What does wellness mean to you?
I believe it means something different to each person. Likely because it is so personal to each individual and the part of your life that you are walking through.
For me, it is taking time for self-care which could be different each day, eating whole foods (and also limited sugar), using clean beauty, and an exercise and sleep routine that energizes me as well as practicing mindfulness.
Self-care for me could look like meditation (Headspace app for the win!), epsom salt bath, drinking a cup of coffee in silence, walking outside, preferably on a beach although that is not possible every day for now, or a myriad of other options depending on the day. I listen to what my body and brain are telling me and try to respect that even if I don’t think that I have time to take a break for me. Some days I have to push myself to handle items on my list that I am just not in the mood to do and other days I give myself grace and I am patient knowing that today it is not the day. It is a balancing act and I am always working on this balance, it is not always easy. For 2019, reading books is going back into my self-care routine. It is one of my favorite things to do and relaxes or energizes me depending on the book topic. I will also add coloring/Fashion Plates back into the mix now too that my daughter and I both received them for Christmas, definitely a creative relaxing project and it is something we can do together.
“I listen to what my body and brain are telling me and try to respect that even if I don’t think that I have time to take a break for me.”
Eating whole foods is a must for me to feel good. I am not 100% virtuous with this, especially at the holidays or when traveling but I do the best that I can. I try to follow roughly an 80/20 rule for myself. I have autoimmune issues so I can feel it in my joints, brain fog, and exhaustion within a day or two when I fall off of the whole food wagon. This year I ate a lot of sugar around Christmas and I am paying for it now, next year I will be more aware and conscious of my choices around sweets. You just need to figure out which ones energize you and which don’t.
One of my rules is that if I purchase an item that is not in its original form (for example a sauce), I need to be able to pronounce everything in the ingredient list. I also buy non GMO items as well as no corn syrup or artificial colorings whenever possible. I love sugar, especially a sweet and salty combo, but my body does not enjoy tolerate sugar well and especially the more processed kind of sugar. I did not grow up this way (I had an intense love for soda until I quit cold turkey almost two years ago) but the more awareness I discover about my particular needs, the more I realize that my body does not thrive on these items. Everyone is different, my husband and I can tolerate (or not tolerate I should say) very different foods.
Two of my bigger struggles are finding healthy food my kids will eat and also cooking all of this fabulous food I want to consume. I love to eat and I love food, but I don’t really enjoy the act of cooking and I really wish I did. But if I want to know what is in my food then I need to focus on more meal delivery prep services like Blue Apron and Sun Basket or decide on some recipes with my family that we will all eat and enjoy. I’m making it complicated and it’s actually simple. The new Gwyneth Paltrow cookbook comes out in a few days and I pre-ordered my copy, I can’t wait for it to arrive. Her cookbooks are ones that I use frequently and my family loves the recipes as well. Perhaps this will start a new food inspiration into my life as the book is titled, The Clean Plate. I’ll keep you posted once I receive it and try some recipes!
Clean beauty is also a big wellness topic on my list. This is probably my most diligent item in for wellness and you will frequently see my posts on favorite products. S.W. Basics, Juice Beauty, Beautycounter, RMS Beauty, Goop by Juice Beauty, and Tata Harper are a few of my favorites. This one might be easier for me because if I can get the same look or even better skin results with a clean beauty line, then I have no reason to use another (unlike the candy I snuck from the holiday dish last week).
In all honesty, nothing is perfect and I’ve found that it is everything in moderation for me. There are times when I don’t follow my plan and my body always lets me know. A gentle reminder to my body that it is time to course correct instead of falling into a habit. I do my best each day that I can and that is enough. For 2019, my biggest area to improve in wellness is my self-care every day (not just when I think it fits in).
What does wellness mean to you? What are your favorite ways to take care of yourself? Have you set any intentions for 2019 around wellness?