9 Days of Healthy Habits
This was actually so fun! I treated this countdown as a kind of detox for my body, but in actuality these are things we should be doing every day! I have to start small though, so doing one at a time really helped me realize how much better I feel when I do these things. I encourage everyone to consider doing this countdown! Even after only nine days some of these things will become habit and your body will thank you.
9:
9,000 Steps
9,000 Steps
I'm not sure what the average amount of steps is that we should be getting daily, so I honestly couldn't tell you if this should be difficult or not 😅 I definitely did have to up my activity level slightly, but it was completely achievable!
Every day around noon I take Teddy on a walk. So that in itself is almost 6,000 steps! I got lucky that this day landed on one of my running days, and I ran 4.4 miles and surpassed my 9,000 at that. However, since if I had decided to complete the 9,000 step day on many other days that I don't run on, I didn't count my run. To finish off the steps I took Teddy on yet another long walk! He got lucky today.
So I realized that on an average day I would walk approximately 6,000 steps, since I walk Teddy that far daily, but 9,000 was just as easy and really didn't take up much more of my time. I'm making it a goal to reach 9,000 steps any day that I have the time to. I felt much better at the end of the day and Teddy slept better that night because of the extra stimulation in the evening.
I've also heard that taking a 30 minute walk daily improves your health in so many more ways than you could imagine. From lowering your blood pressure, to an improved mood, and gradual weight loss, why not attempt to get those 9,000 steps in yourself?
I've also heard that taking a 30 minute walk daily improves your health in so many more ways than you could imagine. From lowering your blood pressure, to an improved mood, and gradual weight loss, why not attempt to get those 9,000 steps in yourself?
8:
8 Hours of Sleep
8 Hours of Sleep
Let's get real, friends. I have a five month old child. 8 hours of sleep is sort of a joke. I try to get to bed not too long after I put Theodore down at 8:00, but I always complete the homework I had planned for the day before I get to bed, so it's usually around 10:00. Theodore usually wakes me up three times per night, and it always takes me a really long time to be able to fall asleep again, so the amount of sleep I get is not often around eight hours.
Even though I knew it would be difficult, I wanted to try to stay true to this 9 day challenge, so I really focused on getting a good night of sleep. This included prepping Teddy for a great night of sleep as well.
I made sure that Teddy finished his entire bottle before I set him down, when usually if he falls asleep half way through his bottle I just let him sleep. If this was a bad idea, let me know! But he DID sleep better! Also, I let him sleep with just his diaper a lot of the time, but this night I threw some pajamas on him thinking it would make him feel more cozy. I think I was right!
So after his warm bottle, I put Teddy in his crib at 8:00 and immediately went to bed myself. Teddy didn't wake up until almost 2am! Which is weird for him! He would usually be awake by midnight or one. At 2 I fed him again and rocked him to sleep (something I keep hearing is bad because they may develop an attachment to being rocked, but if my little man wants to be rocked to sleep until he's a teenager, so be it😉) and he didn't wake up again until 5:45 😍 This was a great night!! I got almost seven hours- this is taking into account how long it took me to get him fed and back in bed and the time it took me to fall asleep as well. On the average day when he wakes up at 5:45, he doesn't like to fall asleep again, so I'd immediately feed him and take him for our morning run. Today, I fed him while rocking him and he was out like a light again! I was in heaven. So I also went back to bed and we both woke up again a little after eight.
I actually achieved eight hours of sleep with a six month old kiddo! It did take a lot of effort, but it was great to have this success after I basically considered it impossible. (Side note- if anyone has sleep training tips for the little ones, please send them my way)
Again, something we should already be doing but I definitely fall short! I do drink a tall glass of water every morning, and I have since high school, because I heard once that it gets your metabolism going and wakes you up really well. I'm not sure if it's true or not, but I'm too far gone to stop. So today I just decided to drink two tall glasses of water in the morning and I felt like I was off to a great start!
Drinking seven glasses of water daily really wasn't that difficult. Usually I'd carry around a water bottle and occasionally drink out of it, and in a days' time I would finish about a bottle and a half. So like maybe three glasses of water. Today, though, I drank an entire tall glass of water before every meal (two before breakfast), one before my work out/one after, and one before my cup of tea before bed.
