July Clean Eating Health Challenge - Complete!

July is over and yippee I've made it! I survived eating a striped down 'clean' diet in which I cut out gluten, dairy, alcohol, sugar and processed foods. I successfully stuck to a clean eating diet for 30 days and I'm here today to share with you what I've learned and how I'm feeling now that the month is complete. I've had some realizations this month, I've come up with some plans for my future and I'm starting a new 30-day health challenge for August that I'm going to share with you here.

I have a more thorough breakdown of how my clean eating month went over on the Shift Worker's Guide from midway through the month and a final wrap-up. Otherwise, here is my quick breakdown of what I learned this month and what I have planned moving forward.

What it was like to spend a month eating clean:

Honestly, this has been a month of ups and downs and trails and tribulations but it was overall a great experience that I'm very glad I embarked on. I wasn't always perfect and being a shift worker didn't make the challenege to eat clean and healthy any easier but I succeeded in completing it and I'm happy for that fact. Here are some quick points that stood out to me about this month's challenge:

1. I succeeded in proving to myself that I can maintain a healthy diet and life even while being a shift worker and that it doesn't have to be a chore.

2. It probably took me all month to truly withdrawl from years of eating refined white sugar and processed foods. It wasn't always a pleasant experience but it was well worth it considering all the benefits that I'm now exepriencing.

3. These benefits include: I now have more energy than I've had in a long time, my sleep habits and patterns have changed for the better, I no longer have cravings for junk food and it's easier to say no and avoid the bad-for-me foods.

4. Once the 30-day challenge was over I decided to give myself the weekend to indulge in a few things that I'd been missing over the month, such as bread, cheese, wine, chocolate, etc. and in doing so I'm now reminded why I embarked on this journey in the first place: I feel so much better eating clean.

5. I've decided that from now on I'm going to eat clean as my normal way of life. I'll continue to avoid refined white sugar, processed foods and alcohol while experimenting with reintroducing some gluten and dairy back into my life in moderation. I'll keep you posted! 

What does the future look like for me:

As number 5 stated above I'm going to make clean eating my new standard in the way I eat and live. I'm going to continue to blog and write about my experience with living a healthy life and share my recipes for turning classic comfort foods into healthy and clean versions. In that vein one of my goals for the future is to create a book that will serve as a starting point and guide post for others who are intertested in starting on the clean eating way of life. I want to create this book as something that will help others withdrawl from the junk they've been eating and make the switch to healthy with the help of guidelines, recipes, and tips.

I had a friend join me for a portion of this month in order to clean up his diet and he turned to me for advice and guidance throughout the process. He has so far experienced similar positive results from totally changing his life around when it comes to his health and that's something I and he want to share with you. In the near future you will see an interview with this friend of mine on his experience going from someone who knew nothing about clean eating to being a health rockstar.

Another plan I have for the future is to expand the Uncommon Wealth empire into another area of interest of mine. This is a fun thing that I've been thinking about for a while and I think it's about time I dove right in and got started. I've always been someone who has really enjoyed arts and crafts, organization and writing and I think I've found a way of life and a supportive online community that intersects all those interests. What I'm talking about is planners and the planning community. This may make no sense to you right now but this is something that I've very passionate and excited about. Do not expect to start seeing planner posts pop up on this blog but I will be creating a YouTube channel and accompanied social media accounts that'll be associated with the Uncommon Wealth title.

I know I was a bit MIA on the blog here during July but I've recommitted myself to this blog and I have some really exciting things in the works for the future so stay tuned!

New 30-day Health Challenge for August: Meditation

August has arrived and with it a new 30-day health challenge. For August I've decided to take a break from the diet and exercise focsued challenges to one that is more mental health related. As stated above I'm defintiely going to continue to maintain a healthy diet and a regular exercise routine, however I'm now going to add on an element that will help me balance another important area of my health: my brain.

I believe taking care of my mental health is so important especially being someone who is a shift worker in emergency services. I hear and witness too often how stressful shift work-type jobs in the emergency services are and can wreck havoc on a person's mental and emotional states and I'd like to find a healthy way to counteract this process.

