Tag: healthy
When you work freelance like I do, and you make your own schedule, it can be both a blessing and a curse. Sure, if I want to take the afternoon off because it’s a gorgeous sunny day, I can…but it also means I’m always juggling my schedule and fitting in meeting, events, fitness and a social life however/whenever I can.
As much as a 9-to-5 job can be a drag, sometimes I envy the structure it gives your life. Although that does mean you have to cram everything else outside of those hours, doesn’t it? So life can get chaotic for all of us–whether it’s kids, fitness, travel, friends, work–we all have times we feel like we’re just struggling to stay ahead of it all.
How do I juggle my responsibilities and make it work? It’s not rocket science by any means but here are three ways I’ve found have helped make my busy schedule more manageable.
Snack on the go. I try to eat three meals a day, and snack as needed depending on my workouts and how hungry I am. But sometimes i legitimately forget to include time to grab a meal because I’ve scheduled my day to run from one meeting to another. And often, since I’m not a morning person, I’m running out the door trying to get to an early workout or event, and I haven’t eaten a thing. This is why ready-to-go snacks like Good & Simple Muffins and Bars are a staple in my house. I’m partial to the Bars (they’re just easier to eat and I find they taste slightly less sweet than the muffins); Walnut and Grains is my fave but the Blueberry Oatmeal is a close second. Made with real ingredients such as whole grains (in the blueberry oatmeal bar, for example, there’s 13 grams of whole grains in each bar) and no artificial flavours or colours, Good & Simple offers a wholesome and tasty quick way to fuel up quickly and when you’re on the move.
Create some routine to your day to day. While I love making my own schedule (although I do curse that very same thing when I’ve taken a few hours off in the day to go to a sample sale and I’m typing away on my computer at 2 a.m.!) , going through each day with zero structure can be taxing mentally. So I try to have some routine to my day: I try to do a quick journal entry morning and night (this is still a work in progress), and now walking my recently adopted dog, Billie Jean, a minimum of three times a day helps me break up my schedule into distinct chunks of time, which makes managing my time easier to do.
Find a calendar that works for you. My smartphone calendar is my bible. I use the Informant app to keep track of my events, meetings, phone calls, deadlines, workouts, appointments and plans with friends. It’s all colour-coded, and I’m very, very lost without it and refer to it a few times a day. I didn’t find the iCal had all the functionality I wanted, which is why I purchased Informant. Before I bought it, I was forgetting about deadlines from time to time. It remains the most expensive app I’ve ever bought but it was worth it (and that’s even without using it to its full capabilities, I still need to learn how to make use of all of its features).
I’d love to know if you have ways to streamline your busy life! And in the meanwhile, to learn more about Good & Simple, which are now available in Ontario, here.
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July 27, 2017
I spend a fair bit of time away from home (and I talk about some of my travel must-haves here), and being away so often makes my time at home that much more precious to me. I struggle sometimes at making it a haven where I can kick back and relax (between what seems of endless loads of laundry–I’m just one person but between delicates, regular clothes and workout clothes, it piles up!–and constantly unpacking and repacking luggage, gah!).
But the one thing I know I don’t have to worry about is my stash of skincare essentials. As an Aveeno® Active Naturals® ambassador and a lifestyle writer, I get to try out a slew of products regularly, and these are the Aveeno products I turn to time and time again, and what helps me keep a healthy balance to my on-the-go lifestyle:
Because I’m working out regularly, I shampoo my hair often. Which can dry out hair, but I use Aveeno® Positively Nourishing Moisturize Shampoo and Conditioner so that my hair doesn’t get stripped. These two products are made with a formula of gentle moisturizers and includes a nourishing Wheat Complex and Oat Protein so my often over-shampooed hair maintains shine and strength. I usually don’t travel with these products (in order to save space in my luggage — carry-on only whenever possible!) and I notice the difference in how much more manageable my hair is once I return home and use these products instead of whatever was in my hotel room.
While I typically wear a higher SPF, during cooler months where I’m typically indoors for more time, I love to use Aveeno® Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer SPF 15. With its Total Soy Complex and natural light diffusers, it helps with my uneven skin tone and dark spots, and I like that it’s hypoallergenic and non-comedogenic. It is lightweight, though, so in the winter, I use a heavier night cream or an oil to give my dry skin (which gets exposed to harsh winter elements since I run outside all winter) more of rich dose of hydration.
