How to be Vegan on a Budget

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Have you ever wondered how you can possibly be a vegan on a budget? Or be a vegan on a budget and still feed a large family? The fake meats, cheeses and other vegan foods are so expensive!

Let me show you how I have fed my family of 7 on $600.-800. month. You can seriously save money on a vegan diet.

vegan diet on a budget for a large family — Photo by Khamkeo Vilaysing

NUTRITION SHOULD ALWAYS BE IMPORTANT EVEN ON A BUDGET

Nutrition shouldn’t suffer when you’re low on cash, but often it is one of the first things to go.

For example, let’s say you’re grocery shopping. . . buying jelly and peanut butter. Sounds simple. You have options. Too many options if you live in the US. Jelly can range from under a dollar to ten bucks, depending on where you’re shopping. So, on a budget, what do reach for? The 97 cent squeeze bottle of strawberry jelly, of course.

Here’s where things fall apart. Your jelly isn’t made of real fruit, real sugar, real colors, real flavors, or real . . . anything. You’re buying a 97 cent bottle of fake food. It is better for your health to completely omit jelly, than to buy a 97 cent bottle of counterfeit food. (Or just make it a peanut butter and banana sandwich). 🙂

Part of being healthy is eating healthy. Part of being vegan, is to be healthy. But, not everybody is rich, and not everyone can afford to buy pre-made vegan mayo, meat substitutes, 7-grain bread, vegan, frozen pizzas and Kashi ready-made vegan bowls.

If you are unfamiliar with what a vegan even is, and are just now learning, please check out my blog post “What is a Vegan?”

When you are on a budget, and especially with a large family, you have to get basic with your nutrition.

Vegan on a budget — Photo by Alyson McPhee

LEARN TO COOK FROM SCRATCH

If you don’t know how to cook, learn. It is not really impossible. It is just like any other type of hobby or skill, it takes time, you’ll burn yourself and your biscuits, but in the end, there are too many YouTube videos and Pinterest tutorials for the, “I can’t cook” excuse to be a valid excuse for years and years. You may never be a chef or a genius in the kitchen, but even those who hate cooking can cook some pretty tasty, basic, vegan food.

Cooking from scratch opens doors to all sorts of inexpensive.

I made a meal for 8 people the other day with $30. I also got food for a group of 20 people and fed them all on $49. worth of groceries.

When you cook, the trick to “inexpensive” is to utilize (brown) rice, beans, and potatoes, etc. These items are not expensive, are filling, wholesome, and can be used for a base in a lot of recipes.

Fresh foods are good for you and should be eaten daily, but go sparingly if you’re trying to feed a large family on a budget. Carrots, cabbage, spinach, collards, and veggies/fruits in season are the best way to go when cooking with fresh foods on a budget.

BUYING IN BULK IS EASIER ON THE BUDGET

There are a few things that are best bought in bulk. Wheat, oats, cashews, other nuts, and seeds are best bought in large quantities. It cuts down on cost in the long run, and provide less trips to the grocery store.

A 50LB bag of wheat can cost you $50. – $85 bucks, but if you make 2-5 loaves of bread a week, that one bag of wheat should last you 3-4 months. This also depends on how much baking your’e doing in regards to other things that use flour. But, you’re probably paying less than a dollar for a loaf of bread that is fresh, homemade and taste better than any loaf of bread you could ever buy on a shelf. (You can buy nearly brand new bread machines from goodwill for 6 bucks and it’ll do all the hard work for you!)

Same goes for oats. I make granola about once a week at most, sometimes every other week. We eat granola regularly for breakfasts. I usually buy a 25lb bag of quick oats and sometimes a 25lb bag of rolled oats, and my oats will last me 4 months. A times I only get one 25lb bag and that bag still lasts forever! But buy granola at Whole Foods, or another grocery store, and you’re looking at maybe two bowls of granola for ten bucks? Try feeding a large family on that and you’ll go broke in a week!

Here are some must-have items that make cooking from scratch and using bulk foods, much easier:  A blender  Wheat grinder    Bread machine  Crock pot/Instapot or Slow cooker.   Food processor

MONEY SAVING TIP: Believe it or not, scratch cooking isn’t as popular and therefore these expensive items can be purchased at a second hand store, typically brand new/never used, for under 20 bucks! So look there before you go to Amazon and spend $100-250. on each item!

A VEGAN ON A BUDGET HAS TO SIMPLIFY

Your meals don’t need a lot of variety to be healthy or even taste good.

Choose 3 items for a meal. Your main dish, (lasagna, beans and rice, potatoes, etc.) a fresh food, and a cooked or steamed vegetable. That is it. Choose vegetables and fruits that are in season, (corn on the cob in season is $0.25 a piece in the summer!) and you can feed a large family of 7 plus people on ten bucks.

When you bake muffins, cut the sugar and make it less of a dessert and more of a main meal. Make a quadruple batch, and cut up a bunch of oranges and you’re set for one meal. All you need for breakfast is a bunch of muffins and a fresh fruit. If my kids are still hungry, I always have granola in the cupboard. This might cost you $5-10 bucks, max.

Simplifying what is served saves so much money. I always cut corners on appetizers and desserts. This also helps with portion control and weight control, as well as money control.

Nobody needs dessert. Nobody needs an "appetizer".

What you need is your main dish, your fresh food and a cooked or steamed veggie. Maybe add a slice of bread, but that’s a complete meal. And that meal should feed the family of 7+ easily on $5-15.

CUT THE GREASE AND CUT THE COST

Vegetable, coconut, olive, peanut and other oils are expensive and unnecessary. I don’t like my food to taste bland, so I don’t omit when I know it’ll change the flavor extensively.

Sautéd veggies in water not only cuts on cost, but cuts on trans fat and weight gain. For healths sake, no sautéing should ever be done in oil, and frying should just never happen. Ever. So making the change from sautéing in oil to water sautéing could save your life and your budget. Make up for the flavor change with herbs. Allow time for your taste buds to change. It can and will happen.

Pancakes, waffles, muffins, some cakes, biscuits, and similar items can be made substituting applesauce and water instead of oil and milk, and the taste doesn’t suffer, and you’ve just cut down significantly on your budget. When I am trying to save money (or milk) I use water in place of milk, pretty much always. And honestly, it’s more of a mental thing than a taste thing anyway. Water doesn’t make pancakes, muffins or biscuits taste much different. In fact, usually when I don’t say anything, the fam prefers how biscuits turn out best with water.

Go here for more on how to lose and maintain healthy weight.

DON’T DRINK AWAY YOUR CASH

Juice, milk, and other beverages are just a waste of your health, teeth and money, and what I call a “treat”.

In our house, we drink water. Always. That’s it. I buy a filter and use water from the tap. We save the environment by cutting out plastic and our health by hydrating strictly with water form the tap in a nifty filter pitcher.

On special occasions, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays or movie nights, we’ll buy a bubbly drink or I’ll make apple cider, but typically, we don’t drink anything with our meals anyway. If we do, it is water.

Drinking with your meals isn’t good for your digestive system. Juice and other drinks aren’t a “need”. They are simply a “want” that the budget doesn’t need to suffer from.