I've dabbled with meditation in the past and I've felt like it has helped and when I've maintained a regular practice but I've been so far unable to make it a permanent part of my life. I truly believe that meditation and mindfulness is a beneficial practice and should be part of everyone's healthy daily routine. So for that reason this month I'm going to set myself a goal of meditating a minimun of 5-10 minutes a day in the hopes of setting up a regular meditation practice.

There are a lot of great resources out there to help you learn how to meditate: for example just search meditation on Google and you'll be surprised what you can find. I really enjoy using guided meditations to help me and I currently have the Calm.com and the Omvana apps on my iPhone, which allow me to download and use a variety of meditations, sounds and music for free or a small price to aid me in my meditations. If you are new to meditation check out Headspace, which is a website and a free app that explains in plain language and with fun cartoons how to meditate and make it a regular practice with the help of a free 21-day intro program.

I'm going to experiment with adding mediation to my morning and eveing routine and see which works best for me. I'll keep you posted on my progress but for now just get started: sit quietly, close your eyes and focus on your breath while letting all other distractions drift away for just a couple minutes...and viola you've just meditated! Repeat tomorrow, and the day after and then the day after that until wow now you're a meditator: welcome to the club! Feels great doesn't it? Let me know how you've done with meditation and any resources, tips or tricks you've found helpful in the comments below. 

Happy meditating and as always here's to your uncommonly wealthy life! :)

30-Day Health Challenge - July

IIt's officially July and that means it's time for a new 30-day health challenge. As I previously mentioned I'm going to continue with my green smoothie habit from June and build on it with this new health challenge. 

Now due to the fact that July has 31 days and the first of the month is a holiday in my country: Canada Day, I've decided to start this challenge today on the second day of July. So what is this new challenge I speak of; well it's a nutrition and diet related one again and this time it's going to be actually quiet challenging. 

For the month of July I'm going to stick to a clean eating program. What does this clean eating program look like you may ask. Well here is it all lined up for you and for me in black and white below. 

July 30-Day Clean Eating Challenge: 

- Alcohol Free

- Sugar Free

- Gluten Free

- Dairy Free

- Processed-Food Free

So yeah that's a lot of 'frees', so what can I eat:

- Meat: lean & minimal red meat*

- All fruits & vegetables*

- Grains: quinoa, brown & wild rice, buckwheat, other non-gluten grains. 

- Beans & lentils

- Nuts & Seeds

*hormone & antobotic free, etc meat and organic and local fruits and veggies as much as possible 

This means I'm going to start making most of meals for myself as well as many of the convenience health foods that I know and love. This includes making homemade almond milk, hummus, salad dressings and sauces to name a few. I look forward to expanding my kitchen repertoire. 

So yeah this is going to be a tough one and I'm totally prepared to go through a withdrawal/detox in the first few days at least. I've tried various diets like gluten-free, dairy-free or sugar free on their own before with varied success. This is the first time I will take on such a drastic diet change with all these changes all at once. 

I know I'm going to be ok though because I'm much better prepared this time especially after completing the June challenge. Another tough choice is that I'm going to start drinking tea again more so than coffee and I won't be able to have my daily piece of dark chocolate. I love coffee and chocolate so I think those will be the hardest parts for me. 

I can already feel the headaches and moodiness starting to hit as I start my first day of eating clean with a green smoothie with black tea for breakfast and a legume & sprout salad with green tea for lunch. However I can also start to feel the benefits of this healthy way of eating. 

I just have to remind myself that this is my health that I'm working towards, which is super important to me and I'm in this for the long haul. The short term pain will soon pass and I'm putting into place the framework for my overall health and wellbeing. 

In doing this challenge I'll also be continuing with my same exercise routine of lifting weights 3 times per week. I'm also going to ramp up my exercise with running and swimming 3-4 times per week on top of the weights. 

The reason I'm doing such drastic changes for July is because I'm working towards a physical exam that will really test my mental and physical fitness. More on that later...

