A Healthy Lifestyle: Is It Worth It? Where I’m at Right Now.

A Healthy Lifestyle: Is It Worth It? Where I’m at Right Now.

by | Jun 26, 2017 | Health, Home, Wellness

I think it’s fair to say we all, generally-speaking, desire to live a balanced lifestyle.  Though, sometimes it seems like maneuvering such a lifestyle walks a fine line between managing a routine and increasing madness.  That’s right, I said it.  A healthy lifestyle can be hard.  As simple as it may sound to “just eat more fruit and vegetables”, that isn’t always the simple answer. 

a healthy lifestyle cauliflower rice burrito bowl

Cauliflower rice burrito bowl with black beans, tomato, carrots, corn, red onion, and cilantro.

I hold the belief that the food, exercises, behaviors, and even the thoughts we have are what determine our overall wellness.  If you’re just doing the exercise part, or, you aren’t mindfully connecting the food that you eat as being valuable to your health, then you may be missing out on some key parts of wellness.  These four areas are interconnected and, together, provide optimum health possibilities for you.  Here’s the catch: they require constant maintenance!

Recently, I began reading Alisa Vitti’s WomanCode.  The guidance outlined in the book addresses hormonal imbalance in women that perfectly aligns with the areas that I previously stated are (in my opinion) essential for overall wellness.  In addition to information about what the causes and signs of hormonal imbalance are (spoiler alert: they’re actually a lot more common than you think), Vitti provides an outline for food, exercise, and lifestyle choices that will best support women throughout their monthly cycle.  So, the adjustments that I’m currently making to sync with my cycle are my attempts to improve my health.   

a healthy lifestyle cycle calendar

Moon calendar of June which is representative of the woman’s four cycle phases.

I do believe that our bodies are ever-changing.  The sugary treats I used to eat on the regular as a kid don’t feel as good now.  Heck, even on a day-to-day basis, my mood can change and the kind of workout I am up for varies.  As far as my status of health and wellness goes, I feel pretty clear about what I want in my life and what I don’t (though, other areas of life, such as career paths, are something else).  I prefer to exclude food or activities that are toxic to my body and mind.  Instead, I’d rather place my focus on what does serve me and listen to the messages my body and mind give me. 

I started this post by saying how hard it is to keep up a healthy lifestyle.  There are several areas to juggle and sometimes it is overwhelming to keep trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t.  Along the way, it might require taking a break from exercise or over-indulging in a restaurant-serving of pasta.  #LIFE  Trial and error sucks but the learning experiences help me reinforce why I started my health and fitness journey in the first place: to feel like my best self.    

We weren’t designed to live in one constant state or rigid daily ritual.  Rather, each day is different and each day we can learn how to better ourselves. 

a healthy lifestyle

I actually got inspiration for this thought piece from Alexis over at Hummusapien.  She recently wrote a post about her decision to live intuitively day to day.  I admire her mindset and I recommend you go check out her post for another great perspective on the whole healthy living scheme of things.

Thank you for reading!  I don’t have all of the answers (though, I’ve never claimed to) so I appreciate you for taking an interest in my thoughts and sticking around this little blog of mine.  Does the ever-changing nature of your health and fitness journey confuse you, too?  Let me know.  I love reading your comments♥

Glyphosate in the Food Industry and Switching to Organic Produce

Glyphosate in the Food Industry and Switching to Organic Produce

by | Mar 31, 2017 | Health, Home

Lately, I hear more and more reasons why we should make the switch to organic food.  The organic label is thrown around a lot so I used to place little to no importance on it.  I figured it was good enough to be buying produce and eating as many colorful foods as I can.  Though, recent articles and news about glyphosate and its manufacturer have caught my concern.

Glyphosate is a chemical, known to most Americans by its commercial term, “Round Up”.  Agricultural industries used the chemical to combat weeds and also dry out certain crops.  Check out this article at Nature’s Path Organic for the full story on glyphosate and where it is used.

Sidenote:

Nature’s Path Organic makes delicious cereals and granola and they also have a wonderful blog.  It is filled with weekly articles on a number of plant-based nutrition, health, natural living, and other topics consumers should be aware of.  Even if you don’t buy Nature’s Path Organic brand products, you can still enjoy their educational blog posts and resources.

Anyway, there is a major problem in agriculture and the food industry when many crops are reliant on glyphosate.  Another recent article elaborated on the attempts Monsanto, a large manufacturer of glyphosate, has made to persuade the Environmental Protection Agency to label its product as safe.  Vani from foodbabe.com, goes on to showcase some leaked email communications between Monsanto and the EPA.  It is scary to think how many scientists have categorized certain products as safe for human use but are actually dangerous for us.  According to the same foodbabe article, glyphosate is a probable carcinogen that has become so ubiquitous in our environment that it does not stay on just GMO crops.  Glyphosate is sprayed; it goes into the air, possibly travels to organic crops, and suddenly there it is in a ridiculous number of products that we wouldn’t expect to find it!

The uncomfortable part is that, like I mentioned at the beginning, simply buying fruits and vegetables may not be enough.  Health is my highest concern and I make it a priority to nourish myself with only wholesome ingredients.  It is hard to hear that the bulk lentils that I buy or the whole grains in my favorite bread may have glyphosate traces.

It is likely that certified organic produce should be mostly-free of the chemical but is it even possible to go full-on organic for everything?

Personally, I have opted for organic in products (like tofu) that I know stem from major GMO crops (soy).  Still, it is difficult to make a change to buy all organic produce.  It can cost almost double to buy organic apples vs. regular apples but, in addition, there is a limited availability of organic produce.  Many grocery stores have an organic section that is a small fraction of the rest of the produce.  A limited budget and limited options make this consumer very concerned about how to proceed.

Had you heard of the glyphosate ordeal prior to reading this post?  What are your thoughts on organic produce?  Please share any thoughts in the comments.  I’d love to hear what you have to say.