PASS ON THE SUGAR

Sugar is expensive, especially when you buy organic, raw, cane sugar like I do. (Which is the healthiest option for baking). There are few things that really don’t need sugar at all. Experiment with this and save money. A few things I have added and omitted sugar in, are waffles, pancakes and cornbread. Muffins you can cut back on, but they are tricky and it takes a little tweaking. But pancakes don’t need sugar, and cornbread doesn’t need much (if any) either. Same goes for bread. I make 5 loaves of bread with less than a cup of sugar.

Sugar in excess will put weight on you, so for weight management, leave the sugar out where it is not a “need”.

TO BE A VEGAN ON A BUDGET, PASS ON SNACKS

Snacking adds a significant amount of calories to your daily diet and weight to your hips. They are generally pretty expensive and generally non-nutritious

and full of preservatives. So, leave those for the weekend. Or for holidays.

At our house, we have “snack night” every Saturday night. That is our tradition and has been for years. It is the only night we ever have chips, crackers, and other snack-like foods. If I am not careful, I can drop a hundred bucks on snacks for one night!

Eat your meals at regular times and fill up on whole foods and complex carbs. Don’t snack between. You’ll save money and extra weight.

For more info on how cutting down on snacks helps reduce belly fat, read my article, How to Reduce Belly Fat Naturally!

KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A NEED AND A WANT

When grocery shopping, cooking and feeding your family, keep in mind that there are wants and there are needs, and often the expensive things tend to be wants. Expensive things are either salty, sweet, fast or unhealthy. So use these items for special occasions.

For more on how a vegan diet is the best diet for weight control and health, read Why is the Vegan Diet one of the Best Diets?

CONDIMENTS, CREAMS, CHEESES, AND TOPPINGS

Mayonnaise, butter, nut butters, cheeses, dressings, dips, whip creams, and other extras are very fattening and expensive. I used to make my own mayo, mustard and ketchup. I still make my own whip cream. Dips we just don’t use. For two reasons, one, I don’t make appetizer, and second, we just aren’t used to it so it’s not something we miss. It saves so much time in the kitchen, money in the pocket and fat on the body.

STORE BRANDS, COUPONS, BUY ONE GET ONE

Look for store brands instead of name brand labels, it saves a lot of money. Just be careful when buying store brands. Read the ingredients. Sometimes store brands aren’t even real foods. Often these brands also have high fructose corn syrup added. I pretty much know what does and doesn’t have added sugars and salts in it, and this is something you learn as you go.

Coupons can save you about $20. a trip. Look for coupons in your junk mail (I know this isn’t food, but get toothpaste and deodorant coupons in my junk all the time).

At my grocery store, they often have buy one get one free, so I always look for these items, and I tend not to buy them when they aren’t having the special. Most likely, it’ll happen “tomorrow.”

DON’T GO SHOPPING WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY

I think we all probably know this but here’s a reminder, don’t go shopping when you’re hungry! You are more likely to buy something fast, something expensive, and something unhealthy.

For more help on how to grocery shop for healthy food, check out my blog post How to Grocery Shop for Healthy Food.

PLANT A GARDEN

If you live in the country, plant a garden. I used to have 2 raised beds. It was a small enough garden that it was easy to manage and not too much of a headache to weed, but big enough that I had plenty of squash, cucumbers, herbs, and most used in-seasonal veggies, for free.

If you have a garden your spending is going to go down significantly. Fresh food costs the most on my grocery shopping trip. I usually spend anywhere from $40-$75 on fresh food per week. When I have a garden that drops significantly!

As a side note, gardening is fantastic for several other things, too. One is earthing, which has shown to improve sleep. I write all about that, here. 🙂

I would love to hear how you have become a vegan and are doing it on a budget! 🙂 Or maybe how you want to and your ideas on how you plan to make it work.

If you have any questions, I would be glad to answer to the best of my ability! And if I don’t have the answer, I’ll either find the answer or someone else that can give you an answer. So please don’t hesitate to ask! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

July 1, 2020August 31, 2020

What Matters Most?

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

What matters most to you, today, right now?

There are a lot of things that matter to a lot of people right now.

But forget other people, what matters most to you?

what matters most? — Treating your body right never tasted so good! AXIO increases your desire to eat and feel better, provides focus, clarity and energy.

Step down from everything going on around you right now and dig deep. What do you want for your future, for your body, your mind, your health?

I specially want you to try to figure out right now, what is it that actually matters to you today. Get specific. And then try to imagine your future self. Will it still matter?

For me, my health 
has always 
mattered.

I not only like to feel good, but I also like the peace of mind that my good healthy habits provides me. Also, at 40 I can honestly say I feel like 18. I have no health problems, am happy with my weight, and have 5 children with zero health problems as well.

In all honestly, I can say that I can do whatever I want to do without aches, pains, low energy, headaches, fatigue, or lack of motivation.

What matters now, doesn’t matter at all, if you are not healthy enough to make what matters today, your reality tomorrow.

EVALUATE WHAT MATTER MOST

If you decided that your family, your job, your pet, your adventures, sports, hobbies . . . you name it . . . matter most, let’s look at them from another perspective.

Imagine how (insert what matters here) this thing would look in perspective of bad health. What if you were unable to walk without stopping every few seconds to take a breath? Maybe you already struggle with severe fatigue so much so that you can barely drive. What happens when you are too heavy to run and play with your children? What if you have a bad heart and don’t live to see your children get married? If you cannot enjoy your family and your hobbies because your health is bad, what comes first now?

Maybe you aren’t there yet. You might be young, thin, able to drink two gallons of coffee and feel great. Maybe you even go to the gym, but stop by McDonalds on your way home. You could even think that you don’t need to exercise because you’re already thin and feel okay, so why waste your time? (Looks can be deceiving, don’t forget about your heart.)

Whatever it is that you want in life, your health should be at the very top of your list of what matters today. Because if you are not healthy, you cannot function at peak performance. If you cannot function at peak performance, you cannot be your best you for those you care about. You will not be able to handle what matters most, if you do not make your health your priority.

EXCUSES ARE LOUSY JUSTIFICATIONS

“I’d rather enjoy my life and eat whatever I feel like eating.”

“I’m too tired to exercise after a long day of work. I’d rather just go home and relax!”

“One day I’ll do it, I’m just too busy right now.”

“I’ll wait until my kids are grown and then I’ll take care of my health.”

What are your excuses for putting off your health? Do you truly think you are enjoying life when you repeat these excuses to yourself?

If you have used (or do use) any of the above excuses, maybe you are chuckling quietly to yourself right now. Because it sounds familiar.

The excuse mentality 
is all fine and dandy 
until it isn't.

Excuses pile on top of each other like little believable lies that we tell ourselves on a daily basis. I catch myself doing it, too. We are all culprits of excuses. But don’t forget that, until you acknowledge your excuses and see them for what they really are – lies – you won’t really be able to give priority to what really matters today.

Excuses are illusions of the mind and can be changed simply by making the decision to make something different happen.

CHANGE YOUR MENTALITY. CHANGE WHAT MATTERS

The need to do nothing and have it all, mentality is great, in theory, until you dissect it and see what it truly is.

