Healthy Habits Challenge: Day 15

Today I want you to:

 

Relax!

 

To be honest, being healthy is exhausting. The easiest thing to do is always to just not do the workout, eat the extra chocolate bar, drive instead of walk, but every time, we made the choice to do the difficult (but best) option. All of those times we had water instead of coke and went for a run when it was raining, we resisted temptation and used our will power to reach our potential, but it was damn tiring.

 

After all of the hard work, have a break. Make yourself a hot chocolate with marshmallows, have a hot bath, use a face mask, do something nice that will just give you a bit of rest.

 

Never forget that you're trying to be healthier because you think it will make you happier, so every now and then, don't forget to do something that makes you happy, even if it won't make you any healthier (although it will make you mentally healthier because it will reduce your stress).

 

Just chill. Stop worrying. Take a break. Come back better than ever feeling motivated and ready to be a better person who is more physically and mentally healthy than they've ever been.

 

This photo is from when I went to Portugal and after dinner we went to sit on a cliff and watch the sunset. I felt so relaxed with zero stress at that moment, and I still remember it as being really special. You might not have a sunset over the sea in Portugal, but I bet you can make a damn good hot chocolate!

Healthy Habits Challenge: Day 14

Today I want you to:

 

Go for a walk!

 

You'd be surprised how good this will make you feel. Having a dog, I have motivation everyday to go for a walk because if I don't Poppy (my dog) will go crazy.

 

I get into a routine where I get home from school, have my lunch and quickly get some homework done. After that, I take Poppy out for a 20 minute walk across the fields, and by the end of it, school and homework feel like days ago. It makes me feel really relaxed and all of the stresses from the day are miles away.

 

Not only is it relaxing, it's physically good because it is exercise and gives you some fresh air. I find that when I get back I feel refreshed and not stressed at all so I can just relax for the evening. It's lovely.

 

Your walk could be 5 minutes to the coffee shop or an all day hike up a mountain. I live in the middle of nowhere in the countryside so my options for walking are always wet and muddy, but quiet and peaceful too. When I go a walk, it's just me and my dog and I have 20 minutes to just clear my mind and think for a bit.

 

I'm assuming you've gone for a walk before, but just for fun, go for another one today, you might enjoy it as much as I like walking.

Does anyone else find it really cute when dogs try and carry a stick that's bigger than them?

 

 

Healthy Habits Challenge: Day 8

Today I want you to:

 

Try yoga!

 

This is something I've never tried but want to because I know that there are great health benefits like it improves flexibility, improves strength, improves posture, betters your bone health, makes you happier and helps you focus. Those are just a few!

 

If, like me you don't really know any yoga poses or how to do it, Yoga With Adriene is a really good youtube channel with loads of different yoga videos to try for any ability, plus Adriene is a really nice person!

 

Personally, I think yoga seems boring, but Ella Denton inspires me to give it a go because her view of life is so refreshing and simple, and if I can do something to be more like her (she does a lot of yoga), it's worth a try.

 

A good thing about yoga is you don't need any equipment (except for a mat if you want, but it's not essential if you have soft carpets) so there are NO EXCUSES, go for it!

 

 

 

Neither of us had done yoga before but this pose looked very yoga-y. Who did it best?

Healthy Habits Challenge: Day 5

Today I want you to:

 

Get at least 8 hours of sleep!

 

It's kind of obvious that this includes either doing what you always do (if you always get 8 hours of sleep), waking up later or going to bed earlier.

 

I know for a lot of people it's a lot easier said than done because it's much easier to stay up, but when you do finally make yourself turn your light off that bit earlier, you can't get to sleep for another hour. It's so frustrating.

 

Whether you find it easy or not, I want you to at least make it so it's possible for you to get 8 hours of sleep, so if you have an alarm set for 7 am, start trying to get to sleep at 10:40 or earlier, that way you have 20 minutes to get to sleep.

 

Sleep is so important for your health because basically, as you may have guessed, it's your body recharging. Lack of sleep can cause depression and can make you gain weight because the energy you don't get from sleeping you have to get from eating instead.

 

Besides banishing under eye circles and putting you in a better mood, getting enough sleep improves your memory, keeps your heart healthy, reduces stress (I think we could all use a bit of that), makes you more alert and improves your immunity so you're less likely to catch bugs and viruses.

 

Hopefully all of you can do this, good luck anyway!