Posts Tagged ‘healthy habits’

A Recipe For A Good Morning

Do you believe that how your day starts has an impact on how things go the rest of your day? I don’t think it necessarily defines my day…but I do appreciate a good kick off to set things on a more positive path! I find it a LOT harder to turn my day around when I start off frazzled and missing the key components to a good morning.

My Recipe For A Good Morning

Get enough sleep. For me, a good morning actually starts the night before. I have GOT to get a solid 7+ hours of sleep in order to manage a smile on my face.


picture only because a sleeping baby is so cute

For awhile there, I was getting up around 5:15 am and then going to bed at 11 pm. Not. Enough. Sleeeeepppp!!! All because I tried to cram too much into my days and would find myself working on things before bed. Not anymore. Night time is for relaxing, so I can be in la-la-dream-land by no later than 10.

Morning Prayer. The first thing I do upon waking is take a few moments to reflect on my life and the blessings in it. It also works to set me up with the proper perspective to go into the day. Nothing beats that quiet time!

This time was a BIG saving grace for me when overcoming binge eating as well. I would pray every morning to love myself how God loves me and treat myself with enough respect to nourish my body and my self esteem. It worked!

Happy Kids. I think the morning when both kids are well-rested and joyful is one of my favorite times of day. They make me laugh and never fail to put a smile on my face. Plus, each new day with them starts with hugs and kisses!

tina and makenzie (Custom)

Working It Out!

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I love love love love love a morning workout. All the endorphins and sense of accomplishment on banging out my workout early puts me in a GREAT mood. I’m coming around to the afternoon time more than I used to…but still wish every day could start with a nice sweat.

Breakfast + Coffee.

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Ummm…does morning without coffee even exist?! I always choose a snack for pre-workout, just so I can save my full breakfast and coffee combo for after the gym. I love getting to savor it and truly look forward to it every day. It’s pretty much the only meal I can sit and savor most days, so it certainly helps me have a good morning. I Red heart breakfast!!!

Blog Reading. It likely helps that a little blog reading usually happens on the side of breakfast. This community screams upbeat and positive, which never fails to rub off on me and help carry me through the day.

There you have it. My recipe for a good morning! What would yours be?

 

You can participate too! Share what makes an upbeat, positive start to your morning by commenting on BlogHer’s Life Well Lived post or entering the $250 sweepstakes!

Posted by on October 22nd, 2011 30 Comments

Can Self-Love Have Negative Side Effects?

I know some people hate driving around. I actually don’t mind it so much. Mainly because I love listening to the radio. Especially my favorite morning show!


104.7 The Fish with Kevin & Taylor in the morning!

Music always puts me in a good mood. Plus, I often find the topics highlighted on the talk shows very interesting. Radio shows are kind of like blog reading in audio format! You get snippets of the hosts’ lives. You get random entertainment. And you get thought provoking conversations. Like a recent bit I listened to on the way to church this past weekend. It really got me questioning…

Can Self-Love Ever Have Negative Side Effects?

Every Sunday morning my favorite station plays a national program that will often have a theme for the week that includes stories from listeners. The theme for last week focused on forgiveness and one man shared his story of forgiving himself.

He talked about how he had always been very overweight when growing up and hated himself plus classmates who teased him. Eventually, he met a group of friends that emphasized loving himself for who he is and not defining himself by his appearance.

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Then, he said he adopted that mindset, realized being overweight is “just who he is” and never bothered worrying about his weight anymore. He almost seemed proud that he was still overweight and accepted that part of himself. And I’m not so sure how I feel about that.

You know I’m all for self-love. But I still think part of loving ourselves comes with the responsibility of caring for our bodies. Love yourself where you are, but also love yourself enough to treat your body with respect – which includes fueling it properly and helping it get stronger with some form of activity.

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I would much rather someone see his or her worth and value and be overweight, than be healthy physically but depressed and full of self-loathing. I think mental and emotional wellness plays a hugely significant role in health. However, I don’t like the idea of accepting oneself but not having any desire to treat the body right.

I believe we are meant to care for our bodies. We should be able to enjoy a meal stress-free with loved ones and not worry about the calories, but we should also enjoy fresh produce from the natural world and strengthening our bodies to live more fully. I loved the message of seeing the true worth of a person lies on the inside, but not the way it tossed aside needing to care for our physical being. It really got the wheels churning in my head. Obviously. And I would love to hear your thoughts!

ETA: When I discuss “overweight” I should have clarified that I mean at a place where the daily habits are adding up to physical illness or stress on the body. I didn’t intend to imply simply “above average” weight, but instead at a weight with physical health implications.

  • What do you think about this scenario?
  • And for fun – do you like listening to the radio? Or do you prefer your own music/podcasts/etc?

Posted by on October 11th, 2011 27 Comments

 

 
Catch Up With Recent Posts

Announcement Time

Posted: November 23, 2011 at 7:47 am

Well, I have had a whirlwind of a few weeks over here. I missed all of you so much! I can’t express enough gratitude for your patience while I got some important things sorted out. Some scary things. Are you ready for the announcement? Here goes! I will no longer be blogging at Faith Fitness […]

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Self-Love Reflection: The Road Not Taken

Posted: November 20, 2011 at 11:47 am

Hello FFF readers! Nice to meet ya! My name is Carissa and my husband and I blog at Fit2Flex.  Well, I blog…he consults! We are both certified personal trainers with a passion for healthy, active living and clean eating.  I am also studying to become a registered dietitian, a race announcer, and a runner.  Stop […]

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Healthier Eating For Kids

Posted: November 19, 2011 at 10:56 am

Thanks to Plum Organics for sponsoring my post about tips for baby feeding magic. What if you let baby choose what’s for dinner? Check out their cute "Quest for Yum!" video and see what happens! As parents, we want the best for our children. We help them to feel loved. We strive to teach them […]

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Announcement

Posted: November 17, 2011 at 3:36 pm

Hey, everyone! I wanted to pop in and say I am working on some new and exciting changes.  As a result,I may not be posting as much during the coming week.  Please stay tuned for the big announcement! Love you all! And still feel free to find me on Twitter and Facebook for the time […]

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Where The Change Happens

Posted: November 16, 2011 at 7:54 am

It’s kind of funny. I become a certified personal trainer and the first workouts I turn to this week come from someone else. The book came in for me at the library last week and, after flipping through it, I couldn’t wait to give the circuits a go. Making The Cut includes a lot of […]

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From Beginning To End

Posted: November 15, 2011 at 11:53 am

Good morning! First off, thanks for the many congrats yesterday. Love you all bunches for the tons of support you have given me in so many things this year. I hope I can return a little bit of that love through this here blog as well. So yesterday I had my first parent-teacher “conference” for […]

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