I felt very energetic this day and also pretty optimistic! I do completely believe it was due to the good amount of water my body was getting (I actually skipped a day between my sleep day and water day...oops. So I can't attribute my great mood to lots of sleep!). ALSO, I ran my usual 5.5 mi run in about a minute and a half les....maybe a coincidence, probably not. Tomorrow I am going to try to drink as much water as I did today to keep this good momentum going.
6:
6 Minutes of Meditation
I was very excited for this one. I'm not usually a meditation person and I was interested to try something new. On days that I don't run, I do my workout immediately after Teddy wakes up in the morning, and nine times out of ten, Teddy is sleepy again by the time I'm done. Today I decided immediately after my work out and after putting Teddy down for a little nap, I would meditate for my 6 minutes. And that flawlessly planned perfect little morning of exercise and meditation did NOT happen, as is life 😅 I find it's difficult to plan a day down "to a T" like I used to do, because little man can be so unpredictable. Teddy was a complete ball of energy and needed all of my attention during and after my workout, so meditation could not happen.
So I decided to try meditation on our walk today, and it actually worked pretty well. Nine times out of ten Teddy will fall asleep on our walk, but of course today he was awake almost the whole time! Thankfully he did end up falling asleep towards the end of our walk, I made sure to make this a long one. My walking path winds through trees and up and down hills and you get to see amazing views of the Flint Hills, so it was a pretty ideal setting to do a little meditation.
I actually began my meditation with a little prayer. I did plan on it, but it just kind of happened. After my prayer, I began naming the visible natural things that I thought were beautiful. Reminding yourself of the simple things that bring you joy is a great way to refresh your mind and for me, gives me energy. After the visible things, I counted the invisible/non tangible things that I thought were beautiful and that I was thankful for. It's important to think about all of the things that aren't objects that you're thankful exist. To finish my meditation I did nothing, for once. I just sat down on a bench and listened to the birds and the wind in the trees and enjoyed the amazing weather we've been having (and the little snores Teddy was letting out).
In general I'm a pretty healthy eater, apart from the occasional 7,000 calorie coffee from Starbucks, so this was a pretty average day. It actually baffles me what is considered a serving of fruits and veggies. You don't have to eat boatloads to meet the requirements, which is what I thought before I researched it for this 9 day healthy habits challenge!
Drinking seven glasses of water daily really wasn't that difficult. Usually I'd carry around a water bottle and occasionally drink out of it, and in a days' time I would finish about a bottle and a half. So like maybe three glasses of water. Today, though, I drank an entire tall glass of water before every meal (two before breakfast), one before my work out/one after, and one before my cup of tea before bed.
I felt very energetic this day and also pretty optimistic! I do completely believe it was due to the good amount of water my body was getting (I actually skipped a day between my sleep day and water day...oops. So I can't attribute my great mood to lots of sleep!). ALSO, I ran my usual 5.5 mi run in about a minute and a half les....maybe a coincidence, probably not. Tomorrow I am going to try to drink as much water as I did today to keep this good momentum going.
6:
6 Minutes of Meditation
I was very excited for this one. I'm not usually a meditation person and I was interested to try something new. On days that I don't run, I do my workout immediately after Teddy wakes up in the morning, and nine times out of ten, Teddy is sleepy again by the time I'm done. Today I decided immediately after my work out and after putting Teddy down for a little nap, I would meditate for my 6 minutes. And that flawlessly planned perfect little morning of exercise and meditation did NOT happen, as is life 😅 I find it's difficult to plan a day down "to a T" like I used to do, because little man can be so unpredictable. Teddy was a complete ball of energy and needed all of my attention during and after my workout, so meditation could not happen.
So I decided to try meditation on our walk today, and it actually worked pretty well. Nine times out of ten Teddy will fall asleep on our walk, but of course today he was awake almost the whole time! Thankfully he did end up falling asleep towards the end of our walk, I made sure to make this a long one. My walking path winds through trees and up and down hills and you get to see amazing views of the Flint Hills, so it was a pretty ideal setting to do a little meditation.
I actually began my meditation with a little prayer. I did plan on it, but it just kind of happened. After my prayer, I began naming the visible natural things that I thought were beautiful. Reminding yourself of the simple things that bring you joy is a great way to refresh your mind and for me, gives me energy. After the visible things, I counted the invisible/non tangible things that I thought were beautiful and that I was thankful for. It's important to think about all of the things that aren't objects that you're thankful exist. To finish my meditation I did nothing, for once. I just sat down on a bench and listened to the birds and the wind in the trees and enjoyed the amazing weather we've been having (and the little snores Teddy was letting out).
