WELLNESS: DAY 57 + HEALTHY RESOURCES

Today marks just one day over my two month anniversary of "beginning life" as I like to call it, or my journey to wellness. This has been the longest span of time I've intentionally lived a healthy lifestyle in my whole existence. I've been learning a lot and really surprising myself with how I've begun to change mentally towards the idea of health. For someone who used to completely dislike exercise and love, love, love my stash of junk food, I've grown to really become fascinated and excited about this new life.

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Feelings. ---> Right now I am feeling strong. Not just improvement physically, but mainly mentally. Through these past 57 days I've proven to myself that I'm BA enough to do this. I'm discovering more and more that my mind and will are not as weak and feeble as I had assumed. I never gave myself enough credit. But this has really cemented the idea that I CAN follow through and I CAN achieve goals and changes in my life. The only one that can stop me from accomplishing this, is myself. And I'm not planning on holding myself back anytime soon. My dream from the beginning was to build a new lifestyle and for the idea of being my best-me to become a habit and something I journeyed towards for the rest of my life.

Accomplishments. ---> As listed in my previous post, one of my main goals was to reduce my resting heart-rate. When I was first assessed, my heart rate was at about 98 with no caffeine or exertion. Not ok. I continued, during the first week, to measure my heart rate when I woke up in the morning and noted that it was still incredibly high. For the next several weeks I stopped checking, and I focused on working out and eating healthy. I recently had a doctor's appointment and discovered that my heart rate was down to 75!!! That number made my entire week. My body is getting stronger on the inside and that number was proof to me that I was doing something good for myself.

Mental Mantra. ---> Since the beginning, I've had to tell myself everyday: You can do this! Don't give up. Keep going! You are strong! It's way too tempting to be overcome by my busy schedule and convince myself that I don't have enough time and that I'm too tired or that I just REALLY want that bag of chips all to myself. But remembering WHY I'm doing this and why it's important to me helps me realize that this must be a priority in my life. It's necessary and I can't make excuses.

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I've been in such a state of learning recently. I'm curious to know what are the best things I can do for me. The best foods I can eat, the best ways to love myself, the best ways to feel the best me as possible. I've been collecting a list of resources mostly suggested to me by others who are well into their journey. I'd like to share some of the tools I use as well as open up the comments for suggestions on any health resources that you LOVE and why you love them. :)

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Wellness Resources I Love

1. Lose It! -- This is an app I downloaded to my iPhone on day 1. It was suggested to me by my personal trainer. Most people use this app mainly for weight losing purposes, but I've found it extremely helpful for logging all of the food I eat throughout the day. This helps me to see the food I am consuming and assess if I've had a balanced day, if I need more veggies or if I'm being excessive in an area. It also keeps me accountable to my portions and reminds me to keep within my set amount of calories each day. I've been logging my food for 57 days and it's really helped me to make good changes in my diet and visualize my progress.

2. Whole Living -- I have come to adore this magazine. Every page is filled with healthy tips on living whole. From eating, to keeping a household. The more into this journey I get, the more interested I've become in applying this idea of "whole living" into more and more aspects of life. The website has also been an incredible resource.

3. Oh She Glows -- This blog was suggested to me by my friend and editor, Leah. It's filled with beautiful photos and great vegan recipes. It also chronicles her story and some good ol' self love.

4. Farmers Market -- I've visited my local farmers market a couple times to pick up fresh produce and local products. This has been a great way for me to learn more about food and find some healthy alternatives and more organic options without paying the price of a whole foods store.

Resources I Need to Look into More

* Crazy Sexy Diet -- I've been wanting to do some more in-depth reading on healthy foods, why they are healthy and what they do for your body. A friend suggested this book to me and right away I put it on my birthday list. I'm looking forward to learning more about good food!

* Detox for Women -- This is another book suggested to me by a dear friend. I've been researching the idea of going on a detox and my friend went through the detox plan in this book and LOVED it. So I'm thinking about doing more research, reading this and hopefully setting up a plan to do this soon.

* Fooducate & Shop Well -- I've downloaded both of these apps which have similar features. You are supposed to use them when you are grocery shopping (or before you make your trip to the store) to scan in a item you want and it will give you healthier alternatives to that item. Fooducate grades the item, shows the calories per serving and shares comments about the product via other users. From there you can add it to your list or look at alternative options. Shop Well is extremely similar but seems to be a little more customizable. I haven't fully utilized these apps, but I definitely intend to learn more about them and use them regularly. Both have beautiful interfaces which is always a huge plus for me!

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My intention for this series is to continue sharing my journey as well as the things I'm learning. Initially I had the thought of just doing monthly updates, but I'm thinking about posting a little more frequently. This has been such a good way for me to really process my thoughts and accomplishments. My hope is that this will become a time to mutually share ideas, resources, and tips from each others' lives and inspire each other along the way!