"Set your alarm for 6am. Don’t groan when it goes off and pull the covers over your head, get up and start your day. Put on a baggy top and running shorts. Go downstairs and pour yourself a nice big glass of ice water. Cut up some fruit and mix it in with yogurt. Add some granola. Now go outside. Stretch for 10 minutes. Skip for 5 minutes. Jog for 10 minutes. Run for 10 minutes. Walk back. Lay out a towel on the ground and lie down on it. Do 50 crunches. Yes, they hurt, but they are 100% worth it. When you’re done, get in the shower. Use a nice smelling shampoo and matching conditioner. Shave your legs and wash your body. Exfoliate your face. Get out of the shower and let your hair air dry. Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? If you do, good for you. Do this every day and you will continue to love yourself. If you don’t like what you see, do this every day and pretty soon you will. Being lazy might feel good at the time, but being active feels better in the long run. How badly do you want it?"
Quote courtesy of Healthy Motivation by Jaci McGuire via Pinterest.
I found that quote on Pinterest a couple of days ago, and I must say, it's quite inspirational. I agree with every statement, that being lazy feels so good, but being active makes for a better life. I always find my days are better when I get up early and get active. Throw in going to bed early and you've got a sure-fire way to be a healthy, positive person in no time.
I realized that I live on the Chicago Lakefront (perfect running/biking routes), and I have an awesome fitness center within a two minute walk of my dorm, so why shouldn't I utilize what I've got? Yeah, I can't find a reason not to either. The thing is, all the fitness classes that are worthwhile are only in the evening, after my classes. I need that time to study most of the time, so that means that in the past, I had to forego my workout for my grades. That is, until I found this on pinterest. I realized that I don't need to depend on a class to get myself out of bed and to the gym. If I could get up and run a couple of miles, do some crunches, hop on the elliptical, hold a plank, anything; I would be so much better off than to lose an hour and a half of study time at night.
This morning, 6:00 AM I was up, I had my running clothes on, and I was on the treadmill, and let me tell you, it has been a wonderful day so far!
Another inspirational thing on Pinterest
for those days where I wouldn't want to leave my dorm in the morning, like in a blizzard. There's way more of these on there, and also, I use the workout from Daphne Oz's The Dorm Room Diet when I need a good workout in the morning.
And the best part is, I actually gain study time when I get up early. After my workout, and after I get ready for classes, I normally still have some spare time to get a little studying in. It's quite helpful and gets me in bed by about 10:30 every night! Ahhhhhhh =)
