Tips from what I’ve learned throughout my healthy living journey and two Whole 30s, to help you as you try to live a healthy lifestyle!
No matter what you’ve heard about living a healthy lifestyle—it is not always easy. It takes dedication, patience, hard work. If you constantly struggle with staying on track and knowing what is healthy and what isn’t, don’t worry, I’m right there with you! I have the biggest sweet tooth and I’m always fighting it. I find something delicious and end up eating way too much of it. I’m hard on myself when I don’t get my 10,000 steps a day. I look in the mirror sometimes and feel unhappy with how I look. YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
I created this blog not only to provide healthy, delicious recipes, but also to help others get closer and closer to creating healthy lifelong habits and truly feeling happy. It has taken me awhile, and I still have setbacks, but I’ve gotten to the point where I eat because I’m hungry, not because I think I should, and I eat until I’m full, not until I’m lying on the couch in a food coma. Eating healthy isn’t always easy, but it’s possible.
During August, I completed my second Whole 30 program and I’m so glad I did. Basically, the program is 30 days of eating food that makes you feel good, like fruit, vegetables, meat, and eggs, which means no dairy, grains, legumes, or sugar (I talk about the program more here). It’s NOT a diet—I strongly dislike that word—it’s a way to create healthy habits and uncover the foods that make you feel lousy. I finished the reintroduction stages of Whole 30 and added foods to my diet every few days to see how they made me feel, and I can’t even tell you how amazing it is to make decisions based what my body tells me. I’ve never felt so in control about my health, and I want to help you get there too!
I’ve learned so much about eating habits and myself as a person throughout my healthy living journey and I wanted to share these tips and struggles to help you on your own food journey. These aren’t the normal tips you hear, like “don’t eat before bed” or “read your food labels.” These tips are more long term and will help you create healthy habits you’ll carry throughout your life!
Sooo here we go:
1. Don’t be afraid to try new things!
I can’t stress this enough–eating healthy doesn’t have to be boring. You don’t have to eat salads every day to be healthy! While I’ve already experimented a lot with cooking, I learned many different ways to prepare food through the Whole 30 program. There’s crockpot meals, hashes, rice, spiralizing, and more. (Just a little plug… I’m actually an Inspiralized ambassador and use the Inspiralizer! If you’re interested in a spiralizing, I highly suggest looking into it. Make sure to follow this link and use code “ASHLEY10” to save 10%).
Besides cooking methods, there are so many different ingredients! Ever heard of a rutabaga? I hadn’t until I decided to try something new and picked one up at the store, and let me tell you, it was delicious! Some other new foods I’ve tried recently include coconut aminos, herbal coffee, ghee, coconut butter, matcha, and kombucha (now I’m making my own). Don’t be afraid to try new things, no matter how unfamiliar you are with them or how weird they sound.
Also, it’s usually easier to eat well if you’re making the food yourself. This way you know exactly what’s in the meal and can gain a sense of satisfaction knowing that you made such a delicious dish! One of the hardest parts of Whole 30 for me was eating out at restaurants. I had no clue what type of oil they used to cook the food or what ingredients were in certain sauces or dressings. I highly encourage making as many meals yourself as possible (but that doesn’t mean you can’t go out and enjoy a nice meal every once in awhile).
2. It’s never too late to get back on track
While I absolutely hate when people eat badly on purpose and say “oh well, I’ll just start tomorrow,” it really is okay to mess up but get right back on track. As I mentioned, the Whole 30 has a reintroduction stage at the end—you try different foods a little at a time to see how they make you feel. One day you’ll reintroduce dairy, the next day grains, and so on.
To be honest, I completely FAILED at this after my first Whole 30. I have the biggest sweet tooth ever and suffered through Easter without any chocolate, so what did I do? Yep, I stocked up on all sorts of Easter candy and spent the week after Whole 30 eating chocolate like I needed it to survive (hey, at least I got the candy on sale 🙂 ).
I’m glad I can laugh about it now that I’m back on track and eating healthy, but this is really not the way to approach the end of the program. The purpose of Whole 30 is to create a lifestyle; it’s not just a 30 day “diet” that ends and then you go back to how you were before. The truth is, though, that everyone makes mistakes and you just have to try your hardest to stay motivated and get back on track if you need to. Just because you have a flop, doesn’t mean you have to completely give up!
3. Listen to Your Body
I always catch myself thinking or saying “eat good, feel good.” I guess that’s kinda my healthy living motto? It’s really true, though, healthy food makes you feel so good! During my 30 days, the bloating that I always seemed to have completely disappeared, I gained a lot more energy, I was lasting hours between meals when I would usually need a snack, and I even lost a few pounds.
