Recommendations

What I am reading or watching? Obviously this list is not exhaustive, but it's a good starting point. I will be linking up new sites/books, as I see fit.

 

Blogs

Rebooted Body & The Nester

These are not blogs I read every day, but the former has changed my life. In fact, a lot of principles Kevin addresses have made their way into my practice as well. I am working through his program and continually refining myself, my outlook, and health.

The Nester has a beautiful saying, "It doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful". Amen. I have applied this to so many areas of life. My home, my appearance, my wardrobe, myself. None of these are perfect, but they are beautiful. My BFF and I often remind each other to be kind to ourselves. We would never tell the other some of the mean things we tell ourselves (you're fat, you're old, you're lazy), so we need to be kind. The Nester helps navigate this, mostly through home décor, but it is applicable to life in general.

Books

Wheat Belly Great information regarding how our body processes wheat, the effects of it in our diets, how the wheat we know today is different from the days of yore, and what you can do to change it!

Choose More Lose More for Life Choose More, Lose More is on the list not for the "diet", but rather the workouts. I LOVE these!! They are hard, fast, intense, and effective! Chris Powell, from Extreme Makeover: Weight-Loss Edition, has developed 28 unique HIIT (high intensity interval training) 9 minute workouts that target upper body, core, lower body, and general cardio. Each day, Monday thru Friday is a different workout. You do not repeat the same sequence of activity for another 28 days! How great is that?! Also, each day the timing is different. You may do one exercise continuously for 3 minutes, or do one rep of exercise 1, then one rep of exercise 2, one rep of exercise 3, and then step ladder upon that. Now, 2 reps of each exercise, then 3, etc for a total of 9 minutes. Another timing workout is you work as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10, repeat 5 more times for a total of 3 minutes, then do the same with the next exercise. It may sound complicated, but he lays it out very easily. These are the only standard exercises I love to do. I feel strong, toned, and fatigued when I complete the circuit. Also, I love I am able to track how many reps or cycles I completed because when I get back to that same routine in a month, I can see how I've improved. And, for 9 minutes, you can do it! You can do almost anything for 9 minutes! 9 minutes and you're done!

The 5 Love Languages This book is great for learning how you express love and how you like to receive it. Quickly, the five are acts of service, quality time, gifts, physical touch, and words of affirmation. Once you identify how you receive love, you are able to communicate that to your spouse (if they don't already know), and you're able to see ways other loved ones are loving you. I am a quality time and acts of service kind of person. If my husband takes my car to get washed and fills it up....SWOON! I feel like he has taken time out of his day, assessed my needs, taken it upon himself to meet those needs for me. It shows me that he is looking out for me and I feel loved, taken care of, and protected. The rub comes when your loved one doesn't speak the same language. My husband is words of affirmation and physical touch. It has taken me several years to learn the correct words for him and that even if I can't cuddle him right then, I may be able to hold his hand and show him that I'm thinking of him. This book ties in well with the self-care we've been discussing!

Boundaries Another part of self-care is realizing your own limitations and being able to identify areas in your life that may need to be readdressed. Just as children need boundaries to keep them safe, physical and emotional, adults need them in relationships, too. What are you comfortable with in a relationship? You may hear someone say, "Well, this person hurt me and they were late and I'm so mad at them!". Boundaries helps you identify your role in this situation and what you can do to either get more involved or withdraw while helping you form healthy relationships. There may be a person in your life that continually hurts you. Unintentionally, but you continue to be optimistic that this person doesn't mean you harm, will stop hurting you, and will wisen up and learn from this. They may or may not, but YOU can change YOU. You can keep the person a little farther away, emotionally. You can limit your interactions with this person. You are able to determine how often you see them, hear from them, the types of communication you have with them, etc. It is dynamic and empowering. Instead of being hurt and being the victim, what can you do to empower yourself and take control? Excellent read!

Also, just finished Daring Greatly by Brené Brown on Audiobook. Fantastic book! I'm excited to read more her works.

Recipes

Skinny Taste, Low Carb Yum, Eat Real Food.

Movies

Fat sick nearly dead, Food inc, Super size me,

Podcasts

Happier with Gretchen Rubin, The Rebooted Body by Kevin Geary

Disclaimer: Some of the links above are to my Amazon Affiliate page. I am not being paid to recommend any of these products. I found them on my own and believe in them. If you can find help or comfort or education in any of them, then that's great!