Sleep

Sleep is very important in order to live a healthy lifestyle. A regular sleep schedule regulates your metabolism and also helps regulate your weight. Those who have a regular sleep schedule tend to be healthier than those who are sleep deprived. When sleep deprived, your body craves sugars and such to boost your energy levels. Also, when tired you tend to make poor eating choices. So, REGULATE YOUR SLEEP SCHEDULE AND GET AN ADEQUATE AMOUNT OF SLEEP. Trust me, you won't regret it.

Sicknesses

So, the week of my ankle injury I was fighting a flu bug. Now, a week after my injury I am fighting a bad cold. Needless to say, these last two weeks have not been the greatest, but what can you expect during cold and flu season, right?
Taking care of your body and your immune system is a must, but it is even more important during cold and flu season. Below is a list of tips I found on myclevelandclinic.org that will aid in sickness prevention this season.

• "Consider taking a multivitamin — one half in the morning, the other half with dinner. 
• Be sure you’re getting enough vitamin D. (Ask your doctor to check your vitamin D levels using the 25(OH)D3 test.) Most people living north of Atlanta need 1,000 IU per day.  
• Wash your hands with soap and water thoroughly — and often.  
• Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer only if soap and water are not available. Avoid touching your face, especially your eyes, nose and mouth.  
• Eat a diet rich in colorful foods to ensure you’re getting antioxidants. 
• Use nasal irrigation products (a Neti pot, for example), which can be found in drugstores. Because they help wash pollutants out of the nasal tissues, they may be beneficial.  
• Get a good night’s rest. Sleep is important to maintaining a healthy immune system."

Injuries

I had my first big injury in my roller derby career last week. I fell wrong on my skates and landed on my left ankle, resulting in a trip to the ER for me! Luckily I just ended up with a bad sprain, not a break or a fracture at all.  I've been on crutches and had my foot in a big black boot since, but it gives me a great topic to discuss.
INJURIES. No matter how extra careful you try to be, there will always be a time where you can't avoid the fate and you get hurt. PAIN. Take a second and thank whomever you believe in that you can feel pain. If you weren't able to then you'd be dead, and that isn't the ideal state. When I fell on my ankle, it felt like little pin needles were poking me over and over everywhere from the tips of my toes all the way up to my to my knee. I also had shooting pains in my calve. In that moment, I thought I was dying. Yes, that's a huge exaggeration but the pain was AWFUL. My teammates took my skate off of my foot and I tried to hop up and act like a tough kid. I couldn't walk on it and had to hop off of the rink. My coach was waiting with two icepacks for me and advised me to go to the hospital and have it checked out. When you have a sudden injury, make sure to ice it right away to help with swelling.
PAIN MEDICINE. Now, take another second to thank whomever created pain medicine. I don't believe I would have been able to make it through the last week without them. Whenever you are hurt, go to the doctor and have them write you a prescription for their recommendation of medicine to help with your pain. Don't be afraid to go to the doctor either. One injury that you think is small could actually be MUCH worse.
ROUTINE. Follow the routine that your doctor, or in my case the ER nurse, gives you to care for your injury. I was on bedrest for 3 days after my injury. I wasn't able to walk at all and my instructions were to apply heat to my ankle for 1 hour and then switch to an icepack for 30 minutes, alternating the two all day long. I was instructed to use my crutches for as long as needed and I have to keep my boot on for at least two more weeks until my ankle is fully healed.

When injured make sure to seek medical help if necessary, get some type of medicine to help with your pain, and follow instructions and care routines provided to you. Also, don't try to rush your recovery because it could result in hurting yourself more.

Vitamins and Minerals

When some people hear the word "vitamin" they associate it with older people. Some tend to think "Why should I take vitamins? I'm young and I don't need them yet." Correction: vitamins are for people of all shapes, sizes, ages, etc. Vitamins help to fill in nutritional areas that are not completely fulfilled by the foods you eat in a given day.

My family is big on taking vitamins and mineral supplements, so I was introduced to them (the gummy bear kind) at a young age. I love vitamins; I feel lost when I don't take mine daily. If taking multiple vitamins and mineral supplements isn't your "thing," at least take a one-a-day multivitamin. Multivitamins are a great addition to your daily intake. These vitamins contain a bit of all of the key nutrients that we are supposed to be loading our bodies with on a daily basis. So multivitamins are like the emperor of all vitamins because it's all of these key supplements wrapped into one master pill.

I always like to look for new vitamins and minerals that I can possibly incorporate into my daily dose. I also use a chart that will tell me what vitamins and minerals to take if I feel sick, etc. Here are a few charts that I have in my health folder on my cell phone. These charts are two that I found on deardoctor.com, but others can be found simply by searching "vitamin and mineral information charts" on Google.

Found on Google Images

Found on Google Images

Workout Plans

When switching to a healthy lifestyle, a workout plan is a must. But, it doesn't have to be super strenuous! A workout can be as simple as cleaning your house or even playing with your kids. It is all about how you engage in the activity!

I like to fit workouts into my busy schedule by turning my daily routine into one. Want to tone your calves? Do calve raises while brushing your teeth, washing dishes, preparing dinner or standing in a line somewhere. Need to gain some leg strength? Skip steps when walking up stairs, do a squat when picking up things off of the floor, or do lunges while vacuuming! Even a random dance party while taking a shower is exercising! Who doesn't love a dance party?

In my spare time, I like to look up new workouts. I have one that I found on StumbleUpon that I do every morning before taking a shower. Sites such as StumbleUpon, YouTube, and Pinterest are great places to find workouts that are realistic for beginners. I highly recommend for anyone who is converting their lifestyle to find a good beginner workout to follow. If you're someone who doesn't like to go to the gym, there is a plethora of home workouts on the web! Don't use not liking the gym as an excuse not to workout.

Personally, I have the mindset that if I am not sweating after a workout then I didn't go hard enough. I  go 110% in my workouts so that I develop a nice sweat. I make myself EARN my shower after a workout. If I can finish a workout and look decent enough to go out after, then I didn't put in enough effort while doing my workout. Always push yourself and keep your goals in mind.

I have linked two beginner videos, one for women and one for men, that I feel are great no-gym workouts for beginners. Try one and enjoy! 

BEGINNER WOMEN 

BEGINNER MEN 

Positive Moods and Goals

Photo found on Google Images

A positive mood is the most important factor of a healthy lifestyle. If you have a negative mood, you will have a hard time accomplishing your health goals. When trying to adopt a healthy lifestyle, you have to love the present you while working towards the future you! Sometimes workouts and whatnot get tough, but keeping a positive attitude and pushing through will get you one step closer to your goal!

When I first started on my journey to a healthy lifestyle, I crafted my goals. I took out a few pretty pieces of scrapbook paper, wrote my goals on them, and crafted my heart away. I decorated until I was content with it, and hung it up on my wall next to my mirror. This is one way that I have found helps me to keep a positive mood. When I look into the mirror and felt iffy, I would see those goals and remember the journey I was on. I still to this day craft my goals and you should, too!

I included some of my favorite inspirational quotes for you all to read and fall in love with!

*All images on this blog were found on Google Images*

Detox

One of my favorite things to do is find new detox drink recipes. Detoxing is important because it assists your body with its natural self-cleansing system. I love detoxing because it makes my groggy feeling go away, leaving me feeling fresh and ready to go! It also helps flush out any sickness or flu bug you have picked up. In the following picture is one of my favorite detox water recipes. I follow many health and fitness pages on Instagram, and one account just happened to post this recipe picture. Make sure that your water is cold when you drink it, and I tend to add in limes as well. Try to find a favorite detox water recipe, you won't regret it!