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New Years Intentions 2013

2013 Goals and Intentions

1. Eat more cleanly. Fewer processed foods; more vegetables. Eat more intuitively. Eat less emotionally.

2. Go to sleep by 11pm more often. (2x a week to start)

3. Go to yoga 12x a month. Do Mysore regularly for 1 month. (Summer?)

4. Meditate 5 minutes per day (morning).

5. Get up earlier (this will come out of #2…).

6. Log my exercise (I used to do this). And use my Erin Condren planner.

7. Spend less money and save up to start my own business someday.

8. Find at least one other source of income aside from my day job.

9. Simplify. Minimize. Give away clothes and things that I don’t use. Buy less. Have less. Stress less.

What are your 2013 goals?

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Weekend Link Love – 08.28.2011

It’s been a while since I did one of these… But first an update: NYC is recovering from the hurricane (Irene) that passed through last night. To be honest, not much happened in Manhattan. I think the major damage occurred in the outer boroughs (poor Staten Island) and New Jersey (my mom is without power and water). Our power didn’t even flicker. On the plus side, I did have a mini Reese’s cup yesterday that I got at the hardware store. I love these things.

Our weekend went well. We mostly hung out with our neighbors (friends) and ate good food together. A few of us like to cook and all of us like to eat. This morning I went for a run (a little over 3 miles) after not having run for ages (at least 1.5 years?). It felt great. The subways are still not running so we can only get to places on foot (…or taxi). They probably won’t be running for the morning commute tomorrow so I plan on walking.

After my run this morning (err, afternoon) I did some yoga stretching and took a nice shower. Then we ate brunch together (6 of us) – bacon, eggs with homegrown jalapeno, homemade bread, and some various pastries. (If I didn’t mention it already, we moved into a building where our friends live – so we hang out a lot. Just like college, and it’s great.)

Weekend Link Love – Health & Food

Totally Random Link Love

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How was your weekend? I hope anyone who was in Irene’s path is okay!
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Healthy Monday Tip #4: Walk for Exercise!

Healthy Monday is a public health initiative founded in 2005 in association with Johns Hopkins University, Columbia University, and Syracuse University. HM’s goal is to end chronic preventable disease in the U.S. by offering people and organizations a weekly prompt to start and sustain healthy behaviors, intentions, actions and initiatives. For most Americans, the week begins on Monday. Studies suggest we are more likely to maintain behaviors begun on Monday throughout the week. That makes Monday the perfect day to make a change for your health and the health of our planet.

I mentioned yesterday that I quit the gym and got tons of great responses. In keeping with the “quit the gym” and “fit for free” theme, today’s Healthy Monday Tip is…

Walk for Exercise!

I wrote about this once before (walking for health). Walking is something that you can add in to your daily routine no matter what – no matter how old you are, how fit you are, where you live, or how much time you have. I am a 24 years old, I work full time, I’m moderately fit, and I live in New York – and I walk every day.

How to Fit in a Daily Walk

  • Walk to work.
  • Walk home from work.
  • Take a 20 minute walk in the morning before your morning routine.
  • Take a 20 minute walk after lunch and/or dinner.
  • Have a date-walk with your significant other and chat about life instead of plopping on the couch to watch TV.
  • Go to the park and walk around with a camera; take pictures of pretty flowers.
  • Walk around your city or town and check out all the Christmas decorations.
  • Go window shopping (might be a good idea to leave the wallet home).

Why You Should Walk

  • It’s heart-healthy (apparently so is a 3/4 cup serving of oatmeal).
  • It’s good for your brain – as we get older our brains shrink… but the shrinkage is less for people who walk more. (I’m not kidding.)
  • It puts you in a good mood and fights depression.
  • It’s good for your bones (weight-bearing activity).
  • Walking a mile requires the same amount of “work” as running a mile. So why run if you can walk?

How to Walk?

  • Make sure you have proper posture. Stand tall as you walk; don’t lock your knees. Think of how monkeys walk (but don’t overdo it that much or else you will look like a goof).
  • Walk with your arms, too. It’ll increase the exertion.
  • Short and fast steps are good if you want to get your heart rate up, but…
  • Slow and steady steps are good too. Just get moving.

That’s all for today’s Healthy Monday. I’m off to… walk to work.

How much walking do you do?