You think you’re doing yourself a favor by doing what you want and eating how you want. It’s fun. It feels good. You’re an adult. There’s nobody

Until you have hit that 200 plus pound mark and find it hard to breathe, bend over and tie your shoes, get in and out of the car, run with your kids, sleep without snoring, etc. Does that really sound like fun? Now you have high blood pressure, heart disease, you hurt everywhere, and have weight issues that are going to take years to set straight.

Sure you can do it, and I believe in you if you are there now! Until you are no longer in this world, it is never too late to make your health matter today.

Nobody intentionally decides to gain weight, have health problems, live half their life in a doctors office, and chug bottles of pills daily. But this is the result of not putting your health first. The result of not making your health what matters to you, today. And this is the result of over half the American citizens today.

It is so sad.

OWN IT

There are natural consequences to every choice we make in life, whether wise or unwise.

If you choose to disrespect your own mental, spiritual and physical health, understand that you cannot blame anybody, but yourself, for the outcome of your decision.

It is time FOR YOU to take control of your health today.

At 40 years old, I am just now at a point where I am seeing the results of my healthy choices. I am beyond grateful for my past healthy decisions. At this phase in my life, I am seeing people suffering from not making their health matter today. I know people my age that are suffering with life-threatening disease. As a result of their poor choices, they have lost their ability to work (and play) at peak performance.

People are throwing away half their life 
by not making their health 
matter today.

Don’t allow another day to go by where you are another victim of this way of living. Own your body, respect it and take care of it!

GET UNCOMFORTABLE

I don’t care if you are 16 or 61, ~ if you want to change your life and make better choices, your health should matter today! It is time to make a change.

The number one thing you have to face is change. Change can be
uncomfortable.

But what would you rather have? The discomfort of making a couple changes for the better? Or the discomfort of your body crying out by way of aching joints, tooth decay, headaches, too much weight, disease, etc.?

MY PURPOSE

My purpose in writing this is to bring you to awareness of how important your health is and why it should matter. I want to help you begin your health journey and your lifestyle change.

I know that it isn’t easy, but keep in mind that nothing good ever came easy.

ENJOYING LIFE

We simply cannot enjoy life if we are not taking care of our health. Heartburn, headaches, low energy, aches and pains, and a host of common ailments that the majority of the population carry around with them as baggage, is not enjoying life.

True enjoyment comes from feeling and looking the best that you can feel and look so that you have no limits in setting goals, accomplishing them and celebrating your successes.

BEGINNERS RESOURCES

If you are new to your health journey and really do not know how to put your health first, or where to start, read my Beginners Guide to Healthy Living! I break it down into baby steps for newbs. 🙂

And if you need help grocery shopping for healthy food, read my article, How to Grocery Shop for Healthy Food. It really isn’t as complicated as you’d think.

If you have never been to a gym and are scared, worried, intimidated or don’t know what to expect, read, Beginners Guide to Weight Lifting and Gym Life.

So now that you’ve thoroughly thought through what matters to you today, what do you want tomorrow, five years from now, ten years from now?

What change are you going to make right now? What are you going to do to get uncomfortable starting right now?

Please feel free to comment below, contact me on social media and follow me here! Tell me what matters to you and how you are going to make your health a priority!

I love hearing from my readers. 🙂 I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

November 13, 2019September 1, 2020

Beginners Guide to Healthy Living

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclaimer for more info.

Get healthy? What does that mean? How does a beginner even… go there?

I get it! Starting off on your health journey can be really hard when you don’t know where to start.

My article, Balance8life In Motion is a great example of how to incorporate all 8 methods of health into a single day without feeling overwhelmed.

But let’s just get started here with a few tips for beginners, because, if you’ve never in your life done anything particularly “healthy”, getting started is overwhelming!

ONE – YOUR MIND

Get into a healthy mindset. What does a healthy person think? Well, since everybody is different, I don’t know what everybody else thinks! But, I think self improvement, and self improvement means: learn, study, be open to change, set goals, ask questions, etc.

Ask yourself, “Is this a healthy choice?”

Even if you don’t know the answer, start by asking the question, then begin the learning process. You don’t have to go far, browse my blog for lots of great stuff for healthy thoughts, healthy food, exercise, how to get good sleep, how to set goals, etc.!

Meditation isn’t something everybody is comfortable with. If you are comfortable with the idea, take some time to search “meditation for beginners” on Pinterest or Google, and begin to train your mind to be calm.

TWO – YOUR DRINK

Replace sodas and all other drinks with water, and try to get 8 cups of water (or 4, 16oz water bottles) in per day.

THREE – YOUR PLATE

Eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies with your meals, not between. Try to begin the process of not eating anything between your meal times.

FOUR – YOUR MOVE

Get active. Depending on what you’re used to doing, this can mean anything from cleaning your house to bumping up your activity level to a 5K.

If you’re used to doing absolutely nothing, start by walking (walk quickly, as if you’re in a hurry to get somewhere) and just be active in general.

Clean your house – mopping and vacuuming actually gets your heart rate up. Walk the neighborhood. Swim. Get creative, do whatever it is that you can think of, that you might enjoy, that keeps you off the couch or out of bed.

Be active for 30 minutes total in your day. If you need to break this up into 10 or 15 minute intervals throughout your day, that is a fine place to start. But make sure you time it.

Whatever it is you’re doing, when you start feeling your breathing become slightly difficult, and you can’t talk unless you stop, that is where you need to be for as long as you can, while you’re doing your 10-15 minute intervals.

While your heart rate is high like this, never sit down. Just slow your walking pace until you can breath normal again before you sit. (This is called a “cool down”).

FIVE – YOUR SLEEP

In order to have a clear mind and a good attitude, and the energy it takes to make successful change, your body needs 6-10 hours of sleep. 6 if you’re older, 10-12 if you’re under 20 years old.

SIX – YOUR AIR

Fresh air helps with sleep, cleans your lungs, clears your head and makes things smell good. Air out your home and car. Let in all that fresh air. It’s good for you.

Better yet, get out in it! Meditate, exercise, eat, or just sit on your phone outside if social media is your thing and you’ve got a break at work, take a “social media break” outside.

SEVEN – YOUR SHINE

Sunshine is good for you. No sunscreen here! 10 minutes is all you need in an entire day to get your vitamin D. And you need vitamin D so that your bones can absorb calcium.

EIGHT – YOUR INDULGENCES AND ADDICTIONS

We all need a break, even from the things we love. And we all like things that aren’t exactly good for us.

Moderation is where it’s at. Moderation is great friends with meditation. It is good training for self-control.

Start practicing self control by limiting yourself to treats (whether that is a food, a drink, a TV show, an activity, etc.) to only certain times in the day or week. Start spacing the time out between your indulgences to once a week or month and then every other month, (depending, of course, on what it is you’re doing), until you have a good handle on your self-control.

The cool thing with self control is, the more you practice it, the stronger it becomes.

This way, you begin the process of moderation by only allowing yourself to engage in things that aren’t exactly good for you, every once in awhile. This is good training for your future fitness and health goals once you’re ready to take it to the next level.

This is also a great way to begin the process of eliminating the things that are really bad for you! Some things just have to go, if you truly want to be healthy.

But don’t worry – we’re not focusing on that right now.

