Okay friends, everyone knows that January is all about people starting goals to lose weight, right? I have done it a GAZILLION Times, not necessarily just during the new year, but something that has been a little more effective for me, is deciding to change some of my bad habits, into more healthy ones. So, instead of failing for the 90th time on a new diet, I make changes in my diet to be in better shape, and feel better overall! I am not saying that losing weight/dieting is always bad. It just always seems to back fire on me when I try some crazy fad diet. Even if I do lose the weight, it goes right back on after because I haven’t changed my lifestyle, yah know? Anyone else been there? I wanted to share five of my favorites healthy habits with you, and maybe along with some of your goals you can adopt one or two and feel healthier and happier!

I do have to also give a special shout out to my Momma She is the healthiest lady there is, and although I gagged with a FEW of the things she made had me eat, I am so grateful for the healthy habits and lifestyle she taught me. She has taught me to love healthy food, and to love being active! She has always been in great health and very fit {and beautiful,too!} She is a great example of being healthy and not going to extremes to be healthy and fit.

So here’s my fab 5 habits

1. Try, and LEARN to love Healthy food. I have to say, sometimes I feel SO BAD for people who miss out on how GOOD some fruits and veggies are! I have heard people say… I don’t do veggies, or I don’t really LIKE fruit. Oh my gosh, really?? You are missing out my friend! I do understand in some instances, because you can make pretty much anything gross. For instance, I grew up on a farm and we had apple trees. Best apples in the entire world I am telling yah. I LOVE Apples. Then I moved and moved and moved and realized that grocery store apples kind of taste like cardboard and sometimes their consistency is just awful! So I NOW understand why some may say they don’t like apples. Find GOOD produce, and try different ways of cooking it. It’s OKAY if you hate lettuce, maybe try a few different salad recipes with new dressings and yummy cheeses and maybe a little bacon! Maybe you WILL like lettuce. Or, maybe your favorite vegetable is peas. That is okay! Find your favorites, and try preparing them different ways. I also super love frozen grapes. Try some new things! And be amazed with how wonderful your body feels after eating some “healthier” options

2. Drink Water. I have probably said this a million times in my posts. But really, it’s just awful to drink your calories. I mean it. When you go out to eat, just get water, when your home, just do water! A lot of times we fill up on soda, juice, etc. and get those calories, think we are full and then eat a bunch, too. If you hate your faucet water, you can get a pretty cheap purifier either for your fridge or for your faucet that hooks right on. Or buy bottled water, just try it for a little! And be amazed how much better you feel!

3. Learn to be active, just for fun! Let’s be honest here, some people love the gym and some don’t. Honestly, I would love the gym a whole lot more if it was just mine. Pretty selfish huh? Haha, I just don’t like being around other people when I work out! Unless they are my friends, yah know? It is OKAY If you don’t love the gym or if you don’t want to run on a treadmill for an hour. Most people don’t, it’s okay! There are other ways to be active and fit! Something I really want to teach my children that I learned from my mother (and husband)  is to make everyday an active day! GET OUTSIDE. Get away from the pantry and the food, and just play outside. Don’t think about it being a workout, just go for a walk and enjoy the sun. Ride your bike to grab groceries or to run errands. Play Soccer with your kiddos. Just get out and get moving! You will be amazed how much better you feel. Just get out an about, if you make a conscious effort, I promise your body will thank you! I love Soccer, partially because the entire time I am running, but I am not thinking about it! Find ways to be active that you love! Maybe you love reading, you could totally do an audiobook while you walk outside and enjoy the day. There are a lot of ways to be active, just get outside, and get going! It doesn’t have to be a “workout”. Just get moving! Turn on some music and dance! That counts right!? {Not that I am saying I don’t love my workouts, I do, I love running, and I love my workout videos, but it’s good to get out and about besides those too, and I am not bashing the gym, it’s great! Just hard sometimes for very many of us to spend large amounts of time there!}

