As I sit here, a little bit shivery and full of cold, I’m kicking myself a little bit for letting my usual healthy lifestyle and wellbeing regime take a bit of a back seat lately. Up until last month I hadn’t been poorly with a cold for a good year and a half, possibly even two, but now, in the space of four weeks I’ve got my second cold. Not cool.
The frustrating thing is that I’m pretty sure it’s my own doing. I haven’t been taking care of myself as much as I usually do, as I’ve let my busy work schedule get in the way. In case any of you are in a similar position or are just in need of a few little tips on how to perk yourself up a bit on a day to day basis, then check out my tips below. These are things that were part of my regular healthy lifestyle, but I’ve let them slide. Now it’s time to add them back in!
Warm Lemon Water
Every morning before anything else I’ll be having my mug of warm lemon water, which has numerous benefits. Not only does it actually help wake me up, but the lemon has an alkalizing effect in the stomach, balancing out our pH levels, cleansing the system and kick starting your digestive system. I’d need to be drinking much more than one cup a day for it to actually have an effect on my teeth, but I usually drink mine through a straw to protect the enamel on my teeth. Other early morning options are apple cider vinegar or fresh turmeric.
Green Goodness
Getting out of the habit of my green smoothie actually happened a while ago. Even though I have it on occasion, Rob’s pink berry concoction looked much more appealing, so I started having that more instead and over the winter I was filling myself up on porridge. Now that it’s getting slightly warmer, an ice cold smoothie is just what I’m after. Mine usually contains banana (or half an avocado), frozen blueberries, flaxseed (omega 3), spirulina (antioxidants), kale, cucumber and brocoli, all whizzed around in my blender with some water… or coconut water if I’m feeling fancy! By starting the day (after my lemon water) with this smoothie, I know that my body is full of nutritious foods and will function well.
Sports bra: L’urv Sportswear
Getting that Zzzzzz…
Rob tells me off for this all the time. I do not get enough sleep. I know I don’t, but I’m not sure how I can change it right now. I’m not going to chatter on about how my life is so busy, because ultimately if I really made a conscious effort I could find a couple more hours to sleep. I’ve always been an early bird. Work for me starts at 6am when I roll out of bed and into my office, but I need to be better in the evenings. We’ve just set a phone ban from 9pm onwards, as I’ve read (and this may not be true) that the light from the screen of your phone can hinder your sleeping. And even if that’s not true, I need to remove myself from looking at Instagram and Snapchat late at night, as it only fires up my mind even more.
What am I missing?
So this one isn’t actually something I was doing before, but one I think I need to look into. Since cutting meat out of my diet in January, I’m sure there may be a few nutrients and vitamins that I’m missing from my diet. I’m going to research this and if I feel it’s necessary then I’ll start adding them in. If there are any veggies reading this, then I’d love to know if you take vitamins/supplements and if so, which ones? I believe iron and B12 are the ones we miss out on, but I’m sure if I just plan my diet correctly then I can make this up with natural foods.
Hopefully some of you can relate to those times when life gets in the way. Now I’m ready to take hold of my healthy lifestyle with both hands and be kind to my body, giving it everything it needs.
Love, Cat x
Featured: L’urv Sports Bra from Fire & Shine