IN CONCLUSION

It is always best to start small. Baby steps is the only way to begin. Read my article Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last once you’ve gotten a few days or weeks into what we just talked about! This will help you take things to the next level!

If you have any questions, I’m here! And if I don’t have the answer, I’ll either find the answer or someone else that can give you an answer. So please don’t hesitate to ask! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

October 16, 2019October 14, 2020

How to Be Real (Positive)

**Today I am trying real hard to be real (positive)! But it is a real struggle!**

The thought crossed my mind . . . “How does positive equal negative?”

Let me re-word that.

How is it possible for "positive" things to turn 
your in-ward thoughts negative?

This was a thought I had (and processed for some time) when I was laying lazily on my bed thinking negatively about my day. (I was on Instagram, just FYI). I thought that all I had focused on was (mostly) positive, so I was puzzled as to why I was feeling so negative!

**As I pondered this weird thought, I realized that I had attached the word “positive” onto things that weren’t. . . real.**

For example:

A girl with an airbrushed face, (or filter) in a professionally taken photo at just the right angle, wearing the perfect outfit, with a huge smile on her (perfect) face, writing, “positive vibes” in the sand. . . and I feel. . . inadequate!

Why? Because I suddenly feel like I need that face, that body, that outfit and that sand, to feel positive vibes! *You can fake gasp here*.

Sometimes when I read all these “positive” quotes, see pictures of perfect bodies, see other people’s positive encouragement on instagram, and read blogs about how positive of a life the blogger has, I start to wonder if it’s real and, “what’s wrong with me?”

But this is where positive and fake are friends but shouldn’t be. (Didn’t anybody teach positive how to choose friends wisely!?)

Positive thinking equals positive feelings and vibes and people dig that st**f! But. . .

. . .  positive has to stay real!

Your body and actions follow your mind and thoughts. Everything we truly ponder and think about somehow shows itself in our actions – on our face. There is a reason why they say that if you think it, it will be so.

If you say you can’t, you won’t. If you set your mind to something, you will find a way to do it. Say “I can do”, whatever it is you’re wanting to do, but how real were you about that “can do”? And when you “couldn’t”, did you stop? Or did you figure out another way to accomplish the “can do“?

I see this all the time with my kids. “I can’t get good grades”, and they don’t. Why? Because they don’t care, and don’t put forth the effort to study. It has nothing to do with what they can or can’t do. I took away some pretty important privileges and we’ll see how those grades change soon. (I’ll have to report back later, this is still happening as I write.) But it’s not about can or can’t here, it’s about where the mind is focused.

Here are a few tips on how to stay focused on the positive and keep it real!

1. BE REAL (POSITIVE)

Positive thinking has to be realistic. You can’t tell yourself you’re going to lose 50 pounds in three months when it took you 3 years to put it on. “I can lose 50lbs!” Is real positive! “I can lose 50lbs in 2 months!” is turning a positive thought and attitude into a quick negative when it doesn’t happen.

Be real with yourself when you see or read positive vibes in a perfect world. There’s no such thing as a perfect world, but there is such thing as positive thinking in an imperfect world! It really makes it a lot easier to deal with, trust me! It isn’t easy, but it is possible! (Tell yourself you can do this! *wink*)

2. ACT IT OUT

Positive thinking has to bleed into your actions. You have to act it, feel it, fake it till you make it. Allow your thoughts to seep into everything you do, and you will eventually feel it even when you didn’t to begin with.

3. TAP INTO YOUR P0WERS

Humans are power packed beings filled to the brim with strength. Mental, physical and spiritual strength. But, just like muscles, strength grows with practice, repetitive behavior, endurance and consistency.

Tap into your powers, the mind strength, and override old, negative habits of thinking you can’t! Then, once you say you can do, believe you can, then you start going on a scavenger hunt within the labyrinth of your mind to find the open doors and windows, channels and alleys, that are the “can do” freeways.

You are stronger than you think you are. We are all stronger than we give ourselves credit for.

It’s all about the focus and belief. You can’t half way do this.

4. FIND THE FIRE

If you can’t get motivated, find out what it is that will put fire under your donkey. It’ll buck and get mad, but it’ll move! Go with it!

5. SHARE

When I am having a bad day and I walk into Walmart (that’s enough to put anybody in a worser bad day) and some stranger smiles. . . I don’t mean one of those fake things. I mean one of those big, genuine, real deal smiles, it kinda does something to me! What about you?

Share a smile, give positive vibes even if you’re not feeling it in the moment, and watch out. Positive vibes actually start to be real!

If you have any positive vibes to share, I’m so down! Please send them my way anytime! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

September 18, 2019October 14, 2020

Why is the Vegan Diet one of the Best Diets?

There are all sorts of diets that claim many, many things. So why is the vegan diet one of the best diets for you?

Many fad diets do what they claim. The problem with fad diets is, they’re not balanced and are very unhealthy and cannot be maintained. For example, many weight loss “diets” are labeled “the 30-day diet”, etc.

So, what happens after you’ve followed one of these fad diets for 30-60 days, got results, but the diet has timed out? Where do you go after that? This is where people often end up gaining back their weight and feeling defeated. They don’t know what to do after the diet ends.

My goal is to help you find a balanced diet that lasts for life, maintaining your results, and makes you feel amazing!

The vegan diet is, not only healthy for life, but also balanced and can provide you with all the nutrients your body requires, to be healthy.

One of the reasons the vegan diet is one of the best, is because you can reach any goals on this diet, and do it healthfully.

Bodybuilding, powerlifting, weight loss, weight gain, muscle building, and competitions can be done on a vegan diet. Also, pre-wedding body contouring, modeling, pregnancy and breastfeeding are also attainable on a vegan diet. Simply maintaining a healthy, normal, weight, can be achieved on a vegan diet.

The vegan diet is not an extreme diet that cuts out or adds anything in access to gain quick results. It is a diet that puts the balance in your daily menu and can help you gain results at a healthy pace.

As I talked about in, What is a Vegan, I briefly went over ways to grocery shop, the importance of reading labels, and gave a list of what to eat. But I didn’t say why it was such a good diet.

Vegan eating cuts out all animal products, which immediately cuts out the disease that is so prevalent in meat and dairy products.

There’s no guaranteed way to prevent or cure diseases. There are, however, ways we can prevent and cure common diseases, and the vegan lifestyle is that.

Some diseases that can be prevented and/or cured on a vegan diet. To name a few: diabetes, heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, menstrual difficulties, UTI, bowl irritability, heart burn, obesity, bad breath, acne, fatigue, and high cholesterol, etc.

The vegan lifestyle is the ideal way to be in the best place you can be, to maintain optimal health.

I have been a vegan for 39 years. For me, the benefits have really become apparent once I hit my 30’s. I have aged slower, started my period later as a teen, I never had acne, and don’t have stretch marks from my pregnancies. I’ve never had heartburn, digestion problems, food poisoning, kidney stones, weight problems, and have never been on medication. I also have a lot of energy and and sleep great.

Unfortunately, I did inherit high cholesterol, but by cleaning up my dairy intake and adding cardio to my workouts, I haven’t had to be on medicine. (I say “clean up my dairy intake” because I did start eating dairy for a short amount of time).

