Day: September 22, 2021

To save you some time, we identified 25 of the best wellness blogs the internet has to offer. Whether you’re interested in staying fit, trying healthy new recipes, clearing your mind—or all of the above—these blogs will help you create a healthier lifestyle for yourself. Bookmark this list to keep them handy when you need them most.

Fitness blogs

1. The Balanced Life with Robin Long

Why follow? As a fitness instructor and mom of four, Robin Long’s motto is “Grace over guilt.” She offers a variety of free Pilates and barre workouts designed to help busy women fit at-home exercise into their regular routine. The Balanced Life offers far more than workout videos, though. You’ll also find a supportive membership community, a blog filled with healthy recipes and intentional living tips and targeted workout series to help you meet your fitness goals.

2. ACE Fitness

Why follow? The American Council on Exercise (ACE) hosts this fitness and healthy lifestyle blog. You don’t need to be an Olympic athlete to implement these wellness tips! The ACE Fitness blog has accessible workouts everyday people can do at home. From fun family workouts that parents and kids can do together to targeted fitness and stress-reduction tips for your age group, this blog will encourage you to make your health a priority, without a gym membership.

3. Run to the Finish

Why follow? The running community has its own specific fitness and nutrition needs, and the Run to the Finish blog is here to address them. Whether you’ve just taken up the sport or you’re a marathon finisher, this blog touches on concerns specific to runners at all levels, including dealing with knee pain, working in strength training and finding the best gear to keep you safe and comfortable on your runs.

4. Yoga with Adriene

Why follow? If reaping the many benefits of yoga is part of your wellness plan, Yoga with Adriene can help you get there. With hundreds of free yoga videos at varying intensities, people at all levels can find something accessible for them. Adriene has yoga workouts for every health scenario imaginable, from gentle stretching to relieve stress to kick-starting digestion after a big meal.

5. Born Fitness

Why follow? This fitness blog simplifies the sometimes confusing world of exercise. interviews experts in fitness and nutrition, then creates useful articles featuring the top tips and advice from the pros. Head to this sleek, easy-to-search site for science-based answers to your biggest fitness questions.

Nutrition blogs

6. Running on Real Food

Why follow? This plant-based food blog isn’t just for vegans! Here you’ll find recipes designed to fuel your body with whole foods without sacrificing flavor. Whether you tickle your taste buds with No-Bake Brownie Bites or Vegan Black-Bean Burritos, Running on Real Food has the simple recipes you need to create healthy and delicious meals at home.

7. Fit Foodie Finds

Why follow? Lee Funke, founder of Fit Foodie Finds, leads her followers in finding balanced, healthy recipes without labelling foods “bad” or “off-limits.” This site is a great resource for nutritious recipes that are simple to prep ahead of time, resulting in delicious homemade hummus or Asian broccoli salad that are ready to grab-and-go during your busy week. Funke also writes openly about her struggle with depression and anxiety and the wellness strategies she uses to prioritize her mental health.

8. FWDfuel

Why follow? This unique nutrition blog is geared toward helping athletes and people who live active lifestyles. FWDfuel features recipes and advice for dietary changes to avoid fatigue and inflammation, improve digestion and identify food sensitivities—all while maintaining the energy you need to stay active. FWDfuel is written by nutrition experts, including one who currently works with the Cleveland Cavaliers!

9. Nutrition Stripped

Why follow? After migraines and lethargy led her to rock bottom, dietician and nutritionist McKel Hill finally found her calling: the world of nutrition. She launched Nutrition Stripped as a way to encourage readers to experience their bodies as they were meant to function. She does this through lifestyle articles, recipes, interviews and other handy resources.

10. The Roasted Root

Why follow? Blogger Julia Mueller sees food as medicine, and she thinks you should, too! The Roasted Root is home to countless recipes created to reduce inflammation and prevent illness. You can’t go wrong with goodies like Paleo Espresso Chocolate Chunk Cookies or 30-Minute Thai Basil Chicken. If you want a diet that leads to a holistically healthy body, this is the place to start.

Mental health and mindfulness blogs

11. Dear Therapist

Why follow? This weekly Atlantic column is hosted by licensed marriage and family therapist Lori Gottlieb. At Dear Therapist, you’ll find answers to questions from real readers, from the relatable (“I can’t stand my sister-in-law”) to the dramatic (“My girlfriend had an affair with my coworker.”). Gottlieb tackles them all with empathy, compassion and honesty—and her responses have takeaways that anyone can use to improve their own mental and emotional well-being.

12. NAMI blog

Why follow? As the official blog of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the NAMI blog offers evidence-based advice surrounding a variety of mental health issues, without any judgment or shame. From raising a child with OCD to explaining what it’s like to experience hallucinations, this blog covers it all. NAMI also offers readers the chance to “ask the expert” any burning questions …

A healthy lifestyle is important for everyone. When we look after our physical health, we feel better too – fitter, more relaxed and better able to cope with things. This is especially important when you have a mental illness.

There are lots of ways of being healthy that feel good as well as doing you good.

Benefits of healthy living

What you gain by living more healthily includes:

• feeling better mentally – regular exercise can lift your mood and help you feel better
• saving money – eating junk food, smoking, and drinking sugary drinks or alcohol are all expensive habits
• fewer health problems – living a healthier lifestyle means a lower risk of developing many illnesses
• taking control of your life – getting healthy helps you feel in control of your life.

Getting healthy

‘Healthy living’ means maintaining a healthy lifestyle and introducing habits that improve your health. It can be difficult to change old habits, but there are steps you can take to become healthier. An important first step is identifying less healthy habits and learning new, positive ones to replace them, such as:

• eating healthy foods and balanced meals
• sleeping well and managing stress
• practicing safe sex, drinking alcohol responsibly and not abusing drugs
• being physically active
• staying connected with others
• being aware of any health risks related to your illness and its treatment, and working with your doctor to monitor these and then take action
• taking responsibility for your overall health including having regular check-ups for your eyes and teeth.

How to develop positive health habits

The key to developing positive habits that you are more likely to keep is to:

Start slowly

Change just one thing at a time – see the benefits that can come from eating more balanced meals or, exercising more or quitting smoking

Make small changes – an achievable change is more likely to become a habit you keep.

Go slowly – making a change gradually can be easier than all at once.

Build on what you already do – for example, if you enjoy walking, try extending your usual route by a manageable amount. 

Remember, increasing or adding even one new health behaviour can make a big difference to your health.

Work around challenges

There are things you can do to manage any extra challenges related to your illness and it’s treatment – such as drowsiness, sugar cravings or lack of motivation. Steps you can take include:

• organise daily activities around side-effects of medication, for example, if you are drowsy in the morning, organise exercise for the afternoon.
• discuss things with your doctor – there may be another medication you can try, or ask for referral to a specialist such as a dietitian or psychologist for expert advice.

Staying healthy

Being healthy is about more than getting fit and feeling better, it’s about staying that way too. Tips to help you stay motivated include:

• schedule regular check ups with your doctor to monitor your progress and for that extra push you may need to keep going.
• reward yourself – feel good about developing healthier habits by rewarding yourself with something nice.
• overcome slip-ups – if you slip-up, be realistic and start again.

Finding Support

There are lots of ways to get the support you need to help stay healthy. An important step is finding a good GP (general practitioner) you are comfortable discussing your health with. Seeing the same GP each time means you can work together to manage your health and organise check-ups as needed.

Having someone else as a ‘support person’ can make all the difference in keeping up healthy habits. Talk with your friends, family, mental health program or case worker. Don’t forget other services in your area that you can draw on too.…