As for my body, I’ve always been prone to dry skin, so with my skin recovering from winter and my frequent showering (often twice a day because of (1) life and (2) regular workouts), hydrating my skin well is actually the thing I’m most diligent about when it comes to my beauty routine. If I were to skip this step, I’d be scaly as a snake and itchy AF. So, in order to NOT be in such a state, I slather on the new Aveeno® Eczema Care Itch Relief Balm, which helps strengthen the skin’s natural moisture barrier and moisturizes skin well. It’s not greasy, and is gentle enough for daily use. Plus, I love that it’s in a large pot (it drives me crazy when pump dispenser’s stop pumping out lotion when there’s so much left in the bottle!).
Where I can slack off with my moisturizing routine is when it comes to my hands. Did you know–your hands are the first part of your body to show serious signs of aging?! So, I keep a tube of Aveeno® Daily Moisturizing Hand Cream on my office desk so I can apply it when I’m working on my computer.
I remember Aveeno® being on the bathroom shelf when I was growing up, actually, so it’s been a trusted staple on my bathroom shelf for practically my whole life, come to think about it.
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June 12, 2017
All of the guacamole, tacos, ceviche and margaritas, por favor!
What? Don’t tell me those aren’t your plans when you hit up an all-inclusive in Mexico! As if. Yep, that’s definitely what came to mind when I booked into my calendar my upcoming Cancun getaway thanks to the folks from Expedia.ca.
I’m off to Playa Mujeres after carefully selecting a vacation on Expedia.ca and as you know, all-inclusive resorts are all about that over-indulging life. I think we all fall victim to wanting to get your money’s worth, and become gluttonous fools when faced with open bar and a buffet.
So how to not let the all-you-can-eat buffet ruin your typically healthy and reasonable diet? I try to stick to the M.O. I do at home:
Start by assessing what’s being served at the entire buffet. If you just start at one end of the buffet, adding to your plate as you walk along, you may end up with foods in your plate you don’t enjoy as much as other dishes you come across later on. A quick walk-through (including the dessert table so you know if you need to save room for that) will prevent this from happening.
Serve yourself small portions. I used to take what would be a typical serving of, say, potatoes. But I often just want a taste of a dish, so I now serve myself one or two baby potatoes (meticulously scooping up just two as though I eat like a bird when I so don’t) rather than a ladle-full. It doesn’t make for a good foodie Instagram, haha, and I know I probably look like the kind of person who counts precisely how many almonds for a serving (it’s 23 almonds btw, these are the things you learn when you cover health and food…) , but if you only want a small taste, just a spoonful is just right. Also, if you want more, you can always get seconds. Better to take less to start with rather than over serving yourself and having it end up either in your belly because you’re mindlessly eating or because you feel pressure to eat your plate clean, or in the garbage.
If you don’t like it, don’t eat it. You’ve taken something from the buffet that wasn’t as tasty as you thought it would be. And maybe you were brought up to eat all the food on your plate, or maybe you feel rude or guilty with the staff seeing food that’s barely been touched on your plate, but that’s something you have to get over. I suppose it’s a bit like the Marie Kondo decluttering method but for eating; if it’s not bringing you joy, get rid of it.
Be as picky about what and how much you drink as you are when it comes to, oh I don’t know, who you date. Unless you’re a dating machine who swipes right all the time. Well, just be selective when it comes to your drinks, OK? We all know that booze is empty calories. And I remember my first few all-inclusive vacations, I drank sugary, frozen neon cocktails (because those were the only cocktails served) from morning til night even though I found them generically sweet with little actual flavour and quite unappealing. That same trip, we stopped into a chic boutique hotel where we sipped mojitos by the pool bar–a proper mojito with fresh mint and top-shelf rum–and it was so refreshing and delicious and such a difference from the cheap drinks I’d been downing. Quality over quantity. If your resort serves incredible cocktails, well, you can try the drink-water-every-other-cocktail trick to keep your sugar and calories lower than it’d be if you were steady drinking daiquiris.
You are on vacation, though. So don’t be so rigid with how you approach your meals and drinking hat it gets in the way of enjoying yourself. We all deserve a treat now and then. You know I believe in a healthy balance when it comes to most everything in life. Also, when I start to feel like I’ve been over-indulging, it’s just extra motivation to go to the gym before parking myself in a cause longue, or going for a long walk on the beach. And in the end it’s just a week; a week of relaxing when it comes to your diet won’t be the end of you.
And, besides, guac is made with avocados, which is loaded with healthy fats (but that doesn’t mean you can go ahead and eat a mountain-size serving! Remember, I said a taste or two that you truly enjoy.)
My Expedia.ca vacation is booked (check out my tips on how to find the right resort for you here) and, although I’ve flown into Cancun airport several times to go to Playa del Carmen and Isla Mujeres, it’s my first time staying in Cancun, and I’m looking forward to fun in the sun with one of my besties. Any Cancun recos? I’d love to hear about them, and about what your vacay plans are.
December 1, 2016
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