Live Happily Inked

There are soooo many articles, books, podcasts, and even movies out in the world that are all about living healthy. We read, hear, and see these things but most of the time we still stay stuck in our less than healthy lifestyle habits. So what are we to do?? Baby steps. Baby steps are the key to transitioning into a healthy lifestyle. Below are my top 5 tips that I’ve found to work the best at getting me back on track to a healthy living.

1. Understand What You Eat

Okay so this is the most difficult one, but also the most beneficial. Calories are calories. Our bodies need calories and the vitamins and nutrients that comes with each calorie. BUT most of us have a pretty poor relationship with calories. We either eat WAY too much or way too little. More often than not we eat way too many calories.

The best way to gain a healthy relationship with calories is to first off realize they are needed, important, and not bad for you. No more thinking “I just ate a cupcake, I need to go work this off.” no no…no no no no. Food is fuel! Work out to get stronger and healthier. Not to “work off” your food. Thinking this way will ruin you relationship with food, and we don’t want to do that!

So now that we have a better foundation for eating, how do we know what and when to eat?

2. If You Can’t Pronounce It, Don’t Eat It.

Seriously this tip changed my life. For so long I was only concerned about “low calorie, low carb, low fat” junk because that’s what I thought was healthy… But the more I opened up my mind and began researching, the more I realized what I was putting into my body. First off, stay away from things that have heavy preservatives in them. Why? well if the bacteria in the air has a difficult time eating it, so will your body. Next, look at the the ingredients. If there are ANY weird looking words or chemically sounding words it’s probably not beneficial for your body. Feeding your body real foods will drastically improve your skin, muscles, mental health, and everything in between.

3. Your Body Is INCREDIBLE 

Realize that your body is one freaking awesome machine. It literally fights to keep you alive and healthy from things you cannot even see or comprehend. So it needs the proper nutrients and vitamins and fuel to do it’s job! Your body can’t keep you at optimal health if it is busy trying to fight off chemicals that you’ve ingested. Help it out by giving it enough rest, real food, and proper exercises. Which brings me to my next point…

4. REST 

Y’alllllllllllllllll for realzzzz. Get some rest. Staying up until 3am watching random videos and scrolling through social media is not helping you live your best life… especially if you have to be up early… Rest is so important for your body to repair itself and rejuvenate itself. Invest your time in a good nights rest. Make your bed a phone free zone. Have fluffy/fuzzy blankets to create a cozy space. The better you rest, the better you will be able to deal with stresses of life.

5. Give It To God

Any stress or concern you have, give it to God. Write it out, pray about it, talk to your family and friends about it, and give it to God. The more you internalize your obstacles or fears the more you will eat away at your mental well being. Give your stresses to God and believe that He will take care of it, because He will! It may not be the answer you were wanting, but His answer will always be the best because He sees what we cannot see. Trust that your life is safe in the hands of the one that created it. God knows what to do for you. He created you for a reason. It’s time we stop worrying about all these little things and start trusting God’s grace and love.