Healthy...ish Tip
I had a revelation the other night while I was attempting to sleep (after having a few hours long nap during the day) and I really had this inkling to start writing up healthy...ish tips on this blog. I thought about starting a new blog but really, I don't want to. I love this blog and I love the people that read it (the few, the proud!).
I have had quite the journey to becoming healthy...ish. What is healthy...ish? I was talking to a friend a few weeks back who was lamenting over fitness, exercise, and eating healthy. It's hard! It's hard to find time to work out, to not be frustrated when the scale doesn't match the effort, when those extra brownies/ice cream/chocolate shows up on your hips or butt or arms (wherever). I was telling her that really how I lost my weight was by living a healthy...ish lifestyle!
We don't diet here. It's just not realistic for us. I'm never going to have 6-pack abs; I do have abs, I feel them under the fluff and they're pretty strong, but to visibly see them, I'd have to cut out a LOT out of my diet that I just simply don't want to. I'm willing to put up with a bit of fluff (even if I hate it some days) because I don't want to starve myself and rid my diet of things I enjoy. I like to eat marshmallows and ice cream and cookies - not all the time! Everything in moderation (sometimes I forget that part). We give ourselves grace. Don't have time to workout for an hour every day? Start with 15 minutes of cardio - get your heart rate up and blood flowing. And work from there. Give yourself grace!
So here is my first healthy...ish tip:
Are you freaked out? Seriously, if I can grow a garden (and we did last summer when I had a boot cast on! Weeds were prevalent but we did have a harvest), you can grow a garden. Last summer we planted our garden in 40 minutes. That was including tilling time.
If you've never had a garden and don't have a plot, it's going to take a little more time to prepare a piece of land. But it's really not that hard. Yes, it takes some time to water it each day, dig out weeds, and eventually harvest (Lord willing).
But it's fun! To watch these little seedlings grow into tall (sometimes not tall) plants. It's so awesome to watch God's creation grow with YOUR help! I raised peas and carrots and potatoes and green onions last year (and this year).
That's another gardening tip: grow stuff that grows back! We've had a rogue rhubarb plant in our little garden plot since we moved in. It grows back each year. We planted green onions last year; they are already in full harvest mode this year.
The flowers, my irises, aren't in our garden but they come back every year. I have a ton (if anyone wants to dig some bulbs in the fall, let me know...I'll trade for tulips). Make it easier on yourself by growing these things that come back. Works for some vegetables and flowers.
Another tip (I'm full of them today): grow what you'll eat. If you hate green onions, don't plant them. If your kids won't put a pea to their lips, don't plant them. I (thank You, Lord!) do not have very picky eaters. Tomatoes and onions and peppers aren't high on their lists of favorite foods but they'll eat them if I prod and if not, they'll eat plenty of other things. I'm hoping some year to get spinach and broccoli and cauliflower in the ground too, but start small.
That's my healthy...ish tip of the day. Have a healthy...ish day.
I have had quite the journey to becoming healthy...ish. What is healthy...ish? I was talking to a friend a few weeks back who was lamenting over fitness, exercise, and eating healthy. It's hard! It's hard to find time to work out, to not be frustrated when the scale doesn't match the effort, when those extra brownies/ice cream/chocolate shows up on your hips or butt or arms (wherever). I was telling her that really how I lost my weight was by living a healthy...ish lifestyle!
We don't diet here. It's just not realistic for us. I'm never going to have 6-pack abs; I do have abs, I feel them under the fluff and they're pretty strong, but to visibly see them, I'd have to cut out a LOT out of my diet that I just simply don't want to. I'm willing to put up with a bit of fluff (even if I hate it some days) because I don't want to starve myself and rid my diet of things I enjoy. I like to eat marshmallows and ice cream and cookies - not all the time! Everything in moderation (sometimes I forget that part). We give ourselves grace. Don't have time to workout for an hour every day? Start with 15 minutes of cardio - get your heart rate up and blood flowing. And work from there. Give yourself grace!
So here is my first healthy...ish tip:
Are you freaked out? Seriously, if I can grow a garden (and we did last summer when I had a boot cast on! Weeds were prevalent but we did have a harvest), you can grow a garden. Last summer we planted our garden in 40 minutes. That was including tilling time.
If you've never had a garden and don't have a plot, it's going to take a little more time to prepare a piece of land. But it's really not that hard. Yes, it takes some time to water it each day, dig out weeds, and eventually harvest (Lord willing).
But it's fun! To watch these little seedlings grow into tall (sometimes not tall) plants. It's so awesome to watch God's creation grow with YOUR help! I raised peas and carrots and potatoes and green onions last year (and this year).
That's another gardening tip: grow stuff that grows back! We've had a rogue rhubarb plant in our little garden plot since we moved in. It grows back each year. We planted green onions last year; they are already in full harvest mode this year.
The flowers, my irises, aren't in our garden but they come back every year. I have a ton (if anyone wants to dig some bulbs in the fall, let me know...I'll trade for tulips). Make it easier on yourself by growing these things that come back. Works for some vegetables and flowers.
Another tip (I'm full of them today): grow what you'll eat. If you hate green onions, don't plant them. If your kids won't put a pea to their lips, don't plant them. I (thank You, Lord!) do not have very picky eaters. Tomatoes and onions and peppers aren't high on their lists of favorite foods but they'll eat them if I prod and if not, they'll eat plenty of other things. I'm hoping some year to get spinach and broccoli and cauliflower in the ground too, but start small.
That's my healthy...ish tip of the day. Have a healthy...ish day.
Comments