Keeping it simple

When it comes to healthy eating and healthy living, I have found that simpler is better.  It is all too easy to become consumed in rules and regulations concerning diet and exercise.  I had the most profound epiphany and I continue to bounce the thoughts around in my head throughout the day.  The epiphany is this:  eating and living healthily is a breath of fresh air.  It is free, liberating, and medicinal.  To treat it as anything else is a violation of what it is to be healthy.  Life ought to  be a reflection of decadence, wholesomeness, and purity.  My husband gave me some profound insight this morning after going through his daily devotional.  "Everything we do, every move we make, every breath we take is meaningful, significant, and affects not only our lives on earth but resonates in the heavens and vibrates throughout eternity."  Doesn't that make you think about all those choices you haphazardly make, almost throwing them out, tossing them into the wind?   So that made me think, what SIMPLE choices can I make to promote a healthier lifestyle TODAY?

10 simple choices that promote delectable living:

1) Instead of going to the gym every day, do something adventurous;  Go dancing, go surfing, play tennis, or simply take a long reflective walk, or jog.  Plan in a long run day and see where life takes you on that day.  The world is meant to be explored!

2) Allow yourself a square of dark chocolate (70% or higher) for dessert;  This delectable indulgence not only tastes delicious, but also contains antioxidants pleasing to the body.

3) Eat off smaller plates, and fill half of that with vegetables.

4) Learn about spices and fresh herbs and use them in your cooking for flavor;  This will cut down on the necessity to cook with excessive fat.

5) Pick parking spaces further from the door;  Think of it this way:  you get to walk further burning more calories, and you are allowing someone else to park closer that may need, or want that spot more.  It is the little things in life that add up.

6) Enter yourself for a 5k or 10k every once and a while to hold you accountable;  This also gives you something to work toward.

7) Shop the perimeter of your supermarket, buy foods that spoil (veggies), and frequent a farmers market for more variety and freshness.

8) Practice doing LESS.  Put three things on your to do list and let the rest go.  Spend MORE time doing something you've always wanted to do.

9) Single Task.  Just because future employers think its cool that you can multitask doesn't mean thats what is healthy for your life;  Treat yourself well and learn to single task.  Make tea and do nothing, but make tea.  Savor the experience.

10) Serve.  Figure out ways to serve your husband, your friends, your neighbors, a complete stranger.  Give and don't just do it for the holidays;  Really BECOME a giver. 

Matt (my husband) and I decided to get out of the gym (see tip #1) and do something we've always wanted to do:  Aerial Arts.  Yep.  Climbing things like monkeys, falling from the air, freaky extreme sport-esque hobby.  Conclusion:  Most difficult, but amazing thing and best simple decision I've ever made!