Healthy Winter Reset
I was in desperate need of a health reset...
These past few weeks have been tough. We’re approaching almost a year of this global pandemic, and that’s starting to feel heavy. There are so many goals I have and plans I want to make, but then I keep going back to this one truth - this is not a normal time. When will anything be normal again?
I was drifting through the days without purpose or much thought… spending way too much time indoors, isolating, and feeling extremely stuck and sad.
One day I simply had enough of it and decided I was tired of waiting for the universe to change my course. I had to take some action for myself and make some changes.
So I decided that on February 1st, I would begin a health reset. My goal was to spend five weeks on my personal recovery from this funk, by focusing on the four following areas:
physical exercise
fueling nutrition
mental stimulation
dedication to personal kindness
4 weeks in, I have to say I am feeling so much better. For me, the changes I made have been a true reset from the unhappy place I was, back to the road I really want to be on. And I’m sharing this not because I’m trying to publish my feelings in a glorified online diary. I know there are other people out there who might be struggling too and looking to make a change. If someone reads this, resonates, and thinks “hey I’m not alone!” I’ll be even happier that I shared this.
Why I needed a Health Reset
If you’re like me, maybe this winter you were feeling a little depressed, anxious, frustrated… the list goes on. I wasn’t really myself, I knew that, but I didn’t know how to change it.
Every action has a reaction so I blame the fact that I took the entire month of December off of working out or watching what I ate. At first, it felt so good to just relax for a few weeks. Like many people, I really needed that coming off of a crazy and stressful year. So I took time off!
I relaxed with a glass of wine at the end of the day!
I spent hours horizontal on the couch binging Netflix!
I walked around the snowy city, grabbing hot chocolates and desserts.
I was living my best life and felt like I was pressing the reset button at the end of 2020.
But once 2021 hit and life got back to regularly scheduled programming in January, I felt really different. Tired, cranky, and unmotivated. I had gone from a pretty happy existence, feeling busy and fulfilled, to all of a sudden feeling like I was trapped inside my apartment, tethered to this city, and stalled in my life. Dramatic maybe, but the best way to describe it is just feeling stuck. And that’s not a feeling I like or how I want to live my life. I believe I’m in charge of my own fate.
I usually snap myself out of it, but I wasn’t in that kind of headspace, and so nothing was changing. After too many teary conversations about my confusing mental state, I knew I needed to take back control of the situation.
Diet & Nutrition
I’ve never really been on a strict diet before - I always broke Whole 30 in like 5 days in - but the only way I was going to stick with something is if I approached this seriously with a real goal in mind.
Rather than pay and join a weight loss program, I created one myself. While I’m not a dietician or a personal trainer, and I’m still far from the results I’m aiming for, I have made so much progress! And I’m really proud that I’ve actually been sticking to this, even when there was delicious burrata RIGHT. IN. FRONT. OF. ME.
First, here is what I cut out entirely:
no alcohol
no gluten
no dairy
Though I imposed a lot of restrictions, I am far from going hungry. I’ve been trying to think of my food as fuel, and all the good things I put in my body make me better. So more greens mean more goodness and more energy.
I learned a lot about this on Noom! I signed up for the free 1-week trial to educate and motivate myself a little more during the beginning of this health reset. Even though I didn’t want to continue with the payment plan, I definitely learned a lot.
These were my biggest takeaways from the first 7 days of modules:
Our eating habits were learned, and they can be unlearned. It’s a lot of psychology, and the app is rooted in behavioral cognitive therapy.
Stress is the biggest trigger in most people’s behavioral chain in picking what we eat ( Trigger -> Thought -> Action -> Consequence) and why we don’t always make healthy choices even when we’re trying!
If you shift from a removal mindset of “all the foods I can’t eat” to an addition mindset “look at all that I can eat” this positive reinforcement increases your motivation. Add a new food to your grocery list every time!
I went heavy on the fruits and vegetables and increased the level of plant-based meals I was having. But I didn’t want to sacrifice flavor, or feel fatigued on a diet by eating the same thing every day! I’m constantly searching for new recipes to try.
Lots of green groceries! Focusing on fruits, vegetables, and low calorie snacks!
BREAKFAST SMOOTHIES
For breakfast, I’m keeping up with the smoothies I usually have. But my goal has been to make every drink green. This is usually done by adding a lot more spinach than anything else!
