20 Things I’ve Learned In My 20s

1.     Sometimes when a job has fantastic benefits, it’s because the job itself is torture and they need something to make the employees stay.

2.     Your birthday no longer needs to consist of an awkward party where you invite everyone you ever knew in high school so no one gets offended.

         

3.     Saving money for your future is important, as is a rainy day fund. There is no telling when unexpected expenses may pop up.

4.     Falling into a fitness routine now will set you up for a healthier future. Make it something you enjoy, or you’ll never stick with it. (Do as I say, not as I do.)

         

5.     Never take yourself, or life too seriously. 

         

6.     It’s okay to not have everything figured out. Society may have a set timeline for everyone, but your only responsibility is creating one that makes sense for you.

7.     Kindness is everything.

         

8.     Don’t let fear or pride stop you from getting what you really want.

9.     Spend as much time as you can with the people you love. The relationships we build are the most important things we will ever have.

         

10. Call on your inner child as often as possible. Run around barefoot, dance in the rain, play board games, watch Disney movies. 

         

11. Remember that what you do now does not have to dictate what you do for the rest of your life. It’s never too late to become who you want to be.

12. Take a lot of photos.

            

13. Remember that we are more than our mistakes.

14. Don’t carry today’s burdens or worries into tomorrow.

15.  Never, ever burn any bridges. You never know who you may need to be your ally someday.

16. Go outside. Appreciate nature. Bask in it.

        

17. Never turn down an opportunity to learn something new. 

   

18. Or to celebrate. 

19. See as much of the world as you can. 

20. Always, always be true to yourself.

             

To Count Calories or Not to Count Calories?

When I first started my fitness journey on New Year's Day 2014 I didn't know anything about health or fitness. I ate whatever I wanted and my exercise mostly consisted of the walk from my car to work and back. I couldn't tell you what complex carbs were or how many servings of fruits and vegetables I was supposed to have in a day. I knew nothing. Luckily, I am the type of person that loves to research and when I decide to dive into something I dive in full force. So when I decided to change my life and become the healthiest version of myself I could be, I read all of the nutrition books I could get my hands on. I completely overhauled my diet, and through trial and error over the last year and a half I've learned a few things about counting calories.

1. The biggest thing I can say is if you haven't ever counted calories before, try it. I learned a ton in my first few weeks. I learned that bananas are the original 100 calorie snack, and that eggs are nutritional powerhouses. I was also absolutely shocked at the calorie count of some of my favorite foods. Obviously, I knew that my usual at Olive Garden wasn't nutrition packed, but I had no idea that it was nearly all of my recommended calories for the day. Needless to say I learned that soup, salad, and a breadstick made for a much more balanced meal. 

2. Counting calories does not need to control your life. When I first started counting calories, I allotted myself 1,500 a day, and at the end of each day I was still starving. I started to feel like I couldn't/shouldn't eat more because I had already hit my calorie count for the day, but that's ridiculous. I'm now a firm believer that if you're hungry, you should eat. No exceptions. So, I raised my calories to 1,750 a day, which allowed me a healthy snack when I was super hungry every evening. 

3. I don't believe you should count calories for the rest of time. Humans are creatures of habit, and we tend to eat the same foods over and over. Once you've learned the number of calories in your favorite meals, it's pretty easy to have a good handle on how many calories you're eating in a day, even without keeping count. It's the gift that keeps on giving. I haven't counted calories in over a year, but I still make healthier choices because I'm educated. 

So yes, I'm an advocate for counting calories if you feel like your nutritional knowledge could use some expanding. With tools like MyFitnessPal, it's super easy and can be a catalyst for weight loss and healthier choices in general. However, I don't think it should prevent you from eating when you're hungry, and I don't think it should be something you do for the rest of your life. You should never let calorie counting control you, but instead consider it a tool you use to build a healthier life. So go ahead, give it a shot! Odds are you'll learn a lot, and encounter some surprises along the way.

p.s. I don't count calories on holidays ;)

Let's Talk About Success

What does it mean to be successful? A college degree? A certain career? A family with 2.5 kids and a dog? What units should we be using to measure the quality of our lives? Surely you've been to a family event, or ran into old classmates, and the first thing everyone wants to do is measure your success. 

"What do you do for a living?" 

"Are you seeing anyone?" 

"What did you get your degree in?"

So often we are taught that these are the kind of things we should use to measure our self worth. However, I believe that success is in the eye of the beholder.

Personally, I have taken to measuring my own success in happiness. If I wake up happy and go to sleep happy, that was a successful day. If I wake up happy and go to sleep happy a majority of the time, I feel like that’s a successful life. And if I can manage to leave the people I interact with happier than they were before our encounter, then I’m successful as a human being.

I have a job that some people would consider successful. It’s in a professional environment, with full time hours, benefits, and everything else my family always wanted for me. But am I happy? Do I feel fulfilled? Or do I wake up every day dreading the next 10 hours and praying for the weekend? (That may be a separate blog post entirely, but for now I digress.)

