Category: Health

Black Friday Self Care Tips

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Even when you commit your life to following rituals for self-care and renewal you can get hit with a curveball, especially around Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Maintaining your healthy lifestyle, sticking to weight loss goals, or sticking to any kind of self-improvement plan is not easy. Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Make it even harder. One wrong decision can lead to a bad habit that seems impossible to break. I’ve been on a long journey with my health and fitness, but I can attest to the many struggles that come along with this personal commitment. However, I’ve found that these challenges can cause you to take a closer look inside to find resilience and remember the many reasons why you became passionate about health and wellness in the first place. And the end of the year is the perfect time to do it.

Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash

My interest in beauty, health, and wellness came from my exceptional mother who was a registered nurse. She lived her life serving others and caring for people of all ages with illnesses. Unfortunately, she passed away after fighting cancer but what she taught me never left me. She was always so focused on caring for others that she rarely made time for herself. Many of my family members suffered from health conditions, and I became very health conscious at an early age. But that doesn’t mean that I wasn’t plagued with temptations that were not good for me.

Ultimately, you have to learn to take care of yourself. It isn’t always a natural instinct and sometimes people will even make you feel guilty for putting yourself first. Having a health scare will cause you to refocus your energies on being good to yourself. Self-care Sundays are perfect for taking time to reflect on what loving and caring for yourself means. Through the storms of life, I’ve come up with a few simple self-care rituals that leave me feeling like a functioning human being and I’m glad to share.

Eat More Cake

A moment of tasteful indulgence can make the world of a difference. I find renewal in eating a perfectly prepared slice of cake with a coffee or glass of wine. Usually it’s from the deli at Publix or from Starbucks (although recently I found some darn good slices for $1.00 at Walmart). I take my time to enjoy the flavors and mindfully eat each bite. In that moment, I’m taken away from tribulation and filled with endorphins that say everything is good.

Photo by Alisa Anton on Unsplash

Do Absolutely Nothing

It’s hard to be lazy sometimes but finding balance means being still enough to reflect, relax, and renew. Sometimes it’s okay to take some time to do nothing. That means turning it all off and just listening to some music and laying on the couch. You’ll be surprised at how much better you’ll feel afterwards. 

Take a Bubble Bath

Grab the candles and your favorite bubble bath. Fill up the tub and get in the water. You might feel anxious at first and have to convince yourself to enjoy the moment. Try to let go of all of your thoughts, plans, and concerns and just enjoy the special little private getaway that you’ve created just for you.

Photo by CRYSTALWEED cannabis on Unsplash

Create a Gratitude Journal

Write down all of the things that you are grateful for. Take some time to think about the many great things that are going on in your life. It can be easy to get stressed and overburdened with daily tasks, but a gratitude journal will help you to think about positive things and feel better about your life. Do you have a great family? Did you make an exciting new dish for dinner last night? Did you finally pick out the perfect nail color? There’s always something to be thankful for.

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Perfecting Tomato Soup

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Photo by Alyssa Kowalski via Unsplash

My most recent food craze is soup, soup, and more soup. I started off with popular brands and have been slowly trying to do my own thing. I just found it to be a food that I can easily make. It’s great for a quick lunch on the go or a soothing warm portion filled with veggies and nutrients. I’ve now entered the do it yourself mode – starting with chicken noodle, chicken pot pie, and tomato soup, but something was missing.

Jon Tyson

Then I found Argo! I saw a major difference in making my soup more filling as opposed to my typical watery mix. I made a tomato soup with chicken, spinach, mushrooms, and onions. Add a little Argon and it’s a bowl of deliciousness. Turned out a little lumpy but I like the direction that my new soups are going.

Anyone else tried Argo? What are your thoughts on this?

Surviving the Coronavirus Quarantine

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After watching movies, monitoring the news, and making countless phone calls to people all across the country, I’ve decided that I have got to find a way to carry on. As my own unique way to fight this Covid-19 pandemic, I’ve created this nifty list of good things to get done.