4. Limit the amount of “treats” that make it INTO your home-and if necessary throw some away-I mean it! I think that you need to have treats allowed here and there. I do! {I am eating a no bake cookie right now But I also think if they are lying around in your house constantly, even if you have CRAZY AMAZING willpower, you are going to cave. Everyone is that way, I promise. Have treats, but limit them, and try hard not to buy too many at the store! If they aren’t in your house, you can’t eat them, right!? Have treats, yes, but don’t keep them around constantly. Christmas time we had SO MANY treats, and I made WAAAY to many, so you know what, I threw some away! I was the only one eating them, and I just could not have them staring at me any more! Also, I love making homemade goodies, and baking especially with my kids, but man! Why when you make cupcakes do you have to make 24!? We love to share Whenever we make cookies or any baked good, we give at least half away to friends or neighbors We usually can’t finish them all anyway, and it helps so I don’t eat a whole batch of cookies almost entirely myself!!

5. Learn Portion Sizes and listen to your body, it KNOWS when it’s satisfied. This is something I have been working on, a lot. My husband is great at this, and has taught me a lot. But start to learn how much your body needs. Just because the package says a serving size is a certain amount, it doesn’t know what you snacked on five minutes ago. Learn to listen to your body and when it is full. You don’t HAVE to finish you food, you don’t have to finish your meal at the restaurant. Eat until your body is satisfied {not full} and you will feel so much better! {Less, gassy!, Less Stuffed, Less Sleepy!} It’s a hard thing to learn, and something we really always need to be getting better at, but figure out your right portion sizes, only eat until satisfied, and try your hardest not to get seconds {even if it tastes so stinking good} You can have more tomorrow, am I right?

I hope these were helpful tips to someone! Just don’t be too hard on yourself, yeah? Try your best to be positive about your body and don’t compare yourself to anyone else! Bodies are all SO very different and wonderful in their own ways! Just try to be healthy and feel good, and then go out and try to help others, it’s amazing how good it feels to stop worrying so much about ourselves and trying to help someone else out. You rock! Happy Healthy New Year!

Traci

The post 5 of my Favorite Healthy Habits appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

I don’t know about you, but my pregnancies are full of getting to know the toilet, raging hormones, days of laying around exhausted and hoping my kids diapers some how change themselves. 

Okay, maybe I’m being a little dramatic. But seriously. I don’t have any idea how I would be able to fit in exercise along with feeling this way and taking care of my kids. Add a career that many women have on top of everything else and the task looks impossible. 

For the sake of being real, let me show you a picture of what I looked like three days after I had my first son:

I clocked in at 190 lbs when I went to the hospital with him. I had a total of a 50 lb weight gain. When I left the hospital, I was still 190 lbs (I was there for a few days and was pumped FULL of fluids). 

That my friends, is real. That is okay. That is what happens when you make a child. You gain weight. Your body changes. But do you see what I’m holding in that picture?? A BABY! That little man is worth every single pound I put on. I would do it again in a heartbeat. 

I guess the purpose of this post is to encourage you. To remind you. To help you. Whatever. Don’t look at articles like this and think “that needs to be me.” Don’t put that added pressure on yourself. Because let me let you in on a little secret: Having a baby is hard work. You will be emotionally and physically exhausted for a few weeks after having that little miracle. The last thing you need to worry about is your body. Once you get the whole being a mother thing under control, then you can worry about the body. 

So count me out of this one. I won’t be working my pregnant body out so that I can be super skinny after I have the baby. That doesn’t mean that I don’t try and eat well or go for a walk when the weather is nice. But I am not going to obsess about it. Because I don’t care what other people think about my body. All I care about is the baby that my body is supporting and growing. Because in the end, he or she matters a whole lot more than the stretch marks on my body. 

The post A Fitness Craze I Won’t Be Joining In appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

Disclaimer: I was compensated with free product from this company. There are also affiliate links in this post. However, all of the opinions expressed are my own.

Markell talked a bit about the Bulu box that she received and her experience with it. I would like to share how I felt about it! I received three different boxes, and was so excited! I chose the Weight Loss Option, and was very excited. Here are my thoughts.