What we do is not who we are. We can’t let others define our personal success. People will tell you day after day that you should have a career by this age, and a family by that age. Do you have a 401k and your own car? Who decided that these things were requirements? Did some random person wake up one day and say, “I don’t think that 20-something can be considered successful without a high credit score.”? Society will judge you and try to define you one way or another, but ultimately you will decide if you’re living a life that is successful by your terms.

And maybe you will measure it by your career, or your car, or your bank account. Or maybe you’ll measure it by how often you smile, or all of the times you laugh until your stomach hurts. Maybe you’ll measure it in your satisfaction from a perfect cup of coffee in the morning, or in the view at the top of a challenging hike.

Maybe you’ll decide to conform to everyone else’s idea of your success. Or maybe you will forge your own path, knowing that you only get one shot at living your life for you.

The choice is yours. 

24 Before 25

1. Grow plants in my room and garden.

2. Take classes (art, fitness, dance, etc.)

3. Get a passport and a new stamp.

4. Try six new restaurants. 

(Boston Pizza, Fat Bobs, La Bella Cicilia, Casa de Pizza, Spot Coffee, Moes)

5. Read six new books.
(1. If I Stay 2. Gone Girl 3. The Girl on the Train 4. The World of Wanderlust Story 5. The Silent Wife 6. Eating Animals)

6. See a ballet/opera. 

7. Go to a drive-in movie.

8. Visit Disneyworld.(omgomg this happened)

9. Donate blood.

10. Study language consistently. (All year long baby!)

11. Bike to work.

12. Go backpacking.

13. Live minimally. (Still working on it)

14. Pierce cartilage.

15. Learn to drive a stick.

16. Go kayaking.

17. Go to Europe.

18. (This one's a secret.)

19. Go to a shooting range.

20. Travel solo.

21. Start a blog.

22. Go horseback riding.

23. Get a new job.

24. Go to Canada.

My “Whole 30” Experience

I’m frequently looking for ways to improve my health and fitness habits. A few months back I was specifically looking for a way to detox my diet a bit. I was eating a pretty balanced diet as it was, but I was bored of eating the same things daily, and I wanted to take it to the next level. I decided to take the plunge and try The Whole 30. If you haven’t heard of it before, The Whole 30 consists of eating a paleo diet for 30 days. No cheats, no slip ups, no mercy. The idea being that you completely detox yourself from things like dairy, added sugar, grains, processed foods, etc. Then after the 30 days is up you slowly reintroduce things into your diet, making it easy to tell if your body has any resistance or negative reactions to certain foods. 

If you’re unfamiliar with what a paleo diet is, it’s often referred to as the caveman diet. It consists of eating as it is assumed the hunters and gatherers did, way before fast food and microwave meals. The diet prioritizes meat, seafood, eggs, and vegetables. Snacks include fruit, nuts, and seeds. Dairy is not allowed, so no cheese, milk, yogurt, or *gasp* coffee creamer. 

It was a huge adjustment at first. I cleaned out the entirety of our cupboards. I’ve never seen so much boxed food in one place. I got rid of all of the pasta, popcorn, oatmeal, chips, crackers, and the dairy. We went grocery shopping and stocked up on vegetables, fruit, almond milk, nuts, eggs, and fish. I learned a lot about cooking. I had to. On The Whole 30 there isn’t much choice.

 I missed flavored coffee, and pizza. I ate more eggs in that month than I did in my whole life, and honestly, I didn’t feel much of a change. A co-worker of mine was doing The Whole 30 and told me she felt better than she had in 20 years. She loved it. I thought for sure that my energy levels would sky rocket and any fat would melt right off. Sadly, I had no such luck. It may be because I was eating a healthy diet as it was, but the The Whole 30 wasn’t a life-changing event for me.

I did reintroduce dairy and grains into my diet, with no adverse reactions at all. I understand the idea that by eating simply, we’re going easy on our bodies. However, I also believe that just because a caveman did it, that doesn’t make it the best choice. I do think there are positives to including grains in your diet.  I don’t think there is anything wrong with eating chocolate or peanuts.

Now, don’t let me completely turn you off from trying The Whole 30. While it didn’t cure my every ailment or leave me feeling 10 years younger, I will say that my diet improved in a lot of ways even after the month was up. 30 days without cereal made me realize that I don’t have to have it as a snack every night. Going without coffee creamer made me enjoy the taste of coffee without 20 grams of sugar in it. I’ve consumed significantly less bread in general, and I learned to include vegetables in every single dinner. 

If I had to go back and do it again, I probably wouldn't. It didn't necessarily live up to the hype for me, but it seems to have been life changing for many others.  If there is one thing from the Whole 30 I would suggest, it is eliminating the dairy. I think the main key to a healthy diet is limiting refined sugar, excess fat, and processed foods. And always up the fruits and veggies!