3 Healthy Changes to Make

Recently, I’ve been making some changes. If you’re following my Instagram or read my recent blog post on becoming debt-free, then you’ve probably noticed this. In general, I’m trying to make a lot of healthy changes that contribute to me being more balanced. Being a better person everyday.

I’d like to think that I’m a fairly healthy person. Most of the time. Sure, I enjoy an adult beverage every now and then and I’ll eat out a couple times per month. But for the most part, I eat a lot whole foods, a lot of fruits and vegetables, and I drink over a gallon of water a day. I get to the gym and I’m doing more cardio than I used to. And I also try to keep a good work-life balance, which I highly value.

But there’s always room for improvement which is exactly what I’ve been doing. So I thought I’d share these changes I’m making towards being a healthier person. Hopefully it inspires you to look at your every day choices and maybe make a few healthy changes.

Switching to Glass

I’m a big meal prepper (as you may have noticed by my recipes) and I need a lot of containers to store my week’s worth of food. Most of what I own now is plastic, which isn’t the worst, but there’s better options in my opinion. For me that means transitioning my plastic containers and water bottles to glass. A few Christmas’ ago, I purchased us a Pyrex container set that included a few rectangle containers that are perfect for lunches, but it’s not enough. I recently purchased these glass meal prep containers that also have dividers for a side

For a water bottle at home, I purchased this glass Ello water bottle and I’m loving it. While glass is heavier and more challenging to carry, this water bottle has a strap for easier carrying. The silicone on the outside also protects the glass from breaking should I happen to drop it when I’m on the go.

Lowering the Sodium Intake

I have to start this one off by saying I don’t think salt is the enemy. Adding a few sprinkles of salt to your dishes isn’t the worst thing in the world. But when you really take the time to look at the amount of sodium you’re consuming, including added salt to your diet, it’s something to consider.

After my tendinitis flareup in June, I started to look into alternative options for resolving the inflammation. One of the natural recommendations is to follow the inflammation diet, and part of the diet is reducing daily sodium intake. For someone that has been tracking macros and calories for over two years, I was paying no attention to the amount of sodium in my diet. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 2,300mg of sodium per day, an ideally 1,500mg per day – I was no where near that. There were days when I was far exceeding 2,300mg.

Since noticing this intake, I’ve been a conscious decision to get through the pre-packaged food in my cupboards and buying as many whole foods as possible. Even when you think you’re buying what you think are whole foods – canned beans for example – they can still have a high sodium content.

This is going to be an ongoing change that I’ll be working on, and I’m sure there will be days when I’m on track and days when I’m no where near my goals.

Using Natural Deodorant

After using the prescription strength deodorant/antiperspirant for the past several years, I finally decided to make the switch to a natural deodorant. I’m not going to lie – I’ve been putting this off for a while because I didn’t believe natural deodorant would work. I know that natural deodorant doesn’t stop sweating and that sweating is your body’s way of cooling down. Frankly, sweating is not something that I like doing all day, which is why I was hesitant to make the switch.

I tried a few natural deodorants that were too strong of a scent, but didn’t seem to stop my odors. My friend mentioned Schmidt’s Natural Deodorant and that it keeps her fresh all day. So I gave them a search and purchased their summer limited edition Waves scent. Wow – it was a 180 degree difference from what I had been using. It smells GREAT and it keeps me smelling odorless (aside from the amazing scent) all day.

The only downside to this is that my under arms broke out in a rash. Luckily, Schmidt’s has great customer service and they sent me a replacement in the sensitive formula (which is now out of stock, but they have other scents!) that I’m hopeful will sit better with my skin. If you’re in the market for a natural deodorant, I highly recommend checking out the brand.

Let me know if you’re going to make any of these changes in your life!

3 Healthy Changes to Make