Never Settle.

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First off, if you’re reading this and don’t know me personally (and you’re not friends with me on Facebook/Instagram) then I have to update you. If you are friends with me, I genuinely apologize that you’re hearing this again- I promise this is the last time ;). My RD exam was this past Friday, and I am ecstatic to report that I passed!!! 🙂 I am officially a Registered Dietitian, and I could not be more excited about it. I cannot wait to start my career and do what I absolutely love – help people by teaching them about the power of good nutrition & health.

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I recently had a job interview and was asked, “Tell me about a time that you had to turn in a project and you were unhappy with the way it turned out. What did you do?” I had to think about this for a minute. I racked my brain, but I couldn’t come up with an answer. Why? Because I can’t settle for less than what I think is the very best I could give. I work my little booty off until I’m confident and satisfied with the end result. That is partly the perfectionist in me, but it’s also just part of my values. I’m determined and I believe in working hard for what you want. For example, studying for my exam. I have to admit. I was absolutely terrified going into that test. Like, on-the-verge-of-vomiting terrified. But I studied SO much and SO hard; I knew deep down that I retained more of the material than I was giving myself credit for. (I just stress myself out way too much – that’s a separate issue 😉 ) I think we are all a little guilty of “settling” in at least one or even multiple areas of life. Sometimes that’s just the easy thing to do. It definitely requires less effort, but you probably get a lot less satisfaction out of it, too. I’m challenging you today. Really think about these things and evaluate each one in your own life. Are things as great as they could be, or are you settling for less than you should?

Never settle when it comes to…

Your health. If you have an unhealthy lifestyle and your health is suffering because of it, it’s never too late to turn things around. You can do something about it. Even small changes can yield big results. You just have to look at yourself in the mirror and admit what you need to do to get better. Most of us know what our biggest weaknesses are; we just have a really hard time facing them, or actually doing something about it. Does your diet consist of mostly fast food? Do you smoke? Are you guilty of giving into your sweet tooth a little more often than you should? Do you drink more soda (or beer) than you drink water? Have you forgotten how it feels to finish an exhausting yet incredible workout? Chances are, whatever is going on with your health is directly related to your behaviors. I personally have stomach issues and I know which foods are going to make me feel like death, so I do my very best to avoid those things. “Duh”, right? Figure out exactly what it is that’s causing your health issues and make the decision to change. Start cooking healthy meals at home. Quit smoking. Limit yourself to one soda a day, or only have it on weekends. Join a gym or start walking with a friend. Once you make a change and start seeing & feeling the difference, you won’t want to go back. Healthy food and exercise are the absolute BEST and cheapest forms of medicine. Give ‘em a shot before you give up on your health.

Your body. Some of you might be thinking, “My whole family is overweight. I’m screwed because of my genetics, so I might as well not even try”. That’s an excuse. Yes, it may seem a little harder for some of you at first, but if you work hard enough you can get the body you want. It’s all about hard work, discipline, and dedication. Have you seen the people on Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition?! Losing 100-150+ pounds in a year! It’s absolutely incredible. [one of my favorite shows ever] Maybe you only have 15-20 pounds to lose. So tell me, how bad do you want it? I’m not saying that you have to have a perfect body to be happy. Absolutely not. BUT you have to have a body that you feel good about to be happy. To have confidence. To feel beautiful. There are SO many different definitions of beauty. You don’t have to be a size 0 and weigh 115 pounds to be beautiful, despite what you see in magazines and on TV. You can be short, tall, curvy, flat, wide hipped, no hipped, black, white or purple. Only YOU can decide what makes you feel great about yourself. So if you’re not there yet, what are you going to do to achieve it?

