Happy Monday, guys! Especially as the first day of the week tends to mark somewhat of a clean slate, it’s probably a good time to discuss one of my favorite tips regarding health & overall wellbeing:
No matter how many times I see this (or something along the same lines), it continues to be an extremely powerful reminder. As appealing as the notion of “perfect health” can be, I personally think it’s more of an ideal rather than a reality. Health is something which we have to continue working towards for the rest of our lives, slowly but continuously. Along with being manageable & sustainable, it’s the small tweaks that add up to huge differences. Although I could write a book on the various changes & habits I’ve implemented in the past 9 years, I wanted to share 3 I’ve made over the past month.
1) Starting my day off with canarino a.k.a. a fancy term given to hot water & lemon: I like to think of this habit as a mini detox that I subject my body to daily. I have no plans to give up tea or coffee, but both are no longer my first drink of the day. The benefits of canarino are huge & 2 which particularly appeal to me include:
- Aids digestion: Sorry for TMI but lemon juice can help cleanse the bowel by flushing out waste more efficiently and stimulating the release of gastric juices, which aid digestion. If constipation, indigestion, heartburn, or bloating are symptoms you experience, it’s definitely worth trying.
- Balances pH levels: Contrary to popular believe that lemons are acidic, they’re actually quite alkalizing. As a result, hot water & lemon can help reduce the acidity which builds up in our bodies when we are asleep, and therefore also reduce inflammation within the body.
Not too shabby for such a basic drink 😉
2) Switching from antiperspirant deodorant to roll-on: This change was as per my mom’s ongoing request due to the aluminum content in antiperspirants. To an extent, everything causes cancer. However given how prevalent cases of breast cancer have become, I rather take precaution where possible. While it cuts my risk down drastically, this change merely requires me to pick up a different bottle from the same aisle.
3) Consciously increasing my calorie intake: I am going to devote a whole post to this in the near future, so I will just briefly touch on this. Although it’s only been a few weeks, I am constantly amazed at how beneficial this has been to me overall. My skin looks better which I can only attribute to the extra fats. Apparently my body needed the extra fuel because my workouts lately have been on fire. And going by the fit of my clothes, it’s given my metabolism a kick in the right direction.
A healthy lifestyle is a journey, not an endpoint. While good health is not a straight road, I’m pretty sure these small changes have made me significantly healthier than I was a month ago. And the best part? They are all changes which I can see myself continuing with in the long-term.
What small changes have you made in terms of your health…either recently or over the years
“A healthy lifestyle is a journey” – couldn’t agree more with this!!!
Great post Khushboo! I really need to try the lemon and warm water drink first thing in the morning.
Great post – thanks so much for the reminder about the big benefits of small changes.
Oh, ad btw, I tried out your suggestion to put cinnamon on potatoes and OH MY! So so good! I didn’t think potatoes could taste like that! Thank YOU!
Ah I’m so glad you loved the potatoes…next time try dipping cinnamon-dusted potatoes into nut butter- to die for 🙂
Love this. It’s so true that small changes are important and can finally lead to the goal of living a healthy lifestyle. It is part of my morning routine to drink hot lemon water and I actually do this since more then 2 years and loving it.
I also switched to natural beauty products lately, I use Origins which is ridiculously expensive but SO GOOD!
Ooh my mom uses Origins and is a huge fan too 🙂
Firstly, that tea pot…. amazing.
Secondly, cannot wait for that post you have planned- I really commend you and your healthy outlook buddy! Your K Weigh clients are truly blessed to have someone who actually has experience AND is not promoting fad diets. There seems to be a trend in the blog world of everyone and their brother going into that particular field and personally, I doubt their in the mental or physical mind-frame to do such a thing!
Ah Arman, thank you for making MY WEEK with your comment- it really is one of the nicest comments I’ve ever received!!
I recently changed to a more natural aluminum-free deodorant too. I’m trying to switch to more natural beauty products overall.
Sounds like a great plan 🙂
I adore the idea of small changes leading to big results. I think one of the biggest things that turns people off from adopting a healthier lifestyle is the idea that they have to abandon all their old habits at once and completely overhaul their entire lives. Not so! Like you said, even the small changes make huge differences, and once you start adding in those small changes and seeing positive results, you become more motivated to adopt new ones. Can’t wait to hear about your experience with increasing your caloric content! I may just have to pick your brain about this in our e-mails 😉
Haha you might just get a sneak preview 😉
So much truth in this lady! I think a lot of people give up on a ‘healthy lifestyle’ because they make too many changes at once, making it hard to stick too. And I absolutely love how you mention the health benefits of increasing your calories – despite all the research about how decreasing calories can be detrimental to your health and metabolism, a lot of people still think that a 1200 calorie diet is the way to go.
And I start my mornings off with my water, lemon, apple cider vinegar and stevia – definitely happy that I got into that habit!
Oooh boy, it makes my blood boil when I hear dieticians promoting diets which barely total 1,200 calories- so appalling!
such a powerful message here..health is a work in progress because I am sure we all have a room for improvement everyday. Recently, in terms of smaller changes, I have been consciously eating breakfast with some sort of protein and drinking atleast 8 cups of water. I am looking forward to hear about the calorie increase post..I have noticed when I eat more calories than needed, I gain a little weight but it does make my skin look brighter and no dark circles.