My favorite is 1/2 banana, blueberries, LOTS of spinach + oat milk
LUNCH & DINNER
In order to keep things interesting, I needed to get creative! Fun salads, a variety of proteins, and switching up what’s on my plate as much as I can while avoiding my restricted foods. Here are some of my favorites dishes I’ve made recently.
SNACKING
If you’re looking to get healthy snacks the best in my opinion is stocking up on lots of sweet fruit like grapes, oranges, watermelon and blueberries.
Banana, pear, and apples are the best when you need to fill up a bit more.
Packaged portion control snacks like SkinnyPop have been my favorite the past two weeks! I love going to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods to see what calls my attention. If you are craving something salty or savory, these are my go-to favorites!
Another important part of nutrition for me is vitamins. I always take a regular women’s multivitamin, but this winter when I was feeling gross and seriously vitamin D deficient I also added a women’s hair, skin, and nails vitamin. I’m a big fan of gummy vitamins.
Lastly, since I’ve been trying to reduce the amount of peanut butter or almond butter I’m having, I started adding a protein powder to my smoothies in the morning. I picked this brand up from Trader Joe’s but they sell it in many other places too, and it has been really helping me feel energized and ready for a workout.
It’s not sustainable to start a diet and then never eat bad food. I took extra measures this month to really kick start my health re-set, but soon enough I’ll be reintroducing some of my favorite things. I can’t wait for my first glass of wine and pasta dish!
But some of these habits and things that I’ve learned I plan to continue with. There are so many healthy substitutions to make, but on the weekends and when I go out with friends for a great meal, I plan to enjoy it.
Exercise & Energy
I ended my gym membership in February 2020 and was in my first month of ClassPass when the pandemic began. So for the last year, I had been mostly running outside and doing some home workouts. But this winter with the snow on the ground, and the heat blasting in my apartment, I was really giving up on my fitness routine.
Joining a Gym
My Mom came up with the suggestion to join a gym, get back into my regular habits, and she bet I would feel more like myself. So I did some research and ended up deciding to join a gym again. And she was so right (as always).
I joined Crunch Fitness which is a popular gym membership in the city, and even though they aren’t organizing classes right now, or have access to their sauna, the rest of the gym is fully open. There is never a wait to get in and you don’t need a reservation. It’s never crowded nor are the machines full, plus every other machine is closed to enforce separation! Since I joined I’ve been going 5 times a week and really loving it. I’m finally back into my routine!
I also paid for some personal training sessions, and I have to say after one workout with my trainer I was DYING. I had not felt that sore in years. So it is working! Those sessions have been a great extra push for me and inspired many workouts that are more effective in reaching my specific goals.
Streaming Memberships
I have been doing various trials and I do have a few that I really like for efficient and challenging workouts. Here is a quick list:
Amanda Kloots Fitness - Turns out I am not a fan of dance cardio even though that was why I originally subscribed! WOW, I felt spastic. But I’ve been sticking with this because I love her toning workouts for arms, abs, and legs! She’s also just an angel of a human being!
Melissa Wood Health - She really knows how to get a workout in at any time, anywhere, and I’m always sweating after 10 minutes. Her subscription is also really affordable!
Obé Fitness: They do both on-demand classes, and Live which I always feel makes me work harder! There is also a huge class VARIETY.
Peloton: You don’t have to have the Peloton bike (or any bike) to download and take advantage of this app! It has plenty of high-intensity indoor cycling rides, as well as a range of other workouts from running to pilates and more. You can try it for free for 30 days.
Apple Fitness +: Though the classes can be a little cheesy at times, this 1-month free trial has been nice because it links to my apple watch and tracks my stats for me. There are plenty of class options to choose from but I’ve been mostly doing indoor cycling rides.
Strava: I use this for tracking outdoor runs and bike rides. It’s free!
The best way for me to keep up with exercising is to diversify my workouts throughout the week. Some days I’m doing high-intensity interval sprints on the treadmill, others it’s stretching and yoga in the studio, some days it’s strength and conditioning using the machines. And when the sun comes out, I still hit the road and run outside.
I think that getting back into a fitness regime was really the biggest change for me and the best thing I did for myself the past few weeks! Working out gives you endorphins, so as hard as it may feel at the time, you will feel great for having completed it afterward! I can feel I already made so much progress and gained back the confidence I lost when marathon training paused last year.
