I used to hate exercise and eating most anything healthy, staunchly refusing to work out and living on a solid diet of pasta with tomato sauce (hey, that’s a vegetable!), cereal for breakfast, and eating out for dinner. It’s only in the past six months or so that I’ve realized a crucial detail we overlook when we shift into business mode constantly and unceasingly: our body is our greatest business asset.
If our body breaks down, loses stamina, has no energy, gains weight, feels pain, or refuses to move out of lethargic mode and into productive mode, our business is HOSED. Absolutely HOSED.
This means we should probably treat it right, even if we (sort of kind of) hatehaving to take time away from making stuff and growing our business to do so.
From my reluctantly-healthy heart to yours, then, here are the top five free resources I’ve found to keep my body feeling lighter, more energetic, and…zingier.
Yes, that’s zingy, but with more oomph: zingier. It’s the way I prefer to feel, and I find it’s more likely to happen after movement and a sweet-ass salad than it is after french fries and four back-to-back episodes of The Real Housewives. (Though I still love those crazy women.)
Nutritional Style for healthy eating that doesn’t suck.
Holli Thompson is the Yoda of eating healthy — wise and funny — only she makes eating healthy not suck. In her presence, when I made a face after a sip of green juice, she told me to stop drinking it. “If your body doesn’t like it, WHY would you keep drinking it?” “It’s so good for me,” I said. And she pointed out that many things that are good for you are also welcomed by your body with open arms. Choose those foods, and don’t let those green juicing evangelists make you feel bad. Her free seasonal recipe book, available right here, contains the most amazing recipes that taste amazing, are simple to prepare, and are actually healthy that I’ve ever encountered. Try the Lime Sherbet or the Healthy Ice Cream if you don’t believe me!
Qoya for exercise that’s actually fun.
I’m one of those desperately not-coordinated people who can’t follow an arm-pumping, two-stepping dance routine to save my life, which means I find most dance/exercise videos moderately to insanely frustrating. It’s like my body sprouts an extra limb and then just flails it around wildly when those routines come on, and I’m left trying to manage my third left foot instead of dancing like a freaking swan. Embodyqoya.com contains all sorts of dance routines that make me shake my money maker my own damn way — Rochelle Schieck’s love of life, of dance, and of humanity is gorgeous to watch, and she’s the only dance instructor that’s ever gotten me to shake it like a Polaroid picture on a regular basis. Sign up for her free 10 days to Embody Qoyaand you’ll see what I mean. No need for stretchy clothing or big chunks of time. Simple, gentle, fun movement is where it’s at.
Kendrick Shope to get your mind clear and focused.
Kendrick will help keep your mind just as happy as your body, as she helps you root out the gunk and discover your truth. Her free “truth kit,” available here, is genius. Trust me on this — if you’re feeling stuck, or like you’ve been waiting for “success” to happen but it never feels like it has — she can help.
Sarah Jenks to shed some pounds without changing your diet one bit.
Sarah Jenks’ free video series, an introduction to her Live More Weigh Less program, could easily cost $99 — the insights you’ll have about your weight, the ways you use food, the ways you abuse food, and what’s REALLY stopping you from being a size 0 are just. Plain. Stunning. If you’ve got any sort of weight issues going on, get your cute little tush over hereand start watching.
Kim Anami to let more pleasure into your life.
Kim handles an often-uncomfortable topic with such ease and humor that you just have to love her. Kim is a sex and life coach whose free “How to Spice Up Your Love Life — Even if You Don’t Have One!“ video is pure genius. Really…ahem…helpful. Head on over and get it!
Your turn!
And now, dear Handmade Success reader, it’s your turn to help a sister (or a brother) out! What free resources help keep you healthy and zingy in your day-to-day life? Please share in the comments!
Kristen Kalp — Brand Camp
Kristen Kalp is a (ghost)writer who believes people should have fun being in business. She blogs at Brand Camp for like-minded folks.
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Thanks for sharing! I’m personally a big fan of Leigh Peele. The tagline on her website is ‘common sense talk for exceptionall bodies and lives’. She gives very sound advice for eating and exercising and is not caught up in any kind of fad diets. http://www.leighpeele.com/
Also check out her ‘ask leigh’ podcasts on itunes- as you will find a lot of valuable information there.
And no, i’m not affiliated – just a fan
Thanks so much for the introduction to these fabulous sites Kristen! It is so easy to get caught up in our businesses and not realize how much movement and diet could make our businesses even better.
I love http://www.mindbodygreen.com/ for posts about diet, meditation and yoga.
Definitely check out http://bitchindietitian.com/ for delicious recipes! She also has a book about cooking with Trader Joe’s that I just love!
@karlita I checked out Leigh’s site and think it is fabulous! Thank you so much for sharing!
Loving these suggestions! Keep ‘em coming!!
Thanks so much for this article! I too had put exercise and healthy eating aside, thinking that I had more important crafting to do. I realized that a healthy mind & body is most important, and make these a priority now!
@Allison – It is so easy to get carried away with work especially when you like what you do. It is really cool though how your work can get even more amazing by taking care of yourself first. Good luck!