Today marks the first day of National Women’s Health Week. National Women’s Health Week is a weeklong observance empowering women to make their health a main focus in their life by bringing communities, businesses, and other organizations together. This is an observance coordinated by the Department of Health and Human Services. Although I live a “fairly” healthy lifestyle, there are always more things I can do or change to make my lifestyle even healthier. Michelle Pino, a health enthusiast from NY, contacted me about working together to post about National Women’s Health Week and help jump start your new journey towards health or help you make some changes to make your already healthy lifestyle, healthier. Although this is WOMEN’S health week, I am not leaving the gentlemen out. Us ladies like to be with strong, healthy, fit guys. Get out there and join us!
Michelle has provided these tips in hopes to educate others on how to lead a more motivating and less stressful life. Michelle believes more focused approach put on our health will result in more balanced life. Her hobbies include DIY, reading and learning about healthy lifestyles. Her main idea for this week was to come up with an example board of things that make her life healthier or activities/gear that she does or uses for a fit and healthy life.
Today I am going to lead off the week with Michelle’s example board. Michelle’s example board is all about “How to have a healthy and balanced life.” Tomorrow I will share mine and I hope most of you will decide to share your own example board. The more boards, the more ideas for everyone to lead a healthy life! And now, I am handing the mic over to Michelle.
How To Have a Healthy And Balanced Life
The month of May is a good time to get into shape since Mother’s Day marks the start of National Women’s Health Week. The key to being fit is to start living a better lifestyle. A balanced lifestyle will offer you happiness and good health. Exercising and eating properly can motivate you. In addition, for a healthier lifestyle, you can follow a few tips to balance your work, family and social responsibilities.
Setting Priorities
One of the best tips to follow is to set long and short-term goals. Goals will help you find ways to arrange your priorities. You can focus on the simpler or shorter goals first, and then, move toward completing the harder and longer goals. Goals allow you to be able to keep track of your progress.
Take Time for Fun
To have a balanced lifestyle, you need to take time to have fun with your friends and family. Engaging in fun activities can help your mental health. You should socialize with people who can make you feel more positive about your life. Positive influences can make you feel refreshed, and you will have a better attitude about your life and health.
Focus on Good Things
Adversity can lead to negative thinking. To stay positive when faced with adversity, try focusing on the good things in your life. Writing down things that you are grateful for is one way to focus on important things in your life. Being determined to overcome negative thinking or adversity can help you to live a balanced lifestyle. In addition, keep smiling and have a positive attitude about your life.
Relax
Some people find it difficult to relax during stressful times. Simple techniques can help them relax whenever they become overwhelmed. Some relaxation techniques can include deep breathing exercises, a few yoga poses or a good massage.
You can obtain a healthy balance in your life without depending on dieting or exercising, and you can experience many benefits from the balanced lifestyle. Healthy and balanced living can yield less stress, more energy and more enjoyment. Less stress will enable you to stick to your goals, and the balanced life will offer you a chance to enjoy spending time with others. In addition, it helps you have a better level of mental and physical health.
You can find other methods to keep you motivated to living a balance lifestyle. For instance, a chart or a fitness board outlining your goals can be created to inspire you to stay on the fitness path toward a healthier and balanced lifestyle. Set your priorities, have fun, focus and relax to get started on a balanced life, and remember to smile through the adversities.
Here is an example inspiration board I’ve created:
Photo Credit: Berry Mocktail Smoothie | Nike Sneakers | Real Simple Snacks – Oatmeal | New York golf course | Lululemon Water Bottle
I’ve made a personal goal for this summer to start a healthy balance in my life. It’s easy to get caught up in the craziness of life and I felt that my health was taking the back seat.
Nutrition is also something I need to work on. Eating poorly is taking an effect on my energy levels during the day. I don’t want to do any crazy diets, because those I feel those are unhealthy and are only a temporary solution. I’m looking to experiment with healthy recipes and swapping bad snacks for healthier options. There was a short article on Real Simple, which gave some great options for healthy snacks. I used the picture of the oatmeal as a reminder to select healthier options for my snacks. As part of improving what I eat, I plan to cut back on those delicious sugary cocktails, and opt for a “mocktail” version instead. I found a great mocktail recipe from Bar10der. Makes for a fun alternative to water or soda. I’ve started to learn how to play golf at a New York golf club near my work. I’m not a very good golfer, but I truly enjoy the outdoors, so I decided that the “great outdoors”, so to speak, would be my inspiration for my healthy-balance goal. Finding the right balance is key in making your healthy lifestyle a permanent one.
Michelle did a great job describing how she tries to lead a healthy lifestyle and gave great exmaples on how you can too! Now, it’s your turn! You don’t have to go too in depth. Put together a few images (head over to PicMonkey or your favorite collage program) that describe your favorite ways to stay fit and healthy. Then send them to me and I’ll include them in my posts throughout the week.
I have a giveaway or two this week to help promote National Women’s Health Week. One winner will get an assorted case of Chobani!! How to win? Send me your example boards with a VERY brief description of why you chose each picture. Like I said, it doesn’t need to be a book. One-liners are fine. At the end of the week, I will randomly draw a winner. Please send example boards to ritsa(dot)karakanas(at)gmail(dot)com (ritsa.karakanas@gmail.com).
Remember, we want our friends and loved ones to be just as healthy as we are. Everyone always needs ideas on how to get and stay healthy. Spread the word!
