Month: April 2020

In many of my previous posts including 5 tips to motivate yourself to work out, and keep working out! and How to Improve Your Lifestyle So You Feel In Control of Your Life I have talked about the importance of planning ahead. There is no better place to plan ahead, than a bullet journal. Track your fitness, water intake, meals, clothes, homework, goals, sleep, and I like to track my To-Do lists also.

There are a lot of reasons to keep a journal, and while I have written a little bit about what you can put into your journal, because a journal is so helpful for your healthy lifestyle journey I decide to make an entire post about the why and the how.

Why?

• Writing down your goals means there’s 80% more of a chance that you complete them
• You will be able to look at your progress
• You can use it as a reminder
• Enforces consistency with your workouts, meals, food, homework and a healthy lifestyle in general
• Identify your challenge areas, (Hint: A challenge area is when you feel something isn’t right ex: you are super tired.) and the reasons for them.
• Smashing through your goals!

How?

A bullet journal can simply be a notebook, or you could invest in a nice one. I personally like to have my journal personalized to what I like to track, so I just use a regular notebook.

1. The first step is to choose the period you are going to track. Will you track what workouts you do over a week? A month?
2. Next, plan your pages. A page for a week? A day? I personally do a page for a week and do four pages. On each page, you should include everything you want to track or half of what you want to track.
3. Write your pages! Organize each section, put down a mini-calendar to track what you do each day, out of the tasks that you put on that page.
4. Personalize! Decorate your journal. Trust me, you will be more likely to use your journal if it is pleasing to the eye. (Hint: Pinterest is a great place to find bullet journal inspiration.)
5. Set reminders on your phone for your journaling. Set reminders on your desk, your fridge, anywhere that will help you remember. You will definitely feel better after writing.
6. Besides just writing the statistics, such as what you ate, or what workout you did, have a separate place to write how it felt to do the workout, and what you still felt hungry for after you ate. These can help you change your lifestyle to make it more personalized for you.

Thank you much for reading! If you have any questions please email me at sadellehealthylifestyle@gmail.com, or check out my Pinterest. I love all of you!

1. Make a plan

Making a plan is so great for being relaxed during the week. When I am making my plan, I like to include meal plans for breakfast and lunch. Those are the meals I can control. My mom cooks dinner for the family so it is my mom’s responsibility to make our dinners healthy. Planning out your outfits can save you a lot of stress in the morning. I also like to plan for each day what workout I will do, when I will stretch and what I will do for my blog. Specific tasks like those I would also suggest you plan out. A great place to plan everything out is a bullet journal, and you can find all about why and how to write them here.

2. Do some self-care

Self-care is the best for feeling relaxed during the week. A simple face mask or bath bomb will leave you feeling refreshed, at least for Monday when you’ll need it. Self-care can also just be some tea, a book, or cuddle time. I have a lot of fun self-care ideas on my Pinterest.

3. Weekly house cleaning

You will be way more focused during the week if you have a clean house. You don’t have to do a full spring cleaning, but picking everything off the floor will go a long way for your weekly mental health. I suggest putting everything where it goes, and sweeping. Cleaning also doesn’t have to be a chore or a drag. Listen to some music! Have a cleaning dance party! Before you know it, on Monday you will actually be able to find your textbook or computer!

4. Exercise, (Hint: Yoga, jog)

Doing a little exercise will be great for your mental health during the week. Especially during quarantine, when getting exercise is definitely harder, it is great to plan a jog or yoga flow into your busy Sunday schedule. You will be getting stronger, and feel a little more mobile during the week. If you are having trouble finding motivation, check this out.

5. Go to bed early

I know that Sunday is your last weekend day and you want to enjoy it. I get that, I understand that. But it is also the night before you have school, or work. Going to bed earlier means you will have less stress laying in bed, because you will get enough sleep. You will also be able to get up earlier, meaning you will have a less stressful morning. Going to bed early on Sunday also might set the tone for the rest of the week. Going to bed early is also so helpful to a healthy lifestyle. Check out more tips for a healthy lifestyle here. Try to go to bed early everyday that week. EVERYDAY. Put it in your plan. (See number one.)

Check out my Pinterest! If you have any questions for me, email me at sadellehealthylifestyle@gmail.com, or just want a personalized opinion on your journey to a healthy lifestyle.

Being self-conscious is completely normal, but it definitely shouldn’t be. I have talked to girls who can’t decide whether they are self-conscious about being “too skinny,” or “overweight.” That is terrible. They shouldn’t have to choose, they should be able to just love their body. Today I am going to share with you some strategies on how I am learning to love my body, and be proud of myself and will continue to use to keep learning to be proud.

if you want some more strategies on improving your lifestyle, click here.

1. Take a picture of yourself every time you feel pretty, or confident

This is a strategy that I have used many times when I am not proud of my body. This shows me being pretty is not something that everyone else has to feel that you are, it is only something that you have to feel about yourself.

2. Tell yourself your beautiful five times every morning and night (Hint: Because you are!)

Words have an impact. A huge impact, if you tell yourself something enough, you will begin to believe it.

