First off: I don’t claim to be a health nutritionist or the healthiest person on earth. This is all based off of my opinions, ideas, and experiences. So don’t come for me. 🙂

Let’s begin.

So like everyone else, I had the new year’s resolution every year to be healthy. Did I follow through with that? Maybe. Maybe not. But I didn’t take it too seriously. I lived by the motto “I’m here for a good time not a long time” and I just ate whatever I wanted. The “good time” tasted great but it wasn’t exactly the best for me.

This year, I made the same resolution and I didn’t take it seriously at all. Last year towards the end of the year, I went a whole month without sugar and even though that happened to be around the time where my school gave out free ice cream and bake sales were abundant, I felt great. But it sucked. Like free ice cream? Sign me up! Oh wait, I can’t.

I learned about how much sugar was in all the things I was eating daily and I had to find substitutes for gummies, cookies, and chips when packing my lunches because I also tried cut down on my sodium intake. I mostly survived on apples which I used to never be a fan of before and I lived by the phrase, “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.” And it was crazy difficult.

And then when my month was over, I went back to my sugar habits and ate two cupcakes immediately because yolo my friend made them for me.

But I was more health conscious and I haven’t packed chips for lunch since. And I still eat some apple almost daily.

Months ago, I was thinking of doing the same thing again. A month wasn’t too hard and honestly, it made me feel great. I didn’t have energy spikes and I could fall asleep easier at night and I just felt stronger. But I wasn’t that committed to it and I almost didn’t do it until I had quite a large cup of hot chocolate from my favorite local coffeeshop (I’ve never had coffee) and completely fell asleep afterwards into a fat nap. When I woke up, I felt horrible. I was so tired and I didn’t want to do anything. And to top it all off, I had a huge headache. I did not feel great.

So I decided that I’d try to be healthier and I stopped eating sugar.

And TRUST ME when I tell you that it’s difficult. Fall is beginning and my mom WON’T STOP BAKING PUMPKIN THINGS THAT I CAN’T EAT UGH. I don’t know what I’m going to do for Halloween.

On the surface I looked healthy. For breakfast I either cooked some eggs or made some oatmeal with fruit and some type of nut butter. For lunch I packed sandwiches on whole wheat bread with apple slices and either little tomatoes or mini cucumbers. For dinner, I just ate whatever my family was cooking or if we had leftovers, I made the attempt to eat the somewhat healthier option. Everything was going well. I even found an app that would track all my calories, weight, water intake, and exercise. I felt like I was finally on top of my eating and my life and I enjoyed putting in what I had eaten everyday. I enjoyed getting that little green perfect sign when I had eaten the perfect number of calories.

But when you looked deeper, that wasn’t healthy. Sure I had an app to track all these things but I was obsessed. The whole process became destructive and I realized that I needed to focus less on how much I was eating and more on what I was eating.

So I stopped using the app. And I started using another app instead, Instagram.

And yes I know, scrolling through Instagram doesn’t sound smart when so many people have commented on how much it has affected their mental state and self confidence when seeing models posting photos in bikinis.

But instead this time I turned to a girl named Allie who tracks her health and fitness under the username @abv_fitlife. Not only were all of her photos so aesthetically pleasing that I was salivating over every picture, but she didn’t count calories and she looked great! Plus she was so cute and happy and her daily Instagram stories with tips of the day were awesome and made my day. Plus her avocado leggings were to die for! It was more about eating healthy meals that make you feel happy and full while being a bit conscious of the calorie and sugar intake to make sure what you’re eating is clean and good for you. Her #WaffleWednesdays and #ToastTuesdays never fail to disappoint and although I haven’t tried the vegan protein powder that she uses or the Square Organics bars that I’m DYING to try, I can definitely say that I am being healthier and I’m so so much happier.

And yes, I’m two months strong with no sugar.

So what did I learn?

Well I definitely learned that I can’t rely on an app to control my life. The app doesn’t know me as well as I know myself and I although I was eating “healthy,” I wasn’t being healthy in my lifestyle choices. I also learned to check the packaging always!! Whether you’re counting calories or not, make sure you know what you’re eating! One of my favorite snacks used to be crasins or dried cranberries but when I checked the packaging, the main ingredient was sugar!! I was eating that much sugar when I could easily pick up a piece of fruit! Clean eating is the way to go! I’ve also learned to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY! Being thinner doesn’t mean healthier! If you’re feeling a rest day, take the rest day to let your body heal. If you’re hungry and need a snack, eat that apple. If you’re really craving something, eat it. Everything in moderation. And finally, be comfortable and at home in your own body. I started this whole health thing because it made me feel healthy and strong and more confident in myself and that’s ALWAYS a good thing, 🙂

And I’m not saying that you need to cut all sugar out of your life and go completely vegan in a day, but maybe try and take the initiative to check out the labels of what you’re eating or try and make it yourself if that’s the lifestyle change you’re looking into making. Little steps can make big changes!

Social media is an amazing tool that you can use to your advantage to connect with other people all over the world! I’ve been able to connect with Allie and even ask her any questions I may have! It’s an amazing resource that you should utilize! Just scrolling through your feed can inspire you daily to keep it up and stay strong! Follow @abv_fitlife for some daily inspo! I even made my own health food account too so check it out at @kasual_eats! I’m always down for some questions!

And now I live by the fact that “I’m here for a good time and a long time.”

The ultimate cheesy way to end this post, I know. Be you, be happy 🙂

Kasual kook xx

PS. I know I haven’t written in forever but besides having this going on in my life, I’ve been swamped with college essays and applications. What a GREAT time!! Wish me luck!