Last week I told you about my new little healthy venture I was starting: #7dayshealthy. I'm adding on healthy habits 7 days at a time. I can already tell you, this is the way to go for me. I feel like I can actually accomplish my goals and, in the mean time, I'm already making healthier choices.
The first goal: drink more water. I drank 93 ounces a day and I'm happy to say I've been keeping that up. What's even better is I've dramatically reduced my diet coke consumption. I'm now a once a day girl and that is much better than my normal 3-5 (seriously) a day.
This past week's goal was to get up early and stretch. First, you should know I cheated. I didn't necessarily stretch in the morning, but I did spend at least 15 minutes a day stretching. I like to stretch before a workout and my workout times vary. Most days I did stretch in the morning, but Monday night and Thursday night I worked out in the evening and slept in.
This is what it typically looks like when I stretch. Millie finds a way to crawl into my lap.
What I felt:
Awesome. I sit at a desk all day, often sitting on my butt for hours. This helped me ease tension in my back and feel all around more energized.
How hard was it?
Pretty easy. Stretching is relaxing and a great way to just chill out and listen to music for 15 minutes. I used this iPhone app: Fitivity as my guide and ideas for becoming more limber. Each session is 15 minutes.
Any changes?
I already feel more flexible. I used to dance and I've since lost all of my “splits” skills. I felt like each day I was making an improvement. Plus, I worked out every single day this week. Not sure that had to do with the stretching but I like to be warm before I stretch so I thought: might as well work out.
Will I keep it up?
I'm not sure that I'm going to stretch every single day but I'm going to try to stretch (and I mean really stretch) for 15 minutes a day, at least 3 days a week.
The next challenge:
So far, I'm digging these challenges. I've had my Fitbit for a couple months now and I really feel like it's motivated me. I'm going to attempt to hit 10,000 steps a day every day, for the next 7 days. This is always hard for me to hit and I'm hoping that it encourages me to get up every few hours during the work day.
I'm also going to start adding in a little incentive for myself. When I hit my goals, I get to buy something that I want. I've got my eye on some pretty pearl jewelry at Mesenso right now! Once I lose some weight I'm going to buy some cute new jean shorts that will fit really well once I'm in better shape.
outlet. I had NO idea what a huge community and culture there is behind
blogging, and it took me ages before I reached out and commented on
another blog!
excess, so I've never wanted to have a lot of stuff. And more recently
I've started realizing how easily distracted I am. I'm hoping that
minimalism will help me to live in a way that is creative and
purposeful, rather than focusing on the small things that don't matter
in the long-run!
4. Where do you see yourself (and your blog) in 5 years?
Psychology, and I'm really hoping to move abroad! I love to travel and
have a serious case of wanderlust, so I would love to live somewhere in
Europe, East Asia, or South America. As far as my blog goes, who knows?!
Hopefully I'll still be documenting life and staying in touch with blog
friends, who of course are the best thing about blogging.
7. Where do you get inspiration?
since last summer! I'm mostly inspired by the people around me– whether
in the blogosphere or “real life”. Their passions, their perspectives,
and their journeys are fascinating to me. Minimalist bloggers I love
include Joshua Becker and Courtney Carver. They always challenge me to simplify even more!
