Healthy Habit of the Month XI.

You CAN. I know you can.

This post is the 11th installment of SeektobeMerry's "Healthy Habit of the Month" series. Sourced from my bff's at Weight Watchers, online articles and my own efforts to keep fit and trim, throughout 2013, I will attempt to integrate one new healthy habit into my life each month. Join me!

Can you believe that it's been 11 months!? With 10 new healthy habits behind us, how would you rate your progress? While I'd love to brag and say that I'm a fitter, trimmer, healthier me through and through, I'm gonna be honest with you all and say, "I'm getting there". Like so many other "life changes" I try to implement (shop less, clean up more, etc) I have bouts of success as well as periods of struggle (not failure, no one here fails!) Sometimes I'm nailing 7 or 8 of our habits feelin like a boss, and other times sweatpants Meri takes over and I'm a sedentary, veggie-less mess. These things take time... and persistence... commitment. Which is why this month's healthy habit isn't about adding more, but instead...

Healthy Habit of the Month #11: Double Down

This month we're going to get serious about our success by doubling down. Take a look at all of the healthy habits we've tried to implement this year (full recap below). Where were you the most successful? For me, I have stuck to a scheduled workout every week since setting that goal, so I'm going to double down and try to schedule TWO (whoa!) Maybe you were great at the monthly challenge? Go back for another, but this time include two activities like squats and crunches. If packing a snack is now part of your daily routine, maybe you bump it up a notch and also pack lunch? You get the idea. During this hectic time of year, it's easy to let healthy habits slide, so instead of trying to add another new thing to your routine, take your strong suit and make it even stronger!

Be sure to check out past "Healthy Habit of the Month" posts here: 

- Month 1: Adding a fruit or vegetable to every meal

- Month 2: Schedule a workout
- Month 3: Find an accountability buddy

- Month 4: Keep track (of your movement)

- Month 5: Challenge yourself

- Month 6: 1 Perfect Week
- Month 7: Sleep on it

- Month 8: Pack a Snack

- Month 9: Drink up!

- Month 10: Rise & Shine with lemon

Healthy Habit of the Month X.

So bright. So refreshing.

This post is the tenth installment of SeektobeMerry's "Healthy Habit of the Month" series. Sourced from my bff's at Weight Watchers, online articles and my own efforts to keep fit and trim, throughout 2013, I will attempt to integrate one new healthy habit into my life each month. Join me!

Another month gone by, another chance to check in and see how healthy we're feeling. For me, this is always a difficult time of year - as I pull out the warmer (bulkier) clothing and gravitate towards hardier meals, I also seem to have less free time for exercising (fall is always so busy!) and less motivation to "make the right decision" when it comes to what I eat. October's lack of focus leads to November's holiday feast and then before you know it we're surrounded by holiday party booze and h'ordeuvres reaching without thought for another round of peppermint bark (yum). With so much going on, I thought we'd benefit from a super easy and (supposedly) highly beneficial new daily habit...

Healthy Habit of the Month #10: Rise & Shine with Lemon Water
Once upon a time I incorporated a cup of hot lemon water into my morning routine and while it lasted (errr... 2 weeks?) it was good. You see, lemons are packed with nutrients, including vitamin C, B-complex vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, and fiber and research shows that consuming some lemon right after waking up is really good for you: "This is the best thing to consume upon waking, as it flushes the kidneys and the liver and alkalizes the blood. It also allows you to tune into whether or not you're really hungry." Lemon water has also been shown to de-bloat you, flush out the toxins in your body (by enhancing enzyme function, stimulating your liver), improve complexion annnnnd aid with weight loss!!! (because of pectin fiber's presence in lemon, lemon water has the effect of reducing your hunger). Is this not the easiest and most wonderful idea? This month, vow to start every day with a glass of lemon water and get ready to feel like a brighter, lighter you!! (More information and sources for my factoids HERE, HERE and HERE).

Be sure to check out past "Healthy Habit of the Month" posts here: 

- Month 1: Adding a fruit or vegetable to every meal

- Month 2: Schedule a workout
- Month 3: Find an accountability buddy

- Month 4: Keep track (of your movement)

- Month 5: Challenge yourself

- Month 6: 1 Perfect Week
- Month 7: Sleep on it

- Month 8: Pack a Snack

- Month 9: Drink up!

Hump Day Distractions

All smiles on Hump Day!

Hellllllo Wednesday!! How are we holding up this week? I'm draggin a bit, but clinging to the glorious, sunny weekend the weatherman is promising is just a few days away (funny how we selectively choose to trust the forecast huh!?). Here to help pass the time are some distractions from around the web. Enjoy!

* This is, indeed, the saddest party foul ever (someone get me a straw!)

* Do you live in the W. Village area of NYC? If so, you should know about THIS.

* Before they were stars... thank goodness George Clooney changed his hairstylist.

* These burgundy beauties are heading right onto my Channuka list.

* Hey ladies! Stop apologizing, always saying yes, body-snarking, holding onto regret and other rotten girlish habits we all should banish!

* Well it's about damn time THIS happened.

