Check out the other installments in this series: the intro, how we planned for it, and prayer

After improving our prayer life, we knew the most vital aspect we needed to focus on was our health. If we are operating well physically, we operate well in every other area of life. Ironically, when life gets overly busy for me, my prayer life and my health are the first things I let go. When those two things fall apart, so does everything else.

When I was younger, I took my good health for granted. I have always ben active and naturally assumed that involvement in sports = health. As I get older, I appreciate my body more and more because I have a greater appreciation for its finiteness. I’ve also come to realize that health involves much, much more than just being involved in athletics (duh, right?).

While there are so many huge and detailed considerations when it comes to overall physical health, I wanted to focus on three key factors: diet, exercise, and sleep. We are certainly far from perfect when it comes to these three things. There are nights when takeout is still ordered and mornings when George wakes up too early for me to get my morning workout in. And sleep? Well that’s pretty much a joke 😉 But these are the ways that I’ve made my health more of a priority.

Diet

Dave and I really enjoy eating nutritious foods like vegetables, fruit, and good fats. But I wanted to cut down on two things in particular: gluten and sugar. I feel tired and sluggish when I eat too much of those things and my skin freaks out as does my belly. So I wanted to kick them. But for me to do an overhaul like this, I knew I needed major guidance and accountability to get me started. I needed someone to literally hold my hand through the transition. I contacted my dear friend, Gloria*, then, and she set me up with Arbonne’s 28-day cleanse. I cut out gluten, sugar, and dairy (never thought I could do that!), and got back to making yummy, unique, and healthful dinners thanks to the pre-made meal plans (heavenly). It was the perfect kick start to where I want to be. When I’m off sugar, specifically, I feel much more energetic, my skin is clearer, my mood is better, and my waistline smaller 😉

Speaking of accountability and community in terms of health, I’ve been thinking about doing a Whole 30 starting in the middle of January. Would any of you be interested in doing it with me? We could commune in a Facebook group to swap recipes and encouragement. Just a thought – let me know what you think!

Now, I’ve been riding on that momentum and diving into the Wellness Mama Cookbook and learning more about nutrition through wonderful resources like Wheat Belly (thanks, Britt!) and Deep Nutrition.

Exercise

It has been difficult for me to resume my normal workout routine now that Jorge is running the ship, so I’m focusing more on just moving than formal exercise. It is super easy for me to be lethargic all day and sit around, but I feel miserable when I do so. On the flip side, when I do complete sort of physical activity during the day, especially in the mornings, my whole day is automatically better. I feel better, I’m much kinder, I’m more productive, and I sleep better.

Ideally, I make time for exercise first thing in the morning (more on that later in the posts about scheduling!) with either a short kettlebell exercise or, thanks to the suggestion of my awesome sister-in-law, this video which contains short, 10-minute workouts that kick my butt yet fit nicely into George’s attention span with his toys. It’s bliss (most days). If neither of those is possible, I do my best to at least get outside and walk some laps with George in the front yard.

Sleep

I feel like a fraud typing this because sleep has been virtually non-existent in my life for about 6 months. BUT! That’s the reason I wanted to focus on it. Although I am not getting much sleep, I wanted to improve the quality of sleep that I do get. Here are a few things I adjusted:

1. I got to bed earlier. I do most of my work at night sine George doesn’t really nap during the day (more on that later, too). My nights weren’t ending until about 2 a.m. and George rises around 5:30, so I knew I needed a change. I rearranged my schedule to ensure my work was completed earlier in the afternoons so that I could be in bed by midnight each night. This has been a big game changer for me!
2. I reduced my exposure to blue light in the evenings. Since I work on the computer, eliminating all electronics once the sun set was not an option. Dave and I got blue light blocking sunglasses, so once the sun goes down, the shades go on and we are able to work and study while protecting our adrenals from stressors. This means the quality of my sleep improves, even if I’m not getting a lot of it 😉
3. I introduced a wind-down routine. About 20-30 minutes before I turn in (I aim for an hour, but that rarely happens), I begin my wind-down routine. My typical personal care takes place, and I take time for light reading and journaling in my Humbled Hearts Daybook. It really helps my brain stop spinning and calms me down to get a deeper sleep.

I’ve found that making these small changes have had a big payoff for not a ton of output. not much changed in terms of time commitment; it became about a commitment to the right things. These adjustments, when we stick to them, make a big difference in the quality of our life. Once we are full on out of survival mode, we will incorporate more activities; but for now, this helps us stay sane during our season of survival and aids in other areas of our life!

I could go on and on, but I’ll stop there for now! How do you stay healthy? 

*If you’re interested in joining your own 28-day cleanse, feel free to contact Gloria (13665167) at gloriapomeisl (at) gmail (dot) com.