My Simple Starter Guide To Wellness
I have experienced some massive shifts in my life the past few years and with that I noticed changes in my body that left me feeling extremely depleted and frustrated. It felt like it was bigger than just ‘normal’ changes that occur as we age and I knew it was time to really take a deeper look. When I did, my whole life changed. First and foremost, I realized that there is no reason we should buy into the notion that with ‘this age or that age’ we should just accept that we should just feel a certain way. In fact, I learned that we have the ability to optimize our health and live longer, happier, and healthier lives than ever before. We can be proactive in aging and disease prevention and it shouldn’t be expensive or hard to do!
It’s important to note that I’m not a doctor and our health and wellness is not one size fits all. Different practices and supplements work differently for each individual. And there is A LOT out there that can be very confusing! A huge instagram following does not automatically equate to an expert. And I have learned to trust my intuition more than ever. By doing that, I have found what could have been an incredibly complicated and costly wellness plan has become a very common sense and simple approach to feeling better.
DIET
We all know incorporating exercise and eating right are two of the golden rules of wellness. I will be the first to admit I went DEEP into breaking down food labels and eliminating a lot of things in my family’s diet. And while I do truly believe that many of the packaged food items in our grocery stores are NOT good for us, I got bogged down with so much information. I became paralyzed and overwhelmed. I chose to take a step back, trust my gut, and identify the main food additives and preservatives lurking in our food products that are clearly not good for us and eliminate those. I chose to reach for mostly fresh foods and a hormone free meats
and dairy. And buy organic when it truly mattered. Organic produce can be sometimes hard to find and more costly, so I used this quick guide for buying organic that was really helpful.
SLEEP
This was a big one for me. Sleeping through the night had always been a struggle me. When I learned how truly detrimental that was to my health, I realized this was probably the most important issue for me to tackle. I had been cutting back on my alcohol consumption and a lovely byproduct of that was a better nights sleep. But I still needed more.
I have never been one to reach for medication and I knew OTC sleep aids weren’t going to be the solution. But when I was introduced to a magnesium supplement, I truly never looked back. Magnesium is such an important supplement for everyone to incorporate into their lives, but there are many different types of Magnesium supplements and they all offer different benefits. However you get it in, I highly recommend! I also love SOM sleep products. Their natural sleep blend is a good night’s sleep in a can!
HYDRATION
Another very important and essential element of living a healthy life! Hydration is crucial! But why was it so hard for me to take down the water everyday??? No matter the reason, I needed to make a change. There was no magic supplement or wellness tool that was going to do it for me. This was on me and I just made it a priority. I purchased some Stanley Water bottles and kept them filled constantly. I kept one in my car, in my set bag at work, my bedside table...they are everywhere!
To jazz things up, I added different fruits to a pitcher each night and the next day I had some fresh ‘infused’ water to enjoy. And I also made sure to take day at least one bottle with a beauty supplement. I like Pique’s B T Fountain and Glotrition. Whatever it took to get me to battle dehydration, I did it.
And now I’m truly in the habit of sipping water all day long!
DETOX
Finding ways to help your body detoxify is not only essential, I found it to be the most enjoyable part of my wellness overhaul. After consulting a functional medicine doctor and undergoing tests to identify why I was feeling so poorly, I learned that I had very high mercury levels in my body, evidence of phalates and plastics, and my body needed some help detoxifying. As alarming as all of that was to learn, I took comfort in knowing I could be proactive in ridding my body of these nasties. Since I was working with a licensed professional,
I felt comfortable in adding some supplementation to my daily vitamin regimen. But there are many other ways I helped the process. I purchased Lauren Roxburgh’s Lo Rox Aligned Foam Rollers and signed up for her app. I have talked many times about how much I love foam rolling, but this changed my life. Lauren has incredible knowledge about our bodies and our fascia and there are hundreds of workouts she offers that will make your body feel incredible. During my intense detox period over the summer, I focused on targeting the areas in my body that aided in the detoxifying process and alleviate stress.
I also started to regularly use the infrared sauna. I could do an entire blog post dedicated to how life changing this was for me...maybe I will! But simply put, the infrared sauna has changed my life. And not only did it help promote intense detoxification, it alleviated my stress and anxiety, and helped me sleep better! I found myself using it so regularly that I purchased one for my home, but I recommend checking your local area for med spas or wellness centers that offer infrared sauna sessions. Your body will thank you, I promise! I realize I’m just scratching the surface when talking about wellness. And I can’t stress enough how important it is to consult a healthcare professional before starting anything new that’s related to your health. I know there’s so much information out there and it can be costly and overwhelming. Listen to your body, trust your gut, and remember this is such a personal journey! It also doesn’t have to be complicated! Our bodies are incredible things and we should be kind to them!
xx,
Jo