I’m looking forward to sharing my experience! I want to wait another few weeks before I publish it :)!
Awesome post! I didn’t know canarino was even a word. Didn’t think lemon and water could get any fancier!!
Haha canarino sounds so much more appealing than “hot water & lemon” 😉
So true about the small changes leading to the big results. Every little thing we do really adds up to all the success we have in the future. I always try to think of those little things, especially when I’m having a bad day.
I think it’s great you are using these steps to add to your personal healthy lifestyle!
That’s the beauty of that quote- it applies to almost every facet of our lives 🙂
I’ll look forward to reading your post about upping your calories. It’s crazy- years ago when I was trying to lose some college weight gain I did the typical low-calorie, low-fat eating thing…but years later I eat so much more as far as healthy fats and carbs go and I look and feel TONS better. Whole foods are the way to go, for sure.
Hot water with lemon is awesome. I also can’t go a day without tea!
Ohh I totally agree- looking back at the days where I ate an extremely low-fat diet makes me cringe!
I love this post, especially the part about deodorant! I have recently fallen in love with The Healthy Deodorant in vanilla lavender…it smells amazing and keeps me fresh all day long! It’s a bit pricey, but I too am trying to avoid aluminum since it’s correlated with Alzheimer’s (which runs in my family). I’m seriously obsessed.
OMG vanilla lavender sounds heavenly! Mine is fragrance-free—> LAME!
More calories is always a big win in my book!
I knew you’d agree 🙂
i need to switch the deo thing, i’ve been using anti-pers for so long and i’m scared now! everything causes cancer and there is no point triggering it. also the lemon and hot water will definitely help against cancer because we need to keep our bodies in an alkalize state. definitely need to work on that.
great tips!!!
Gah cancer is a monster that shows up in everything!!!
I love, love, love this post. It is about small changes and small changes you feel comfortable with too because they need to be sustainable.
I drink coffee every morning, but I’m really thinking I need to throw in some lemon juice. Is that water packed with fresh mint too? It sure looks like it. I hope so. It’s always a wonder to me, although it actually makes sense, how much nutrition and health benefits we can get from simple whole foods. Sometimes I think Nature is much smarter than we are.
Amen to the caloric increase. I did a workout class last week with a woman who was eating 800 calories a day, probably burning half that in this class, and subsiding on low calorie, sugar-free, fat-free chemical junk in order to meet her strict caloric limit. She might have looked thin, but she certainly didn’t look happy or healthy. In fact she look really aged, and I felt bad for her. A lot of people don’t get it and so long as the diet industry keeps making money, there really is no advantage for them to have us get “it.” Sigh.
Oh goodness I cringe at the though of that lady! That’s the problem with crash diets versus slow & steady weight loss—> the weight loss ages you like no other!!
More rest days! I keep getting injured which is a tell-all sign for overuse injuries. I don’t know who said it but taking only one rest day a week does NOT work for me. This has definitely been a learning experiment for sure.
I’m glad you are listening to your body and resting it more 🙂
Thanks to you I am back on the lemon water in the AM bandwagon! A great reminder to not discount the little things and to remember that they are what comprise the big picture. 🙂
It’s the little things which make the biggest difference 🙂
Uh I love this. I noticed often how small changes tend to became habits, but big changes just seem to not stick as well. For instance nowadays I never wear make up if I am just hanging out at home or with my boyfriend and we are not going out for more than some groceries. I also stopped using make up but for covering dark circles and as a result my skin improved.
I also started increasing my calorie intake this year and noticed how much energy I know do have for my workouts. My long-runs are also a lot easier. Cannot wait for your follow-up post on this matter.
Love that habit of not wearing unnecessary make-up…I bet it’s also benefitted your wallet 😉
love this!! i’ve been slowly making the change to natural deodorant too- although if its really hot out, or i know im going to be in a stressful situation i still use the antiperspirant, but in general yes- its supposed to be much much healthier. i’ve been trying to cook at home more, rather than eating pre-packed or ordering out, and i think its making a difference in how i feel (ie, no longer weighed down with sodium!) 🙂
Good call on both, especially on cooking at home! Even if it’s a PB & J or a bowl of oatmeal, it’s almost always better than take-out…plus the novelty of the latter wears off after a while!
Some mottos are just so true they bear repeating and this is one of them. I’m a huge believer of making smal changes instead of one huge lifestyle overhaul. That can just be too overwhelming and likelier leads to feeling overwhelmed and falling back into old habits.
One change I’ve made over the past months was my – now hopefully constant – change to a natural and organic shampoo. I’ve grown up using natural ones, then switched to the cheaper and more intensely scented ones when moving out. Really, though, I’d rather spend some more on one that’s not laden with weird ingredients.
Another one has been adding dry brushing to my morning routine and I’m really liking it so far.
Oh, and I never knew just how good hot water + lemon was so thanks for sharing.
I’ve heard such great things about dry brushing and have been wanting to give it a try- how long do you spend daily?
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I love the first one and have been doing it as well!
It’s great 🙂