I don't stop and enjoy the simple things near enough, and I really enjoyed doing that today. If anyone else has a special way that they meditate, let me know! I may look into it further, because it really put me in an amazing mood for the rest of the day!
5:
5 Servings of Fruits and Vegetables
In general I'm a pretty healthy eater, apart from the occasional 7,000 calorie coffee from Starbucks, so this was a pretty average day. It actually baffles me what is considered a serving of fruits and veggies. You don't have to eat boatloads to meet the requirements, which is what I thought before I researched it for this 9 day healthy habits challenge!
For breakfast, my serving of fruit was cherries! I loooove cherries. A serving of raw fruits or veggies is 1/2 of a cup. However, cherries are fantastic, so I ate two serving of cherries. I don't know if I could've stopped at one if I tried.
Right before noon I made a smoothie for a snack! I used one banana (an entire serving of fruit), 1/3 cup blueberries (1/2 cup would be an entire serving), 2 cups of kale (2 servings veggies), and I eyed the almond milk until it seemed like enough. Looking back I probably should have measured it so you guys could just copy what I did, but I trust you to make your own smoothies 😉
For lunch I'll admit I copped out. I made a huge salad. LOTS of spinach (too much, I'm obsessed), a serving of sliced up strawberries, one banana pepper, and sliced almonds.
So technically at this point I had completed my 5 servings of fruits and vegetables BUT, the USDA recommends from 5-13 servings, so I had plenty of room for more. And since I planned on posting my breakfast, lunch, and dinner on this day, I'm going to go ahead and do that!
Dinner was turkey burgers with sautéed onions and kale. Also, I chopped up shredded carrots and put them in the turkey burgers and I was so scared they were going to be terrible but they weren't! They were actually really good! So I got more veggies in a super sneaky way 😉
It's super easy to get your servings of fruits and veggies!! You really don't even have to measure as long as you're conscious of what you're eating, just decide which fruit/veggie you want to add to your meal and do it! Nine times out of ten you will have added at least a serving. Here is a link that tells you common fruit and vegetable servings just in case you want it!: CookingLight.
4:
4 Breaks - Stretching and Mental
I took this in basically the same way I did the meditation day. My first "break" was during my noon walk with Teddy. I took the mental break during the actual walk, and after the walk while Teddy was still asleep, I took a quick stretch break. I used on of BBG's cool downs for this break. They're pretty rhythmic/relaxing so it was a good way to relax and take a break.
For my second break, I waited for Teddy to nap again which was just a few hours later- 2:00 pm. I threw on my classical music Pandora station, and practiced the few yoga poses I learned during my pregnancy. It was nice to get back into the yoga routine I had learned and now I plan on incorporating yoga at least a few times per week. I forgot how good it made me feel! If I ever realize I'm starting to get free time, I'm definitely going to join a yoga studio.
My third AND fourth mental break came later that evening. In the evenings after dinner, Matthew watches Teddy so I can get a little bit of studying in for the day. I began my study session with my classical Pandora radio again, but this time I decided to read the bible. If you're religious you know that reading a few passages of the bible can be super inspiring, so it was a great way to kick off a few hours of studying. The fourth break was the same as the third. I took this break at the end of the study session and after pounding salary accounting into my brain in as large of quantities as I could (I don't get much study time so I have to take advantage of the time I do get 😅). It was a good way to end the evening. I'm usually pretty high strung after I study for a few hours and I realized reading the bible took that away, and I was able to return home in a much better mood to the fam.
Right before noon I made a smoothie for a snack! I used one banana (an entire serving of fruit), 1/3 cup blueberries (1/2 cup would be an entire serving), 2 cups of kale (2 servings veggies), and I eyed the almond milk until it seemed like enough. Looking back I probably should have measured it so you guys could just copy what I did, but I trust you to make your own smoothies 😉
For lunch I'll admit I copped out. I made a huge salad. LOTS of spinach (too much, I'm obsessed), a serving of sliced up strawberries, one banana pepper, and sliced almonds.
So technically at this point I had completed my 5 servings of fruits and vegetables BUT, the USDA recommends from 5-13 servings, so I had plenty of room for more. And since I planned on posting my breakfast, lunch, and dinner on this day, I'm going to go ahead and do that!
