Tuesday, March 26, 2013

E^2 = Eat well and exercise (elaboration)

 My happinizing experiment thus far has been wildly successful! I have never had this much energy, felt so good about life and my relationships, my skin is healthier than ever, and I'm even starting to get a bit of a nicely defined and lean core (something I had never been successful at before)! I am sure that these changes have had to do with happinizing, and I thought it would be important for me to talk about what exactly I have done to also make happinizing easier for you. I will be including recipes and other useful information of the sort, and if you have anything to contribute, please send it my way! At this point I have all my friends happinizing, and even am starting to get my co-workers onto the idea. This is one of the best things I have ever done in my life for sure! 

So E^2 elaboration.....

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Quick summary:

Eating well:
   -no processed foods
   -drinks at least 8 glasses of water a day
   -eat a variety of veggies and fruits every week

Exercise:
   -3 times a week (30 mins of cardio minimum)

   -variety of exercise

   -maintain flexibility

Eating well- in my happinizing journey eating well has meant specifically a few things. It has meant that I have tried to take out processed foods out of my diet as much as possible. That means that instead of adding sugar to my morning coffee, now I add honey. I don't eat cereal anymore, I eat oatmeal instead. It is also very important to have variety in your diet. Even if you have a very "healthy" diet, if you are eating the same thing everyday, your body can't possibly get the nutrients it needs to function at its optimum level, and so it is critical that you eat different types of veggies and fruits every week. Eat lentils and beans. Have some yogurt. Also, eating in a healthy way can be very delicious, so don't be intimidated by the idea of "eating healthy," I know it might seem daunting, but with time you will catch on :) 

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Exercising- in order to meet your required dose of exercise for the week, I recommend that you work out a minimum of three times a week (each for a min. of 30 minutes of cardio). If you have a very busy schedule, make yourself go to the gym and take some work with you! Sometimes it is very easy when we have so much going on in our lives to think that exercise is the one thing that we can brush aside because we “don't have enough time,” but this comes at a detriment to your health. Your body needs exercise to recalibrate certain chemicals in your brain that make sure that you have a positive disposition for life and don't get depressed or too overwhelmed when times are tough. Also, exercise assures that your cells have the oxygen they need in order to get rid of harmful toxins. Here, I should add that really, another part of happinizing successfully is to make sure that you drink a lot of water. I will have a separate post on that. I recently started going to hot yoga, and I highly recommend it to everyone! I know it’s not for everyone, BUT it is amazing what a few weeks of yoga can do for your system. By sweating so much, your body is getting rid of harmful toxins as well as you get the necessary cardio and the breathing component of the practice assures oxygenation of your cells. Yes, I love the stuff! 

Also, it is important that you don't always exercise in the same way. Just like it is important that you have variety in your diet, it is important that you have variety in exercising as well. You need to make sure that as you get older you take care of all parts of your body. You want to make sure that your core is strong, make sure you are being conscientious in the attention that you give all body parts in maintaining their function. Make sure you take some time to maintain your flexibility, this will allow you to get hurt less often when you get older. This is where yoga is very helpful. When I go to yoga I know that not only am I getting more than my 30mins worth of cardio (and some meditation time), but I am working conscientiously to strengthen and maintain all parts of my body, as well as work on flexibility- an investment that I hope serves me well as I get older. Now, I am getting closer and closer to 27, but have never felt healthier or happier before! I think it helps knowing that happinizing is a purposeful activity that one pursues to invest in one’s physical and mental health. I hope you join me in this happinizing journey.



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