Choosing a Healthy Lifestyle over a Bucket of Ice Cream

There are times I’d like to just stop thinking about health and fitness and dive straight into a bucket of ice cream.  Everyone has had those days where motivation is non-existent and giving in to temptation is all you want to do.  I’ve had days where it seems like everything is pushing me towards that cliff of vanilla bean bliss.  While peering over the edge with one leg extended outward, I always step on the brakes and take a few steps back.  There’s one core reason I don’t ever plan to completely give up on a healthy lifestyle – it’s the only path where I can live as best as possible.  

Homemade bread fresh from the oven!  Recipe below.

Now, no one’s life is perfect, including mine, so eating healthy and exercising doesn’t equate to a good paying job, great family and friends and every want I’ve ever imagined.  However, when it comes to simple things, things I don’t want to have to spend extra time worrying about, a healthy lifestyle delivers.  Note that I accept that there are things out of my control that can happen that negate a particular benefit every now and then.  Basically what I’m saying is “life happens.”  So besides those things outside of my control, I believe a healthy lifestyle gives me the following:

1.  Better quality, more deep sleep.  When I work out hard during the day, I feel like my body is more ready and happier to get to sleep.  When I eat well during the day and don’t have to worry about digestion issues, I can more easily fall asleep.  When I get six to eight hours of quality sleep, I feel refreshed, enjoy my day more and fall asleep quickly the next night.

2.  A healthier heart.  Not getting enough exercise, sleep or healthy foods puts me at risk for cardiovascular disease.  I also help minimize my risk for other illness and disease when I live a healthy lifestyle.  With a healthy heart, blood pumps more efficiently through my body and allows me to train hard and compete in athletic events I enjoy.

3.  Proper digestion.  Eating a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and dairy provides my body with necessary nutrients and minerals.  By eating these foods, my body can efficiently digest and take in appropriate material and also appropriately dispose of waste product.  No one likes dealing with a bloated tummy, tummy aches or other digestion problems.  Enough said.

4.  A healthy weight.  Caloric balance is an easy concept for me.  If I eat more calories than I expend, I can put on weight.  If I expend more calories than I eat, I can lose weight.  If I eat and expend around the same amount, I maintain.  By eating healthy foods and exercising, I can enjoy treats every now and then (like a scoop or two of ice cream!) and generally stay at a healthy weight.

5.  Opportunity.  I love so many different activities like running, cycling, walking around the block, and playing with my nieces and nephews.  I also like helping a friend carry a couch into their house, walking up the stairs at work and all the everyday things that many people might take for granted.  I’m thankful for the things I can do because I focus on living a healthy lifestyle.

Good quality sleep is important.  My cat appreciates
the value a good night's sleep!

Notice how my descriptions above seem to reference the other benefits listed.  It shows how these benefits tie together and as I improve or gain advantages from one, I will likely improve and gain advantages from others.  Honestly, the list could go on for a very long time; I just wanted to highlight some of the main benefits I appreciate.

This is the list I go back to when I want to give up.  This weekend I participated in an orienteering race (remember from previous posts I’ve described this process of looking for check points based on a map and compass) and I couldn’t find the second checkpoint.  The SECOND one, aka the one right after the first point, aka a checkpoint really early on in the race.  I spent almost 40 minutes looking for that second one.  I could have been almost done with the entire race in that amount of time.  I didn’t want to give up (even though I was getting pretty mad) and I’m actually happy in this situation that I chose to keep looking at least for a while and didn’t give in five minutes into my frustration.  On the one hand, I could just give up and not do a race again because I completely screwed up and did not finish.  But I don’t believe that’s a good philosophy and giving up means not appreciating what I do accomplish and what I am capable of doing.

If you’re struggling getting started on a healthy lifestyle or sticking with it, think about the benefits you could gain.  Are they worth it to you?  Does the benefit outweigh the reasons you’re struggling?  Could committing to one healthy thing in your life right now (taking a healthful lunch to work or walking after work once a week) make a positive impact?  Write out a list of benefits you believe you can gain, post them prominently at home or your office and use those as motivation to continue the positive things you’re doing for yourself! 

Miss FitGab


Whole Wheat Honey Bread
1 1/8 cups water
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup honey
1 1/2 tablespoons shortening
1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
Optional 1/4 cup flax seed

Combine all ingredients; knead for 10 minutes.  Let rise for least 45 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.  Enjoy!