A Gutsy Girl®

Heal your gut. Heal your life.

Wellness

A Reading Habit

Filed Under: Love, Wellness Tagged With: , ,

If you’re looking for a habit to exercise your mind, look no further than adopting a reading habit.

A Reading Habit

Recommended Books sarahkayhoffman.com A Reading Habit

There are a million different things on any given day that you could choose to read. To maximize its benefits, try choosing some reading material that will help in expanding your knowledge base on a particular topic.

I read a lot of:

  1. Health, fitness, food and “living our best lives” articles and books because they are my passion.
  2. Books and articles to spur and enhance creativity and imagination.
  3. Inspirational books and articles.
  4. Anything and everything on my recommended reading list.

I could read for hours on end if it’s the right topic.

I am trying to get into the habit of reading for 30-minutes each night before bed. Sometimes it happens, and other times I drop the book because I’m falling asleep at the wheel:)

Question: Do you read? What? How often?

p.s. I also run a Virtual Book Club you might enjoy. Learn more about it HERE, and click HERE to save it for later.

Xox,
SKH

A Mini Meal Habit

Filed Under: Eat, Love, Special Diets, Unprocessed, Wellness Tagged With: , , ,

A healthy habit with food starts as soon as you understand that the body desires to be fed whole, real foods, every chance we get. For some, this is Intermittent Fasting (not for me!), for others it’s simple Meal Spacing (I do my best to practice this!), and for the rest, it’s a mini meal habit. 

A Mini Meal Habit

Click HERE to save this post for later.

A Mini Meal Habit Top 10 Summer Snack Ideas sarahkayhoffman.com Gluten Free. Dairy Free.

These small meals begin first thing in the morning. When I practiced a mini meal habit, here was how I breakdown interval eating on a day-to-day basis:

  1. Breakfast: Between 7-8 am
  2. Lunch: Between 11-12 pm
  3. Snack: Between 2-3 pm
  4. Dinner or Snack (Depending on if I workout at night): Between 5-6 pm
  5. Snack: Between 7-8 pm

The key here is to understand that “mini meals” do not mean 600-calorie meals (for me at least). For me, they mean 300-400 calories on average (give or take depending on my daily activity levels)!

If you can nail down a mini meal habit every 3-4 hours, you might notice more energy, a less “weighted-down” feeling or those “I’m-so-starving-moments.” Bliss!

Question: What has worked best for you? IF? Meal spacing? Mini meals?

p.s. You might also enjoy my top 6 AIP Snack Ideas.

Xox,
SKH

A Music Habit

Filed Under: Inspire, Love, Wellness Tagged With: , ,

Whether or not you’re a musical being, listening to calming music might be just what you need to be infused into your life. Try adopting a music habit.

A Music Habit

This is a huge key in how I manage stress. I can promise you that.

28 Ways to Reduce Stress sarahkayhoffman.com A Music Habit

If you know me personally, you will know that not only do I have a love for music, but I also have a love for singing. Singing calms me. It’s a habit I have gotten into, (since I was wee-little) and applied for stressful, sad, happy and almost every other emotion-based situation. I love it, and it works like magic!

Singing calms me. It’s a habit I have gotten into (since I was wee-little) and applied for stressful, sad, happy and almost every other emotion-based situation. I love it, and it works like magic!

If you have never tried playing something that calms you on a daily basis, I definitely recommend it. At work or at home and on your computer? Check these out:

  1. YouTube – tons of great playlists
  2. Accuradio
  3. iTunes – make your own tunes
  4. Pandora
  5. Spotify

Music is a natural way to relax, get calm and enjoy in your own zen. Try getting in the habit of utilizing it not only to accompany “stressful” situations but on a daily basis! 

Question: What is your most favorite kind of music to listen to? Do you have a music habit?

Xox,
SKH

A Calm Lunch Habit

Filed Under: Eat, Love, Unprocessed, Wellness Tagged With: ,

Eating lunch somewhere other than in front of your computer is a great habit to form. I have finally realized this, and I am so thankful for that. There is nothing calm about “working” lunches, so try creating a calm lunch habit and ditch the screen.

A Calm Lunch Habit

Thriving Gut Current Eats sarahkayhoffman.com Kitchen Sink Lunch Leftovers A Calm Lunch Habit

Whether you’re like me and work from home, or you’re like my former self and work in an office, fact remains that not everything needs to be done in front of the computer.

Creating a balance between all elements of your life is key. Eating is a huge life element. If you don’t take the initiative to enjoy it while it’s prepared, in front of you and while you’re consuming it, then you are not creating balance with it. This is likely to create a destructive and bad habit (ie. overeating and binging) with it.

Eating is a huge life element. If you don’t take the initiative to enjoy it while it’s prepared, in front of you and while you’re consuming it, then you are not creating balance with it. This is likely to create a destructive and bad habit (ie. overeating and binging) with it.

I am not saying that you need an hour or two “eating break” from your computer. In all honesty, I’m lucky to allow myself 30 minutes of ducking away. But during those 15-30 minutes, I am present with peace, calm and the simple food I love.

Question: Do you sit to enjoy your food or are you always eating on the run?

Xox,
SKH

An Om Habit

Filed Under: Fitness, Inspire, Love, Wellness Tagged With: , , ,

It’s Saturday, and what better way to kick off the weekend than with the thought of creating an om habit for yourself?

Some of you may be scared away by those two words, thinking that by “om” I mean yoga only – in weird, strange and perhaps even uncomfortable positions. Stick with me because I don’t.

An Om Habit

The om is a calm and peaceful state-of-mind. It’s finding your zen and the point to where relaxation becomes reality. Not only does relaxation becoming reality sound pretty, but this point can stave off sickness and help with weight loss.

Finding Comfort in the Uncomfortable sarahkayhoffman.com An Om Habit

Some ways to transform “om” into habit include:

  1. Yoga
  2. Tai Chai
  3. Meditation
  4. Deep Breathing

Even things as simple as:

  1. massage
  2. relaxing
  3. smiling and laughing
  4. taking a long, hot bath
  5. snuggling up with a blanket and book and/or sleep

Getting into your own om habit, whatever that looks like to you will leave you feeling more peaceful, calm and happy all around.

Question: Do you practice an “om” habit? 

Learn more ways – 28 to be exact – to combat stress HERE.

Xox,
SKH