Dinner was turkey burgers with sautéed onions and kale. Also, I chopped up shredded carrots and put them in the turkey burgers and I was so scared they were going to be terrible but they weren't! They were actually really good! So I got more veggies in a super sneaky way 😉
It's super easy to get your servings of fruits and veggies!! You really don't even have to measure as long as you're conscious of what you're eating, just decide which fruit/veggie you want to add to your meal and do it! Nine times out of ten you will have added at least a serving. Here is a link that tells you common fruit and vegetable servings just in case you want it!: CookingLight.
4:
4 Breaks - Stretching and Mental
I took this in basically the same way I did the meditation day. My first "break" was during my noon walk with Teddy. I took the mental break during the actual walk, and after the walk while Teddy was still asleep, I took a quick stretch break. I used on of BBG's cool downs for this break. They're pretty rhythmic/relaxing so it was a good way to relax and take a break.
For my second break, I waited for Teddy to nap again which was just a few hours later- 2:00 pm. I threw on my classical music Pandora station, and practiced the few yoga poses I learned during my pregnancy. It was nice to get back into the yoga routine I had learned and now I plan on incorporating yoga at least a few times per week. I forgot how good it made me feel! If I ever realize I'm starting to get free time, I'm definitely going to join a yoga studio.
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| peep that water bottle again!! |
My third AND fourth mental break came later that evening. In the evenings after dinner, Matthew watches Teddy so I can get a little bit of studying in for the day. I began my study session with my classical Pandora radio again, but this time I decided to read the bible. If you're religious you know that reading a few passages of the bible can be super inspiring, so it was a great way to kick off a few hours of studying. The fourth break was the same as the third. I took this break at the end of the study session and after pounding salary accounting into my brain in as large of quantities as I could (I don't get much study time so I have to take advantage of the time I do get 😅). It was a good way to end the evening. I'm usually pretty high strung after I study for a few hours and I realized reading the bible took that away, and I was able to return home in a much better mood to the fam.
3:
3 Meals and 3 Healthy Snacks
Admittedly, this day was almost a free pass, as I already work out daily. I use an app called Sweat created by Kayla Itsines. There are an unbelievable amount of different work out plans you can choose from, and within those plans you can choose whether to start as a beginner, a mid-level, or advanced. I'm currently on Week 12 of BBG 1.0. I began with Post-Pregnancy by Kelsey Wells within the Sweat app and it was perfect for me. It really helped me jump back into a solid routine after not feeling like myself AT ALL after giving birth.
(Side: make sure your doctor has cleared you for exercise before beginning any of these routines! I had already purchased this app before I realized I should ask my doc, so I pulled up Post-Pregnancy and showed my doctor what I was planning on doing and she thought it was great!)
I has been amazing to see and feel myself get back into shape. I don't notice it as much during the home workouts (though I know it's working), where I notice it the most is during my running days! The first run I went on after pregnancy was rough, to say the least. I think I ran/walked (mostly walked) around two miles and it took me around 30 minutes. It was not fun and I thought I had lost my ability to run not only for exercise but as my stress reliever. However, I chugged along with the Sweat app and my most recent run (six months post pregnancy) was 5.4 miles at 32 minutes! When I saw my mileage and my time, considering my lack of sleep I felt like superwoman. Really all of the health milestones I have been hitting have been making me feel like that, and I attribute 70% of it to the Sweat app, and the rest to a balanced diet!
Sweat creates your daily workouts, daily meal plans, has a tab for you to keep progress photos (which I haven't done, but I could see how that would be motivational!), and also provides a community of other app users that help with any questions you have, or if you need motivation, or really anything at all. Today I completed arms, and I can tell we made some progress (I feel like jello). If you would like to try the app for free for one month, please reach out to me!
Lastly, as I said, I get little to ZERO sleep these days, and sleep is pretty vital especially if you work out daily and expect to survive the workouts. I think genuinely the only reason I can power through these tough workouts and runs is because of a vitamin I take every morning! Keep an eye out for a post about this vitamin soon!
I'm a sucker for a good Pinterest recipe. It's literally how I build my grocery lists. I choose the meals I want to make for Matthew and I, and I literally just buy what the recipes require. (Alongside our other essentials obviously.) So for this day I did just that. Yesterday I prepped by choosing my recipes and grocery shopping, today I just get to enjoy 😛
Here are the recipes I choose for today (I used the photos from the recipe pages I used- I am no food photographer):
Breakfast- Smoked Salmon Avocado Toast
I LIVE for avocado toast and I LIVE for salmon!
