Hitting the Road by Foot

I’ll never forget going to my first podiatrist when my foot problems started years ago and he insisted that the cause of my problems was that I was a runner. I insisted that I was anything but a runner, and he failed to believe me. At that point in my life, you couldn’t get me to run unless a bear was chasing me. But maybe the one good thing about this doctor was that he had a sense for something that I didn’t yet know. That one day I would be hitting the road by foot.

Once my left foot was better, I decided to give running a shot again. I wasn’t quite sure where to begin. I had tried some of the couch to 5K plans before, and didn’t have much luck. I even tried running on the treadmill without success too. Determined that I’d get my butt in shape, I decided I should reach out to Erica who had been running pretty seriously for awhile. I was a little intimidated to ask for her advice, because she was running miles at a time. I hadn’t run a mile since high school and here I was asking this athlete for running advice. What if she tried to get me to run miles too?

Turns out I had nothing to fear. Her running advice was really simple and completely approachable.

Run as far as you possibly can, and then walk back.

What?! That’s it??? Run as far as I can and walk back? What if I only make it a few blocks?

Yes, that will be great! Run as far as you can, then walk back. Each time you go for a run you’ll make it farther, because you’ll want to beat what you did before.

This advice was so simple, but so true. Each time I hit the road I made it a little bit farther. I would even break into a run on the way back home. I focused on my breathing and would have 30 to 60 minutes of peace with myself and nature. It was bliss by foot that I had never experienced before. While I can’t say that I’m a lover running, I have found renewed confidence in my ability to run and an appreciation for spending time outdoors.
I’m working on getting myself back out on the road by foot or bike because I need to get healthy. Want to join me? How will you get fit?

Meet Erica!

The time has finally come for you to meet the new member of the HebrewDawn writing team…

She has a lifelong passion for fitness that began with gymnastics, swimming, diving, and has only grown with age. Erica loves to run, dance, and practice yoga. She is an artist in the kitchen creating meals that are good for you, but still make your mouth water long after the meal is done. To top it all off, she has a passion for teaching, which means she wants to help each of us become the healthiest version of ourselves that’s hiding and waiting to come out. I hope you enjoy getting to know Erica through her writing and learning from her along the way. Enjoy today’s food for thought from our health conscious friend…

Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness: there is a reason LIFE is first!

It’s easy to lower our standards by falling prey to “the best we can get.” Often times, it’s not until we find parallels in the greatness of those around us that we are willing to expect more of ourselves.

Many people are using emergency room services as a means for basic healthcare, subsisting on low cost, highly processed foods, and/or eschewing exercise regimes due to financial limitations. What a shame this is! Not only are we discouraging routine and preventive care, but we are also propagating the idea of health as an exclusive member’s only club. What’s more-this is a total lie. Prioritizing one’s health should and will save money!

What if we change the game? What if we empower EVERYBODY to take ownership of his or her health? Maybe we offer free gym memberships, fitness activities, nutrition counseling, and subsidized local produce for those who can’t afford it?

Do you think this would help people become more proactive? Make them more receptive to change?

I think it starts with making the tools of a positive healthy lifestyle available to all people. Sharing is caring right?

Getting Healthy

Do you take good are of yourself? I mean, do you exercise regularly, eat healthy, drink lots of water, and get enough rest? I’d like to think and say that I take good are of myself, but if I’m going to be completely honest, I could definitely do a better job! Today I want us to talk about being better at this. So what does it look like to take good care of ourselves?

There are lots of thoughts out there about how we should go about doing this. Some may think it’s following a special diet, doing a certain type of exercise, or joining accountability groups. Much of that will definitely help and be part of that process. Much of it can sound like a lot of work, and not something we want to do. We’ll make excuses because it seeems like there’s a long list of musts, shoulds, and can’t haves and we don’t want to be deprived of the things that we want. I truly believe that this isn’t quite the right approach. We need to get our thoughts focused on being or getting healthy. When we think about doing what’s healthy and good for us, then that is something we can get on board with doing. We might not want to talk about how we should eat or how much we are going to exercise, but what if we started asking ourselves if what we’re about to do is going to make us the healthiest version of ourselves?

I personally planned to be better about exercise in 2016, and I’ve not been as good as I had hoped. I don’t really want to go for a run, but I do want to be the healthiest version of myself so I can live life to the fullest. So tomorrow is my birthday, and I’m going to use this as my new year to start over. I still plan to exerise more, eat better (less sugary sweets), and other things of that nature. I will not be marking my calendar up with exercise appointments, but I will be writing reminders to myself to make healthy choices. By doing this I’m going to be concerned with being a healthier version of me for today, tomorrow, and ten years from now.

There are simple steps we can follow after we change our thought process on being healthy:

Start and end each day with a refreshing glass of water. Once you have this habit in place, it’s easier to keep drinking water throughout the day to stay hydrated.
Get to sleep at a time that will ensure you get 7 to 9 hours of sleep. We may think we can get by on less sleep, but studies show that our bodies NEED that much sleep. When do you need to be up in the morning? Make sure you’re in bed 7 to 9 hours before then, and include some time to wind down too.
Eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner and healthy snacks in between. Skipping meals isn’t good for your metabolism and sets you up for making poor food choices out of starvation.
Find a physical activity you love and do it. There’s no sense making yourself run if it’s something you hate doing, but there’s also no reason to deprive yourself from going to yoga if that brings you joy.

Getting yourself to the point of being healthy doens’t have to be complicated, but it does involve choosing to be healthy. What would your life look like if you did this?

So, how are you ready to get healthy with me? I’m planning to share about my successes and failures, but no matter what I’ll be taking care of myself . I’m no expert on this topic, but I am a woman trying and encouraging you to join me.