Saturday, February 1, 2014

Keep On Keepin' On

Now that you've become well-acquainted and comfortable with the new diet and wellness practices that will help to bring you greater health and balance, it's time to do the hardest part of all... making these behaviors stick!

One of the best ways to keep yourself motivated is to surround yourself with positive, healthy reinforcement. That includes things like...
  • connecting with health-conscious bloggers via social media (Pinterest is great for inspiration and recipes!).
  • talking about food and wellness with friends and family.
  • joining a community of like-minded people (such as at a yoga center or gym) 
  • arranging your kitchen and home to be more conducive to wellness (such as getting some inspiring wall art or pleasant indoor plants, organizing your cupboard, getting candles for the bathroom or bedroom, etc).
Creating rituals or routines is also extremely helpful. 

We've already talked about how you can do this with meal planning, and I encourage you to really embrace that process and use the recipe/meal suggestions already provided to plan your week and ensure that it includes the diversity you're looking for. Use your cookbooks or get more, subscribe to food/recipe bloggers, and visit different health food stores to explore new ingredients and healthy products. Set an intention to continually attract new wellness inspiration into your life and remember to make time for this, you'll never run out of possibilities for fun new foods and ways to nourish yourself.

In terms of overall wellness, I can't convey enough how important sleep and relaxation are. If meditation appeals to you, that is a truly wonderful practice that can help calm your busy mind and invite a deeper night's rest when you do it in the evening before bed. The act of meditating regularly is more important than the actual length of time you do it for. So start with 3 minutes, or 5 minutes, but commit to doing it nightly, then you can increase the time length gradually. Insight Timer is the singing bowl meditation app I mentioned which is perfect to help you with this. Additionally, you've mentioned journaling as a favorite activity so continue with that regularly, or self-massage, or reading, whatever you like, as long as you make it a ritual that you spend a certain portion of time before bed to wind down in this way.

A nice little getaway is also a great way to recharge your stress batteries and have some fun. If it's not possible to plan a lengthy vacation right now then plan a weekend with your boyfriend or friends. You can do a hiking trip in upstate NY at the start of spring, or book a relaxing weekend at a retreat center that's not too far away (such as Omega or Kripalu).

Regarding your period, I trust you've already made that acupuncture appointment. And I want to add a few additional tips on how you can help yourself regain hormonal balance:

  • Continue to eat plenty of healthy fats like coconut oil, walnuts, and avocados, while avoiding unhealthy fats such as vegetable oils.
  • Eat and snack regularly to prevent dramatic spikes in blood pressure which increase cortisol.
  • Reduce exposure to toxins and hormone-disruptors, such as those that come in household cleaners, perfumes, and conventional body products.
  • Do not push yourself too hard with exercise, as amenorrhea can sometimes result from too much fitness due to burning off too many calories and thereby undernourishing yourself.
  • Consume some animal products to ensure you have adequate protein, iron, B12, vitamins A& D and other vital minerals. Amenorrhea is more common among vegans and vegetarians who are unknowingly deficient in these nutrients. I included some food blogs below for recipe inspiration, but one way you can do this in particular is by creating homemade bone broth. Bones can be purchased at farmer's market (the grass-fed meats stand at Union Square has them, among other stands there), plus a great place I've found in Williamsburg called the meat-hook also has grass-fed organically raised bones. Bone broth also contains gelatins that line the intestines and prevent leaky gut, also increasing absorption of nutrients from other foods you eat.
  • Get plenty of sleep and rest to help your body regain the balance that stress might be preventing.
Here are some resources to balance your pitta nature, just keep in mind this is only one particular wellness approach many and not all recommendations will apply to your unique body...

Here are some more food blogs you might like, they all have a different focus or angle:


And finally, here's my personal list of favorite books (sorry couldn't stop myself after the inspirational list!):

Inspirational/spiritual:

Power of the mind:

Be sure to take the candida test again before our next talk, and review all previous posts to see where you might need additional support :)

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