The trick to being a healthy vegan is to maintain balance in what foods you put on your plate and how much you eat.

I have known vegans who eat large amounts of fried foods, sugars, simple carbs, and very little to no rabbit food, that have struggles with their health.

Raw foods are very important for a balanced diet, regardless of dietary preference. You can be unhealthy on a vegan diet just as any other diets, so maintaining that balance between fresh and cooked foods, less sugar, more veggies and fruits, and less pre-packaged foods, is very important.

A balanced, vegan diet consists of:

Nuts and seeds (healthy fats)
Veggies (calcium, vitamins and minerals)
Fruits (healthy sugars)
Legumes (protein)
and whole grains (fiber, protein).

These foods offer way more than what I stated in the parentheses, but that just gives you an idea of what these foods offer.

I hope this helps, if you have questions, please ask!

And of course as always, please enjoy my blog by sharing it with your friends and family! If you have any questions, please reach out to me! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

September 11, 2019October 14, 2020

What is a Vegan?

The vegan diet is one of the best diets out there, but what is a vegan, and how would one do a vegan diet? Some of you don’t even know what being a vegan means, so I am going to briefly tell you what it means, what you can eat, then I’m going to show you what to look for when shopping for groceries, and how to manage going out to eat!

What does it mean to be a vegan?

WHAT IT MEANS:

Veganism is a way of living that excludes all forms of animal exploitation and cruelty, from food, clothing or for any other purpose.

In the diet alone, vegans refrain from dairy, eggs, or any other animal product, in addition to meat.

Vegan’s choose to live this lifestyle either for ethical, environmental or health reasons, or possibly for all reasons combined.

WHAT TO EAT:

Fruit
vegetables
nuts
seeds
whole grains
legumes
herbs

These foods used in recipes can give you everything you need for fun, nutritious, delicious meals!

When you cook at home, which is the best thing to do if you’re truly wanting to be a vegan that doesn’t starve, you can use the above items to make pizza, casserole, burgers, meat substitutes, bread, salads, muffins, cakes, cookies, pies, cheese, sauces, mayonnaise, etc.

Being a vegan doesn’t mean you are giving up your life of yummy food experiences. It just means you are putting something better in the place of something unhealthy. The something better will have less unhealthy fat, zero cholesterol, a ton more vitamins and minerals, just the right amount of protein, fiber, calcium and deliciousness to satisfy your cravings.

GROCERY SHOPPING:

Always read labels to everything when grocery shopping!

I just want to say real quick, that I choose veganism primarily for health reasons. This is why I personally don’t include honey in my “don’t eat” list, but a lot of vegans won’t eat honey, either! I use honey a lot, in place of traditional sugar, though sugar itself is vegan.

It isn’t always easy to be a strict vegan, but it is possible, and it gets easier over time. It becomes second nature. If you’re not used to paying attention to labels, you’d be surprised by how many “natural foods” actually have animal products in them.

Most grocery stores have healthy alternatives, but look online for health food stores near you. Whole Foods, small health food shops, and Amazon all have great alternatives if you’re looking for meat, cheese and milk substitutes.

THINGS TO WATCH OUT FOR:

The following items often have dairy and animal products in them when you wouldn’t expect them to!

Bread (milk and or eggs)
Beans and rice at Mexican restaurants (cooked in animal fat and chicken broth)
Natural, herbal supplements (often encased on capsule made of gelatin which is ground up animal bone)
Peanut butter (has mono and diglycerides in it, which is an emulsifier that helps blend oil and water, generally made from animal fat, but also can be made from vegetable fat as well. I prefer to buy natural peanut butter because it is simply peanuts and salt.
Crackers (mono and diglycerides)
Soups (creamy has milk, vegetable has chicken, or animal fat)
Boxed cereals (milk)
Pre-packaged oatmeal (milk)
Trail mix (yogurt covered raisins or m&m’s)
Spices (ground beef, etc.)
Ramen noodles and other pre-packaged soups (ground meat)
Vegetarian meat substitutes (egg whites)
Canned vegetables (meat chunks or broth)
Desserts (eggs, milk)
Drinks (milk)

And there are a lot more. If you notice, the common pattern here is “pre-made” not “homemade”.

Making your food at home is the key ingredient to ensuring that your food is 100% vegan!

The number one most important habit to get into, regardless of dietary preference, is reading labels! If you don’t understand what a word is, either leave the product on the shelf, or Google it to be safe.

GOING OUT TO EAT:

Depending on where you live, going out to eat can range from being super easy to being impossible!

When I visited California and the UK, vegan options were abundant while places in Texas and Louisiana are lost in time and don’t seem to understand the word vegan. Sadly, even a salad can be difficult to come by in these areas, and the best thing to do is do your research way before you go out to eat.

Ask your server. I used to be a server, and we don’t get offended or upset when you alter and modify your order. Ask as soon as you sit down, what options there are for vegetarian or vegan foods. Some servers know exactly what you mean and are very accommodating, others may not know and can find someone else to help.

As a vegan going out to eat, you have to get in the habit of modifying your food!

If your server doesn’t know much about the menu or what vegan means, my first go to is burgers. A lot of places now carry veggie burgers. Second is pasta dishes. Most of the time meat can be taken off of any salad or pasta dish. Next is pizza. Pizza is an easy fix if it’s not pre-made. Ask for marinara sauce. . . extra! And lots of veggies, with no cheese. Lastly are sides and salads because they’re not as filling, so I try to find something a little more filling than salad and a side.

Also, add-ons are great for vegans who have to take meat off. Sometimes it costs extra, but a salad with extra tomatoes or cucumbers, mushrooms and avocado really makes all the difference, and typically doesn’t cost extra if it already comes with it.

I am not allergic to dairy, I have made the decision to be a vegan for health reasons. So, if I am out to eat (which is rare – I make my food from scratch every day!) at times I will bend the rules and just make sure to ask that no cheese be added to my food, and of course I leave off the meat. Always. This way, it’s “mostly vegan” and I don’t have to nit-pick the heck out of my food. I feel at this point, it’s an okay compromise. But again, I rarely go out to eat. If I went out regularly, I’d suggest finding true vegan restaurants and making it a regular in rotation during the week.

Fast food: Know your fast food options. There are four main fast food restaurants I pick from: Subway, Taco Bell, Burger King and Moes. All of these have vegetarian options and leaving the cheese, sour cream and other dairy items off, is an easy fix.

COOK AT HOME:

The best option for saving money and following a true, healthy, vegan, lifestyle, is learning how to cook at home, from scratch.

I make my own granola, muffins and pancakes for breakfast, I make beans and rice, burritos, casserole, burgers, pizza, lasagna, etc. for lunches, and I also make crackers, soups, salads and parfaits, etc. for light dinners.

I was married to a meat and potatoes guy who hated vegan food, so I had to rise to the challenge of imitating the taste of regular foods in my vegan cooking.

The trick to vegan cooking is to utilize herbs, spices, natural oils and nuts for flavor!

Food has to taste good! The biggest mistake most people make when they go vegan is, they cook super bland. Also, they tend to leave out the legumes, nuts and seeds, which makes it like leaving the meat out of the meal. These foods are what gives your meals density and filler! Without them, you’ll be starving all the time.

