I go back and forth on a lot of things in my life (which I think slash hope is pretty normal). One of those things being my health and fitness. I’ve been an athlete, I’ve gone months without working out, I’ve worked out every day, and one time I ate nothing but ice cream for dinner for a whole week. #TRUTH. So you can say I’m kinda sporadic when it comes to health and fitness and that whole thing. BUT! As you have probably noticed, I’ve done my best to step things up over the past few months – and by step things up I mean be more consistent.

I’ve found that scheduling in workout classes helps, and so does going grocery shopping more often. I’ve found that having some workouts at home helps, and so does not stocking my house with so much candy. And I’ve found that trying to be healthier outside of just food and a workout class helps the most! Let me explain that last one.

Basically, yes, an hour workout class is great – and so is eating healthy foods throughout the day. But that’s almost too hit or miss for me at times. Like if I don’t make that workout class, I’m a failure and feel down on myself. Or if I have a burger, I feel the same way. So while those things do in fact add up to consistent health, I’ve found that being healthier in your spare time (or throughout your day) really adds up. And it allows for SO many more opportunities to be healthy when you think about it! It’s actually pretty fun and I’ve had fun making up ways to be more healthy in my spare time, which is what I wanted to share with y’all today. Here it goes!

Walk everywhere

Man, I really love this one and it’s probably made the biggest difference for my life (mentally, physically, etc). Dallas isn’t a super walkable city in the fact that people drive here – it’s suburban and some areas are really spread out, so you just automatically drive. Which is probably pretty normal for most towns! For some reason, even when we’re going to a coffee shop that is two minutes away, we drive – because it’s just normal. But why?!

I’ve done my morning walks for a long time now, but more recently, I started trying to walk further. AND I REALLY LOVE IT! I basically look at my schedule of the day, and if it’s nice outside, I find spots in my day where I could walk instead of drive. I even walked a total of 4 miles the other day to meet a friend for coffee, but it was so nice! I just listened to podcasts, took a couple work calls, and freaking walked. I didn’t have my step counter on but I’m pretty sure I surpassed 10K steps and overall, that’s just incredibly healthy for our bodies – especially since so many of us sit all dang day.

So I challenge you to do the same! See where you could walk this week and then do it!

Stretch during downtime

I’m naturally pretty flexible (thanks to my cheerleading days), but man, I feel it if I haven’t been stretching. My body feels stiff, workouts are harder, and I just don’t feel my best. But sometimes I don’t have time to stretch fully after a workout or I’m ready to get out of my sweaty clothes. So instead of simply not stretching and feeling like my body is that of an 80 year old man, I’ve been stretching during downtime. This is usually while I watch TV, talk on the phone, or even listen to a book on Audible. It’s not the most fun thing, but my body thanks me every time I do it! Plus, stretching leads to less injuries, so bonus points there!

Rethink friend time

Something else I’ve always done on autopilot is schedule time with friends around food and drinks (and usually stuff that’s not too healthy). This is obviously fine in moderation, but sometimes I dread meeting up because I know I’ll order the dang nachos and a margarita and then I might not feel great (or make it to my 7 am workout class the next day). While some nights definitely call for a drink and Tex Mex, what about meeting for coffee, or a juice, or a smoothie? Or going for a walk after work instead of going to dinner? Basically, it’s just something to rethink – much like walking places instead of driving. These little things add up and form into habits – and it still lets you see your friends or partners!

OK I’m going to stop there because I don’t want this to seem overwhelming – because it shouldn’t be! It’s all about finding small things in your life or downtime that you can make healthier, all while providing more opportunities to be healthy each day!

I’d love to hear from y’all – what’s something you do in your spare time that leads to a healthier life?

Outfit Details:

I’m wearing size XS in the top here and size S in bottoms. The material for this set is pretty thick, so I prefer to have more room since it doesn’t have as much stretch as some of my other workout pants.