1. The first box I was a little bummed, as you see above, I got some really neat things, and I was so ready to try them! But, then I realized the tea, energy bites, and weight loss pills all had caffeine. Major bummer. I don’t drink caffeine, and don’t like how it makes me feel. So I wasn’t able to use those. However, the powerice frozen drink {kind of like an otter pop, but better because it is power-ice!} was wonderful, and the Thera-gesic back creme was soo helpful! I used it on my back {carrying kids makes my back so sore!} and I LOOVED it.  They also gave me a coupon to buy more thera-gesic gel {kind of like an icey-hot} I was so excited for the coupon! Overall, I liked the box, I was kind of hoping for some exercise video/trial etc. But would have to see next months…

2. Second Months box was a LOT more promising. This time, I got again the weight loss pills with caffeine,  and some energy pills, which I wasn’t able to use, but, I got two healthy recipes, two power bar fruit energy blends {no caffeine}, a meal relpacer, coffee creamer {I used in hot chocolate} and the last two things were my FAVORITE. I got a 30 day trial to a workout video! BEST THING EVER! I was so stoked to try this, and it has definitely been my favorite thing so far. I also recieved a sample of Zellies mints & gum. They are sweetened by 100% Xylitol with no artificial sweeteners, and naturally sugar free! They are also good for your teeth! AND! They help you have fresh breath! I actually am going to order some of these, and loved how they tasted!

3. Month three! I was actually pretty happy with this box, too. I got a trial of coconut oil, and a yoga tv subscription! The hemp cereal wasn’t super exciting, I didn’t use, or the raw meal wasn’t very tasty… haha but they are all to try right?

Overall, I really liked Bulu Box and the things they let me try. You get points for reviewing each product, which gives you money off on the things you tried if you like them and want more! They come right on time every month, and except for having a caffeine free option, are awesome!

If you want to try it for yourself, use the coupon BULUGAN492 to receive $10 off your first order (it’ll also work for just one free box!)

The post Bulu Box Review {And a coupon!!} appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

I think that a lot of people try to “get fit,” like it’s a specific state of being that you can reach and then just be there. Once you “get fit,” in many people’s minds, you are in shape, and no more work is needed. I have been guilty of that kind of thinking many times in my life. I have often planned a 12 week work out plan (such as the 100 mile summer) and assumed that by the time I was done, I would be “in shape.” I would be “fit.” And while it’s true that by the end of the 12 weeks, if I stick to it, I am in better shape, I have come to learn that it’s more than that. Fitness is a way of life. It’s a journey. It’s not just a goal you reach and you are done. Because the second you start thinking that way, things go down hill. I used to feel like losing weight was a full time job. I realized that it only feels that way because I had to change so many of my habits in order to lose weight. When I made lifestyle changes instead of going on quick fad diets, losing weight became a natural thing. When I focused on being healthy instead of losing weight, the weight came off. Not flying off, like I would like, but it came off slowly, and healthily. 

Sorry that this post is a little ramble-y. I didn’t really have a plan when I started writing. The purpose was to motivate you. Motivate you to keep going. So what if you didn’t lose weight this week. I promise that ding dong and sixteen cookies aren’t going to make it better. Push through. Think back to how things used to be, how far you’ve come. Visualize how far you can go. Your body is amazing. It’s meant to feel amazing, to be amazing. Push yourself a little farther than you thought you could. Be a little better than you were yesterday. KEEP GOING. And remember, being fit is a journey, not a destination. It is not a place you will reach tomorrow or next week or a year from now. It is a constant, everyday decision. And just because you stray from the “fit” path once in awhile doesn’t mean you can’t hop right back on again. 

Traci created this awesome printable for you to hang on your fridge or wherever you can see it often so you can remind yourself of these things.

 BeingFitIsAJourney

The post Being Fit Is A Journey appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.

We have shared the following posts:

Four tips to help you through the running challenge

The best running, walking, biking app… ever

Tips to learn to love running, even if you hate it. 

A tropical green smoothie

10 overeating habits and how to correct them

A delicious tomato, avocado, cucumber sandwich

Quinoa Stuffed Avocados 

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

Best way to cook green beans

Only this week and next week left of the challenge! I hope reviewing these posts help you to push through to the end and hit that 100 mile goal! 

The post Week 11 of the 100 mile summer appeared first on A Mouse In My Kitchen.