Balance out your food groups, find good cookbooks, start pinning vegan recipes on Pinterest, gather your grub and make it happen! I have managed to fool many meat and potato eaters with the right use of ingredients. They didn’t even know they were eating vegan food!

I know you will probably have more questions about why a vegan diet is better than all the rest. That’ll be for another blog, and I’ll get there, I promise! In the mean time, check out my FREE list of 8 healthy snacks (below)! They’re vegan!

Please enjoy my blog by sharing it with your friends and family! You (and they) can explore balance8life anywhere! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

August 21, 2019October 14, 2020

Honestly, Will I Ever Lose the Weight?

Have you been trying to lose weight but just feel too tired, unmotivated and frustrated? Or maybe you’ve only been trying to lose weight mentally but haven’t actually gotten the energy up to put forth the effort to get on the ol’ treadmill.

Last week I did an article addressing the ectomorph body type (thin, high metabolism, struggles to gain muscle and fat). This week I’m going to talk about the endomorph.

The endomorph body type is bigger, has a higher body fat percentage, and is often pear-shaped. This body type has a high tendency to store fat. They also have a larger bone structure and because they store fat easily, they struggle with weight loss.

Endomorphs typically have a difficult time losing fat with just dieting. You gotta put on the tennis shoes and actually do work along with dieting, or you won’t see results very quickly. Along with the higher percentage of body fat, endomorphs also have less muscle mass.

Along with storing more fat than the average person, endomorphs also get tired easier and have a larger appetite which totally goes against weight loss!

The good news is, endomorphs are naturally strong and have great endurance.

Will power is going to be your biggest tool here, because these types like to take it easy, relax and chill. But you need to stay busy!

Blaming genetics is something we all do, no matter our body type. It’s an easy cop out when we don’t want to actually do something to make a change.

The best thing to do is be thankful for your body type. Every person has strengths and weaknesses, and not one person is alike.

I’m going to break this article into 4 sections:

Training
Rest
Nutrition
Supplements

TRAINING

Cardio, cardio, cardio! You have to do cardio, and for at least 30-60 min 4 days a week.

As an endomorph, you have to realize that exercise must to be a lifelong commitment. It should be a way of life for everyone, but for this body type, it is your ticket to lifelong weight control.

Overtraining only happens when you repeat the same thing over and over without rest, or change. In order to keep this from happening, you should rotate between 3 or more different activities to stay active, counteract boredom, and keep the weight off, without overtraining.

Circuit training with very little break is ideal
When weight training, do high rep, low weight
Focus on large muscle groups
Avoid heavy weight training
Avoid low reps
After attaining goal weight – it’s okay to isolate muscle groups to build where you desire
Low impact cardio is important. Low impact cardio options include:
- - swimming
  - Hiking
  - Biking
  - Walking
  - Yoga
  - Pilates

REST

Avoid excessive sleep.

Get up early and hit the ground running, literally. Put your workout clothes and shoes next to your bed and go for a brisk walk if you’re not ready to hit the gym first thing.

Wake up early, get up, and get moving.

NUTRITION

Don’t avoid carbs, you need them for energy. Removing carbs can trigger sluggishness and fatigue. There are some carbs you should avoid. These are simple carbs. Eat complex carbs only.

Simple carbs are:

White (table) sugar
Corn syrup
Candy
Ice cream
Cake
All baked goods with white flour
Bread with white flour (you should eat a lot of 100% whole wheat/grain bread!)
Pasta made with white flour
(Most) packaged cereals
ALL sodas
etc.

For more details about what simple and complex carbs are, go to last weeks article, How to Get Gains When Gains are Hard to Get.

If you completely eliminate carbs, you may find an increase in gastrointestinal problems and ketosis. The trick is choosing the right kind of carbs. Again, focus on complex carbohydrates.

Complex carbs like fruits, 100% whole grains, beans (legumes), and vegetables, including starchy vegetables like potatoes and tubers, are going to be your natural energy stimulants. You need these to keep your fatigue away! These foods won’t make you fat. It’s what you put on them that does that; so watch out for the butters, sour creams, oils, and other high fat flavors and sauces. Substitute those for homemade creams/sauces and dressings. (Search Pinterest for vegan creams, dressings and sauces).

Portion control is a must. Don’t eat until you’re super full. Only until you’re satisfied!

Lean protein. Beans/legumes are the best options, but if you haven’t embraced veganism or vegetarianism, stick to your white meats.

No red meats.

Add these foods to the top of your grocery list/weekly menu:

Oats
Beans
Brown rice
Veggies – especially green ones
Quinoa
Potatoes
Fruits
Walnuts and avocado for healthy fats
etc.

**Don’t opt for limiting diets with less than 1200 calories a day because the insufficient caloric intake could put your body into survival mode and prompt it to hold onto fat.**

SUPPLEMENTS

ENERGY. Before you down any pre-workout, it’s important to select energy sources that won’t give you a quick energy spike and then drop off fast after exercise.
- A great option is botanically sourced energy, and moringa, combined. I use Weyland complimentary formula with botanically sourced caffeine, complete b-complex, and energy supportive herbs. The energy increase is gradual and there’s no energy drop, which I love. There’s nothing synthetic in this product, plus there’s no sugar, and it is much healthier for your body than the pre-workout drinks sold at your gym. (Just be sure to take it with food, or you won’t feel good!)
Moringa powder has 92 nutrients and 46 antioxidants and no additional supplements are needed when consuming moringa daily. Moringa is natural and there are no side effects it can be taken while on medication and is 100% safe.
- Drink your moringa powder around the same time you take your energy for optimum, sustainable energy. I use Micro Ingredients USDA Moringa Leaf Powder.
BCAA’s. The Branched-chain amino acids – Luecine, isoleucine and valine – are essential. They differ from the other amino acids because they can be used for energy directly in the muscle without having to go to the liver to be broken down during exercise.
- Plant-based sources of BCAAs include: pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, brown rice and cashews. You can also choose a plant-based protein supplement that contains BCAAs, such as Vega Sport® Premium Protein, which has 5 grams of BCAAs per scoop. I have tried some Vega Sport proteins and they weren’t my favorite. I just use cashew milk for my shakes, add my fave protein powder, toss in raw unsalted pumpkin seeds and a fourth cup of quick oats to my shakes. And then eat beans and rice. This does the trick.

Losing weight is hard.

It takes time, patience and dedication.

But you will be rewarded.

Love yourself, embrace who you are, and make you the absolute best you, you can be!

I’d love to hear your story! And if you have any questions, feel free to reach out. You can message me anywhere you’d like. I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life, so wherever you like to communicate best, you can reach me!

July 25, 2019October 14, 2020

8 Best Protein Sources for Vegans

Protein sources for vegans can be easier to find than most people would think.

When I tell people that I am a vegan, the first thing they seem to freak out about is protein; can you even get protein on a vegan diet? Sure you can! In this article, I’m going to show you the 8 best protein sources for vegans.

Most people equate health and defined muscles to a large intake of protein. It is also common for people to think they aren’t getting enough protein.

First, lets look at protein. How important is it, really? And do you have to have an abundance of it to be healthy? Is “enough” difficult to come by, and can you get enough, or can you even get any protein if you are a vegan?

