Healthy Habits: Daily stretching, outdoor activities keep Dr. Lauren Blieden moving

March 5, 2018 Dr. Lauren Blieden, Healthy Habits, Nutrition and Wellness, ophthalmology

Taking care of your health is a priority and nobody knows that more than physicians and healthcare providers.

It can sometimes be difficult to find ways to stay healthy, so we’ve asked members of our Baylor College of Medicine community to share what they do in their daily lives to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Dr. Lauren Blieden, assistant professor of ophthalmology at Baylor, shares some of her healthy habits with us.

Q: What health decisions start your day?
A: I try to get to bed at a consistent time during the week – this helps me fall asleep easily and get a good night’s rest.

Q: What is your go-to healthy breakfast?
A: Usually I am rushing out the door, so I try to keep healthy, quick options that have a good balance of protein and carbohydrates. Preparation is the key. For example, we will make a large batch of crustless egg-muffins on the weekend and warm those up in the morning.

Q: What is your favorite type of exercise?
A: Pilates and yoga. I try to go twice a week. My husband I have always prioritized and coordinated our separate workout schedules. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t do it!

Q: What keeps you motivated during your workout?
A: Good music! Also, I like a workout that makes me think about my body positioning like Pilates, yoga, barre or TRX. If I get on a treadmill, I immediately start thinking about getting off the treadmill.

Q: What activities do you do when you can’t fit in a full workout?
A: I try to stretch every night. The kids love it before bedtime, and it helps prevent lower back pain and hip pain that comes from being on my feet all day.

Q: What is your favorite healthful snack?
A: Nuts. I keep small bags of them everywhere. They keep me from snacking on unhealthy food in a busy clinic, and a handful in the car keeps me from binging when I get home from work.

Q: Do you take vitamins and if so, which ones?
A: I take a multivitamin everyday.

Q: What do you include in your child’s lunch?
A: Fortunately, we do not have picky children. I give them protein (chicken, deli meat, breakfast sausage), fruit (grapes or orange slices), crackers (goldfish, etc.) and one cookie for a special treat as they don’t eat these at home. They take water to drink.

Q: How do you make an unhealthy recipe healthy (healthy substitutions)?
A: I routinely substitute whole grains or quinoa for other carbohydrates like pasta or rice. I switch ground beef for ground turkey or chicken. I like to add lots of veggies in when I can – spiraled zucchini, butternut or squash instead of mashed potatoes, cauliflower mashed or riced, etc

Q: What is your nighttime skin regimen?
A: I use a gentle facial cleanser and moisturizer. Sunscreen every day.

Q: What hobbies do you have to help you relax?
A: Reading, cooking, taking my kids outside! If I am alone with them on the weekends (my husband works 24-hour shifts), we are out of the house – museums, neighborhood parks, the arboretum, etc.

Q: What is your go-to Houston restaurant for a healthy meal?
A: True Foods in the Galleria area. Also, Niko Nikos has great healthy options, is very affordable, and is also kid friendly.

Q: What is your favorite health tip that you live by?
A: Everything in moderation. I would rather indulge occasionally in something very delicious and not healthy than try to make “healthy” imitations of the real thing. That way I feel very satisfied when I do indulge.