3. Wear clothes because you feel good in them, not because they are trending

Wearing what you feel pretty in is a great way to be more proud of yourself. Wear clothes that make you feel confident, pretty, and powerful.

4. Stop listening to the haters, and start listening to the people who love you!

5. Find people who have the same insecurities as you, and confide in them

Having a community is so great because you will feel less alone. You will realize that you are not the only one that faces these insecurities, and having a community means you can face them together. A great way to find this community is through social media! Click here for a post on how to use social media positively, and how to find your community through this positivity.

6. Find your hobbies, and develop your skills

Knowing that you are good at something you love, and can develop that skill will make you love yourself more, and be more confident in who you are as a person. How do you find a hobby and develop it? Check out this post for the answer to that question.

7. Step outside of your comfort zone

8. Don’t quit

If you quit, you will regret it. If you keep pushing, someday you will look back at yourself and be proud that you didn’t give up, that you pushed through.

9. Set goals

Completing a goal is such a great way to acknowledge the progress you have made. When you complete a goal, you are showing yourself that you can accomplish something. Nothing feels better than that. Check out the comparison of long-term and short term goals here. A great place to record and track your goals is a bullet journal. I have a whole post about them you can find here!

10. Try not to binge eat!

Binge eating will only make you feel worse. Try and channel that negative energy into a positive outlook, like exercising. If you are having trouble trying to stop binging I have the perfect post for you, right here.

10. Acknowledge all the parts of you, good and bad

If you are not able to accept yourself, you won’t be able to be proud of yourself. Face those bad memories, and acknowledge that no one is perfect. Once you do that, you will be able to love your body, and be proud.

1. Stay Connected

Social Media is such a great way to stay connected to your friends and family, without seeming awkward. Any Social Media platform can be used to see what your family is up to, and stay connected and a part of their lives. Social Media also helps support your friends and learn more about them. You can also connect to so many cool people, and make new friends some who have similar stories to yours, or some who live halfway around the world.

2. Follow Inspiring Stories

There are so many people on social media who have inspiring stories, ways that they have changed the world, or found the motivation to work out and changed their lifestyle. Following some of these stories can give you so much inspiration for your story. I talked about this in Stay Connected, but you can connect with these people, and who knows, maybe they will give you some great tips for your own journey!

3. Use Other People for Inspiration, not Comparison

Have you ever looked at someone’s story or video and been like, why is my life not like that? I bet you have. Try to stop thinking like that. Instead of comparing your life to theirs, think what can I do to make my life more like theirs? You’ll soon realize that that far of dream that is their life is not as far off as you think. If you are closer to my age than you’ll know that it’s hard to change your life to be more like a grown-up if you are a teenager. Try and follow other teenagers. You will soon realize that you are all in the same boat.

4. Record Your Goals, and Stick With Them!

Social Media is a great way to record your goals. Whether your followers pressure you to keep going, or you want to have tracked the journey, it is way more likely you will keep going to reach that goal if you record it.

1. Post a short video stating your goal. A Workout every day is a great goal you can record on social media.
2. Post videos every time you do your workout.
3. Do it for the number of days you want.
4. It is your choice if you want to show the results, but I suggest it.

5. Stay Mindful and Stay Positive

Being on Social Media too much can be harmful, so be mindful of the amount of time you are on a platform. Also stay mindful of your goal, if you go on TikTok to look at one tutorial you saved remember that, so you don’t realize that you have been scrolling TikTok for the past hour, and missed a class. Basically, I speak from experience saying REMEMBER WHAT YOU CAME ON TO DO AND ONLY DO THAT. Also, stay positive, and don’t be mean. Being mean just makes others mean, and then they make others mean, so try to stay positive. Also if someone is mean to do, don’t spread the negativity. STAY POSITIVE!

You can find my Pinterest on my previous post! It has so much to help you on your journey. Email me at sadellehealthylifestyle@gmail.com

In our world right now there are many reasons that you might not have as much control over your life as you want. You might be around my age, where our lives are dictated by our parents. You want to improve your lifestyle but don’t know-how with your parents doing the shopping, and planning what you do and what you eat. Or you might be older, having to pick from a limited stock what groceries to buy. Everyone can improve their lifestyle, no matter your age.

1. Go to bed earlier, and wake up earlier

I know this may seem heard, I know I find that it is, but on the days that I am able it feels so good to just have twenty more minutes in the morning to make myself some tea or do some journaling. Even getting up early to watch TikToks is a start! There are many benefits to your body from waking up earlier. Click to this post to learn how to create the perfect sleep schedule.

• You are more rested
• More organized
• More energized
• You have an uninterrupted productive time!
• More time to make yourself breakfast (Hint: Breakfast is SUPER important! Coming up in upcoming blog)
• You are more focused
  1. Your body is on a schedule. Getting up and going to bed at the same time every day, puts your body on a clock.
• More time for working out!
  • Plenty of energy in the morning to work out. (Hint: See my previous blog for motivation.)

