Health Journey Update + FREE Online Health Course!

The last time I wrote about health was back in March, and boy has a lot happened since then!  A lot of exciting things!

• I started taking Juice Plus vitamins in February, and while I still do have the occasional sniffles and scratchy throat, I haven't missed a day of work due to sickness since starting!  Not even during allergy season!
• Fun cardio!  I started taking weekly hip hop classes and I'm going through a 5-week belly dance class right now.  I really enjoy these classes, which means I prioritize them and make sure they happen.
• Quite a few months saw me drinking hot tea almost every day.
• I've started substituting stevia in for almost all the sugar in our recipes.
• I started using Mary Kay's Timewise collection, but I'm now in the process of filtering in other products that will be better for my skin.
• We now only eat whole wheat pasta.  This change was a hard one because I just hated the whole wheat consistency at first, but now I don't even notice the difference!
• We've started using coconut oil a whole lot more in cooking, and I put it into my smoothies, too, when I have them.

I'm really proud of myself for taking these measures and for being conscious of how I treat my body.  The main goals I have right now are to incorporate more exercise, continue to bring in the new skin products I mentioned, and continue to make my sleep a priority.  Also, for some reason it took me this long to realize and internalize this super important truth:

Exercise isn't just a way to manage your weight, it's a way to keep your heart healthy.  Do it!

 I forget this so much, because so often we girls view exercise as a way to get skinny or to tone our arms or shrink our tummies!  If there were something we could do to make our internal organs stronger, wouldn't we do it?  I sometimes eat yogurt when I notice indigestion issues.  I've taken asthma medicine in the past to help me breathe better.  If exercising for a half hour 5 times a week is all it takes to help my heart last longer, why aren't I doing it?!  So, I've added it to my list.

That free health course I mentioned!

Stanford School of Medicine is offering a free online course called Child Nutrition and Cooking.  The course focuses on the good eating patterns and nutrition habits people can acquire as children.  There are also a lot of starter recipes and good tips on what to stock your pantry with.  Starting back at square one and learning what it's supposed to be like seems like a great way to evaluate our current habits.  I plan on taking the course.  Would you like to join me?