The Scoop

With each passing year I think more about how I can feel strong and healthy. Looking that way is nice but I want to feel it more. So, my focus is more on the way I feel than the way I look.

I decided after a loosey goosey summer and fall regarding eating and exercise I would step it up a notch pre holidays. That way when I do my annual Move It or Lose It series starting in January, I would have a head start.

As I always say I change things up often regarding my health and fitness. Below I am sharing what I am loving right now.

How I Exercise

Sometimes I am in shock when I think about how much aging can hurt. For me it started with stiffness in the mornings. I have learned though that exercising makes me hurt less than more.

I have noticed that very shortly after missing exercise I start aching and feeling stiff. Once I am back at it, it lessens too almost nothing.

What is working for me recently it so perfect. I am lifting weights two to three times a week. And I am lifting heavy enough weights to really work my muscles. I want to struggle with the last few reps while maintaining good form.

I do Yoga on alternate days which keeps me flexible and able to balance. I can stand on one leg forever without support.

I work in walks everyday even if it is just walking the dogs. I walk before 10 AM while the UV Index is zero. The sunlight and fresh air elevate my mood significantly. I am a true believer that sunlight in healthy doses is good for me.

How I Eat

My diet is somewhat of a problem. I could eat all day. I eat when I am bored and I eat when I happy and everything in between. I must consciously make myself stop eating throughout the day.

The good side of this is that I eat mostly (80%) healthy food. Everything I eat is organic and fresh. I try to keep that at 100% but a few days a week I must have a cookie!

My newest thing is when I eat. I am naturally a morning person. I wake up hungry and by 4 PM I am just not that hungry the rest of the day. So, most days (80% of the time) I eat a nice breakfast, a fun lunch and skip dinner. This works better for me than any other schedule I have tried. If there is something special going on I will have dinner but most days I just don’t want it. The key I find is to follow my body’s direction. I try to stay in tune when it tells me I am hungry and I am not. I have forced myself to eat dinners for years and always felt bloated and almost sick for it.

I think of the quote below upon waking each morning! It makes me smile! Ha ha! Read the full article here.

According to fitness and nutrition coach Ryan Carter, there are three words we need to live by, and they’re not ‘live, laugh, love’.

Ryan tells us healthy people should wake up “happy, horny and hungry.” If we can tick each box, he says, then we by and large have a good picture of health.

My Skincare

I like to give my skin more rest time these days. I only wear make up a couple of times a week. I used to cringe when I looked in the mirror but now, I like the way I look natural. I look a lot like my mom and granny and that makes me happy because they were incredibly strong women.

I’ve shared many times that I don’t use Botox or any other clinical procedures. I use mostly Olay skincare products and I get lots of sleep, practice a healthy lifestyle and live with the results. I try to see the beauty in aging and I remember to be grateful to be living a healthy life for as long as I am blessed to do so.

Let me know if you have any fitness and health secrets! I am always on the look out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Peace!