2. Plan Ahead!

Isn’t it nice to know exactly what you are going to have for breakfast? Or what you are going to wear for the rest of the week? Or when you are going to do your homework for an online Math class? When you are going to work out? (Hint: See my previous blog for fitness planning tips.) When you plan ahead what you can control, it makes you feel peaceful, knowing that you don’t have to stress over these decisions. Planning makes you feel more in control of your life when you decide what is going to happen for you the next day. I know that it may seem fun to live day by day, with surprises, but planning what you can control out, is such a great way to be less stressed, and feel more in control. If you want to make planning fun, use a bullet journal! I show you exactly how to make one here.

3. Make a To-Do list and edit it

A To-Do list is a great way to feel in control of your day, not to mention be able to get stuff done! Looking at your list can either make you feel in control or anxious. If you are feeling anxious, then you need to edit your list.

How to edit your to-do list:

1. Think about what you have to get done today, that is not on your to-do list.
   1. Family time, meals, walks, (Hint: Write these down if you need to)
2. Make sure that self-care time, journaling and free time are on your to-do list, so you don’t skip them over.
3. Now look at your to-do list, and think about what you actually have to get done that day. Believe it or not, you will be more productive if you have a couple important tasks on your to-do list, instead of a million less important ones.
   1. (Hint: It takes your brain five minutes to redirect from one task to another.)

4. Declutter (Clean!)

Cleaning is a great way to feel in control of your life. It is something you can do anytime, that your parents won’t mind you doing. Clean your bedroom, pick all the books off the floor, or if you are feeling ambitious, tackle your closet. Why keep what you don’t wear? Donate your old clothes to charity! They are just holding you back from being a new you! A great cleaning strategy is below:

1. Start with all the clothes, throw them in the laundry.
2. Pick up all plates, silverware, cups, and put them in the dishwasher.
3. Pick up any books, and put them away.
4. Move your laundry to the dryer, and put in another load if you have one.
5. Now comes everything else.
   1. Books
   2. Toys
   3. Anything else
6. Take your dry clothes out, and fold them.
7. Move your wet clothes.

5. Think Positive!

You can’t change what you can’t control! You can only change you, and yourself. Always think positive. Think of the future, or someone you love, or look back at all the progress you made. Rather than think about the things you could have done better, get in the habit of celebrating what you have done well. Thinking positive can be hard if your insecurities are weighing you down. Here I have tons of strategies to learn to be proud of your body. It is important to reward yourself for your achievements. You are what you choose to be in life.

If you want tips for motivation to work out or need some motivation to make yourself a better person, check out my last blog post and my Pinterest!

If you want extra tips, or just want someone to talk to about your fitness goals, email me at sadellehealthylifestyle@gmail.com I would love to talk to you!

I also highly suggest checking out Breath magazine, which is a mindfulness magazine that wrote this wonderful self-care journal I use daily. I also take some ideas from my journal for this blog.

1. Plan Everything Out!

• You will be way more likely to consistently work out if everything is planned out in advance so you don’t have to worry.
  • Put your workout time in your calendar
  • Which workout will you do that day? (Hint: Variety is GREAT for motivation.)
  • Where will you do your workout? Is that space set up?
  • Are there any distractions? Try to remove them. Your phone, family, or any responsibilities.

2. Have a Good Great Mindset!

• The better mindset you have, the better your workouts will feel, and more and more you’ll feel like the gym, your yoga mat, or the grass in your backyard is your new best friend.
  • Start and end your workout with 2-5 minutes of meditation to clear your mind, and let your soul breathe.
    • Fitness is a therapy for your body and your soul.
    • You are becoming stronger, physically and mentally.
    • Working out is a celebration of what your body can do.

3. Reward System!

• Rewarding yourself for a good workout is a great way for beginners to get in the habit of feeling good after a workout.
  • Your rewards should not be five cookies, because that will ruin the progress you made with your workout.
  • A reward could be having a cuddle session with your dog, or lounging outside in the sun.
  • Food rewards are very effective though, also great when you need a quick reward before heading off to your next zoom class.
    • One cookie is definitely okay. You can eat a cookie every day and still gain muscle, lose weight, and be a healthy person.
    • Over time, your body won’t think about the cookie anymore, and only think about the workout, and what you got out of that session.
    • Workouts will start to feel just as good as that cookie.

4. Write Everything Down!

• Writing things down can improve your commitment by 80%. Eighty percent!
  • Write down a goal, and look at the goal before a workout, and after a workout.
    • Your goal should be something you can accomplish, something you will grow from, but not too small so it still feels good to complete.
    • Before the workout, think of how this workout is bringing you that much closer to completing your goal.
    • After your workout, you can write down your progress. It is up to you if you want to write down numbers, or how you felt doing the workout. (Hint: Only write down numbers such as your measurements or weight once every two to three weeks.)

5. Surround Yourself with Motivation!

• Working out with someone or a group can always improve your motivation and productivity.
  • Whether you don’t want to seem like a slacker in front of your friends, or you want to set a good example and show off, working out with your friends is a great distraction and great motivation.
  • During quarantine, it is definitely harder to find motivation, (trust me, I know,) so setting up a time to do a FaceTime group workout would be such a great to stay social, and stay active.