When I became a health coach I became the healthiest I’ve ever been in my life. For me, this also meant weighing less than I did in high school. I always struggled with my weight. In my very first blog post, I talked about how the biggest difference for me was simply that I was eating more vegetables.
When I wanted a snack, instead of going for chips, I’d go for raw green beans. At dinner, I made sure half my plate at dinner was filled with vegetables.
Nowadays if I go a meal without vegetables I truly feel like I’m doing something wrong. My house is filled with produce and a grocery trip isn’t complete without some fruits and veggies.
BUYING the fruits and veggies is the easy part. PREPPING them for eating is the time consuming part, but also the most important part! You’re certainly not going to go into your fridge and choose celery to snack on if it’s unwashed, uncut & still in the plastic it came in from the store.
Pro tip: if time does not allow for you to wash and cut the produce yourself — buy pre-washed, pre-cut produce.
I prefer to wash it myself. I use a fruit and veggie soak that’s infused with essential oils that gets the yuck off. I fill my kitchen sink with water (after I’ve scrubbed it clean with my plant based cleaner), pour a bit of the fruit and veggie soak in, let it sit for at least 5 minutes, then rinse thoroughly.
Not only does this make sure everything is clean, but it actually makes the produce last longer because of the essential oils!
This definitely doesn’t mean I choose this option all the time. Sometimes life is just THAT busy. Don’t be afraid to spend a little extra on the pre-washed, pre-cut fruits and veggies. If you know you’re not going to wash and cut your produce yourself, nip that problem in the bud, spend the extra money and keep yourself from reaching for the unhealthy foods! Every cell in your body will thank you!
Next week! How I store my produce, and my favorites to keep on hand.
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here. You'll want to get in there now because that's where I'll be launching a 5 Day Eczema Relief Training very soon!
Want to get a head start? You can also grab my new guide on 5 Steps to Taming an Eczema Flare Up here!
When I was going through my health coach’s program for improved gut health, one of the things she introduced me to is dry brushing.
I had never heard of this before. Here's how it works:
You take a handheld body brush like this one, and brush your body starting from your feet making your way up to your heart. You start at the bottom of your feet, work up your legs, then up your back and abdomen. Then you brush your arms, starting at your wrists working your way in.
Apply more pressure in areas that have tougher skin and lighter pressure in areas with more sensitive skin.
Pay special attention to the areas of your body where your lymph nodes are located. Neck, chest, armpits, belly, groin.
Just remember to keep the motions in a direction toward your heart. Once I’ve finished my arms and armpits, I brush DOWN all around my neck and end dry brushing in a circular motion over my chest/heart.
It’s best to do this just before getting in the bath or shower so you can rinse the dead skin off of you, and then you’ll moisturize once you get out.
The idea here is you’re encouraging lymphatic drainage.
Why is this a good thing?
You’re helping the body get rid of toxins. This not only helps your body fight infection and disease, but also helps restore balance in bacteria in your gut. Bonus points for drinking tons of water in addition to this practice to help flush those toxins out!
You’re also exfoliating your skin, helping break down cellulite, improving your body’s circulation & more!
Dry brushing is a great practice to implement for anyone trying to improve their gut health - which truly impacts overall health of the whole body.
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here. You'll want to get in there soon because that's where I'll be launching a 5 Day Eczema Relief Training this month!
Want to get a head start? You can also grab my new guide on 5 Steps to Taming an Eczema Flare Up here!
That dreaded question on every medical form: “Do you exercise regularly?”
Oof. Is that convicting or what? This probably isn’t something that you’re thinking of on a daily basis, but when you’re flat out asked the question, you’re forced to reflect.
“Do you exercise regularly?”
Less than 1 in 4 people do.
I feel like a big reason for this is that we are simply not taking our health seriously enough. We’re not putting ourselves first, not making ourselves a priority. We “don’t” have time - but of course we know we’re just not making the time.
You make time for what’s important to you. Period.
The other reason I can think of is that it’s just plain daunting. You feel like you have to jump right into this routine of working out an hour a day, 7 days per week - but you don’t!
This is something I’ve been guilty of, I’ll admit. I fall out of an exercise routine for one reason or another, tell myself I need to jump back in (with a consistency of 5-7 days per week) & then I procrastinate until I'm sure I can get it perfect.
I’m a master procrastinator.
I procrastinate because it’s daunting to start a “routine”.
There’s a sense of commitment that comes with the word.
But here’s the thing: You don’t need to work out every day to say you exercise “regularly”. At least that’s how I see it.
What’s important is that you start. You can start with ONE day per week. Work your way up to 3. Maybe you’ll make your way up to 5. You might even find a form of exercise that you LOVE and you actually start to crave every day!
Or maybe you’ll find a few things you enjoy and you’ll spread them out throughout the week! Especially now that spring is upon us - thank you God for warmer weather! (Hello there, walks and bike rides!)
I love to do yoga at home. It’s not a huge commitment to just roll out your mat and follow a free 15-30 minute YouTube video. GOING to the yoga studio and committing to a hour long practice, yes, can be SO good for the soul, but it’s not something I can easily commit to in this season of life.
