Healthy Habits with Mari!
Getting into Good Habits!
Hi there! Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog!
"I have tried several diets and silver bullets through the years and have learned that a better overall lifestyle is much more effective."
I invite you to walk a road with me in improving your health and lifestyle. By sharing with you what I have learned through the years when it comes to better eating, how your body and its different systems function, and how by adding a few good habits, you can really make a big difference in your overall health - my aim is to show you how simple and doable this can be. I have tried several diets and silver bullets through the years and have learned that a better overall lifestyle is much more effective.
Is that not why most diets start on a Monday and seldom last until Sunday! We are all created uniquely and so are our bodies. Just by looking at a crowd of people, we stand amazed at how each one is different in length, build, hair colour, skin tone, posture, abilities, and just the way they act! Accordingly, we all have different health challenges, and by grasping to understanding how your body functions, you will learn to listen to the signals (usually discomforts and disease) and get to know how to support the part that needs it instead of just addressing the symptoms.
When it comes to our health it is the bad habits that pose danger to it. Years and years of doing the wrong things repeatedly have resulted in the ailments we now suffer from, whether it is continually getting sick, struggling with low energy levels, chronic disease, or weight problems to name just a few. I like the quote “Healthy habits are learned in the same way as unhealthy ones – through practice!” I know it is not easy to let go of the bad habits that we have been practicing throughout our life. It has become our comfort and our safe place – we have practiced and mastered them throughout the years, and they became part of our lives.
"When it comes to our health it is the bad habits that pose danger to it."
Every time you fail to let go of them you feel discouraged. But how about we forget about those bad habits for a moment and rather concentrate on adding some good ones? Let us start with the following four habits.
GOOD HABIT #1:
Drink more water!
Why is water important?
- A good way to ensure you drink more water is to have a glass of water every two hours that you are awake.
- Have a glass of water with every dehydrating drink you are having for e.g., Coffee, tea, or a soft drink.
- Drink the cleanest water you can afford!
- Your body is 70% water, muscles 75% water, brain cells 85% water, blood 82% water, and bones 25% water – they all function better when they get more water!
- Water is the most important nutrient for your body and is involved in every function of it! A lot of diseases have been cured by only drinking more water.
GOOD HABIT #2:
Start every meal with something raw!
Why is it important?
- Raw food is full of enzymes. Enzymes help your digestive system digest food better. So, if you eat your raw food first your stomach will be loaded with digestive enzymes that will assist it to digest the cooked food that follows.
- How about a whole fruit (not a fruit juice) before your usual breakfast?
- A few pieces of raw vegetables like carrots, cucumber, red or yellow peppers, or anything you like before you have your lunch.
- A salad with only raw ingredients before dinner with a homemade salad dressing.
GOOD HABIT #3:
30 minutes of exercise daily!
Just to name a few benefits of exercising:
- Lowers stress levels
- Helps you to lose weight and decreases your appetite
- Helps prevent many diseases
- Improves your immune system and by that your health
- If you are not currently doing any exercise, start by walking around the block every day. Start slow and increase it weekly.
- Do what you can do but do something! Every little bit helps.
GOOD HABIT #4:
Get 20 minutes of sunshine daily!
Why is sunlight so good for you?
- Struggling to sleep? Sunlight ensures that your body makes serotonin that keeps you awake in the day and melatonin that ensures you sleep better at night.
- The natural resource of Vit D that ensures strong bones and fights depression – explains our good moods during a summer sea vacation!
- Reduces stress
- Strengthens your immune system
- Roll up your sleeves, take off your sunglasses and get some sun on your skin! Even on cloudy days, you will reap the benefits of being outside.
- Why not exercising outside then you have the best of both!
RECIPES
Infused water
You can infuse your jug of water with any one or a combination of these ingredients. Keeping a jug of water on your desk or on the kitchen table makes it easier and more fun to drink more water.
- Lemon or lime slices
- Fresh mint or peppermint leaves
- Berries
- Pieces of any fruit
- Rosemary
- Cucumber
Easy salad dressing
- 100 ml olive oil
- 50 ml apple cider vinegar or lemon juice
- 50 ml runny raw honey
- Teaspoon Dijon mustard
- Small garlic, grated
- Thumbnail size ginger, grated
- Salt and black pepper
Shake everything together in a glass mason jar and pour over salad just before serving.
Basic salad
By throwing together everything you like you can create your own raw salad. Here is a suggestion of ingredients you can use. Try not to add cheese and cooked ingredients.
- A variety of salad leaves – the bigger the better
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
- Red, orange, and yellow peppers
- Peas (frozen peas can be added without cooking them)
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Mangetout (Aka Sugar Pea or Snap Pea)
- Olives
- Sweetcorn (cut raw from the cob)
I hope that you are excited to add these good habits and remember that it takes practice! So do not feel discouraged if you have not done so in a meal or if you have skipped a day or two. Just correct it with the next meal. You will get better! Keep on trying and soon you will have established them, and I promise you that you will see the difference in your health!
Good health until we meet again!