Healthy Monday

As you guys may or may not know, I'm a full time student majoring in Nutrition. Learning what it means to be healthy is a passion of mine. I love learning about how different foods affect your body. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to go into the nutrition field is because I think it is a topic that many people are confused about, including myself. What is actually good for you? Is there any truth to fad diets? Which ones are good and which are bad? 

We are always one google search away from finding the answers to every question we could ever have. But how much of that information is based on science and how much based on someone's opinion? I don't claim to have all the answers, but there is a lot of stuff I have learned already from studying the human body and I thought that information was important to share. 

This is where Healthy Mondays comes in. I asked one of the most inspirational fellow health nerds I know to work on this with me. Each week one of us will be coming to you to share some of the things we've learned. Anything health related, we will be sharing.

But before we start all that I'd like to introduce you to Heather. She is one of my absolute favorite bloggers and she is probably the most adorable person I have ever seen.

Heather at Honee bee

What is your blog about?

My blog Honee Bee is a lifestyle blog that encompasses fashion, food, health and my newlywed life. I blog about the things that I am passionate about, which is relationships and food. and if you had to ask me the two go hand in hand. People love food, and people who love to eat hang out with one another. I hope to show my life as a healthy twenty something year old that loves having a good time.  

Why did you decide to start a blog?

I don't really know why I started a blog. To be honest it was because I was drawn to so many lifestyle blogs that I thought I should try and create my own! So I did. and the first year the blog was really slow. I didn't know how to write (and this is something that I am still working on), I had no idea of what type of direction I wanted to take my blog, but through the past few years I have gained a better understanding of why I blog, and that is to preserve memories. I don't share everything on the blog. To be honest I mostly share the stories of Chad, my husband, and I because I feel like those are the one that I should be documenting the most. My blog has become my outlet, my accountability partner, and my journal. 

What are you going to school for?

I am currently a second year grad student studying public health with a focus on epidemiology which basically means I am studying health research. I love doing population based research and think that the health system is beautifully complex. 

What are your career plans after grad school?

Oh life post grad school. What will it be like?! I am hoping to work for a university and be a research professor. If that does no work out I would love to work for a health care organization doing community awareness, specifically focused with obesity or heart disease. I have several dreams that I would love to achieve in the health care field. The most beautiful thing is that it is so broad so I feel like my options are endless. 

Tell us about your "fit report"

My fit repor the way I keep myself active. Basically it is a weekly post that I do to share how I did or did not achieve my health goals for the week. This includes how many times I exercises, which foods curses or blessed me, or anything else interesting that I have found related to health. I did these consistently for a year. Then once I got married I kinda stopped working out, but now after six months of marriage I have regained my focus. The main reason why I do these is to share to individuals that living a fit lifestyle is challenging but if you make time to do it, you are capable of doing so much more then you would imagine. To be honest, one of the reasons why I even work out is because I know I am going to be telling all of my blogging friends about it, so I do it. 

What are some things you are passionate about?

I love too many things. I find joy from the simplest of pleasures, such as a crisp apple. but if I had to choose I would have to say that it would be my faith in Jesus, my family/relationships, gardening,cooking, and running. All of these things I value above everything else and spend hours weekly pursuing and building them. I think it is so important to find things you are passionate about because it gives you a direction of where to go and how to cultivate and develop yourself. 

What is your biggest struggle?

There are several areas that I struggle in but the biggest I would say is over eating sweets. I am so addicted but I have to say one of the main reasons why I love to run is because I know I can reward myself with a big bowl of ice cream afterwards. Its awful. I would give all foods and eat ice cream every day for the rest of my life. I am pathetic. I am also  a big chocolate lover. The darker the better. 

What are some of your goals for the next year?

I was really hoping on running a marathon this year however I hurt my knee early on in the season. So had to change that goal. I am hoping to maintain my fitness goal of exercising 3+ times a week, spend more time with my husband without technology, and to complete my graduate school program with a GPA above 3.85. I know all of these things do not come easily but through goal setting you are able to obtain them.

How do you keep yourself motivated?

My motivation comes as a result of talking with others. I find that by talking about my health priorities and fitness goals, I am able to encourage myself. It is almost like you have to put on a show in order to make yourself believe that you are actually able to do it. I find that by following other health bloggers I am motivated to get on a run on those days you really don't feel like it. Otherwise sometimes I play a mental game where I trick myself into the healthy behavior. It is a weird thing but if you convince yourself that you "do" want to do something, you somehow end up doing it.

Go check out her blog now!