Sometimes I am ashamed to admit to it. I have an addiction. But now, I try to use this addiction to my benefit, I try to use it in a more positive way than I used to.

I have always been addicted to soda. Before I began my journey, I would drink soda with every meal I ate, every single day. I would wake up in the middle of the night craving soda, and suddenly, I realized it was a problem. Not only was it extremely unhealthy to drink soda this much, but it was super damaging to my teeth.

When I decided I wanted to work towards a healthier version of myself, I decided it was time to give up soda. I told myself that not only would I give up soda, but I also wouldn’t allow myself to drink any sugary drinks, tea, juice, etc. I would learn to only drink water, or I would drink nothing (which obviously wasn’t a legitimate option). I hated water…how would I ever accomplish this goal? Well, that’s just it. It was another goal to add to my list, another goal I was willing to work to achieve.

After just a week of drinking solely water, I acquired the tastebuds to genuinely enjoy it. I drank (and still do) only water on a daily basis. Switching my main beverage from soda to water has benefited me in several ways, two standing out more than others: I feel healthier and I have more energy.

Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t an easy process. I almost caved in and gave up, but I reminded myself of why I decided to give soda up in the first place. If you remind yourself of why you began your journey, why you gave something up, why you decided to change your habits, it will make your process easier and encourage you to keep going.

Now, I use my addiction as a reward. Like I said, I only drink water on a daily basis, but I also like to remind myself of how far I’ve come and all that I’ve accomplished. My way of rewarding myself is allowing myself to have a small cup of soda every now and then. Doing this stops me from binging on a whole bottle of soda and helps keep me on track.

It’s okay to enjoy the things you love, as long as you stay on track while doing so. Don’t give in to your addictions, switch things up and use them to your advantage. Use your addiction as your reward.

Working out can be a struggle for some people. Some days you want to go about your day without trying to fit a workout in. In my life, I usually find time to go to the gym three or four times a week but of course life gets in the way sometimes.

The other day I got stuck babysitting and then working, with very little time to do anything in between. I got home from work around 9:30pm and quite honestly, I just wanted to get ready for bed. Instead, I scrolled through a fitness account I follow on instagram (@juliealedbetter) and found my motivation through her. To add a little excitement to the workout, I grabbed my sister and we planned a short workout to do together. I ran two miles on the treadmill, while she was on the indoor bike. Following this, we watched a 15 minutes at home ab workout and called it a night.

It’s important to keep your goals in mind, to remember why you started your journey in the first place. We each have different goals, whether we work out to release some stress, to feel better about ourselves, or simply to get fit but in the end, we all strive to be happy and healthy. If you make that little change, do a little extra, it can go very far. Each small step we make is a step closer to a happier and healthier version of yourself.

Sometimes it can be hard to get yourself to workout after a long day, but if you find some motivation and push yourself to do it, I can guarantee you will be thankful you did in the end.

Determining what to eat when your morning doesn’t have a definite structure is a struggle we all face one day or another. This morning, along with many other mornings, I woke up not hungry. Normally I’d wait until I’m hungry and make some oatmeal with a hint of peanut butter (my addiction!), and enjoy my favorite breakfast. But today was different in the fact that I had places to be and I wasn’t going to be home for a few hours. I listened as my mind went back and fourth, deciding whether I would eat a meal at home (I wasn’t hungry, so why would I do this? Right?) or I would grab some fast food at some point throughout my busy day (seems reasonable..).

Going back and fourth in my mind, it sounded like the only correct answer was to grab fast food when I got hungry. Of course, when I actually thought about it logically, it only seemed that way because that’s what I wanted the answer to be. Everybody enjoys eating out, the food always tastes “better”, right?

Instead of caving into what I thought I wanted, I decided to make a light meal/snack at home to hold me over until I got home. I grabbed my fruit from the refrigerator, cut up some strawberries, added a few raspberries and top it off with my personal favorite, blueberries. I don’t know why, but every time I see the bright colors of the mixture of fruit, it puts me in a good mood and makes me happy.

I enjoyed my light and refreshing meal with no regrets. Instead of letting my unreasonable thoughts of fast food get in my way, I took the healthy route, eating my fruit, and left my house with great energy. I find that when I let my mind take over, I am only left with guilt and a very low level of energy, which is definitely not useful when I have a busy day ahead of me. Today I made a good decision. You have to gain control over your mind, so you can take control of your actions.

Do you hate running? You tell yourself every night you’re going to wake up early in the morning and get a productive start on your morning by taking a run through town but then your alarm goes off and you groan and snooze it. You keep doing this until you finally say, “i’ll just start tomorrow” and so begins a continuous cycle.

I used to hate running, and this is exactly how every morning looked for me. I knew things weren’t going to change if I didn’t do something about it, so I looked for things that would make me look forward to running. The very first day I successfully got out of bed to go on a run, I had a new, upbeat, motivating song playlist waiting for me to listen to. I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love music and music can get me to do just about anything. I figured creating this new playlist of motivating songs would encourage me to get up, because I was excited to hear the new music and I was interested to see how many songs could actually keep me running. After that first run, everything changed for me. The after feeling of running was a feeling that I fell in love with, a feeling of euphoria. Not only did my body feel amazing, like I could now conquer anything, but my mind was in a new state with it. I began running more often, as I found more and more reasons to love it. I think the hardest part about running, or doing any kind of exercise, is physically getting up and out of bed to do it. Once you’re out there, and you have something you love motivating you (like my music did for me), it becomes something you look forward to doing.

Today I woke up to go on a run, looked outside and found these gloomy skies waiting for me.

Most people would probably see these gloomy skies and use them as an excuse to not go outside for a run, but I had new music and a good after feeling to look forward to. I accomplished my morning run, running up and down the hills throughout my community, and now I feel refreshed, happy and ready to take on any challenges that cross my path today. I found what motivates me and makes me feel good and now running is something I truly look forward to every single day. What will motivate you and make you look forward to your daily run?

If you’re having trouble finding something that motivates you and makes you look forward to running, try thinking about something you love. Maybe music isn’t going to work for you in the same way it did for me, but something else could. Do you have an overly energetic dog like me? Take the puppy on a run, he will keep you active. If you can’t find something to motivate you while you run, look for something that you can look forward to after your run (like the euphoria in my case). Good luck running!

Hi everyone, my name is Kristi-Lee! I am a college student majoring in Integrative Neuroscience on the pre-med track. I love going to the gym and eating healthy, of course with a moderation of yummy snacks! Within the past two years, I have worked extremely hard towards my goals. I began this journey with the intent of losing weight, and after losing 35 pounds, I’ve come to love the gym, eating healthy and all of the benefits that come along with this lifestyle. Going to the gym makes me a healthier, happier and more confident version of me! I hope through this journey you will find the same love that I have with this lifestyle. I am so excited to share my journey with you and hopefully motivate you throughout yours!