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The Non-Hunger Diaries: How I Eat And Move {Part 2 of 2}

Today’s post is a continuation of Monday’s post on how I eat. Today’s topic: How I move! If you’re curious about the Non-Hunger Diaries title, see this response.

A Chillax Workout Routine

I’ve been talking up my new gym a lot lately, but I haven’t turned into your typical gym rat. Update – I have actually quit the gym. I tend to stick to milder workouts like yoga, pilates, ballet, and Nia (my new favorite workout). Not to say that these things are always “mild” – but they’re definitely customizable. You can work at the level that you’re comfortable with for that day and not feel guilty about not giving it your all.

I like to fit in some kind of movement each and every day so I’m never hesitant to take a step back in class and stick with the lower level option. In yoga I always take a few extra child’s poses; in Zumba or other cardio classes I never go full intensity for the whole hour. It’s not what feels good for my body so I just don’t do it. On the other hand if you do love giving it your all in class, go for it! (Just make sure you take a break sometimes.) For me, I enjoy moderate exercise every single day. It keeps me healthy (body and mind).

I walk for exercise anywhere from 1-4 miles a day. It’s so important to listen to your body and give it rest. I will always think that walking is the best form of exercise (as long as you have proper form) but in a city of smelly streets, sometimes it gets to be not so fun, and it’s also getting cold. For most of history humans did lots of low intensity “exercise” all day long – we were not built to go full out for an hour and sit on our butts the rest of the day. (This is why I love Nia.)

Other linkies on exercise:

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That’s all, folks.

What’s your workout routine like? Have you found something that works for your body?

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Being Spontaneous: A Healthy Blogger Weekend

Yesterday morning I hopped on the bus to DC to meet up with Coco. I’m on the bus back now (Sunday night). We had a lot of fun; I got to hang out with Coco and her husband (!). Next time Bobby will come along with me and we will go hiking and pick apples. It’s fun doing things with other married people.

Being spontaneous and being with a good friend is a great way to break out of a normal routine. Sometimes I get so wrapped up in my daily regimen that I forget to stop and do something different. A weekend getaway is great for that.

A Perfect Blogger Saturday

On Saturday we walked a lot (5-6 miles). We had a yummy Malaysian lunch, we walked through Georgetown, we saw Eat, Pray, Love, and we ended the night with Vietnamese food. This is one dish from lunch (a noodly salad). I would have taken more pictures but I was too wrapped up in hanging out and good conversation!

A Blogger Inspired Sunday Breakfast

This morning we (we = Coco) made HEAB’s coconut pancakes. They were awesome. Unfortunately my stomach has been acting weird and bloaty all weekend so I wasn’t very hungry, but I did have a decent amount of these, plus some cherries. Coco said she changed the recipe slightly, but I don’t know the modifications. You will have to ask her.

We walked off breakfast by strolling through the touristy part of DC near the Whitehouse. Coco had gone running there this morning too before I woke up! (Maybe it wasn’t there… somewhere around there though. She is starting to taper for her half-marathon this weekend.) Think we did around 6 miles of walking. Walking = best way to exercise (in my opinion).

A Say Yes to Salad Lunch

Lunch was green and compost-friendly at Sweet Green (salad of romaine, edamame, cucumber, heirloom tomatoes, and sauteed mushrooms with some yummy creamy dressing). Our salads came with the best bread ever, which we both finished. Sweet Green was great – everything is labeled if it’s vegan, you can compost everything (even that “plastic” cup), and the food was delicious and satisfied my salad craving. I can never get enough salad. Ever.

I am now finished with my dinner (Whole Foods prepared food) and dessert (apple and a Chinese candy from Coco) because this bus’s internet is so slow and it has taken me over an hour to write this. I guess that’s why it’s free because I would not pay for this.

I am off to sleep, or read my magazine (Women’s Health), or do some pondering. This weekend was so fun! I’m in a great mood and I can’t wait to continue my great mood this week. Upcoming…

  • Skincare (this is your last chance to ask me any specific questions! So far I am going to chat mainly about oily skin, but I am open to answering more – please comment below)
  • Exercise inspiration
  • Yoga guest post
  • Food/bread inspiration
  • (not necessarily in that order!)

What did you do this weekend? Do you have plans for Labor Day tomorrow?

I’m hoping to meet up with some more friends and spend some quality time with my husband (who I missed very much while I was in DC). Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder.