Joyous Health: Book Review

This book has been living on my counter. I am constantly grabbing it to reference things - from how to cook quinoa to the dirty dozen list. This book is a valuable resource of healthy, whole and clean eating. Joy is great at providing information in an interesting and knowledgeable way. She recommends taking 6 weeks to work through her book - I read it in one night and then started adapting different aspects into my life. I have since gone back and started to work through it. Since reading Joyous Health I have been more conscious about what I am eating and have been working at creating healthier meals. Rather then being restrictive I have found the book to really open my eyes to new and different ways to cook a foods that I already love and how to start incorporating other fresh foods. I also really like how uplifting Joy is in her book. This is NOT a diet book. It is much more about lifestyle then it is about being restrictive. She gives stress management tips and information on how to live a fuller healthier life. Following the first part of the book, full of Joy's information and knowledge, the second part is a traditional cookbook, fully of healthy easy to make dishes. All of Joy's recipes are delicious and easy to follow.  What I personally really liked about the book is that Joy is Canadian.  It was great for me for because the information in the book was relevant and I could find all the ingredients listed (there is also a US version!). 

Establishing Fitness Habits

The weather has finally started to warm up (most days), and the snow is slowly starting to melt. So I have been coming out of hibernation and have actually been getting to the gym and walking to class way more! I go through phases where I actually go to the gym on a regular basis but then something comes up and I stop, I find excuses and before I know it it has been months since I have step foot in a gym. 

After reading this article of "15 Fitness Habits to Establish in your 20s" by Women's Health, I am trying to build some healthier habits.  Once of those is getting to the gym (I am trying to aim for 3x a week). I have found that once I actually start going to the gym on a regular basis I look forward to it and I start to look up different circuits and exercises online.   One of the biggest obstacles for me is getting over the fact that every workout doesn't have to be a big production. I think this stems from the fact that I used to figure skate and train 4-5x a week. This included on and off-ice training. Which meant an hour working out off the ice before even getting on the ice some days. Working out for me then, always meant it took a large portion out of my day.  I have started to come to realization that any sort of workout is better then no workout. Even if I can only be at the gym for a half hour thats better then nothing and its more likely that I will stick with working out in the long run because it enforces the habit.  I also know that I need a goal to work towards. Something that is attainable yet challenging. I find when I work out just to work out that I get bored too quickly. I also need to set goals that I want to attain. I used to always set running goals. But I HATE running. I would rather do anything other then run. So these goals were pointless because I didn't really want to work towards them. I now set goals that I actually want to achieve which makes working out a bit more fun. 
Do have any advice for sticking to a workout plan?