Something I recently started is Pilates! I’ve been loving that too. It’s not something that requires a supportive sports bra, tied up gym shoes or really even much of a sweat. And yet my whole body feels “worked” at the end of the 30 minute session. That's my kind of workout.
Pretty much any form of exercise I can do barefoot is more my vibe. I know this about myself, and I work with it.
If you don't know what your vibe is yet, I encourage you to try different things until you finally find what you truly enjoy! Or reach out to me and I'll help you figure out what your workout style is!
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here. You'll want to get in there soon because that's where I'll be launching a 5 Day Eczema Relief Training this month!
Want to get a head start? You can also grab my new guide on 5 Steps to Taming an Eczema Flare Up here!
I used to drive home from work feeling like I had an elephant sitting on my chest. I had even convinced myself that I had asthma, and should probably see a doctor.
Then I realized I just wasn’t breathing properly.
It sounds so simple. Breathing is something each one of us is born knowing how to do. So why do I literally catch myself holding my breath?
Stress. Anxiety. Overthinking.
I’ve also learned that I’m not the only person who does this. This is an actual thing — we hold our breath because we’re stressed.
On these drives home from work, I would get in my head and replay scenarios that happened that day thinking of how I handled something. “I should have said this differently.” “I should have done that differently.” “What does so and so think of me now.” “Am I going to get in trouble for that?”
That last one is a side effect of being “the good girl” growing up. Following the rules. Being afraid of getting into trouble. This also falls into the category of people pleasing. Which is a whole other stress-inducing category!
I would stress over really silly tiny things. Still do sometimes (it's much better since using these tips), but I have to remind myself that I’m making things out to be a much bigger deal in my head than they are in real life.
I once heard that worrying is nothing but a waste of time. It’s stressing over hypothetical scenarios that have yet to happen. So you’re literally putting yourself through at least twice the amount of stress than you need to. More if you're replaying it in your head over and over.
If you know something is coming up that you’re worried about, not only are you putting yourself through the situation while you’re worrying — because your brain doesn’t really know the difference between something happening in real life and something you’re making up in your head — but you’ll be going through the stress of the situation all over again when it actually happens (IF it actually happens).
Your mindset is so powerful when it comes to your stress level. You can choose not to get upset over the little things. You can choose not to worry about what might happen. You can choose to see a situation through a different lens and not get worked up over it.
That’s what I invite you to do this week. Reframe your thoughts. Take control of your mind. If you can take control of your thoughts and your mind, you will have truly unlocked a new level of health.
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here. You'll want to get in there soon because that's where I'll be launching a 5 Day Eczema Relief Training this month!
Want to get a head start? You can also grab my new guide on 5 Steps to Taming an Eczema Flare Up here!
I will never understand how people make plans that START at 8pm on a Friday night..
First of all, aren’t you tired from the week?
Second of all, don’t you want to have a nice Saturday morning?
I truly love mornings, but mine, admittedly, are usually rushed. I don’t get in what I’d like to get in each morning. Saturdays are my days when I can have a nice, slow morning.
If I’m up until the wee hours on a Friday night, do you think I’m getting up early Saturday to have a nice morning? No way! I’ll be getting as much sleep as I can.
Maybe you’re reading this and you just think I’m 90 years old. Maybe you’re reading this and you actually relate to what I’m saying.
I imagine if you’ve gotten this far, it’s probably the latter. :)
You’ve probably guessed by now, that my answer to the question “When do you truly set the tone for your morning?” — The night before.
If I go to bed past 10, I am NOT going to have a nice morning.
Yes, I can wake up and “decide” to have a good day. I’ll drink my lemon water and hopefully get a few stretches in, but I’m not going to enjoy my morning as much as if I’ve woken up feeling refreshed.
And if it’s a Saturday morning, by the time I’m out of bed the morning is almost over. (Yes, I realize this won’t be the case once baby is here — I’ll just be downright EXHAUSTED. Another blog for another day. :) )
For me, it really is true that no matter how much sleep I get, I’m going to be tired the next day if I’m in bed past 10.
So — how to do ensure a good night’s rest?
#1: Go to bed at a decent hour.
For me, this is SLEEPING by 10. BUT I’ve noticed I get especially good rest if I …
#2: Read before going to sleep.
Not on your phone. Not on a kindle with a light up screen. A book. A magazine. Something that’s not electronic. Because not only does the blue light make your brain think it’s still daytime and therefore not time to wind down and go to sleep, but also the EMFs disturb your quality of sleep. Which leads me to…
#3: Keep electronics out of the bedroom.
Get yourself an actual alarm clock rather than setting it on your phone and putting it on your bedside table. Not only will you be tempted to scroll through your phone until you fall asleep, but any notifications will likely wake you up as you’re drifting off to sleep. If you have a TV in your room, turn it off at LEAST an hour before you shut your eyes. If the router is in your bedroom, unplug it.
If you loved this blog post, there's more where that came from in my free Facebook group here. In there, you'll even find Make Mornings Lovely: A 7 Day Challenge, so hop in there now and start loving your mornings.
