By focusing on high-fiber foods like fruits, veggies, and whole grains you can help maintain your weight. These types of foods are low in calories, but high in nutrients. High-fiber foods also take time to digest helping you feel fuller longer and easing hunger. I know snacking on carrot sticks and celery isn’t as fun as those chips, crackers, or chocolates, but in the long run you’re body will thank you. When it’s time to eat, go for the veggies first. Having a salad before a meal helps you fill-up on nutrients that help you feel full which then help you eat less at dinner.

4. Grab a plate.

I know your calendar is quickly filling up with holiday parties and family functions. I often find myself saying, ‘Yay, snacks!’ (I love snacks, like way too much). If you’re like me, you might find yourself camping out at the food table, catching up with people and your brain keeps telling you ‘eat all the snacks’. Hanging out near the snack table is quite possibly one of the worst things you can do. (Well, okay, I’m sure there are worse things you could do at a party, but that’s a topic for a totally different post.) When we stand near the snack table we lose count of just how much we’ve consumed therefore, causing us to consume a bucket load more calories than we should have. So, next time you’re at a party, grab a plate. It will help you control how much food you take and how often you go back for seconds. (Or thirds or fifths) You know someone at the party is tracking every morsel you put into your mouth (and wondering how you keep your girlish figure), make sure that someone is you.

5. Get moving.

When schedules get full fitness is usually the first thing we begin to skip out on. People say, ‘I don’t have to go to the gym’ or ‘I don’t have enough time to workout’. And you know what, that might very well be true. However, you do have time to move. It is recommended that adults get 60 minutes of physical activity everyday. On days you may not have to time to hit the weights or gym there are other things you can do to get your booty moving: park in the farthest spot from the entrance to Target, take the stairs, go for a walk with the family, play with the kids at the park, turn on some tunes and dance while doing laundry (trust me, it helps the task of laundry suck a lot less). One of the best things you can do for yourself on the day of a special event is to get moving first thing in the morning. Physical activity helps to curb appetite caused by boredom, helps you burn calories, reduces stress, and it helps improve your self-esteem.

6. Moderation is key.

When the weather gets cooler (which is never in Arizona, but we like to pretend) one of the first things that comes to my mind is, ‘Pumpkin flavored everything!’ and I’m pretty sure I get more excited about a Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino than the average person should. Not to mention the holiday breads, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cakes, muffins, and eggnog. For me, giving up my favorite ridiculously calorie filled drinks or holiday snack items is not an option, but I also know that I can’t have them everyday. (I don’t even want to know how burpees it takes to work off a cookie from Paradise Bakery.) My motto becomes moderation. In reality, this is my motto year-round. I know when I feel deprived of something ‘good’ I can get grumpy and resentful of that cookie (how dare they taste so good, but be so bad) so enjoying things in moderation is a staple to my healthy life. If I know I want a Frappucino, I make it a special ‘date’ with myself. Seriously, I do. I normally take time every week, grab a drink, and go wander Target by myself enjoying every single calorie. When I know I have a date with my calories later in the week it helps me be more conscious of my food and fitness choices throughout the week. The same thing applies with other functions in the week: date night, parties, football games, etc. If I know something special is coming up and I know I will ‘let loose’ more than normal, I make better choices throughout the week. Unfortunately, it’s not good for our hips or thighs to eat ALL the cookies, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy them in moderation with balanced diet. {P.S. A cookie from Paradise Bakery contains upward of 280 calories which equates to approximately 275+ burpees.} 

Life gets busy.

Life gets hard.

Don’t lose focus on what’s important: you and your health.

Light and Love,

Sara