Adventures in Aussieland

Not every adventure requires travelling across the globe and discovering fresh destinations. Sometimes adventures unfold right within your own home. These can be adventures of introspection, advancement, and self-improvement. Lately, I've found myself in a bit of a health rut. I was consuming unhealthy food, I wasn't getting any exercise, and it felt as though my body was becoming one with the couch (it happens to everyone at some point). My wellbeing and fitness were clearly suffering because of my poor choices. I recognised that something had to shift. I despised feeling lethargic and fatigued constantly. Given my hectic timetable, I worried that any effort I made would fade quickly. I tend to get overwhelmed when faced with significant change. This leads me to frequently abandon my goals. I didn't want that to occur this time around. I needed this transformation to become part of my routine.


I'm hoping that by sharing this article, others will either participate in this adventure alongside me and we can help keep each other accountable. Maintaining a nutritious diet can appear challenging (and rather pricey!), so I immediately searched Pinterest to assist with my wholesome eating journey. I soon discovered numerous articles with excellent guidance on how to consume clean and weekly meal schedules. Based on my research, here are several strategies I've discovered to be quite effective and have supported my progress:

Meal Calendars
Pinterest is genuinely a marvellous tool. You can discover practically anything and everything you didn't realise you wanted. I've noticed when I document things down, I'm far more likely to stick with them. Displaying my weekly meal plan on the refrigerator has strengthened my accountability (especially if I skip a meal, it's right there staring at me and remorse sets in). I came across this fantastic calendar from healthandhappyhour.com. It's an excellent planner where you can document your meals for the week. It also includes sections for exercise and your daily water consumption.

Image sourced from: http://goo.gl/81YHG4

Weekly Meal Plans
I'm unsure about you, but with an incredibly packed schedule, I usually begin with excellent intentions to consume well throughout the week. Then Wednesday arrives and I've slept in, missed packing a meal, and I'm heading to Macca's between appointments. Organising my meals ahead of time not only ensures I'm eating well throughout the week but also prevents me from squandering food. Prior to beginning meal organisation, I'd often purchase excess food or items that didn't work with my other dishes. Through planning out my meals in advance, I'm able to be genuinely mindful about my eating choices and ensure I'm throwing away as little as possible. Over time, it's saved me substantial money!

Image sourced from: http://goo.gl/0ZV9ua

Meal Prepping and Quick Breakfast Ideas
If you're anything like me then you're certainly not an early riser. I can set numerous alarms, jot down uplifting affirmations, and fully intend to get up early to take the dog for a walk and enjoy a proper, nutritious breakfast. When morning arrives, I'm pressing snooze and calculating in my head how much longer I can remain in bed without arriving late at work. Spending an hour or two on a Sunday to ready my meals for the first few days is genuinely worthwhile, particularly for breakfast. I normally don't invest much time cooking each meal (as I'm quite particular about eating food that's been reheated) but I will dice up all the fruit and vegetables, divide ingredients for every meal, and assemble some straightforward breakfast options. Lately, cottage cheese paired with fruit or a smoothie have been convenient morning standbys.
**I understand that consuming smoothies in the morning may not be the healthiest as it removes a lot of the fibre from the fruit and essentially just leaves a sugary drink HOWEVER, with my auto immune disorder sometimes all I can tolerate is liquids so I figure something is better than nothing.**

Image taken from: http://goo.gl/331Oxe

Small Goals
One of the simplest ways to fail at something is by attempting too much at once. I'm definitely culpable of trying to alter too many things simultaneously, becoming overwhelmed, and then abandoning everything entirely. A simple way to break this pattern...Introduce modest objectives. Establish a timeframe for how long you need to master this objective before introducing another one. If you're wanting to eliminate soda, all sugars, and completely overhaul your eating habits, begin with one and gradually work your way up to having your diet encompass all of these objectives. When I'm attempting to change my eating habits, I normally try to eat healthy 4 out 7 days throughout the week. I try to steadily increase this number up to the whole week. Frequently, with the meal calendars and meal preps it becomes remarkably straightforward for me to eat healthy the entire week. Then I feel even more satisfied with my objective!

There's only one way to make a change and that's to actually begin. I know I'm not going to be flawless in this undertaking but I know eventually I will make healthy eating into a permanent lifestyle choice. If you're looking for ideas on where to begin, I will be posting great meal plans and other healthy recipes I find on my Pinterest.