My snack between breakfast and lunch was the smoothie I made above!! It's super easy and delicious, I'd make it every day.
Lunch: Chicken Ranch Wraps
I bought Matthew a panini press forever ago now, so I used that for these and it worked fantastic. Matthew always uses it for chicken wraps instead of paninis and at first it seemed weird but it works so well!
Snack number two was just baby carrots. I don't usually have such a large breakfast and lunch, so I could only handle like four carrots for another snack.
Dinner: Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein
This. Was. So. Good. It was my first time trying spaghetti squash, my mom used to make it every once in a while but I refused to try it because....yuck. But it's so good! This recipe is definitely worth making.
The last snack of the day is frozen grapes! If you haven't frozen grapes before, do yourself a favor and do it NOW.
2:
2 Hours of No Phone Before Bed
Uh....help. Sometimes I feel like that person who is constantly on their phone. If I'm spending time with someone I will definitely give them my full attention, but if I'm just hanging out at home or on my own I probably won't put my phone down for very long. I have my class announcements/emails/posted grades sent to my phone, blog updates sent to my phone, I subscribe to lots of news outlet's articles and I read them directly from my phone, obviously I check my personal email from my phone, and yes, I do keep on top of Instagram quite well. 😉 Right before bed is when I would usually do my last run through. In a very specific order: Email, blog, then Instagram. I actually consider it my "me time", considering unless I schedule it strategically, I don't EVER get that. (Which is okay!)
I decided if I was going to restrain from using my phone for a few hours, I was also going to add my computer to the mix. I can do on my computer exactly what I could do on my phone and more. It only makes sense. I ALSO decided, any time I need to tend to Theodore throughout the night (usually two or three times per night), I will still leave my phone on my desk.
It surprised me how much more relaxing my evening was technology free. Without my phone I "had time" to play with Theodore before we put him to bed, I continued reading a book that I hadn't made progress on in WEEKS, and overall I just felt more present, which was a wonderful feeling. Also, when I had to get up for Theodore at 1:00 and 3:00 a.m., instead of scrolling through instagram while I rocked him to sleep, I got to cuddle him closer and admire how adorable sleepy Teddy is.
While some nights having my phone near me is necessary (as I keep in touch with my family and friends and the evenings are when everyone is free), I definitely feel a bit of a drive to detach from technology more often to have that quality time with my family. Even if you feel like you're getting the same quality time with your phone and computer there with you, try it without those things just to see how it feels!
1:
One Session of Exercise
(Side: make sure your doctor has cleared you for exercise before beginning any of these routines! I had already purchased this app before I realized I should ask my doc, so I pulled up Post-Pregnancy and showed my doctor what I was planning on doing and she thought it was great!)
I has been amazing to see and feel myself get back into shape. I don't notice it as much during the home workouts (though I know it's working), where I notice it the most is during my running days! The first run I went on after pregnancy was rough, to say the least. I think I ran/walked (mostly walked) around two miles and it took me around 30 minutes. It was not fun and I thought I had lost my ability to run not only for exercise but as my stress reliever. However, I chugged along with the Sweat app and my most recent run (six months post pregnancy) was 5.4 miles at 32 minutes! When I saw my mileage and my time, considering my lack of sleep I felt like superwoman. Really all of the health milestones I have been hitting have been making me feel like that, and I attribute 70% of it to the Sweat app, and the rest to a balanced diet!
Sweat creates your daily workouts, daily meal plans, has a tab for you to keep progress photos (which I haven't done, but I could see how that would be motivational!), and also provides a community of other app users that help with any questions you have, or if you need motivation, or really anything at all. Today I completed arms, and I can tell we made some progress (I feel like jello). If you would like to try the app for free for one month, please reach out to me!
Lastly, as I said, I get little to ZERO sleep these days, and sleep is pretty vital especially if you work out daily and expect to survive the workouts. I think genuinely the only reason I can power through these tough workouts and runs is because of a vitamin I take every morning! Keep an eye out for a post about this vitamin soon!
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| similar bottle - similar mat - shoes (33 color options!!) - high waisted yoga leggings |
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