The short answer is, protein is important, but not in abundance. And yes, you can get more than enough protein on a vegan diet.

The average American consumes too much protein already. Add a liquid, high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet, and you could be in serious trouble.

A high protein diet is toxic to our bodies.

Doctor Agatha M. Thrash, M.D. of Preventive Medicine, and founder of Uchee Pines Natural Health Lifestyle Institute, states that,“A high protein diet puts a tax on the liver, breaks down protein tissues, triggers a loss of calcium from bones, and leaves toxic residues which must be eliminated. Before elimination of these toxic residues, however, the body is often damaged so that it is more susceptible to a variety of diseases, including cancer and arthritis.”

So how do we know when we’re getting too much or not enough protein?

Well, the dietary reference intake for protein is 0.8 grams per kilograms of body weight per day (USDA, 2010). When expressed as a percentage of total calories, the recommendation is that 10-35% of an individual’s daily calories should come from protein.

Here is an example: 200 pounds is 90.7 kilograms. That is approximately 73 grams of protein needed for one single day. A meal that includes a bowl of beans (15gr protein) and brown rice (7grams), a side salad with spinach and quinoa (5 grams) and a few walnuts (4 grams), equals to an approximate amount of 31 grams of complete protein. This is a single meal. You only need that less than three times in your day to get more than enough protein for one day.*

Protein, in its purest form and within the boundaries of a balanced diet, is important. Hair and nails are mostly made of protein. Your body uses protein to build and repair tissues. Protein gives you muscle mass, makes enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. It also is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, and blood.

PROTEIN NEED BY ACTIVITY LEVEL:

Activity Level No exercise:	Type of Exercise N/A	Protein Needs (g/kg body weight) 0.8 to 1.2
Light to Moderate	Cardiovascular Resistance	1.2 to 1.6 1.5 to 2.0
Moderate to Vigerous	Cardiovascular Resistance	1.5 to 2.0 1.7 to 2.2

But a little bit goes a long way.

As a fitness professional and a vegan, plus a gym rat, I have done years of studies, research and training to witness and experience first-hand, that meat is not necessary, needed or even healthy, for appropriate protein intake.

It is easy to get protein. Period. You don’t need as much as you think, nor is it as difficult to come by on a vegan diet, as one would assume. There is protein in almost everything, especially in legume, nut, seed and grain related foods. Accumulated over a day, it is likely to consume more than you thought, and more than your body requires.

Where do you get adequate protein on a vegan diet?

There are many foods that offer proteins, complete, and incomplete here are my top 8 picks.

1. Soy is a great source of protein for vegans

Soy products such as tofu, tempeh, and Edamame are among the richest sources of protein in a vegan diet with 27 grams of protein in one 14oz block of tofu. In Edamame there are 18 grams of protein in 1 single cup.

Soy is also a complete protein, which means that it provides all the essential amino acids that our body does not produce on its own, making it essential to acquire them from your diet.

protein sources for vegans — Lentils ~ 24 grams of protein

2. Lentils are a great source of protein for vegans

Lentils combined with a whole grain, (making this a “complete” protein) provides the same quality protein as meat, with 24 grams per 1 cup (cooked).

3. Quinoa is a great source of protein for vegans

Quinoa is also a complete protein source, with 4.4 grams of protein per half a cup cooked. It can be used as a hot cereal, in salads, in casseroles, used in place of rice, and much more. Pinterest has tons of great recipes using quinoa!

4. 100% whole wheat is a great source of protein for vegans

Wheat has 16 grams of protein per 1 cup.

In one slice of 100% whole grain bread, there is approximately 3.6 grams of protein per one slice of bread, depending, of course, on the size. Make that a sandwich and you’ve got about 7 grams.

A couple other grains that I often use are millet, which contains 6.1 g per cup and oats, containing 5.9 grams per cup.

5. Guava fruit is a great source of protein for vegans

Protein is mostly found in grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. But, some fruits also contain protein, guava being one of the highest, with 4.2 grams per one cup.

Other fruits that offer protein are Apricots (2.2 grams per cup), kiwi (2.1 grams per cup), blackberries (2 grams per cup), oranges (1.7 grams per cup), and bananas (1.3 grams per cup sliced).

6. Hemp seeds are a great source of protein for vegans

This is one seed considered to be a superfood, containing 9 grams of protein per ounce (about a tablespoon).

These seeds are a complete source of protein as well, delivering all nine essential amino acids.

Hemp is high in potassium and magnesium, which are minerals that can help reduce muscle cramping. Perfect for those of us who work out regularly! (I toss these little babies in my shakes allll the time!)

7. Peas are a great source of protein for vegans

Green peas contain 8.5 grams of protein per 1 cup.

In addition to protein, peas are great sources of vitamins, and soluble as well as insoluble fiber.

8. Mung beans are a great source of protein for vegans

1 cup of cooked mung beans has 14 grams or protein.

These beans also have several healthy antioxidants, also have anti-inflammatory properties, are known to lower high cholesterol, thought to aid in reducing high blood pressure, as well as lower blood sugar levels and many, many more amazing health benefits worth their consideration in a balanced, vegan diet.

BONUS. . . I couldn’t leave out Pumpkin seeds with 8.5 grams of protein per 1 ounce. (Plus BCAA’s! – I put a handful of theses in my shakes, too. Can’t even’t taste them.

So as you can see, protein is abundant in non-meat foods! I only listed 8 foods, but this list could be miles long, so I picked my faves and ones that are on the higher scale, but if you want more, shoot me an email here! I’m also on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, so wherever it is you like to hang out the most, follow and comment, ask and engage! I love talking about this stuff.

*The amount of protein in vegan meal mentioned above depends on types of legume eaten, and amount of each serving consumed.

If you have comments or questions on this topic, or anything else, reach out! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life, so wherever you like to hang, you can reach me!

July 10, 2019October 14, 2020

Consistency Killed the Fat

Consistency is the key to success. Whether you are new to a healthy lifestyle or have been doing it for years; Consistency is how we achieve lasting results.

Sometimes it’s just not easy.

Consistency means: steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, form, etc.

Like I already talked about in my articles, How to Set Goals that Last and Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last, there are steps we have to take in order to reach goals. But just like walking, if you take one step forward and another step backwards then you don’t really reach your goals very quickly, or ever.

This is where consistency comes in. Now when I say consistency, I don’t mean consistently stepping through all your changes one after another. I mean staying consistent with the change you just made. As you take those steps towards your end goal, make each one stick before you go to the next. Once you see you are consistent with that one, add the next change, the next piece in finding balance in your life everyday.

**Your goals should be realistic which will boost your ability to be consistent**.

If you are 300 pounds and your goal is to be 100 pounds, your realistic “baby step”goal, should be to lose 5 or 10 pounds (first). When your goals are realistic, you get to see obvious, consistent improvement and can celebrate your successes a lot quicker, reaching one small goal at a time.

Consistency depends on solid promises.