Your significant other. Bottom line: be with someone who makes you happy. Does he/she make you laugh? Make you feel good about yourself? Make you want to be a better person? Challenge you? Support you no matter what (especially with your diet & exercise behaviors)? Do you have fun together? Can you talk about anything and everything with that person? If you are with someone who doesn’t support you if/when you’re trying to make lifestyle changes, it’ll make your journey so much harder, and WAY less fun. Getting healthy should be something that you can take on together. Regardless of whether the other person needs to lose weight, everyone can benefit from adopting healthy habits. Have a date night where you try cooking a new healthy recipe together for dinner. Try a new workout class or go on walks/runs together. Your healthy lifestyle should be something you can bond over, not something that comes between you.

Your friendships. Your friendships should be very similar to your relationship. Surround yourself with people who are kind, trustworthy, motivating, fun to be around, and again, supportive. I feel so blessed to have so many incredible friends who are exactly what I just described and more. All of the good luck wishes before / congratulations after my test was so overwhelming. I have some amazing people in my life. If you have any “friends” who are constantly in competition with you or make you feel bad about yourself rather than building you up, maybe you should reconsider the friendship. If nothing else, have a conversation with that person to make sure the friendship is healthy for both of you.

Your job. I cannot imagine having a job that I wasn’t 100% passionate about. As I’m sure you’ve noticed, nutrition/health is not only my profession; it’s my life. I love living the way that I advise others to do. I get so much joy out of coming up with things to write about for this blog, trying new recipes to taste 😉 as well as share with you, and hopefully motivating people to make some changes, or continue making healthy choices! Getting texts & messages from friends, acquaintances, and even complete strangers telling me they love my blog and that I’m inspiring to them absolutely makes my day/life. If I can reach even one person and encourage them to live a healthier life, then I’ve met my goal. But why stop at one? 😉

We only get one chance at life. Only one very capable body that is DESIGNED to be active. Why wouldn’t you treat it with some TLC?! It’s about QUALITY of life over quantity. If your body is healthy, you will be able to see and do so many more amazing things, as well as enjoy the little things. I hope to be exercising everyday up into my 80s – and beyond! 🙂 Shoot for the stars people.

Lastly, never settle when it comes to your happiness. If you’re not fully happy and you feel like something is missing, ask yourself if you’ve settled with one of the above things. You’ll never be completely content until you know you’ve done the best you can possibly do. Instead of wondering, “what if?” just go for it. What’s stopping you? The worst that can happen is it doesn’t work out.

“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” Trust in God’s plan. He’s got your back. Everything will work out just the way it’s supposed to. 🙂

Never. Ever. Settle.

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RECIPE TIME!

Okay so, here’s a super easy, delicious recipe for ya. SURPRISE! Dietitians love pizza too. But it’s not something I eat super regularly. If I do, though, I prefer it to be a little bit on the lighter side. There are several ways to do this.

1. Make it at home! This gives you complete control over the ingredients and the amount of them that goes onto the pizza.
2. Make/buy whole-wheat thin crust (you will save SO many calories/carbs by choosing thin over thick/stuffed crust, etc.)
3. Use low-fat cheese.
4. Top with lean protein and tons of veggies!

My boyfriend and I made this margarita pizza a few weeks ago and it was ahhhhh-mazing. It’s easy, fun to make, and delish. Triple threat. 

Margarita Pizza

Ingredients:

• 1 lb prepared pizza dough (or store bought)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup low fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2-3 fresh basil leaves, torn
• 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, baked or grilled (optional – but I recommend it)

I’m sorry – I didn’t take a picture of all of the ingredients before we made it. We were too hungry. ; )

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. If you are adding chicken, prepare your chicken breast first. (We cut our chicken into bite-sized pieces and cooked it in the skillet prior to making the pizza.)
3. Next, put pizza dough onto a greased pizza pan and spread on your 1 tbsp of olive oil.
4. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese, sliced tomatoes, basil leaves, and sprinkle on black pepper.

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

Enjoy with a nice side salad! 🙂

Note: pay attention to the instructions on the package of the crust you purchase. It may have a different suggestion for cooking time/temperature so you may have to adjust accordingly to keep from burning the crust!

Later this week, I will share ideas for some lighter food options you can bring to your 4^th of July party this weekend!

Have a great week!

Eat well. live well. be happy.

Shanna

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