Keep it Simple

Consistently keeping it simple is how I maintain a wellness lifestyle. For years I told myself I just didn’t have the time or energy to eat well, exercise, sleep, maintain a relationship with God, or even really maintain relationships with other people. But what I stumbled upon, was I making everything way more dramatic and time consuming than it really needed to be.

We all have 24 hours in the day. Whether you are a single person or you have lots of children. Whether you are an entrepreneur or  a stay-at-home parent. We all have the same amount of time. So how do some seem to have time to live a healthy lifestyle while others don’t?

My old opinion was the people who appeared to be living a healthy lifestyle were just faking it. There was no way they could be caring for themselves and for other people. I fell into the category of “I may not have showered today. And I may have only eaten 1/2 of a peanut butter sandwich because one of my children stole the other half.” I just could not fathom having time to do all the things that I needed to do.

A breaking point came. I was sad and lonely. I was giving everything I had. I had nothing left to offer anyone. I prayed for time. I prayed for answers.

Answers to prayers don’t always come in audible voices. I had to seek out the answers. For me, it is often through reading the Bible and writing out my prayers that I can start to see a direction to head. So I got serious about reading and journalling my prayers daily. This meant I needed to change my bed time habits. I started going to sleep at 10pm and waking up at 5am. To make sure that I was able to fall asleep, I started reading books about other peoples journeys or encounters with God instead of watching TV.  These changes were relatively simple and did not add to my day but actually enhanced my days.

I did this for at least 6 months before I added more changes to my daily load. Then an opportunity came from a friend to start an exercise program. Again, I still couldn’t imagine having any extra time, now I am spending time with God every morning and now I am being offered to add a physical component to my day. I knew I didn’t have time to go to the gym, but this offer was exercises I could do in my home, on my schedule. I really didn’t know how it was going to work, but I felt it was an important step to take. I was 32 with 3 kids. I was only getting weaker by the day if I continued. I reluctantly said yes. The friend then informed me that the exercise program also had a nutrition component to it as well.

Excuse me? How in the world was I going to do this? It seemed like to much, but I felt the compulsion to lean in.

I remember thinking, I will do the exercises but the nutrition I just don’t think I can do but I will look through the information just in case there is something that I can use. I looked through it and I felt a reassurance of how simple this seemed. The nutrition consisted of eating a variety of mainly whole foods, non-processed foods, throughout the day.

Could it really be this simple?

Yes! That was it! The nutrition was simple. The exercises were hard yet simple. Spending the morning with God was simple. The going to bed at night was simple.

What I found was I didn’t have time for complicated, I have time for simple. I can bake a marinated chicken breast and veggies on the same sheet pan for 30 minutes and have a simple, delicious balanced meal that will fuel my body for proper functioning to support all that I have to do throughout my day. I can exercise for 30 minutes to gain strength and endurance to sustain or improve my ability to perform tasks in my life. I can spend time with God to ground me to my purpose and bring contentment in my life.

I also want to point out, I didn’t change everything all at once. I took one step at a time. So, what is one simple thing you can do today to start making changes in your life toward a wellness lifestyle?

Baked Chicken with Roasted Vegetables

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast (4oz per person)

Marinade of choice (1 tsp/chicken breast serving) I like to use Brick House Classic Dijon)

Vegetables (carrots, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, squash)

1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Himalayan Sea Salt

Pepper

Parchment paper

Baking Sheet

Marinade chicken 2-24 hours in advance. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. On baking sheet, cover with parchment paper. Place chicken breast on baking sheet. Cut vegetables to preference place in bowl, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, sprinkle with a dash of Himalayan sea salt and pepper. Stir until evenly coated. Spread vegetables on baking sheet with the chicken breast. Place baking sheet in oven, bake for 30 minutes or until chicken is 165 degrees Fahrenheit.

Enjoy!

-Melissa