Living Well — exercise

15 Quotes About Healthy Living to Help You Through the Day 0

Before and After Foods: What Should You Really Be Eating Around Your Workout? 0

There are two things we need to discuss: why it’s better to eat something before your workout and the confusion between what’s good to eat before versus after. Many people think it’s best to not eat anything at all before exercising, but we need to view (healthy) food as fuel for our bodies. With this perspective in mind, we want to have enough energy so we can get through our workout. So let’s take a look at how you should be fueling up your body to make the most out of your exercise routine:

When choosing a snack to have before your workout,  by before we don’t mean you’re swallowing your last bite just as your begin to do sprints. Generally a good rule of thumb is to eat 30 minutes before you begin your routine. Another key point to be aware of is that this is not the time to experiment with new foods. You want something your body is familiar with so that it can be easily digested and used as fuel. The last thing you want is your body trying to figure out what to do with that foreign substance in your stomach and getting sick while you’re trying to start your jumping jacks.  It’s also great to add liquids to your pre-workout snack, which is why we love the idea of having a protein smoothie - add some spinach, banana, berries, almonds, and water to a blender. You can get really creative with this - the point is to have simple and complex carbs, and an amount of protein to fuel your workout. Other options we like are a piece of whole wheat toast with almond butter, a sliced banana, and some cinnamon - or try out some crackers with hummus if you want something a little more savory. Additionally, to keep it simple, slice up an apple and add some almond butter!

So now that you’ve busted your butt and ran through all of your energy during your workout, we want to give you something that will not only replenish your body but act as a recovery method to all the muscles you just worked out. As we focused on the carbs with some protein before the workout, we now want to consume more protein with some carbs added to the mix. Again, eat your post-workout meal within a half hour (to an hour) after you’ve finished your routine. We’re going to add a protein smoothie to the list of options again - except this time around, up the protein intake by adding a scoop of your favorite powder. Additionally, other great choices are fish (salmon) over a bed of greens or some quinoa with steamed veggies. You can get really creative with options here, but again, the most important takeaway is that you definitely do want to eat pre- and post-workout.

Tips for Staying on Track with Your Health and Wellness Goals 0

Start Small—the same way our bad habits weren’t formed in a day, we can’t expect an entire lifestyle change to take place overnight. But if we can make ourselves try one thing differently—like get up in the morning and put your gym clothes on right away—over time we can form habits that make taking the next step that much easier. Before you know it, you won’t be able to put on those gym clothes fast enough!

Be SMART—many of us have heard of the powerful acronym for creating goals that actually have the potential to be achieved. The reason it’s so important to have specific, measurable, achievable, results-focused, and time-bound goals is that it gives us somewhere to go and differentiates our efforts from being just a dream. Essentially, using this method will help you to visualize the steps you need to take to make changes in your lifestyle. Instead of simply deciding you want to drink more water, planning out how much water you’ll drink and how you’ll gradually increase your intake over a certain amount of time takes out the guesswork of how to get started with making that change!

Tell Everyone!—accountability is key here. The advantage of announcing your health goals to the people around you is that if you don’t get up to put on your gym clothes that morning or if you didn’t drink that last glass of water, you’ll have those people to answer to. That alone can give someone the motivation to get things done! Better yet, if you have someone working towards the same goal as you, by supporting one another you can be there when the other person is feeling unmotivated, and vice versa. And don’t stop there, share it with your journal! Being able to read back and see how far you’ve come can also be a great motivator for those days you’re just not feeling it.

The Possibilities are Endless!—when we think of health goals, many times losing weight and eating healthier are the first to come to mind. The great news is there are so many other ways to improve our health and overall wellness. You can make a goal to go to the gym more and eat less, but you can also make goals to get outside with friends, always choose to take the stairs, add natural oils to your diet (we love CBD Hemp Oil), or try that new spin class your coworker has been telling you about! The point is to find something that excites you—and don’t be afraid to switch it up. Now get out there and start achieving!

7 Things You Can Do Today to Feel Healthier Tomorrow 0

Sometimes you’re just in need of a quick way to help get you back on track with your health and wellness goals. Well here are 7 of them that you can do right now to start improving your wellness routine and get back into the habit of being health conscious.

Oil Pulling—oil what?! Let us explain by thinking of it this way—rather than using mouthwash we’re using oil, like coconut oil, and instead of 30 seconds, try 15-20 minutes. But the benefits look so promising, you’ll want to get started right away! First off, we love coconut oil because by itself it has vitamins A, B, D and K. View our other blog post here to see vitamin benefits for your body. At the very least, coconut oil is a great organic substitute for mouthwash and can help improve skin and teeth. So what else is going on while you’re swishing around coconut oil for 20 minutes? The idea is that the toxins are being ‘pulled’ out into your mouth, so you’ll definitely want to spit it out afterwards (be sure to spit in the trash so you don’t risk the oil clogging up your sink). Try taking 1 tablespoon per day—people have claimed seeing results after just one use, but we recommend trying it for a whole week to see what it can do for you!

Breathing Exercises—who knew something so simple could have so many benefits? When you take several deep breaths—breathing slowly all the way in and all the way out—it activates your vagus nerve (in laymen’s terms, your body switches from storing fat to burning it). In addition, the process of breathing in so deeply rids your lungs of carbon dioxide and as a result increase your oxygen intake. So what are you waiting for—get breathing!

Drink Water—you know the saying, drink water now, because you’ll need it later! Whether you’ve heard it or not, it’s very true. If you’re someone who rarely drinks a glass of water, we guarantee you’ll notice a huge difference in the way you feel when you drink 2 to 3 liters a day. Although studies show differing recommendations on how much water you should drink, we’ve found the easiest way to drink water is to always carry it on your person, and when in doubt, take a sip! Not only does it keep you hydrated, but it regulates your body temperature, cushions your joints, and helps rid your body of harmful toxins. Another easy way to tell you’re getting enough water—your urine is light yellow or colorless!

Daily Oil Dosage—yep, we’re talking about CBD Hemp Oil! It comes in several different forms you can check out here, but a daily dose of it can help take you from distress to de-stress. Ahhh.

Tongue Scraping—another great way to extract toxins and bacteria from your body is by purchasing these scrapers inexpensively at health food stores and pharmacies. Throughout the day, bacteria and plaque covers up our tongue, so it makes sense that it can be more difficult to taste our food. But the effect doesn’t stop there—it can make us overcompensate with salt and sugar, ending in a series of overeating. To get the best effect, buy an actual tongue scraper instead of just using your toothbrush to really get those toxins off so you can start tasting again!

Sweat and Stretch—and in this order! Yet another way to get to release toxins from your body is through sweat, so get out and get moving! Exercise should be a daily occurrence anyways, and you want to make sure that you stretch after your warm up and before you start your full-fledged routine—that way your muscles have time to warm up and will stretch better and reduce the risk of injury.

Go to Bed!—although all of these options are great for feeling better as soon as the next day, they’ll all be for nothing if you stay up until the wee hours of the morning. Even though it might be difficult at times, your body will truly thank you the next day if you can squeeze in 7-8 hours of sleep the night before. On top of feeling more energized, it will help keep you on track with healthier eating and your skin will look a lot healthier—how could you pass up on these benefits just from getting a little more shuteye?!