What are some tricks that have helped you get through some truly gruelling life changes? It may be hard now but I know it'll only get easier and I'll be overall better off for doing it. Check back in a week to see if I'm still feeling the same enthusiasm towards this challenge. Until then here's to your uncommonly wealthy life! :)

Throwback Thursday #tbt - Amsterdam

As the title suggests I'm starting a new series about my uncommon adventures in which I do a throwback on Thursdays, as is the tradition on social media, to my October 2014 European adventure. My first stop in Europe was technically London, but I spent so little time there at the beginning of the trip and I circle back around and cap it off in London that I'll talk about it later. Therefore, for my first installment of #TBT on the blog I'll be talking about Amsterdam.

What is a trip to Holland without the customary windmill pic? I started off my Amsterdam visit with a tour of the countryside. I visited a stereotypical Dutch village, rode around on a bike, visited a dyke, met a cow, watched some cheese and clog making and then indulged in a Gouda cheese tasting. What a wonderful start to the trip! :)

Next up was the wondering around the city during the day and checking out all the city's highlights. This included taking a tram ride through the city, pictures with the 'I Amsterdam' sign and walking past many important landmarks. I spent most of the day checking out the Rijksmuseum, which was awesome and totally worth it. I walked past other tourist trap-type places, but I didn't waste time standing in the long lines, including Anne Frank's House and the Van Gogh museum. What I really enjoyed was wondering around the city and checking out the Flower Market.

Amsterdam was very cute and normal seeming during the daytime however the city transforms at night into something totally different. The evening was spent wondering around the city once again and checking out the red light district and spending time in a cafe pursuing the past-time that makes Amsterdam so famous.

What struck me so about Amsterdam is how wholly it transforms once night falls. My suspicion is that the majority of people who live and work in the city are not the ones that I witnessed roaming the streets of Amsterdam after dark. I have no problem with the legalities involved in making Amsterdam famous in several respects but what did disturb me is the circus-like atmosphere of the whole thing. I found it so strange that someone's chosen profession has become such a tourist attraction and a spectacle the world over, simply because it's different. 

Overall I felt like Amsterdam is one of those cities that does need to be experienced at least once in one's life however now that I've been there and done that and gotten the t-shirt I'm feeling over it. If I am to return to Holland it would be to see more of the countryside and to explore other Dutch cities, such as Rotterdam.

The start of my European Trip 2014 was definitely an uncommon adventure into the heart of Amsterdam. Have you ever been to Amsterdam, what were your thoughts on the city? Stay tuned for more stories of adventure and intrigue next Thursday. Until then here's to your uncommonly wealthy life! :)

My Top 10 Tips for Saving Money & Getting Out of Debt

I wrote a previous post about the kind of life that I'd like to design for myself starting now in my early 30's. At the end of that post I made some declarations of things that I need to start doing and continue to do in order to achieve this, my uncommonly wealthy life. Today I'm here to talk about the financial side of this dream. Today I'm talking about the wealth in uncommon wealth. 

I know that usually when I talk about uncommon wealth on this blog it's not really in reference to money and finances, but I'm not naive to the notion that money is a requirement of modern life. However, I do not believe that one's wealth is solely based on the amount of money in one's bank account. I think that true uncommon wealth comes from a self-approved and designed life full of rich experiences, relationships and joy.

Now I do realize it takes money to achieve many of these things and in the past I've made the mistake of trying to live a full life beyond my means and this has left me with considerable debt. I don't think debt is something that is a necessary evil of everyday life, I think that with forethought, planning and discipline, anyone can live the life they want within their means. And that is what I plan on doing going forward.

Today I plan on sharing my strategies for how I'm going to get to a better financial place. What this better place looks like to me is my debt totally paid off, savings in the form of an emergency fund and a growing retirement savings plan and saving money for the things I want to do instead of going into debt to do it.

