Five on Friday - Living Healthy

                             

I’m not in the best shape of my life, but I’m working on it.  I know I’ve said that time and again but it’s a work in progress and should be.  Lately I’ve been cutting calories, drinking less soda, and am even today getting a preliminary exam by a chiropractor to look at the back issues I’ve been having for years now.  So, here’s my Five for Friday list on getting healthy.

1. Move more!  I’m trying to make an effort no matter how long my day has been to move more.  Getting out in the yard and playing with Allie, doing yoga, working in my yard, whatever!  Doesn’t matter.  Anything to get my up and moving is a good thing.

2.  Healthy eating choices.  I’m an acknowledged and confirmed sugar and caffeine addict.I know this is a pitfall for me and I’m trying to be more conscientious about it.  I know when I’m tired I reach for caffeine, when I’m down I reach for something sugary.  I’m 33 now and I’m old enough to know better.  I’ve been drinking carbonated flavored waters from Dollar General that have fizz and a great taste.  If I do have a Dr. Pepper, my poison of choice, it’s one a day and just a small can and not a 20 oz. bottle.  I still get a bottle from time to time but it’s not every single day.  As for the sugar, I’ve been eating dried mango, fresh fruits, and yogurt.  I’ve been keeping them at work and at home.  

3.  Less Stress.  I guess I’m what you would call an intense person.  I’m a perfectionist and when life doesn’t bend to my iron will I get a tiny bit upset.  I stress out.  I get anxious.  I don’t sleep well.  You don’t have to go far to fall over a study that says stress is absolutely detrimental to your health.  So I’m trying to learn how to manage my emotions at work, not bring it home with me, and when I get to feeling overwhelmed take a minute, step back, and adjust my attitude.  Sometimes that might mean getting up from my desk for a minute, that might mean just closing the email and settling down, or it might mean going for a walk at lunch and getting out of the office.  

4.  Better Sleep.  I’m a hard sleeper when I finally do go to sleep, but getting there is the problem.  There’s a reason I’m upset that David Letterman has retired.  Who else am I going to watch to wind down and get some shut eye?  Kimmell?  Fallon?  I’m crushed my favorite man will no longer be there when I need him.  But back to the matter at hand, I have a hard time going to sleep.  I have a hard time shutting my brain down and not thinking about all the stuff I should have done and all the stuff I have to do tomorrow.  Honestly, it’s infuriating.  So I’m trying to make sure that an hour before I go to bed I’m starting to wind down.  I have a glass of milk or hot tea.  I take a shower.   I wash my face.  I read a book.  I’m not allowed to write or work on pictures. In a nutshell I’m doing things that calm me down and let me focus on getting ready to sleep.  

5.  Taking time for the Doctor.  The last thing I need to do here lately is make an appointment for my annual exam.  The most important thing for your health is making sure you take the time to go to the doctor every year!  It’s hard to know if something is out of the ordinary if there’s no ordinary to compare it against.  Giving yourself a baseline for blood pressure, blood sugar, pap smear, etc. is so important.  And since May is Women’s Health Month I want to encourage you to make sure you’re doing this for yourself!   Below are some info graphics from Oscar Insurance that gives you a great outline of what to do at every stage of your life.  If you’re young it’s simple!  So there’s no excuse.  So many people will tell you, if I had just went for an annual exam this could have been caught.  I wish I had had an annual exam.  I wish, I wish, I wish.  Don’t wish, do it!  Take care of yourself!  As women we are always running around making sure everyone else is ok, and don’t think to take care of ourselves.  

I was inspired by the info graphic from Oscar Insurance below to write this post.  Women’s health is something I’m interested in so I was happy to work with them.  Thanks so much for working with me and providing the great simplified info outlined below!  And anyone else out there please feel free to get in touch with me if you want to partner up on something!  I can’t guarantee I’ll always say yes but if it’s something I feel passionate about I’ll be glad to work with you.  And just so you know I received no compensation.  The thoughts above are my own Oscar Health just provided the inspiration.  :)  If you are in the NY or NJ area, you can check out Oscar's insurance plans here if you're in the market.    

Have a great weekend my lovelies!