living Life

Being the fifteen year old teenage girl I am; I'm constantly facing the challenges of a 'fifteen year old teenage girl'. Whether that be stressing over what I'm going to wear, choosing whether to eat a salad or a whole chocolate cake, trying to keep myself from crying about God knows what (literally me last night trying to write this blog), or just trying to fit in. When you look at the big picture, ideally we should all just want to be happy with our lives. There are 2 questions I would ask myself at the end of the day, which you could try:

 

When I look back at my own life, I want to be able to say; I was happy and I was healthy. Always doing and being my best. I can't speak for anyone else but myself, but I believe everyone should be able to love themselves for who they are, and lead a happy and healthy lifestyle. We're all born into this thing, this life, and it's all we've got. Living to the fullest to optimise our time is a lifestyle we should all get a chance at experiencing. Not only appreciating what we have, but appreciating ourselves is a lesson I feel like we should learn- but as an ongoing lesson. Nothing is learnt- rather we never stop learning. And one of the challenges that I'm currently facing is learning how to love myself, be happy and be healthy.

As I am currently expressing my views on how to live a great life, (note that these are my views. I am not speaking for anyone other than myself, nor am I telling anyone the right way to go about anything) I feel like I should explain how I am trying to go about living on a day-to-day basis. So here it is

A 15 year-olds perspective on a Happy, Healthy Life:

1. Find happiness in every day- even if it's simply admiring the clouds or filling your lungs up with fresh air. If you can find something to smile about every day, you should start to feel pretty good about yourself. Appreciate what you have, and don't focus on the negative.

2. Eating well is a key ingredient (literally) in feeling good about yourself. I have recently been struggling with what I'm eating, due to recently finding out what I eat affects my respiratory system (breathing) oh and (FYI that goes for everyone, just not me personally). Everyone reacts differently to what they put in their own mouths- and for me, my respiratory systems struggles particularly with dairy products, processed sugar and gluten- more the white stuff. After realising this through Dean (my breathing specialist) I went on a eating plan- or basically I just didn't eat dairy products, white flour- such as pasta or white bread, and copious amounts of white sugar (found in everything!!). This was a long process; giving up all the foods I loved was really hard, but after a while I began to feel really great within myself. I could find it easier to breathe and I just felt a lot more energised altogether. Now as I said- this doesn't apply to everyone, but a few general tips can be really helpful:

• Cut out the processed foods- Everything in a packet has been processed to some extent. These foods can be really bad for your body because of the additive, chemicals and other c r a p. if you can't pronounce an ingredient- then why should you be putting it into your body? If this means not eating your fav packet of chips every now and then, so be it! Have a carrot instead… it will actually fill you up, and it surprisingly tastes OK.

• Keep Hydrated!!!- Drinking water every day is good for your body! It is also a great way to keep energised. Try drinking 1-2 Liters a day, and if you get bored of it, put some lemon in it!

• Have balance- if you pig out on junk all afternoon don't stress; just eat greens the next day. If you're realllly craving a chocolate from the fundraising boxes at school- go for it! Don't feel guilty for enjoying the foods you love. But remember to balance it out. Just take everything in moderation- that way you can stay on top of things.

I feel like I have to explain how I know all of this at the age of 15: my Mum has taught me so much in the way of eating healthy! Practicing healthy isn't as bad as it seems once you get the hang of it. And at the beginning of this year, I did a science experiment on how processed sugar (packet crap) affects your body, in comparison to natural sugar (found in fruit). I'll be doing a post on that soon, the results were really interesting!

3.  Exercise! Exercising can really make you feel good. Whether it's going for a walk, stretching out in the morning, running, skipping, and boxing- literally any type of physically activity, it's good for you. Exercising generally keeps you fit, it gets you moving which is good for your blood, and it's actually proven to help relieve stress. If you're ever down in the dumps, a little workout can really go along way.

I'm no expert at any of these things- but they work for me. Whatever suits your wants and needs is what you should strive for. Being happy and healthy is what I look for in life, so that's what I'm going to be. Surround yourself with those who inspire you, for those who live joyfully, their joy will become yours too. This post might get a big laugh at, or some might put down what I have just written. But honestly, I couldn't care less- your opinion is none of my business. As my Mum always reminds me "treat people how you want to be treated" and "what goes around, comes around".  But this is what I want my blog to be about, to promote a healthy lifestyle and to live happily amongst everyone. I'm striving to be the best I can be, and hoping to inspire others to do the same along the way. I found this in a magazine a couple of months ago "Stand up, be the best you can be. If you want a six-pack, do it. If you don't, have a burger. You're the boss of you. Once you get that, you'll get everything you want in life".

Appreciate the things you have, and enjoy your life! It's the only one you've got.

Peri x