The last thing I try and do is take a walk every day. My apple watch reminds me to get my body moving! Being outdoors, especially on a sunny day, completely puts me in a better mindset.
Mental Stimulation
The next two focuses may not be typical, but for me, they have been really important to snap myself out of this fog I’ve been in. This is not to say that I don’t still sit on the couch and watch TV with Ryan after dinner. But dedicating time to each of the following things I enjoy has given me some structure, and happiness!
Reading: One consequence of this pandemic is that I’ve been buying a lot more new books instead of new clothes! I feel like this has been a nice escape for me, so I downloaded the Good Reads app to help track what I’ve read and want to read next.
Blogging: I look forward to doing this all day. I love that it’s both a creative outlet and helps me grow my writing and photography. When I’m not actively working on a post, I’m usually planning my content bank and schedule. I recently took a free blogging boot camp class and have been learning more about this world, search engine optimization strategies, using Pinterest to scale it etc.
Caligraphy: I bought some how-to books and pens from Blick to teach myself calligraphy as another hobby. I love writing and sending cards, and since I have a wedding coming up next year I think this skill is not only interesting but valuable!
Jeopardy & Wheel of Fortune: Ry and I have been watching this nightly and it sort of feels like we’re playing the game. Also, it’s hysterical how wrong we can be sometimes and we crack up. Also, I still play Candy Crush and that has to use some brain cells, right?
Travel Planning: This is my favorite hobby, but I haven’t been able to make plans for a while. Finally, I have some upcoming trips this summer that I’ve been able to research and get excited about. I love learning about new places and planning where to go next.
I’ve found it helpful to create separation from work and time spent at my computer. My goal was to create a routine that incorporates things I really enjoy… beyond watching TV and scrolling on Instagram. As much as it’s nice to relax, I find myself getting lost in it a lot and then feeling badly for how I spend my time. Less screen time is definitely a goal I’d like to stick to this year!
It doesn’t matter where this mental stimulation may come from. But the effort I have put into this has been improving my mood so much!
Dedication to Personal Kindness
The last thing I’ve been really working to improve is how I treat myself. I like to have a laugh and try not to take myself so seriously. But what I found recently is that my self-deprecating humor and deflection from any compliments might possibly be coming from this lack of confidence I really never had before. There is a lot I don’t share here and I prefer not to expose all my internal thoughts or challenges. But for me, this was a sad realization.
I’m usually someone who is so positive and optimistic. But I’m also tough on myself and have expectations that I would never hold anyone else to. I don’t know why it’s so difficult for me to treat myself with the same kindness that I would do for a friend.
So sometimes I just have to tell myself that I am smart, ambitious, kind, beautiful WHATEVER I NEED TO HEAR IN THAT MOMENT to put a smile on my face. Give myself a little pep talk. Why not?
If I need a little self-love moment then I go get my nails done or get a massage or a facial. And I tell myself I deserve it, and you know what, I do.
One tool I recently started using is the Headspace app. My company arranged free memberships for all employees and I have really been really enjoying it. It offers mindfulness and guided meditation for stress and anxiety. I never tried meditation before this, so I’m no expert, but I’m starting to really enjoy taking a moment to myself to breathe and be still!
Lastly, when I forget how to be kind to myself I lean on those around me who always make me feel happy and lifted, encouraged, and supported. Sometimes just doing my favorite activities gives me a real boost like hanging out with my friends, a date night with Ry, spending a weekend with my family, or cuddling my dog. It’s a reminder of how much I have to be grateful for and to really ground myself and realize everything is ok!
So even though I was in a funk for a while, taking a healthy reset this month has been so good for me. Focusing on diet, exercise, and some mental and psychological tools has helped me regain focus and get motivated again. I hope it’s been helpful to share what that journey looked like for me!
I’m grateful I’ve stuck to my goals, and I’m feeling so much better because of it. I’m actually excited about the future, and confident that there are good things on the horizon.
And on an exciting note, I’m feeling ready to try on some wedding dresses, take some engagement pictures, and plan some new adventures! Being more spontaneous, less anxious, and ready to take on whatever is next.
Xx Gab
Art makes a house feel like a home. Here are the prints and pictures I hand selected with love!