Healthy living is not one decision but many decisions made throughout your day and life. To accomplish your goals, you need motivation, discipline and self-control. But that’s often easier said than done. So what’s the secret to staying on track? We asked one of the healthiest and most motivated people we know.
Meet Jorie, Vitacost shopper, mother of three, half-marathon runner, dark chocolate lover and Social Media Manager for the Kroger Co. For her, healthy living is not about balance—it’s about celebrating and giving thanks to her body and mind.
What is your healthy living “philosophy”? What does healthy living mean to you?
My answer to this question is NOT “balance” because…balance? What’s that? To me, healthy living is about celebrating two amazing gifts I’ve been given—a body that can endure three pregnancies, 11 half-marathons and a lifestyle that’s hardly conducive to relaxation…oh, and a mind that can juggle everything from tonight’s grocery list to which of Henry the IV’s wives outlived him to corporate social media strategy. Fitness and eating well is my daily “thank you” for having both my physical and mental capacities in strong working order. It’s also an investment in (hopefully) many more years of running races, running on empty and running my mouth off at meetings!
What’s the hardest part of healthy living for you?
I travel a lot for work, and I’ve had to get creative about packing healthy snacks, or even looking at airport terminal maps online in advance to figure out where I’ll be able to find something decent for lunch during an hour layover. Otherwise, I’ll scarf down a few packets of airplane cookies and choke on the aftertaste of regret for the next 800 miles.
How do you stay inspired? What motivates you?
My kids inspire me! I make sure they know what ingredients I cook with because I want them to grow up to care about what they are putting in their bodies. I want to be a good role model for them—I yell out a big, “Hello, I’m home!” when I’m back from a run so they can see Sweaty Mommy has returned. (Their response these days, though, is “Ugh, take a shower.”)
What does a typical day of eating look like for you? Does it vary from weekdays to weekends?
For breakfast, I have a half or full cup of fresh fruit, a half cup of steel cut oats and some nuts and flax seeds or a teaspoon of nut butter. (I do measure everything. I have an awesome food scale.)
For a mid-morning snack, I’ll often make a recipe using about a half serving of protein powder and some other ingredients, like canned pumpkin or stevia extract to make a protein pancake or “mug cake.”
Lunch is usually a big salad with a lean protein and either a homemade salad dressing (Greek yogurt, apple cider vinegar, olive oil) or a healthy fat like avocado or a light cheese.
I might have one small dessert-like, high-protein snack after that, such as a quarter cup of ricotta cheese with some vanilla stevia (tastes like vanilla pudding) and a few sliced strawberries thrown in, or a tablespoon or raw cacao powder mixed with plain Greek yogurt.
Dinner is almost always a lean protein or wild caught salmon, a cup or two of fresh veggies cooked in coconut oil, and a half cup of cooked quinoa or a small sweet potato.
And I usually have a smoothie or shake with a scoop of Quest or Optimum Whey and frozen fruit for my “dessert.” It makes me feel like I’m having ice cream. I love frozen cherries with chocolate protein powder, some cinnamon, ground ginger and molasses—it’s a gingerbread cookie shake!
What is your favorite food splurge and how often do you splurge?
Pancakes, or anything involving dark chocolate, or cookies. I’d say about once every week or so, I’ll have one wild-and-crazy night that includes wine and dessert—this is usually date night with my husband or a girls’ night out. I try to be pretty much “on track” the rest of the time, though.
How often do you exercise and what do you like to do?
I work out 5-6 days a week. I always do two or three runs, one of them around 5-6 miles (or longer if I’m training for a race), and I take an Orangetheory class twice a week. Once a week, I’ll either take a spin class or just do weights and cardio at the gym.
Do you ever fall off track? What do you do to get back on track?
Once or twice a year, I will go on a vacation and really try to enjoy the food and not stress about what I’m eating; but I usually get in extra workouts then. And other times, I’m just more on my game than others—stress will kick in and before you know it, I’m mindlessly nibbling on my kids’ sandwich crusts. But in any of these situations, once my weight creeps up by more than a few pounds, I usually get a bit panicked and will fire up the food scale again.
How does Vitacost play a part in your health?
I love reading Vitacost recipes and quite a few of them are part of my regular routine. My cupboards are stocked with steel cut oats, quinoa, spices, protein powders, raw honey, teas and coconut oil from Vitacost. And above all else, I love the feeling I get when I’ve ordered from Vitacost—I know healthy things are on their way to me, and that makes me feel like I’ve done something good for myself and my kids!
Which clean-eating foods/healthy-living items from Vitacost are musts for you?
- Vitacost Quinoa
- Vitacost Steel Cut Oats
- Vitacost Coconut Oil
- Bob’s Red Mill Buckwheat Flour and Bob’s Red Mill Almond Flour
- Quest Salted Caramel Protein Powder, Optimum Nutrition Whey Extreme Chocolate Milk and Optimum Mocha Protein Powder
- I also buy canned pumpkin, cacao powder, coconut sugar, agave syrup and raw honey from Vitacost
What’s your health “dream”—where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?
If I could avoid becoming significantly less healthy than I am right now in 5-10 years, that would be a dream come true. I’m hoping my healthy lifestyle will keep the creaky bones and other lapses away!
Any advice for others who are trying to set healthy living goals?
People say “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels” but I am not sure that’s true—have these people never had chocolate lava mousse?? But it is true that that one moment of feeling uncomfortable when you pass on the cake at your co-worker’s baby shower is absolutely nothing compared to the discomfort of too-tight clothes from never saying no. Also, your coworker has a lot of other things on her mind other than whether you ate her cake. She’s pregnant. She wants to know if everyone chipped in to get her the stroller and couldn’t care less what’s on your plate. So skip her cake, but do save some room for a Saturday night splurge, which you can enjoy while also feeling skinny. Everybody wins!