​Living life abundantly involves eating foods that are nutritious to the cells of your body.  Over the past couple of years I have noticed the changes in my body from a week of eating Cinnabons, pizza and ice cream to the “make up” weeks that I eat wholesome steel cut oatmeal, broccoli, asparagus tips, and brown rice.
Back in high school, I was visiting the soda machines almost on a daily basis and although I was “small boned” , I realize now looking back at pictures that the sugar I was consuming daily definitely showed.

​It showed in my skin, and in my energy.  I am proof that you do not have to be overweight to lose your breath going up a flight of stairs because it happened to me multiple times. It was not until 3 years after high school that I drastically reduced the soda levels going into my blood stream and started treating them like dessert. It was not until this time that it became easier for me to exercise and see quick results.  At this present time in my life, I can say that I drink less than 1 soda a month and really do not have an craving for it unless there is Pineapple Fanta in my midst. A great assistance that helped with the cravings was the plan to make a conscious effort to snack on healthy, natural items throughout the day.

I am a firm believer that the best diets involve that you eat 4 x a day even if its only 4 almonds to snack on and hold you until you can get to a whole and nutritious meal.  Bryan Bradford, a nutritionist at Sunflower Shoppe in Colleyville, Texas,  has taught me that protein is very essential in my diet to not only balance sugar and hormones, but also to obtain better rest.  Protein is also very helpful in toning up. Almonds are now my go to snack for protein..!

One thing I remember from a business class in college was a story about a case study involving students from a prestigious university (Harvard? Stanford? Yale?).  It was found that the most successful people had one thing in common. They wrote down goals for their future. In addition to this, they made plans to accomplish those goals. ​

Do not wait for the beginning of a new year to make your goals. Do not give up on them even if you fail multiple times. Do not wait for another year to come in order to “reset” that goal. I was speaking to my younger sister about this and I recalled that I had heard that January was the biggest month for gym memberships. Why? Because many have bought into the new years resolution to get fit and healthy. This goal would be more palatable if it were broken down into a daily goal. This way if you mess up, you get another chance tomorrow.

​One of my life time goals is to drink plenty of water daily. In order to do that I had to research and find out how much water was enough. I have concluded that the best amount to drink is your half your weight in ounces. To further assist me with my goal in this, I took containers that I normally drank out of and found out how many of those containers I would need to drink in order to meet my goal. Now I do not accomplish this goal everyday however I have been drinking more water than I would have if I did not make this a goal and found steps to help me accomplish them. How do you accomplish goals (big or small)?

P.S. Always plan and have a planner! This can alleviate unnecessary stress when it comes to planning and declining or accepting events.

//inspired by Scripture || Habakkuk 2:2

- Sherry Lola Quadri
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