10 Tips for Saving Money & Getting Out of Debt:

1. Use Alternate forms of Transportation: If you can get way with it use transit. I'm fortunate to live in a city in which public transit is readily available and accessible. I pay a monthly fee for my transit pass, which is tax-deductible, and I don't have to worry about car payments, insurance, gas and maintenance. I've also signed up for a car-sharing service: Car2Go for those times when you just need a car. There's others: Zipcar, AutoShare and there's always a taxi or a company like Uber. There's many options for getting around that don't involve car ownership, and they're much more environmentally-friendly too.
2. Make use of the library: Get a library card, it's free! With your card you can take out books, movies, music and download eBooks for free; as well as use the computer, internet and printing services if needed (sometimes for a small fee). 
3. Make your own meals, coffee and snacks: I saved a lot of money when I switched from eating out and doing take out on the regular to buying groceries and making my own meals instead. It's budget friendly and healthy to make your own meals, snacks and drinks and bring them along to work, travel and even entertainment. The freezer is also your best friend because almost everything can be frozen and saved for later consumption, instead of wasted.
4. Make cleaning supplies using cheap household items: Baking soda, white vinegar and lemons is all you really need to clean your entire house for cheap and bonus you're also being environmentally friendly.
5. Have at-home spa days: I love a good pampering just as much as the next person but it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg to get it. I've become a bit of a master lately at doing my own masks, facials and nails so I don't have to pay through the nose for someone else to do it. Best of all, it can all be done while binge-watching your latest TV obsession ('Orange is the New Black' season 3, anyone?)
6. Find the free and cheap events and entertainment options where you live: There's usually all sorts of wonderful free or cheap but totally fun events going on if you just do a little digging. Movies in park, drive-in movies, movie cheap nights, concerts in the park, outdoor theatre, fringe festivals, street and art festivals, cheap nights at the museum/art gallery, 'prix fixe' events at restaurants, wine/food tastings/sampling, etc. So much to be found and so much to do: time to be a tourist in your own city! Also checkout cost saving apps/websites: Scene Points for Cineplex, Groupon, Living Social, etc. 
7. Use of coupons, money-back apps and points programs: Using these are all great ways to save money on the everyday essentials if used correctly. You shouldn't just buy something just for the sake of buying it because you have a coupon or money-back offer, trust me I've gotten sucked into that trap before and it's a waste of money. Some points and loyalty programs are a waste of time, effort and money also if they reap little in the way of benefits or if you have to save up the points forever before you see any kind of benefit so choose wisely. Ones I like: PC Plus program, Checkout 51 and Flipp.
8. Purge, sell and then only buy what I need and when I need it: I know that every girl has been susceptible to this at one point in their lives when it comes to buying beauty products, clothing, jewelry, bags and shoes. I've done it too: bought something because I thought it was cute, or thought I needed multiple colours, or I'd use it one day. Nope, you all know that you end up using and wearing the same favourite things over and over again so why do we do it to ourselves: keep buying crap that we don't actually need? Well no longer: I'm going to purge my stuff and then sell what I can, donate or throw out the rest and start from there. I'm going to wear and use things up and only buy more when & if they need to be replaced.
9. Cancel subscriptions & memberships that I don't use: I cancelled my cable and I do not have a home phone. I put money into a good internet plan, cellphone plan and watch only Netflix. I don't use the Next Issue subscription I have so it needs to be cancelled and I need to cancel subscription boxes I'm currently paying into that send me stuff automatically every month; stuff I don't need. 
10. Tell other people about my goals and get help and advice: By being honest with people about your financial predicament leads to some unexpected gains. I think sometimes as a society we are embarrassed to talk about money woes but when you start opening up about it you realize that everyone can relate and there's a lot of great advice and support that can be gained. Bonus: many of your friends and family will be in your corner about coming up with inexpensive ways to spend time together.

My next steps will include doing the necessary research to go from financially ignorant to financially savvy, setting up automatic withdrawals from my bank account into a high-interest savings account on pay days, consolidating my high-interest consumer debt and creating a realistic budget and sticking to it. Stay tuned for updates on my journey to financial freedom. 

