Since becoming a mother, this summer has been one of the busiest, most active and most fun-filled seasons I can ever remember. Numerous vacations, activities and visits with family had me sometimes feeling like I didn’t have a second to spare, but I loved every minute of it.
I have to admit, though, that my dietary habits suffered a lot. Decadent food on a seven-day Carnival Cruise, gourmet meals at the beautiful Casino Rama Resort in Ontario and a few too many takeout meals eaten on the road had me feeling sluggish, stuffed and in need of a serious reset to my system.
So for the next month, I’m taking charge of my health again with these three unique healthy lifestyle changes!
1) Intermittent Fasting
I’ve been a fan of intermittent fasting for almost a year now, though I took a break from it this summer. In its simplest form, intermittent fasting is going without food for a set period of time.
There are a few different cycles that people tend to favour and when I first started fasting, I would choose two days a week to do a full 24 hour fast except for a 500-calorie supper.
But after the indulgence I’d been enjoying, I knew I needed to kick it up a notch. So for the last week, I’ve been doing my 24 hour fast every other day instead.
Already I feel more energized, my mind is more focused and my stomach is less bloated. While many people love intermittent fasting for its weight loss benefits, it’s also been shown to reduce inflammation, increase cellular repair, reduce insulin resistance and even improve brain function!
2) Rucking
As much as I know that exercise is an important component of good health, I don’t like being out of breath. I dislike it so much that I’d rather not exercise at all than have that gasping, breathless feeling after trying to jog on the treadmill.
That’s why I started doing a brisk 30-minute walk instead. I got my body moving and my heartrate up without straining my joints or ending up panting for air.
But, as with my 24 hour fast, a full month of fun left me knowing I needed to do more. So now I replace my regular walk with rucking every other day. Once again, a fancy name is simply explained: rucking is walking with a weighted backpack.
Designed to provide muscle-building and cardio benefits with one workout, it’s a great way to increase strength and endurance. It’s even been shown to help prevent and reverse back problems! Best of all, while I do sweat a lot more and feel much more tired at the end of my walk, I’m still not out of breath when I finish!
3) No Alcohol
A decadent meal and a glass of wine go together like chocolate and peanut butter, so my decadent diet had me drinking a little bit more than usual too. As much as I love to unwind with a craft beer or a glass of Pinot Grigio at the end of a busy week, I know from experience that I’ll feel fit faster by cutting out alcohol completely for at least a month.
Since rich, fatty food and alcohol are both processed by the liver, giving it a break to heal itself and detoxify is an important step in feeling more energized overall.
As an added bonus, I always seem to notice less stomach bloat after about two weeks of no alcohol as well. And of course, there’s no chance of having a little too much to drink one night and waking up too tired to do my daily workout!
Even though it’s only been one week since I took charge of my health again, I can already see and feel the different in my body. But since I’m eating less and working out more, making sure I properly supplement my body in other ways is a must.
Taking an Orange Naturals Adult Multi every day helps ensure my body has the nutrients it needs, while Orange Naturals Probiotics for Adults right before supper keeps my digestive system operating at its best. These two simple supplements go a long way towards helping me feel my best as I strive to improve my health!
While cutting out alcohol, rucking and doing a 24 hour fast at once might seem overwhelming, any one of them provides valuable health benefits if you’ve been looking for ways to improve your overall well-being.
And if you’re dedicated to seeing improvements fast, you’re sure to notice positive results after just a few weeks of using all three techniques. It’s a great way to feel like yourself again if you’ve gone a little overboard with summer bliss!
Hmm.. I had never heard of rucking or the intermediate fasting.. Both look like something I could do to help boost my health! Summer definitely was a time of indulgence for me!