Check Off To-Do List Items

Photo by Miesha Moriniere on Pexels.com

There is always a list of things to do – even outside of moments of chaos and crisis. Usually, this list is comprised of daily activities with a few other long-term things that need to be taken care of. This is the perfect time to revisit things that have been lingering on the list for the past few weeks. For me, this means doing things like managing files, organizing, drawers, and completing essential paperwork.  I’ve also rearranged my living room, found a heatless home waxing kit, returned an old cable box, and found a makeup application process for daily wear. There is plenty to do to keep your mind at ease during these trying times. You can use this time to complete small projects that you usually procrastinate on.

Spring Cleaning

In addition to completely changing my living room, I’ve also managed to grab some cleaning supplies and get down to the nitty gritty. My floors had been looking really sticky before all of this and I was glad to be able to do a deep clean. After washing my mop cloth in the washing machine and using a new cleaner, I can no longer see my footprints on the kitchen floor. I was also able to clean out excess papers and trinkets in the kitchen drawers.  Next on the list is cleaning the bathroom floor and giving the refrigerator a quick wipe down.

Photo by Dom J on Pexels.com

Stay Active

It feels completely weird to be trapped in the house. I’ve been tempted to just lay around and mope in pity, but I was inspired to pull out my bike and get a workout in after watching a few YouTube videos. It is so important for the mind and body to stay active. It took me a few moments to overcome my state of shock. I was able to find a way to recreate normalcy by establishing new routines and forming good in-home habits.

I’m Here for Support

This pandemic is really tough on everyone. I am saddened at these events and have tried so hard to stay uplifted. After touching bases with everyone, I’ve found that handling old tasks, cleaning up, and getting in a little exercise are excellent ways to survive this horrid virus. 

Here is my video with more details on Coronavirus survival tips.

Keto Diet for Beginners

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Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

Just when I thought that I had heard about every diet, fitness plan, and health trend out there here comes something new. I have been totally into the recent health trends like fitness technology, group exercise, intervals, and cycling. But this popular health and wellness craze is one that I am still learning about.

I’m pretty certain that you have already heard of it and that I am the one who is behind. It is called the Keto Diet and I have no idea what it is. A few weeks ago, a friend of mind said, “Oh no, I can’t eat that I’m on that Keto Diet, ” and my mind began to churn.  I also heard Halle Berry mention it on an early morning talks show a few months ago.

Photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash

According to Korin Miller of Women’s Health, keto stands for ketogenic and the diet is about reducing your intake of carbohydrates and increasing fats. Over time you end up going into ketosis. During this period your body begins to burn stored fat. You are allowed to eat a certain amount of carbs daily, but the rest of the meal plan is kinda lenient.

Photo by Louis Hansel via Unsplash

Everydayhealth.com offers a full food listing and recommended menus. This includes fatty foods like beef, fish, chicken, butter, asparagus, almonds, and blue cheese. You can even keep eating a little bacon and yogurt, but you must avoid foods like maple syrup, agave, and soda. You should also take a few vitamins and supplements.

Many people have lost 100 pounds or more on this diet. Men’s Health gives several accounts of weight loss successes linked to the keto diet. One example is David Myers who noticed improvements in his health after being on the keto diet for one year. Tyler Segraves is another keto diet success story. He began the keto diet and lost over 141 pounds.

There are even lots of Keto products out there like Keto Pure, Perfect Keto Instant Keto Coffee, and the Ketogenic Starter Kit. I must say that as a health and fitness advocate I would d like to learn more about what it entails. I wonder what kind of energy levels people have on the diet or if it helps to reduce body fat?

What’s your opinion on this health and wellness trend?

The Non New Year’s Resolution

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New Years Eve 2018 Happy New Year 2019
Photo via Pixabay

It is that time of the year again. This time last year you were probably doing something similar. You were planning out ten things that you wanted to change about yourself, your life, your habits, or your career. You vowed to accomplish those goals and to never look back, yet somehow one or two of those same things made their way onto your list again this year.

Congratulations! At least you marked off a few of the others. To switch things up this year I propose that we do a Non New Year’s Resolution. This means promising ourselves that we’ll always be adaptable to personal growth and change. We don’t need a January 1 to begin. We can start over and over as many times as we need to get it right. It’s a New Year’s Eve lifestyle forever.

Hats off to your new start each and every day! Leave a comment and tell me what your Non New Year’s Resolution is.