Never make a promise to yourself, or anybody else, that you cannot keep. In Six Steps to Setting Goals that Last, the 5^thstep is TALK ABOUT IT. Talking about it makes you want to continue those good habits so that you don’t disappoint anyone, but we all have moments where we fail. Owning those moments and promising to do better, for yourself, is also important. Consistency isn’t always immediate, it’s a mindset; begin with consistency in your mind and when you miss it don’t lose that mindset, reset and keep pushing.

Once you have decided what you’re going to do, talking about your plans reinforces them and motivates you to take action. It also creates strength within you to do it again. This gets stronger and stronger every time you do what you said you were going to do.

I’ve seen this recently. My brother and I have been listening to a lot of podcasts about how to change the habits you do on a daily basis. He is a car salesman and the hours are long. Going to the gym can be a struggle.

My boyfriend and I just recently started going to the gym at 5am. Since Andrew works with my brother, and there just isn’t any better time to hit the weights, I told him he needed to get in the gym with us. Which, to say the least, was the last thing he wanted to do. Sleep or gym? I think we would all want to choose sleep.

Eventually, my bro did start coming, but he missed a day after his first day, went again, missed another couple days, but kept at it. Now he’s a regular 5am gym rat… who’da thunk?

My point is, he did miss a few days, but he stayed consistent in his mindset and he regularly told people at work that he was doing it, plus he posted every morning on Snapchat that he was. So he had the combined mental consistency, the “talk” and his actions followed. (Plus, he had us, which helped!)

If you are in the beginning stages of a change in lifestyle, and you SKIP one single day, at this moment, you’re weakening your mental strength.

Sometimes we miss a day because of unavoidable circumstances. Make sure that you are consistent in your thoughts, not just your actions. If you miss a day keep telling yourself “I am doing this thing every day”.

Once you allow yourself to miss a second day during your new habit forming stage, unless you have extremely strong will power, this is a potential set up for a third day, and the rest of your days to come.

Decide, commit, and don’t go back.

Consistency and lazy can’t be friends.

Change sucks. It hurts. It’s difficult. It takes energy. It takes dedication. You have to force yourself to put one baby step in front of another. Once you look back at how those little steps brought you to the top of the mountain, … ain’t nobody ever regretted the pain it took to see the view!

Bad days happen, but consistently push past them.

Get up. Move on. Keep up the momentum! Don’t let one off day ruin your progress and keep you down. Consistency requires you to get up, push past the pain, accept that you’re not perfect, and repeat the times that you did well before.

Focus on the positive. We all have bad days. Life happens. The trick is to accept that life will get in the way sometimes. Recognize when it was really life and when it was a decision to find an excuse not to keep going. I talk about how to turn excuses into positive results in Quit the Routine Start an Excuse.

Set a two-week no break rule to solidify your consistency.

If you are about to take that first baby step, and you’ve done everything you need to set yourself up for the change, make a two-week-no-break rule. Get into the habit of your new decision and change. This way, you’re well on your way and when you take a day off or miss a day, you’re more likely to get back on it than if you take a day off two days in.

If you consistently want it, you’ll consistently go get it.

Period.

The title of this article is “Consistency Killed the Fat”, and I realize that I have mostly been talking about fitness, but, I am talking about any change!

If you are wanting to lose, or gain, weight, eat better, change your entire eating habits in a drastic way, drink more water, etc., any healthy lifestyle habit requires baby steps, and consistency for long-term results. It is very important to stick with it and stay consistent even when you don’t see a change. Change takes time. Without consistent persistence, change won’t happen.

Keep it consistently exciting by changing it up.

Boredom can ruin a great routine. Sometimes we have to break away from the routine, and find something to spice it up. If you’re tired of the gym and finding it difficult to keep going, get involved in something outdoors, or join a class in another location. There are options; Google and Pinterest are great places to find ideas!

Follow balance8lifedotcom, ’cause I am consistently here to motivate!

I’m here to help! I post something new every Wednesday. Doing things alone, making a change of any kind, takes a lot of work, so finding that someone that can help keep you focused is so invaluable. For quick on-the-go motivation, tips, and reminders, follow balance8life on Instagram here!

No matter where you are in your health-journey, keep up the good work! You’ve got this! I would love to hear from you! You can comment below, or, if you want to follow me on social media, come on over! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.

April 16, 2019October 14, 2020

Is Exercise Really Essential?

At 28 years old, I had incredibly high cholesterol, was having serious, constant, back pain, insomnia, couldn’t do a quick sprint to catch the ball my son had thrown, ride a bike, or any activity that exerted any sort of energy past cleaning house, without discomfort and instant exhaustion.

. . . But I ate right and I wasn’t overweight.

I didn’t think I needed to exercise beyond an occasional walk with the kids.

It didn’t really dawn on me until I was thirty years old, that exercise is not only not overrated, but it is essential to being and feeling whole, healthy and happy.

When I was thirty-years-old, I went to the beach with a friend of mine and we did what we’d been doing the past fifteen years of our lives: a fun, goofy, photo shoot.

We have albums of moment in our lives from the age of fifteen on, of fun hikes, beach trips, weekend excursions to the park, museums, etc.

This time, when we returned from the beach and uploaded the photos to my computer, I was truly horrified.

I had no idea how badly I had let myself go. I wasn’t overweight, as I have already stated, and in clothes, nobody would guess that I was so unhealthy. I was a vegan and I did everything right. I thought.

But I had hit that mark. The “older” mark, and I’d had 5 children. My unhealthy state of being hit me hard. I had finally reached a point in my life where I had to actually do things to keep my body looking good.

Mind blown.

Exercise isn’t just about looking good. It’s about feeling great, too, but on an even deeper, more important level, exercise is about being truly healthy.

It doesn’t matter what you look like or how you feel, if you don’t include exercise in your daily routine, you aren’t going to be balanced in your journey to a healthy lifestyle.

When my friend returned to the great state of Washington, we talked about how we looked in the photos, and he and I made a commitment to each other to keep each other motivated and accountable, even though I was alllll the way down in Georgia.

We decided to exercise and get in shape.

I didn’t know where to begin.

I had no knowledge of the world of fitness. I was a stay-at-home mom that lived out in the woods, alone, and had no idea what exercise meant beyond going for a walk.

As you come with me on this journey to a healthier, more balanced lifestyle, I will show you what I did to lower my cholesterol, lose inches where it mattered, and gain them (also where it mattered) and reach my goals to a happier, healthier me.

Now, let’s get started on this journey! In order for exercise to be a part of your health journey, you need to:

SET GOALS

I can help you with How to Set Goals That Last here!

OUTLINE THOSE GOALS

In my article, 6 Steps on to Setting Goals That Last , I show you exactly how to go about doing this, and it’s just 6 steps, nothing overly complicated!

START HERE

If you’re at home and don’t have much, or any, equipment, read my article Working Out At Home, to see what I did when I had no money, no equipment, no gym, no time and didn’t know anything about fitness!

KEEP IT UP

It isn’t always easy to know exactly how to go about keeping up a new habit. Read my article about consistency and how to do just that!

Later on, once you’ve got this started, go to my blog for more on diet, what is and isn’t good, diet myths, fitness techniques, and tons more!

I would love to hear about your journey and goals! You can comment below, or, if you want to follow me on social media, come on over! I am on Facebook, Instagram, E-mail, Twitter, Pinterest and balance8life.