What are some other ways that have helped you save money? Anything I'm missing, let me know because I'm always looking for ways to improve and add to this list. As always here's to your uncommonly wealthy life! :)

Some other resources to check out that have helped me:
Squawk Fox - Sexy Consumer Advice
Daily Worth - Financial Advice for Women
'Money Rules' by Gail Vaz-Oxlade

What I'm Thinking about Today - The Past

After reading an article in the New York Times the other day about the small happy life and spending some time reminiscing with a friend, I find myself thinking about the difference between my mindset in my 20s versus now.

Now: 

As I come close to the completion of my first year as a 30 year old I find my mindset has shifted a great deal as compared to that of my 20-something self. 

Then: 

When I think back to some of the foolish childhood capers and misadventures I participated in it makes me chuckle and shake my head.

I smile to myself thinking about it now but I was once a bit of a rebel. I used to skirt authority just for the hell of it and many times this just ended up hurting me. 

Another memory that has caused me to smile to myself was the thought of the 'fun zone'. When I was younger I was witness to one after another of my friends and family members succumb to adulthood and inevitably leave the 'fun zone'. I swore to myself, and anyone else that would listen, that that would never be me, I would never leave the fun zone.

I also remember wanting to be rich and famous when I was young. I pictured myself partying with movie stars on yachts and flying around the world on private jets.

I spent the month of my 30th birthday galavanting across Europe with young people and I can say for a fact that travel did change me. This was the first trip of its type that I'd ever done and it lead to many eye-opening discoveries about myself and the world.

Nowish:

It makes me laugh to think that I was still thinking many of these things less than a year ago as I transitioned from a 20-something into a 30-something. It's striking how quickly my attitude has now changed.

I'll always cherish the memories of my childhood misadventures but I'm also glad those days are behind me. I still want to have fun adventures and great stories to tell but it'll be of a different kind. 

I still have that rebellious spirit in me, I'll never lose it, but the why and how of my rebellion has changed. I still have the need to do things differently albeit in more healthy and constructive ways. I still need to find my own path to things and I'll still pursue something just to prove the naysayers wrong but not at the expense of my health and sanity. 

I'm definitely out of the so-called 'fun zone' now, the one characterized by irresponsible decisions, sleepless nights and crazy boozing. Instead I find myself appreciating the small, quiet and happy life more and more everyday.

Now I feel myself grateful for my privacy and I find luxury in the everyday experience of having space and time for myself. I also appreciate the few quality friends and family that I do still have and I enjoy the occasional shindig with them.

When I returned from traveling in Europe I returned home with a new appreciation for home and the simple life. I came back from this trip with a renewed sense of life purpose and I was inspired by the things I did and saw. 

Right Now: 

When it's your birthday, people often ask: "do you feel any different now that your ___ age?" Usually the answer is a no but I can say for certain that this year I definitely feel different.

After all this reminiscing and thinking back to my Europe trip, I've realized what  I really want and value in life. Now I've come to some decisions about how to achieve my ideal simple and happy life. 

Decision Time:

I've decided that Im going to make this new city my home. 

Ive decided that I want the type of life that affords me the ability to travel the world on a regular basis. 

I've decided that I want a life that allows me to focus my health. 

I've decided I want a life that allows me the time and freedom to enjoy my loved-ones. 

Action Time: 

So now how am I going to go about achieving these life goals?!

Appreciate what I already have: a great job that pays well, has great benefits and amazing time off. 

Appreciation of my loved-ones and putting time & energy into nurturing those that are already in my life as well as pursuing making new connections.

Simplify and minimize my life as much as possible. 

Get my finances under control and live within my means. 

Continue to make my health a priority everyday. 

Continue to share myself and my gifts with the world in whatever ways possible. 

The ideal simple and happy life that I crave is a work in progress but I feel energized in the journey of living and working in a way that affords my uncommonly wealthy lifestyle. 

Updates and more posts to come about all of this, so stay tuned!  

What are you goals for your uncommonly wealthy life and what are you doing to get there? 

As always here's to your uncommonly wealthy life now and into the future! :)