Page 70 - Girl's Life (August - September 2019)

6 sneaky ways to

feel amazing

BY SARAH WASSNER FLYNN

earing up for BTS can pile on the stress. One day, you’re
hanging poolside...and the next, you’re face-to-face with
heaps of homework. Toss in the general overwhelm of, you
Gknow, finding all your new classrooms and figuring out your
stacked schedule, and it’s easy to want to skip the gym in favor of…
anything else (ahem, mindless scrolling and frozen Snickers).
There’s a simple fix, though: committing to a new mind-body
routine. Yes, it’ll take a scoop out of your precious time—but the
rewards you’ll reap (like less stress, better grades, more energy
and a sunnier outlook) far outweigh the trickiness of cramming yet
another to-do onto your calendar.
Here, six girls tell us about the healthy swaps they made that
had a huge impact on their lives. Pick your fave (or create your
own) and get ready to feel better than ever...even when your alarm
buzzes at that all-too-early hour.

I CUT OUT SUGAR.
“After years of feeling blah, I decided to see what would happen if I
cut out refined sugar from my diet. It was hard at first, but soon, I had
much more energy throughout the day and felt so much healthier
overall. After a while, I stopped craving all the sweets.”—Gina B., 15
MAKE YOUR CHANGE: It’s super tough to quit sugar in a snap, so try
a more subtle approach to reducing your sucrose intake. Pick one of
your go-to treats—that pack of Oreos after school, your post-workout
fro-yo—and replace it with something healthier, like a smoothie (go to
girlslife.com/iti for delish recipes) or a mix of nuts and organic dried
LESS STRESS + MORE fruit. It’s a sneaky way to trick your brain into craving the good stuff.
ENERGY? YES, PLEASE!
GL GIRLS SHARE THE ONE
SWITCH THAT CHANGED I FOUND MY #FITSPO.
*EVERYTHING* “TBH, I used to roll my eyes at all the fitness influencers on Insta
because I just couldn’t relate to their six packs and perfectly toned
arms. Then, I found a few fit girls with curvy bodies like mine who LEFT: ARTMARIE. RIGHT: MARTIN NOVAK. BOTH BY GETTY IMAGES
prioritize staying healthy. They instantly inspired me to hit the gym,
and now I’m proud to post my own fit pics!”—Kiley S., 17
MAKE YOUR CHANGE: If your go-to #goals girls make you feel more
meh than motivated, it might be time to switch who you’re follow-
ing on social. Whether you want to get fit, change up your gym