The most important point I have here is to listen to your body. It can be so hard to get to this point, but start small! After eating each meal, really pay attention to how you feel. If you feel lazy or have a stomach ache, go back and think about the ingredients you ate and try to figure out exactly what made you feel this way (Whole 30 is a perfect way to do this). When it’s your normal lunch time, ask yourself if you’re actually hungry or just eating out of habit. If you’re hungry before your lunchtime—eat! While you’re eating, chew slow and when you’re full, stop. Life is so much easier when you eat what you want, when you want, instead of following certain diet restrictions or eating something because you think you should.
3. Everything in Moderation
While I don’t suggest eating a slice of cake every day of your life, if you’re at your best friend’s birthday party and you want to enjoy a piece of cake then EAT IT. Your overall health is not only correlated with your physical well-being, but your mental state too. Food is what nourishes your body and helps you perform your best each day, but there are so many other mental reasons to eat food too—social gatherings, traditions, comfort foods, and more.
If you stick with a healthy lifestyle the majority of the time and occasionally indulge in something delicious that makes you feel great, then I personally think you’re doing just fine. Remember to listen to your body, though! Everyone is different. Don’t eat a giant piece of cake with ice cream if you know you’ll feel absolutely miserable later, or if you know indulging results in you binging and throwing yourself completely off course. There are always options to indulge in healthier ways too, like maybe a cake made with healthier ingredients and homemade frozen yogurt. It’s all about balance and finding what works for you.
5. Do what’s best for YOU
First of all, ignore other’s opinions—no one else’s opinion matters besides your own. There will be people who question, make fun of, doubt, or argue with your choices. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve heard “You’re not eating these foods? Why do you need to lose weight?” or “Just have one piece! It won’t hurt you.”
At the end of the day, others’ opinions really don’t matter. What you eat and how you live is all about YOU and what makes YOU feel good. It may be hard at times, but ignore the naysayers. I find it helps to reply to people in these situations by explaining to them that it’s not about losing the weight, but feeling good, and you’re not eating something because you feel you “shouldn’t,” but because it will make you feel sick. Be respectful, but don’t let other’s opinions affect you. (P.S. food shaming is real, and it’s annoying. You should read this article).
As I mentioned before, this whole eating thing is really all about finding what works for you and helps you stay balanced. If your friend drinks a green smoothie every morning and it helps them maintain energy until lunch, that doesn’t necessarily mean that will work for you. The creators of Whole 30 reiterate multiple times that the program is somewhat of a “scientific trial” where you’re trying different steps to see what works for you. I’ve been eating healthy for a few years now and I’m still learning and trying new things each day. This is YOUR personal journey, so keep trying new things and analyzing how your body feels!
6. Just move!
This is not about food, but just as important and it goes hand and hand. I can’t thank Davida from The Healthy Maven enough for teaching me to listen to my body when it comes to exercise, too. You don’t have to do an intense workout every single day; it’s important to just move your body in a way that feels right! If you don’t want to go for a run a day, but instead feel like taking your dog on a relaxing walk, DO IT. Just like eating, moving should feel good and make you happy, and if it doesn’t you need to switch some things around (even take a break from exercise for a while if you have to) and move in a way that makes you feel better each day. I suggest reading about Davida’s Move 30 Challenge.
My journey to a healthy life has been just that—a journey. I’ve had my ups and downs just like everyone else and I’m learning new things each day! Most importantly, though, I’ve learned about my own body and mind. I created this blog with a passion for healthy cooking and a goal to provide recipes that can help others eat in a way that makes them feel good. I’m not here just to give you recipes, though; I’m here to have a conversation about the triumphs and struggles we all face. I’m always here for support, so get out there, work hard, and live a happy, healthy life!
Also, if you have difficulty finding the resources you need because you live in a small town like me, you should read this post.
What have you learned about being healthy? What struggles have you faced?
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Love this tips Ashley! Especially the one about listening to your body – something I’m working on every day! Have a great weekend girl!!
xx
Thanks, Britney! I constantly struggle with it too. Every little improvement each day helps 🙂 Hope you had a great weekend, too!
This is great 🙂 healthy eating can be so hard to keep track of! Over the years I learnt how importnat balance is. Honestly, I’ve had times where I’ve said ‘No I’m not eating chocolate for a month’ two days later you’ll find me with my face in a giant block of Lindt dark chocolate! The only thing I’ve really stuck to has been our two week pescetarian diet!
YES balance is so important. I’ve never been good with restriction either and I’d be in the same boat (especially because of my huge sweet tooth). That’s awesome you’ve found something that really works! Hope you continue to do great with it 🙂
Loved this post so much! It’s so true that you have to listen to your body. Two years ago I totally changed my diet and cut out gluten, dairy and eggs (although I eat eggs sometimes now). It was so hard but ultimately the best decision ever. I definitely realized that in order to succeed, I had to learn to cook and that cooking doesn’t have to be super hard or time-consuming at the same time!
Thank you, Aya! 🙂 that’s great you found what works for you! And yes, cooking can be as simple or as complicated as you make it. I’ve been a big fan of crockpot meals lately just because they’re so easy.