* Time to bust out the crock pot.

* A thought provoking piece on rocking the body you've got.

* Louis CK brilliantly discusses the toxic addiction young people have to smartphones.
* #justintimberlake #jimmyfallon #brilliant #hashtagobsessed 

* If you want it, you might as well ask for it creatively :)

* Now THAT is an apology!!

Josie Gross-y

Milk cartons were MADE for drinking!

Recently, I had a serious debate with a friend about what could appropriately be considered "gross". The conversation arose after she noticed a co-worker quietly attempting to clip his toenails at work. Gross. But while we universally decreed desk toenail clipping to be (WAY) over the line, we were willing to permit the occasional cuticle snip or nail filing without hesitation. The conversation spiraled from there. In the interest of full disclosure, I confessed to:

- using my finger to get that last bit of hummus out of the tupperware (every time)

- dumping the crumbled contents from the corner of a chip bag into my hand (or, who am I kidding here, tilting the bag and dumping them directly into my mouth)

- drinking directly from the container in my fridge that I make and store crystal light in (note: you cannot drink directly from a Brita pitcher... I've tried)

- rolling down the car window and projectile spitting old gum out (learned that gem from my Dad:)

My friend was only marginally convinced that the last 2 weren't "gross". But the way I see it, we all have our secret gross/not really so gross habits that we sneak in here and there. I know you've all done the "I'm just rubbing the side of my face on my shoulder" (but really I'm smelling my armpit) move and is drinking out of the container in my own home really that bad!? The issue, I suppose, is knowing what's just over the line and making sure never to be that gross guy, caught clipping his toenails at work. Good luck!

Sound the alarm

Rise and Shine.

Are you particularly attached to your alarm clock? I am, and I realized last night, as I clicked the oversized buttons on my chunky black digital dinosaur, that this alarm clock has been with me since I went off to college! After a decade of wake ups (currently serving the crucial role of "backup" alarm for when I silence my cell phone while I'm basically still asleep) I insist that it's ease of use and reliability make it irreplaceable. But the fact is, it isn't that easy to use and it's features are far from extraordinary. It's just MY alarm clock and to switch to something new (perhaps something with less of a green glow?) seems like more trouble than it's worth... What if I can't figure out the snooze button? What if I don't like the location of the on/off switch!? Dr. H is similarly attached to his purchased-for-college alarm clock. His is a big, nightstand-dominating device with the clickiest buttons and most abrasive buzzer ever, but he is firmly rooted in his belief that his is the best alarm clock around.

What is going on here? Is it that managing the clock and radio settings is so complex that once we settle on a device we can actually use we won't budge from it? Maybe it's that these alarm clocks represent the first time in life that we had to get up and out of bed on our own (too philosophical!?) Whatever it is, I wish I had the courage, or even the desire, to chic-fy my nightstand with something like THIS, (or at least upgrade to something with an ipod dock!) but in all likelihood, I'll be waking up to the green glow for as long old reliable is up to the job.

A bad good habit?

Not mentioned, SWEATY.

I recently started taking spin classes here in NYC. Four months post-op on my knee, I’m not quite strong enough to run which SUCKS for a girlie who uses running not just for fitness, but also for mental clarity. So I have taken up spinning, checking out classes at Pedal NYC (literally IN my apt bldg!) and at the awesomely awesome (and super trendy) Soul Cycle. So you’re all “she’s exercising, great what’s the big deal?” The big deal is that spin is no deal at all… at $30-34 per class, this is my worst “good” habit since discovering sashimi (how many $3 strips of raw fish does it take to fill YOU up!?)

Is there such a thing as a bad good habit? How do we pick which eco-friendly/healthy/fit expenses are worth the price!? I pay almost double for organic berries and who knows how much for bottled water and Brita filters, so why not round out my “healthy Meri monthly bill” by paying out the butt for an amazing workout that I really enjoy? I mean, I think my butt deserves a nice candle-lit bike ride every once in while! 

Time to come clean.

Maybe if my shower were more glam,
I'd hop in more often... (Naaaaah)

Confession time people. I gots to know... how often do you shower? Are you an every single day, sometimes more than once-r, or are you like me, living life on the (slightly!) dirtier side?

Given that this is a "safe place," I'm not afraid to admit that I do not always shower daily and I actively try to avoid washing my hair more than four days per week. Are you totally grossed out yet? Allow me explain. First and foremost, I always shower if I'm actually, visibly dirty (and/or stinky). At the end of a hot day, after a workout, after coming into contact with something nasty, a shower is always in order. I do not however, feel that way every day, so once or twice a week I give the tub a break. Not only is hot water incredibly drying for your skin (and over-washing will reek havoc on your dye job) but honestly, showering can be so freakin' annoying!! There's all that washing and rinsing, and it's so cold when you get out, and then you have to lotion and comb and style... grooooan!!! I am 100% certain that the mornings I spend in bed instead of the shower are the far superior use of my time.

Am I your new Josie Grossie? Are you actually wondering if maybe you can smell me through your monitor? I promise, you can't... I wear really nice perfume:)