Hi Friends,
It has been far too long- 16 months to be exact! I realize now that simultaneously beginning a blog and starting graduate school was biting off more than I could chew, but I honestly had every (unrealistic) intention to continue writing bi-weekly or monthly blog posts. Unfortunately, I never found the time between the demands of school and work and my inability to just sit down and compose a simple blog post, which I realize now would have been my way to continue. But sometimes we make things more complicated in our heads than they need to be. But the good news is now I’m back!
Now while this blog was on a hiatus for a year I am incredibly happy to report my health wasn’t. I guess I subconcioulsy made the decision to focus more on maintaining my health than the blog as I knew that was more of a priority. As my graduate program has come to a close ( wooohooo!) and I graduated in December I am now finding pockets of time to get back into the blogosphere and I couldn’t be happier to publicly continue my journey to health and help inspire you along yours.
In thinking about the last year I do have some wisdom to share in regards to how I was able to maintain my health through all the trials and tribulations of graduate school. It all comes down to setting your intentions, planning and following through. In the effort to heed my own advice on simplicity I want to offer the following simple tips to help you stay on the health track you desire. These may sound like common sense but you would be surprised how even incorporating these simple habits into your weekly routine can be a challenge without conscious effort and planning. We all lead busy lives and whether you are a student juggling work and school or a full time career professional with a family these are all very useful tips divided into four themes: Nutrition, Wellness, Intention and Mindfulness.
Nutrition
Create a healthy, simple and balanced weekly meal plan
I plan to share more details on this topic with you in the future, but in general my key to a successful and simple meal plan is to pick three meals and one- two types of snacks that will last the duration of the week. A typical weekly meal for me consists of a type of breakfast frittata or scramble, a nutrient dense salad packed with superfoods and a one-pot dinner filled with vegetables, high-quailtiy protein and healthy fats. My go-to snacks consist of homemade trail mixes, flatbreads, nut butters and various spreads with fruits and veggies.
Dedicate 2-3 hours every Sunday to preparing the weekly meals
In order to keep your food preparation within three hours you need to have a smart approach. There are three main steps to being efficient in the kitchen:
** Select recipes that utilize your whole kitchen**
If all three recipes require the stove this will delay you. Instead select three recipes that require the use of a combination of appliances such as the oven, stovetop, food processors, slow cookers or even the grill. The beauty of salads is they don’t require any equipment except your hands and a sink!
** Try to limit the number of ingredients**
I love using several different ingredients in dishes but the more items you have to work with the more time you will spend. If you don’t want to keep the number of ingredients per dish between 5 -7 ,then I suggest finding recipes that cross-utilize ingredients. For example that kale in your frittata can serve as the base for your salad.
**Create a food preparation list**
The first thing one learns in culinary school is the importance of creating a detailed food prep list to keep you on track. By no means will your kitchen be run like a restaurant, but without a plan you may find yourself wasting time. Go through your recipes and pay attention to which items require the longest cook time and whether any ingredients have to be prepared prior to other’s. By just taking about 15 minutes to compare the recipes you will clearly know which recipes to begin first and which to do last and those that can be done simultaneously. For example, as your frittata is baking in the oven your can be preparing your salad.
Experiment with Time-Restricted Eating/ Intermittent Fasting
Time-Restricted Eating (TRE) is a simple dietary strategy that focuses on when you eat, rather than what you eat, which means it can be utilized with any type of diet! I’ve experimented on and off with TRE for the last year since research has shown it can lower blood sugar, improve heart health and lead to weight loss. I’ve discovered my digestive system works better and I feel healthier when following TRE.
How does it work?
Basically you choose a restricted period of time during which to eat all your calories each day. The recommended period is usually 6–12 hours long. If your goal is weight loss and health improvement, the number of hours you allow yourself to eat should be less than the number you normally allow. For instance, if you normally eat your first meal at 9 a.m. and keep eating until around 10 p.m., you eat all your food in a 13-hour window each day. Therefore, depending on how much weight you intend to lose, it would be recommended that you shorten that window to 8-9 hours, which would prevent less snacking. The idea being that if you limit your food intake to a restricted time period, overall you will consume less food and lose weight. I recommend starting with small changes and working up to larger changes. I am now eating within a 12 hour period but intend to slowly progress to eating within a 10-11 hour period.
Wellness
I want you to honestly answer this question- what is the very first thing you do in the morning right after opening your eyes? Stretch? yawn? hop out of bed? check your email? play on your phone? The first few minutes of your day can set the tone for the remainder of the day. Rather than focusing your energy outwardly, I recommend beginning the day with these three simple tasks that will focus your energy inwardly.
1.Breath/Meditation
Upon waking take at least 10 minutes to focus on the breath through meditation. Center yourself and express gratitude for the day you have been gifted. If short on time atleast do this exercise for 5 minutes.
2. Movement
Awaken your body by engaging in light stretching and yoga. If you have a yoga mat on hand roll it out and do a series of 10 sun salutations.
3. Hydration
Drink atleast 8-16 ounces of water to jump start your system.
Intention
This is quite the overlooked concept that carries a great deal of weight. We often hear people remark, what are your intentions? Well, a life without intention is like taking road trip without a map. That is if you don’t intend to get lost! The point being if we don’t have a plan, we may wander aimlessly or ineffectively through our lives and at the end wonder, why didn’t I accomplish the goals I thought I might? At the beginning of last year I did not create a new years resolution list, rather a list of my intentions. A life with intention is a guiding star. Yet in all transparency even with intention we are sure to come across countless obstacles that test our willpower. I was tested last year and I can tell you that compared to my intentions at the outset of the year I failed miserably. But you know why I’m am still healthy? Because what made the difference was always coming back to my intentions and purpose. Never losing sight of my ultimate goals and staying in tune with my higher essence.
Mindfulness
Equally important to living with intention is practicing mindfulness. Focusing your attention on the present moment can do wonders for your overall well-being. A great deal of anxiety stems from focusing our thoughts on the past and the future. As I progressed through my graduate program I had countless looming deadlines as my life revolved around an academic calendar, which made it was easy to lose sight of the present. My focus was often on all I had to do in the future weeks and months, which was a continuous source of anxiety and overwhelm. Yet, I managed to excel in my program and overcome that anxiety by focusing on each task at hand. While I did have a plan and an intention for completing all my work, I discovered that the more I focused on the present, the more effective I was and this expanded into other aspects of my life.
A personal example comes from my recent heartbreak. I was in a relationship for the last half of 2017. One I thought had the potential to last forever. Yet the relationship abruptly ended and one of the keys to helping me accept and overcome the grief was focusing on the beauty and life in the present moment. By truly being in the NOW I found I could laugh and enjoy the company of friends and family even as my heart was still in a million pieces. By cultivating gratitude and appreciation for what I have I could slowly let go of what I lost. It was in this experience that I learned how essential mindfulness is in helping one maintain perspective and awareness. In this short life the only guarantee we have is now, therefore we must appreciate it before the moment is gone.
Well those are my simple tips for staying as healthy as possible in our day to day lives. I am thrilled to be back here sharing my journey to wellness and I look forward to growing this community of wellness-seekers and getting to know you! But before you go I would love to hear from you in the comments!
Do you practice mindfulness? Do you set intentions? How do you start each day?
I look forward to the discussion.
All my love,
Autumn
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